Posted by Picture wall…INCOMING!
I arrived a little after 6 AM. It took me a bit to get changed, caffeinated, and woken up enough to grab my rental car from Enterprise.
I was, as usual, amazed by how lovely the Orlando Airport is in terms of architecture!
Got on the tram…
And look how lovely it is!
But you know what else is lovely? Delta’s biscoff.
OK, let’s go grab the economy car from Enterprise! As we head to the rental garage, we get to witness this lovely water feature. The first of many.
After that, I took the rental car over to the Hampton. The Sonata was pretty nice. But none of its ports were compatible with my phone and the gear shifting was weird. It was the only car in the row though that didn’t smell like cigs.
The staff at the Hampton were able to store my luggage, thus saving my MacBook from a hot dark-colored car sitting in the Florida spring heat.
I grabbed breakfast at the 7-11 (sorry, I think this is the last one with a bite out of it, eww!) and speed-walked over to SWO.
HOLY CRAP THERE IT IS!!!
Gotta fly past all of the annoying slow walkers. Gross. But yes, I was on time almost to the second and saw the ropes drop before my very eyes!
It’s so beautiful! 🥹
For the first ride of the day I headed to Manta, which I’ve wanted to ride ever since I was small. We had to wait 5 minutes to get in line, and then we got to the front, and…It closed and they kicked us out of line.
But at least we got some nice photos.
Now, what new roller coaster credits are on the list for today…Manta, Mako, Kraken, Penguin Trek, Pipeline, Grover’s, Ice Breaker, and Atlantis.
And Atlantis is closed, so we will have to get it next year. Sadge.
No Manta, ok. We head to Kraken and…It’s not open yet.
Aaaand Penguin Trek is down too. We are out FOUR coasters. Starting to regret the red-eye right about now.
lmao
Nice merch eh? I got a hat instead though.
Finally, Kraken opened and I got to ride it! I almost grayed out as I was quite tired. I took this as a sign to drink more water. It was a solo trip so I could pee as often as I wanted.
After that, I WANT to say Manta opened and I went on it. Or maybe I did Mako first then went back. Can’t remember, but! Dream fulfilled! Manta was awesome but the pretzel loop was almost as intense as Tatsu’s and I almost had a red-out. Eyup. MORE WATER!
sooooo. Mako next. I saw the shark reef and made a note to come back in the evening!
Mako was nothing short of…almost perfect? The airtime felt wonderful. We just flew over that lake and the little patch of grass next to it was so pretty. This coaster is glass smooth.
shork. Shonk
I then arrived at Infinity Falls. Yep, you guessed it. It wasn’t open. Who is running this place? Are there even any employees?
You may also note how empty this park looks. Yep, it was dead. The Seven Seas food festival happens Thursday through Sunday each week around this time of year, so being there on a Wednesday was probably why the crowds were pretty light.
Also, there’s a 5K going on soon. Too bad I’ll be back in Utah. The first 3 finishers get SeaWorld season passes for free D:
Then I saw a nice-looking pizza place. Dockside Pizza. It was too early for lunch though and wasn’t open yet.
holy CRAP these views are beautiful. Ok, I’ve changed my mind the red-eye was 100% worth it 😍
Ice Breaker made me pay $4 for a locker. I think it’s probably better to just suck it up and pay $12 for all day because Infinity Falls and Penguin Trek also made me use one.
I sat in the back row of Ice Breaker. Altogtether a nice and fun experience. I love the bidrectionality of it. Vaguely reminiscent of Electric Eel at SWSD with how it only launches you partway at first, but like…an extremely toned down version with no inversions.
(I LOVED Electric Eel. My dad did not.)
Ah, what’s that on the horizon? PIPELINE! Just like what I was paid to work on for a year at DreamWorks. Ha, ha, ha. I’m not funny.
This was a very interesting coaster. It’s only my second stand-up credit, coming after Riddler’s Revenge. My feet kept coming off the platform and the sensation kinda freaked me out a little. However, this is 100% by design and I’m sure I’ll get used to it as I make more SeaWorld trips in the future.
Such an aesthetic ride.
After that, I went to ride Super Grover’s Boxcar Derby! No issues here. A fun chill family ride.
Alexa, play Lunch by Billie Eilish.
This was really good! Fair warning though, the sodas are NOT unlimited refills (you get 1) and for those of you who like to steal soda using water cups, you actually can’t.
How? The magic of QR codes. You have to scan the QR code on the soda cup to make the machine work. And it only fills about 2 cups before it expires. Also, if some lady doesn’t realize this and starts getting soda when you just scanned your QR, you’re SOL. Not that this happened to me or anything. She was very apologetic once I stopped her. Eh, I only needed 1.5 cups of soda anyway.
I normally love the intersection of CS and theme parks, and I think stealing soda is idiotic, but this system is for chumps.
The souvenir bubbles are overflowing.
dang bro
QT!!! But I ain’t got room in my suitcase for that. Well, I won’t after all my Disney shopping. They are going to get smooshed. 🙁 I instead ended up getting a tiny little keychain shark from Mako.
Penguin Trek isn’t operating just yet but we can go chill in Antarctica for a bit I guess.
do you guys wanna see some penguins? (Note: Penguin Trek dumps you into this exhibit when you exit so you don’t need to see it separately. I didn’t know this. Would be a lot cooler if you could see them while on the ride.)
Wow what a small room. I’m feeling a little claustrophobic. Ho, ho, ho. 🎅🏻🎅🏻
Inside this next room, it is FREEZING and smells like POOOOOP
🎶 They know I’m the sh*t, I wonder if I smell 🎶
they are just chilling
and so are we. Seriously, it’s very cold in here. Feels good with the Florida heat…for the first 5 minutes. Overall, I’m glad SWO is taking care of their very stinky penguins.
A stinky family
Pictures, of people taking pictures, of people taking pictures, of —
Eww, they are Fr*nch 🤢🤢🇫🇷🇫🇷🥐🥖🥖🎨👨🏻🎨
We’ll forgive them though because they’re cute.
Now it’s time to watch the dolphin show! This is about where I started to realize how exhausted I was.
After that, I finally made it on Penguin Trek! This was a fun family coaster. Some nice launches. I feel like they could have leaned more into the penguin theming though. It’s just not a whole lot.
And then I had to screenshot my location, because HOLY CRAP WE ARE AT SEAWORLD ORLANDO!
I was starting to overheat though. I needed to get some cool drinks, caffeinate, and then take a midday break over at Fun Spot. Decided on Kissimmee since I already had all the credits at Orlando.
So I got a nice cool mango-based tropical smoothie at Rita’s! It was excellent.
Heading out for now, but we will be back in the evening for dinner and some more rides! Especially Infinity Falls!
It had a 75-minute wait and I was hoping it would shorten later. Spoiler alert, it did.
Yay, fun shark dude!
I hope they’re not too hot in there
To leave and re-enter, you need to get an arm stamp when you exit followed by re-scanning your ticket when you go back in.
What a pleasant walk back to the Hampton and my rental car, with only a few hours until check-in! Hooray! One thing I like about Florida is that there are all these random swamps everywhere. Just like smack dab in the middle of the city. It won’t be as funny though when a sinkhole opens up under you and you end up in an early, watery, mosquito-filled grave. 🦟🦟🦟
But anyway!
Went to the CVS and…Doth mine eyes deceive me? FINALLY, I can try the Posty Oreos! They were really good.
Not pictured: The Gatorade Fast Twitch I used so I could drive safely despite being tired. Woke me right back up.
Yes, I’m a Hilton snob. I LOVE Hamptons. One boring, clean, comfy hotel room, with nice cold AC, coming right up after this quick credit run at Fun Spot! 😀
I started off with this BANGER playlist on the 20-minute drive over. Yep, just the same 6 songs lol. It was what I felt like listening to at the time.
This sight greets you when you park. UNGA BUNGA look at that beautiful piece of engineering 😍😍
Anyway.
The arcade had some nice selections for all your gaming needs.
Man I forgot about that show.
Ah yes I love getting hit in the face with flying hockey pucks
I took a quick tour around the park and eventually decided on the 4-ride sampler for a quick credit run. Pictured above is Galaxy Spin.
Ah, Mine Blower!
Noice.
Mine Blower was….A very rough ride. But it was fun! Especially the inversion! A pretty unique ride. Even so, I think I prefer White Lightning at the Orlando location. I was the only person on the train. Must be in the FRONT ROW!
Yep, a kiddie credit. Let’s get this over with.
It’s kinda painful. You go around two times. Whee. Oh no it’s going up a third time please no — oh okay never mind we’re good. This was the only ride that I rode with other people.
Went ahead and rode Galaxy Spin next. I was once again the only person on it. The operator asked me if I wanted to spin a lot. Hell yeah I do. So he sat me in the corner and I absolutely did!
Fun mouse spinner, for sure. Spider at Lagoon is still the superior attraction. Not as painful when you hit the unbanked turns.
Hmm, this thing is kinda cool.
Now it’s time to ride Hurricane, which means we have to walk all the way through Old Town Kissimmee to get to it. Fun Spot Kissimmee is spread out between two locations. All right let’s do it.
I kinda wanted to do this screaming swing, Hot Seat, but I only had 4 rides and I really needed the creds. Next year! The one in Orlando is great too!
also that skycoaster is the tallest one in the world. (!!!) I do not like things with bungees though, and I don’t want to pull a ripcord 200 feet in the air to start a freefall when I’m all by myself. NNNNNOPE! I did the one in Orlando under immense peer pressure and I really had to pee the entire time.
Pretty! Again, I want to come back and do these flats.
All right, to Old Town we go.
A lovely water feature.
Man, this is cool! And almost completely deserted. I assume it picks up at night when the big rigs close.
WAIFU STORE WAIFU STORE
I went in here after Hurricane to pick up some Genshin, Pokemon, and MLP merch.
There we go! Hurricane! This park is dead, just like my dreams.
Hmm…This actually looks kinda janky. Am I going to die before I get to ride Tiana’s? Or maybe end up in the news? BREAKING: solo rider on Florida roller coaster PLUMMETS TO HIS DEATH
Nah, I’ve been to way jankier carnivals than this and came out with nothing more than bruises. Apparently, God in his infinite spite sees fit to keep me alive for some horrible reason.
Um, where’s the ride operator? OH! She’s walking over from another ride lol. She’s gonna operate this death trap just for me! She’s a really sweet lady with a cute southern accent. Omg. If that cute drawl is the last voice I hear, I’ll die with a terrified expression on my face because I’ll be falling to my untimely death and that’s kind of how it works.
Actually, the first drop was super fun! Rest of the ride was a bit rough, but I had a grand old time.
Was seriously tempted to play Halo here. I suck at Halo. But no. INFINITY FALLS awaits. Also it’s almost check-in time.
After shopping at waifu store I went back to my car. Well I tried to buy some Fun Spot merch but they had no shirts in my size. Sadge.
Again, so pretty. Makes me think of…Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely. I love those lyrics.
peace out, Mine Blower. It’s been real, but this skinny sweaty man needs to check into the Hampton.
Room 408, coming right up. Oh and parking isn’t free at Hampton SWO. That’s my pass on the bed. It used to be though. Sucks to suck.
nice little work station
The shower doesn’t have a bath. Lame
The gym has this nice cable machine with almost no attachments, rendering it largely useless. But it also has an included pull-up bar!
Actual dumbbells! Also the gym isn’t 24h. Why when there’s no one to monitor it, I have no idea. Maybe they think the noise will wake people up. It’s like 6 am to 11 pm or midnight I can’t remember.
well, tomorrow’s lift will be nice.
Goodbye, my lovely rental. It’s time to walk to SeaWorld again.
Yay!
Yep I bought the athletic hat.
Hiiii Manta!
Dinner at Chik-Fil-A. Spicy chicken sandwich, no pickles, waffle fries, cookies and cream shake. Hell yeah dude.
yassss
Aquarium time! :3
Pyjama? Love
Awesome tunnel!
It’s Mako time again!
No line.
next, Infinity Falls, with only a 20-minute wait!
I got a little wet
just a little
🏊♂️
Ok same shots but this is such a pretty ride. Yes, you can go down solo and they’ll just put you with some smaller groups.
Lovely views of the flamingo boats.
I was considering the orca show, because I love Shamu, but the prospect of marathoning Mako was too tempting to pass up. We rode it maybe 10 times in a row, me and a bunch of people. Almost zero line. We rode over and over again and didn’t even have to leave our seats. We all cheered every time we came through the station. The sunset over the lake was beautiful. Holy hell that was a moment that I’ll remember for the rest of my days.
Love that final stretch.
Oh look my Fun Spot wristband.
yep, LROTN on Mako is the perfect way to end a fantastic day at SWO! You’d better believe I’ll be back.
After they finally kicked us off a few minutes after official park closing, I helped a family take photos here. Even as a shy and socially awkward computer nerd, it’s amazing that I can connect with so many people through the joy of theme parks.
Noooo I don’t want to leave! 🙁 well actually yeah I do I’m exhausted lol. Also my neck hurts now.
sadly, all good things must come to an end…But the Hampton is cozy and cool. I went right in, showered, did a brief study and creative session, got ready for bed…and had the best sleep I’ve had in years.
The final view of the night. 🙂
But you know what’s in store for tomorrow. That’s right, a nice workout, the RunDisney expo, and BLIZZARD BEACH!!!