Due to summer camps, schedules, and activities, we had to wait until the end of summer for vacation. So, the afternoon after Ethan's surgery, we loaded up and headed to Alabama for the 1st leg of our journey...Mimi's house! After a couple of nights at Mimi's we all headed to Orlando!
We arrived in town, got our hotel room set up, and hit Disney Springs first! This is our 3rd Disney visit in 3 years and we are going on Disney hiatus for a few years after this trip so we made sure to visit some of our favorite places.
I LOVE this pic!
Checking out the sights...
Building and racing a car at the Lego store
Lego Dino in the lake
After dinner at D-Luxe Burger (yummy!), we had dessert at T-Rex. This was the boys' 1st visit to the restaurant and they loved the sights and sounds!
After a long day of travel and Disney Springs, we headed back to the hotel and get some rest for our next NEW adventure...Sea World!!! Mimi wanted to treat us to Sea World year since the boys had never been and she definitely spoiled us! It was an amazing day and an extremely generous thing for her to do for ALL of us!
So the next morning we ate breakfast at the Sea World Hampton and rode the bus to the park. Ben and I hadn't been since we were children so this was a new adventure for everyone, including Mimi :-) It was a super hot day so we made sure to wear loose clothing that wouldn't be clingy!
A picture with Shamu
One of the greatest things about Sea World is that all of their shows are under covered pavilions, safe from the sun! Our 1st show was the Sea Lion and Otter Show, themed around the last day of high school. It was probably the cutest show I have ever seen! We all loved it!
The tiny little otter has the document that announces the students scholarship and graduation information and runs away with it...
The sea lions are high school students trying to pass their last few classes to graduate...
Racing to get to school on time...
Team Huddle
Crunches in PE
Astronomy in Science
Putting together their plan
Hiding from the coach
The principal
After the show we headed over to see Antarctica and the Penguins, it was so neat to see them on the ice...and cold!
Then we walked below to see them underwater
After that we walked over to watch Shamu and his friends.
Again, so cool!
They are huge!
And cute!
After the show, the boys got to speak with one of the trainers. She was so sweet and answered all of their questions :-)
Then some fantastic lunch at Expedition Café and playtime at the LARGEST climbing playground I have ever seen!
After that, we rode a small roller coaster (no picture :-), then Ethan rode the carousel while Caden and Mimi rode the train
The last show was the dolphin show and it was a combination of dolphins and acrobatics
The performers did a great job and the whole show felt a little Cirque de Soleil-ish
It was neat to watch the trainers riding on the dolphins' backs
And the synchronized jumping was my favorite
After the show, headed over to get soaked on the Journey to Atlantis wet roller coaster (sadly there is no picture because I did not want to risk getting the camera wet which SURELY would have happened as I was completely drenched when we got off) then checked out the manta rays.
And saw the dolphins in the nursery
After those adventures, we had a great dinner at Spice Mill and then rode the Wild Arctic "helicopter" ride to base camp. I couldn't get any pictures of this neat walk through because the camera kept fogging up but I did great a sweet pic of Ethan at the bottom of the aquarium fascinated with the huge manatee.
It was a FANTASTIC and long day and I absolutely LOVED Sea World! In my opinion, it was the highlight of our vacation. Thank you Mimi for such a wonderful day!
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