We woke after a good sleep and started to get ready to go to SeaWorld. I was looking at the information we got when we checked in and discovered we were eligible for a Guest Only dolphin presentation, for which we needed to be at the Gift Shop by 8.45. We quickly finished breakfast and got ready and headed down to the foyer. The group was walked through into SeaWorld to the Affinity Dolphin Pool and we got to see a training session with the dolphins which was really interesting. We then walked back to the resort and lined up go into the theme park when it opened. I raced back to the car to get close-toed shoes for Liam and Amelie because there was one attraction that required shoes. I got back to the line in time for us to go in. We'd planned to catch the monorail from the resort but it wasn't running at the moment so we walked in.
We went first to the stingray pools, where we discovered that we could pat the rays if they swam near the edge of the pool. Amelie found it hard to reach them sometimes, and we promised her we could come back later to pat them after we'd done a few more things. The priority for everyone was seeing Mishka the polar bear cub, so we went there next. We saw 2 adult polar bears, then moved to the pen where Mishka was with her mum. She was incredibly cute and lots of fun to watch, playing with a large plastic container that was floating in the water. Her mum had ripped a little hole in the plastic so that Mishka could grab it with her mouth and she was trying to pull it out of the water. Both the cub and the mum also spent time eating fish frozen into blocks of ice.
As we walked to the Nikelodeon kids area, we saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles come out for a photo opportunity which was pretty cool. Caitlin and Amelie went on a TMNT ride, then the 4 of us went on it (I sat with Liam). If we peddled our little planes they went higher, so it was fun and not at all scary. We then went on a bus ride which was like a mini pirate ship that rocked back and forwards, and also span on a fairly large, slow axis. We went from the kids rides through to the jet ski ride which Caitlin and Liam went on and said was fun. I wanted to try it so Caitlin took Amelie back to the kids rides and Liam and I went on - it was SO incredibly fast and I was quite scared. I screamed a lot. It didn't go high, just very fast around a turning track that also twisted a bit so at times we were sideways. It was fun but very intense (and I was happy with one ride, the speed was a bit much for me).
The ray pool was on the way to the dolphin show so we stopped in there again and patted some more rays. Amelie again had limited success - they had to come quite close to the surface for her to reach them and it didn't happen often. She was disappointed but then cheered by the idea of seeing the dolphin show.
We got a seat a fair way up in the stands. I was wondering if we'd find it a bit boring seeing as we'd seen 2 shows in Coffs and the training session this morning - but the show was great. The music helped to make it exciting, and the behaviours the dolphins displayed were impressive. Having a big crowd also made it more exciting. It was well presented (although a little sappy at times) and very very enjoyable. We all like the trainers being propelled forwards by the dolphins, we hadn't seen that before.
After the show we went to the battle boats - the kids lined up to go on a boat and I stayed on shore and shot the boats with water cannons. The kids were a little disappointed that they were on the far side of their boat so they couldn't shoot me or anyone else, although there were some targets to aim at that made cool water effects happen - but they were very hard to hit. I had fun squirting people and getting squirted by the boats. The kids still got wet, which Amelie wasn't thrilled about. There was quite a crowd there because so many people had just come out of the dolphin show, so we figured we'd try again later when there was less of a queue and the kids could be on the side where they could shoot the crowd.
The kids all had a big climb on the Sky Fortress - a large climbing play gym structure with lots of ladders, slides, bridges, net bridges etc. I joined them in there and had a go at walked across the high net bridges - it was very very very scary and I was very slow (the kids just ran across) - it was a great feeling to achieve it though. There was a harnessed climbing area too, but the kids needed to be completely dry to do that and we were still wet from the battle boats. We had some lunch to see if we would dry off enough in that time but were still damp so decided to come back later. While we were eating a pair of Asian kids asked me something which I couldn't understand. They were pointing to their backpack and I didn't know what they wanted. The older girl used the translator on her phone and the English version was 'Can you take a look at our backpack?' I still couldn't figure out what they wanted me to do, then they pointed at the Sky Fortress and I realised they wanted me to watch their stuff while they had a climb, which I was happy to do.
The big kids went for another ride on the JetSkis to try to dry off and met Amelie and I at Shark Bay. We had a pat of the sea cucumbers and sea stars and looked at some rays in the big pool. The Stunt Jetboat Show was about to start so we went up to the front of the park to watch that. I really love watching stunt driving and this was a good show. On the way there and back we saw more dolphins in different pools.
Caitlin and Liam had been keen all day to go on the Storm Coaster - the big roller coaster we'd seen on our way in. We headed there now and Amelie and I watched while they went on it. I had also been keen to go, but watching from the observation windows in a tunnel going over the ride scared me quite a bit - the initial drop looked fun but this later drop looked a bit steep for me. They went on it twice and loved it, and Amelie wanted to move on so I decided not to try it for now.
We went back to the Sky Climb via the ray pool, this time Amelie was able to pat some rays and she felt much happier. We were all splashed a bit so hoped we'd dry off enough to be able to climb. Amelie wanted to climb as well so I needed to do it too - she was in the height range that needed an adult to accompany them. The kids put their shoes on and I borrowed shoes from the desk , and we went and harnessed up. I was feeling pretty good about it and keen to give it a go. We walked up to the first level and Caitlin and Liam went off on their own way. Amelie walked across a ladder bridge and I followed her fairly easily. Then she walked across a plank and it took me quite some time to be brave enough to try that myself (I let 3 people go in front of me). There were ropes I could hang on to which helped - Amelie did it without the support ropes (because she couldn't reach them). Then we did some stepping stones which I also found a bit tricky. Amelie started to go up to the next level then reached a height where she was too scared so she came back down. She did one more crossing then it was time to come down. I made myself take a step or two out onto another ladder that I was really scared to do, then I came back and headed down myself. Caitlin and Liam climbed around on the 2nd level and had a great time. I gave the borrowed shoes back - and was allowed to keep the borrowed socks.
The queue on the Battle Boats was now non-existent so Caitlin and Liam had another go, while Amelie and I ran from cannon to cannon on the shore line and shot them as much as possible. We all got quite wet and it was a lot of fun.
The kids wanted to see a 3D movie, so we went to watch the Sponge Bob movie in the theatre - it was a lot of fun.
We headed back to Shark Bay, patted the rock pool creatures again, and went down to the underwater viewing area. The first window showed us lots of sharks and a turtle, a few rays and fish, and was pretty cool. The second window had many more fish, lots and lots of rays, including the Spotted Eagle Ray which is Amelie's favourite. There was a huge Queensland Grouper hiding under a rock (in plain sight) and lots of beautiful tropical fish, some sharks, so many rays. It was fascinating and we spent quite a bit of time watching.
I wanted to give the Storm Coaster a go so we went back over there. Amelie was in two minds and decided to just watch us. I was exceptionally scared and the closer I got to getting on the more sick and upset I felt. I sat with Caitlin and Liam sat with another boy. I had tears in my eyes and seriously considered asking them to stop even once I had the restraint down on my legs. Then the ride started and I felt quite a bit better straight away (things were out of my hands - I'm usually less anxious when there's nothing I can do!) Luckily the pull up to the top (the bit that often scares me the most because of the anticipation) was quite fast, and then there was a little dip and curve which I loved, then a long dip and curve which was fantastic, then the steep bit which was really scary because for a second we felt like we were free falling - I had my eyes shut tight for that bit - then a few more very fast ups and downs through water spray, and then it was over. I really loved it. I had screamed a lot and I was quite shaky when we got off, but really happy. When we got back to Amelie she said she wanted to have a go - she was within the height range as long as she sat with an adult. She sat with me and they put the restraints down - hers didn't quite touch her legs and her back wasn't against the seat back. We were both a bit concerned and it took me a while to catch the attendants attention to ask if she'd be OK. They said she was within safety standards and it would be fine. I asked if she'd move around too much and they assured us it would be fine. She decided she was OK so off we went. She seemed to like the first bit but got a bit scared and teary at the steep bit. I actually kept my eyes open this time. Amelie didn't really like the fast ups and downs towards the end, but was happy when she got off and said she enjoyed it. I was so impressed with her first big roller coaster effort!
Amelie had wanted to buy a SeaWorld towel that she'd been seeing all day, so we did that and then wandered back to see Mishka again - still cute and this time swimming around a bit. Her fur was so smooth when she came out of the water. She had completely deflated the plastic container she'd been playing with this morning.
We hadn't seen the Creatures of the Deep exhibit so walked up there - it was just large statues of deep sea creatures, not particularly exciting but cool to see. The big kids wanted to go on the Storm Coaster again, and Amelie was happy to not go back - they went ahead and she and I went to the ring toss game. She bought a large hat full of small rings - I reckon there were a couple of hundred in there and she and I tried to toss them over the neck of large glass bottles (which had small necks). It was really really hard, we had very many near misses but didn't get any rings on. She did get to keep the hat though, and it was a lot of fun, so money well spent. The big kids enjoyed their last ride (and the last run of the day) on the Storm Coaster, and got to see a one of the staff operate her last ever ride at SeaWorld and be part of the goodbyes for her.
We walked out via the rays again, and then up to the monorail station to catch it back to the resort - Amelie in particular was very keen to finally get on it. When it came in the driver got out and was on her radio, then came along and said that she wasn't allowed to take any more passengers because she'd already done extra trips that afternoon (it was a bit after 5 by now). Amelie was devastated - tired and hungry and so disappointed, so it was a long slow walk back to the Resort. In our room we collapsed on the beds and the kids put the TV on - more disappointment as Pokemon wasn't on as Amelie had expected. We ate some snacks and the kids played on iPods and had a good rest. I had a cold bath which was amazingly relaxing. For dinner we had cup-a-soup and cup-a-noodles. Easy and filling and tasty. We watched Friends and The Middle and ended off the day feeling tired but relaxed. Liam set up his camping mattress using the arm chair and two stools to make a little bed, which he thought might be more comfortable than the floor.
Showing posts with label resort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resort. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 March 2018
Thursday, 1 March 2018
Brisbane Trip Day 11: Bryon Bay -> Gold Coast
It was windy overnight and I was up at one point tying the tarp down more tightly as it was flapping a lot - I didn't want to take it off in case the potential forecast rain arrived. I slept badly, worrying about packing up in time (there were signs around saying we must check out by 10) and the fell asleep quite soundly in the early morning and woke up at 7.15, which was later than I'd planned.
The pack up went pretty smoothly although it was hot and sweaty work for all of us. Liam and Amelie did the dishes and then put the poles and pegs away and carried things to the car, Caitlin helped me with the tent. We were all hitched up and ready to go by 10.40 which is our quickest time yet.
The drive north was quite enjoyable. The countryside was green and lush, lots of trees, and paddocks full of grass. There were a lot of hills and we could see mountains in the distance. Driving on a dry day was also much easier for me. We reached the Gold Coast and I was fascinated by the tall buildings. We were suddenly driving in city traffic (which wasn't as difficult as driving in Byron Bay...) and we noticed that there were no other cars with caravans or trailers - they must be around somewhere, but apart from a few at a rest stop about half way from Byron, I don't think we saw any other caravans.
We found our way to Sea World Resort - driving past Sea World we could see a large blue roller coaster and it looked like something I would be happy to go on. The big kids were excited about it too. We pulled up to the front of the resort (and a lady waiting there moved her car forward so there was room for me to pull up with the trailer) and went inside to check in. Our room was ready so we were allowed to go straight up. We got our clothes bags out of the car and put them on a trolley for the concierge to take up, and asked about parking the trailer - he said we could just put it in one car parking space and park the car next to it. The kids came with me while I moved the car down into the carpark. I parked in the last row so that the trailer wasn't in anyone's way - and I managed to back it into a spot without too much trouble. We grabbed a few more bags and headed back into the resort.
The lobby felt quite luxurious and the kids were extremely excited to be there. We headed over to our room, where our luggage was waiting. We were in the Bay Wing, so we took a lift down one floor from the lobby, then walked along a corridor and then a covered walkway, then up 2 levels in another lift, then around the corner to our room. We had a balcony, a lovely bathroom with shower over the bath, and 2 double beds. The kids explored the room and we had a quick snack and repacked our bags, put our swimmers and sunscreen on and got ready to go to Wet n Wild - the clocks had gone back an hour because Qld doesn't do daylight savings, so it was still only 12.30 and we had a whole afternoon of theme park time! (The deal I got for our rooms gave us unlimited entry to Sea World, Movie World, Wet n Wild and Paradise Country for the 4 days of our stay)
It was a 25 minute drive to Wet n Wild, and quite exciting to arrive there (and to see Movie World next door). Once inside we found a table in the junior area and set up our things there, then took it in turns to take Amelie on some of the junior water slides. Liam and Caitlin took her on the mini-tornado, and I took her on a longer slide which was fun and not scary at all - my kind of slide! We checked out the wave pool (the regularly spaces waves made me feel a bit seasick) then Caitlin wanted to go on a surfboard ride that was basically a large U shape, with the ends curved in a little, and the ride went up one side of the U, then down through the middle and up the other side - it looked quite scary, and I think Liam wasn't quite prepared for how scary it was. Oh, the seats also span as the surfboard went back and forth.
From there we checked out the scarier slides - Liam and Caitlin went on the Black Hole which was a long enclosed waterside, mainly in the dark. Amelie and I went back to swim in the junior pool (which was lovely and refreshing, and fun to swim around - we went under bridges and I shot her with water cannons from the top of one of the bridges) while the others went on the Kamikaze - also a U shaped ride, this time a water slide though. They said it wasn't as scary as they thought it would be.
We had another go in the wave pool, then the 4 of us went on the Mammoth Falls ride - we all sat in a raft and the ride was a wide, open tube that started quite high. It was a lot of fun and we did it twice. From the wave pool we watched some people on the SkyCoaster - they get strapped into a harness, lying face down, then pulled up very very high by a rope, then are released and swing through the air in a large arc - scary even to watch, I couldn't imagine doing it!
Liam and Caitlin went on the Constrictor, an enclosed tube ride, and then we went to the Aqua Racer. This one didn't seem as high as the one at Adventure Park Geelong, but I was still pretty scared. It was much harder to get going on this one too. I was way behind Liam a couple of times but picked up so much speed on the last two bumps that I overtook him. Amelie watched us the first time then decided to give it a go and she loved it, and went on it twice.
Next we went to Calypso Beach which is a lazy river ride - floating in tubes around a circular river. It was lovely and relaxing. After one circuit I left Amelie with Liam, while Caitlin took me on the Black Hole - it was so much fun. I was screaming and laughing and sounded a bit insane I think, and I really enjoyed it. Being in the dark made it a bit scarier but there were no scary drops or real surprises. We played a little more in Calypso Beach then back to the wave pool, and Caitlin had another turn on the Surfboard.
Liam and Caitlin bought themselves a soft serve cup with lots of different toppings, and Amelie bought some fairy floss. There was a very large water dragon wandering around amongst the tables where our stuff was, we saw him each time we went back for a snack or more sunscreen. Someone dropped a bag of cheese and bacon balls and the little birds in the area were eating them - they had orange beaks and ate a lot of them before Caitlin grabbed the bag and put it in the bin - we figured they were likely to make the birds rather unwell. We'd had under 4 hours at the park and managed to have a go at everything we wanted to - we would have been happy to stay longer but also felt like we were happy with what we had done. It was a very fun afternoon.
An old friend of mine lived not far from the park so once we were dressed again we headed over to his place. I hadn't seen him since a baseball tournament in Port Macquarie in 2002, so it was fantastic to have a chance to catch up. We sat on his back verandah overlooking some lush forest, and had a drink and a good chat. It had been warm and sunny all day and in the evening some heavy clouds rolled in - there was torrential rain for a little while, and lots of thunder and lightning. It was pretty cool to watch and we were very glad we weren't camping tonight! We decided to get fish and chips which were delicious. His 17 year old son was lovely and got on well with my kids - after dinner they all watched funny youtube videos together while I chatted to my friend. He had an early start the next morning and we were all exhausted so we headed off about 8pm.
We stopped and got petrol on the way back to the resort and the guy in the Spar service station was friendly and chatty. Back at the resort we watched a bit of tv and used the free wifi for a while, some of the kids had a shower and we gradually drifted off to bed. The room had 2 double beds and Liam didn't want to share a bed with any of us, so we'd bought a camping mattress up and he set himself up on the floor between the two beds.
The pack up went pretty smoothly although it was hot and sweaty work for all of us. Liam and Amelie did the dishes and then put the poles and pegs away and carried things to the car, Caitlin helped me with the tent. We were all hitched up and ready to go by 10.40 which is our quickest time yet.
The drive north was quite enjoyable. The countryside was green and lush, lots of trees, and paddocks full of grass. There were a lot of hills and we could see mountains in the distance. Driving on a dry day was also much easier for me. We reached the Gold Coast and I was fascinated by the tall buildings. We were suddenly driving in city traffic (which wasn't as difficult as driving in Byron Bay...) and we noticed that there were no other cars with caravans or trailers - they must be around somewhere, but apart from a few at a rest stop about half way from Byron, I don't think we saw any other caravans.
We found our way to Sea World Resort - driving past Sea World we could see a large blue roller coaster and it looked like something I would be happy to go on. The big kids were excited about it too. We pulled up to the front of the resort (and a lady waiting there moved her car forward so there was room for me to pull up with the trailer) and went inside to check in. Our room was ready so we were allowed to go straight up. We got our clothes bags out of the car and put them on a trolley for the concierge to take up, and asked about parking the trailer - he said we could just put it in one car parking space and park the car next to it. The kids came with me while I moved the car down into the carpark. I parked in the last row so that the trailer wasn't in anyone's way - and I managed to back it into a spot without too much trouble. We grabbed a few more bags and headed back into the resort.
The lobby felt quite luxurious and the kids were extremely excited to be there. We headed over to our room, where our luggage was waiting. We were in the Bay Wing, so we took a lift down one floor from the lobby, then walked along a corridor and then a covered walkway, then up 2 levels in another lift, then around the corner to our room. We had a balcony, a lovely bathroom with shower over the bath, and 2 double beds. The kids explored the room and we had a quick snack and repacked our bags, put our swimmers and sunscreen on and got ready to go to Wet n Wild - the clocks had gone back an hour because Qld doesn't do daylight savings, so it was still only 12.30 and we had a whole afternoon of theme park time! (The deal I got for our rooms gave us unlimited entry to Sea World, Movie World, Wet n Wild and Paradise Country for the 4 days of our stay)
It was a 25 minute drive to Wet n Wild, and quite exciting to arrive there (and to see Movie World next door). Once inside we found a table in the junior area and set up our things there, then took it in turns to take Amelie on some of the junior water slides. Liam and Caitlin took her on the mini-tornado, and I took her on a longer slide which was fun and not scary at all - my kind of slide! We checked out the wave pool (the regularly spaces waves made me feel a bit seasick) then Caitlin wanted to go on a surfboard ride that was basically a large U shape, with the ends curved in a little, and the ride went up one side of the U, then down through the middle and up the other side - it looked quite scary, and I think Liam wasn't quite prepared for how scary it was. Oh, the seats also span as the surfboard went back and forth.
From there we checked out the scarier slides - Liam and Caitlin went on the Black Hole which was a long enclosed waterside, mainly in the dark. Amelie and I went back to swim in the junior pool (which was lovely and refreshing, and fun to swim around - we went under bridges and I shot her with water cannons from the top of one of the bridges) while the others went on the Kamikaze - also a U shaped ride, this time a water slide though. They said it wasn't as scary as they thought it would be.
We had another go in the wave pool, then the 4 of us went on the Mammoth Falls ride - we all sat in a raft and the ride was a wide, open tube that started quite high. It was a lot of fun and we did it twice. From the wave pool we watched some people on the SkyCoaster - they get strapped into a harness, lying face down, then pulled up very very high by a rope, then are released and swing through the air in a large arc - scary even to watch, I couldn't imagine doing it!
Liam and Caitlin went on the Constrictor, an enclosed tube ride, and then we went to the Aqua Racer. This one didn't seem as high as the one at Adventure Park Geelong, but I was still pretty scared. It was much harder to get going on this one too. I was way behind Liam a couple of times but picked up so much speed on the last two bumps that I overtook him. Amelie watched us the first time then decided to give it a go and she loved it, and went on it twice.
Next we went to Calypso Beach which is a lazy river ride - floating in tubes around a circular river. It was lovely and relaxing. After one circuit I left Amelie with Liam, while Caitlin took me on the Black Hole - it was so much fun. I was screaming and laughing and sounded a bit insane I think, and I really enjoyed it. Being in the dark made it a bit scarier but there were no scary drops or real surprises. We played a little more in Calypso Beach then back to the wave pool, and Caitlin had another turn on the Surfboard.
Liam and Caitlin bought themselves a soft serve cup with lots of different toppings, and Amelie bought some fairy floss. There was a very large water dragon wandering around amongst the tables where our stuff was, we saw him each time we went back for a snack or more sunscreen. Someone dropped a bag of cheese and bacon balls and the little birds in the area were eating them - they had orange beaks and ate a lot of them before Caitlin grabbed the bag and put it in the bin - we figured they were likely to make the birds rather unwell. We'd had under 4 hours at the park and managed to have a go at everything we wanted to - we would have been happy to stay longer but also felt like we were happy with what we had done. It was a very fun afternoon.
An old friend of mine lived not far from the park so once we were dressed again we headed over to his place. I hadn't seen him since a baseball tournament in Port Macquarie in 2002, so it was fantastic to have a chance to catch up. We sat on his back verandah overlooking some lush forest, and had a drink and a good chat. It had been warm and sunny all day and in the evening some heavy clouds rolled in - there was torrential rain for a little while, and lots of thunder and lightning. It was pretty cool to watch and we were very glad we weren't camping tonight! We decided to get fish and chips which were delicious. His 17 year old son was lovely and got on well with my kids - after dinner they all watched funny youtube videos together while I chatted to my friend. He had an early start the next morning and we were all exhausted so we headed off about 8pm.
We stopped and got petrol on the way back to the resort and the guy in the Spar service station was friendly and chatty. Back at the resort we watched a bit of tv and used the free wifi for a while, some of the kids had a shower and we gradually drifted off to bed. The room had 2 double beds and Liam didn't want to share a bed with any of us, so we'd bought a camping mattress up and he set himself up on the floor between the two beds.
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