The weather was still iffy, but we had to do something after two days of rain, shopping, more rain and even more shopping! The weather man on FOX35 said things were improving. Arrived at SeaWorld – spotted some black clouds, on impulse bought two ponchos, just in case!

I love SeaWorld – Hotdog wasn’t too sure! The 3D turtle experience, was cool and we liked watching the Dolphins. The Shamu show started in 10 mins – we jogged leisurely to a packed stadium. Made it to the show with a few minutes to spare. Show consisted of killer whales doing splashy stunts and that was it. Highly entertaining though. I cried at the end, which was a blessing in disguise as this topped up the water levels that were splashed over the edge by the orcas.

Made our way to kraken – the wait was 10 minutes. The ride was brilliant and we managed to keep eyes open for the whole experience. Spent several times contemplating Manta – it looks horrific – so we’re hoping to go back to finish off the stuff we missed later in the week.

The Journey to Atlantis looked OK but was actually quite scary – after the first drop, you think – is that it? Remember the impulse buy of ponchos? They become invaluable as we would have been soaked on this ride!

Lunch at Seafire Inn – the chicken pasta in creamy sauce, and fish and chips were good value at around $24 with drinks.

The Blue Horizon show was amazing – at one point Hotdog was asking Mrs Doughnut ‘permission for lip to wobble’! It wasn’t the dolphins that made Hotdog come over with this rush of emotion – for a brief moment he took his eyes of the show and looked around at the kids faces – pure joy!

Did a few other things around the park – including a visit to the South Pole – was excited to see the Polar Bear – who was less excited about us. The shark encounter is worth doing. We waited for 30 minutes for the new Antarctica ride, which was really cold and a bit disappointing. To our amusement, we spotted a thong on the floor on the wild ride side! It must be WILD!!! The penguin’s afterwards were fun to watch – apart from the smell!

Back at hotel around 6pm – so we decided to go to City Walk and Universal Studios for the light show and some food. Watched the 100 years of cinema light show – was ok. Headed to Lone Palm bar by the big lake for a few drinks, this bar is a great place to chill and people watch. The servers are great too, They poured a glass of wine, which wasn’t quiet a glass – so the bartender said he would get another bottle. Instead of topping up the glass he presented me with another full glass – now that is service! Also if you’re unsure of trying a draught beer ask the bartender and they’ll pour you a sample.

Decided on Hard Rock ORLANDO for dinner! The venue, food and service was amazing. Guess what we had? BURGERS!!! No chance of a wafer thin mint – we were truly stuffed.

Back to SeaWorld to do the bits we missed on the first visit. Manta had a 40 minute wait so we headed to Kraken, which was only ten minutes. This is a fab ride, poor old Hotdog was more nervous second time around. As we came off the ride we spotted the Sea Lions so headed over watch them – can’t believe how tame the birds are, though they are a bit of a menace stealing the Sea Lion’s fish!

Made our way to Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island show – great fun! Get there early – the pre show act is ingeniously hilarious! The super cynical Hotdog was laughing his head off!

Grabbed a bite to eat before making our way to Blue Horizons! This was even better second time round as we arrived early, our seats were smack in the middle of the arena, about half way up. Cannot stress how getting in early gets you the best seats! After the show we walked over to Manta – 10 minutes – yay! This was the ride we were NOT looking forward to! A Scottish chap said, “Going up is the scary bit”, and he was right. Manta is a brilliant ride, we got off and went straight back on!!!

After Manta we went to the Aquarium – look out for the leafy Sea Dragon’s! Amazing how you can miss so much at SeaWorld! We managed to fit in all the bits we missed and do some rides twice. Our day was done, picked up some souvenirs and hopped on the reliable Superstar Shuttle back to the hotel.

Since arriving in Orlando we have been determined to have an all American KFC bucket meal! This is something we never do back home, and the problem was deciding which one? We ordered 12 piece, which included a stack of chicken, a box of wedges, three mac & cheese’s (despite asking for mac & cheese, corn on the cob and a slaw), and finally a box of buttermilk biscuits – weird!!! This badboy bucket of chicken and sides must have weighed 3 kilos – Hotdog walked back to the hotel like a proud father cradling a new born baby!

Far too much food! We were well and truly stuffed, so we settled in for the evening with the TV and poured a large Kraken.