My overall thoughts? The parade was great, except for a few tiny hitches. The floats and costumes were great, and the story worked well. The biggest problem for me (other than the lakeside amphitheatre having no shade which I've always hated) was the audio. It may have just been because we were at the back, but the local microphones where so loud that they were barely intelligible and the soundtrack for the show was so quiet that you could barely follow the dialogue between songs. Turn down Patchy the Pirate and turn up the show audio and it would have been great. The other complaint from me was that the video on the Plankton float was entirely out of synch with the audio for the entire show. This totally ruined the illusion of what would be an amazing float. If not for those two serious flaws, it would have been a 9 out of 10 show. I was impressed and I hope Sea World try to fix these issues.
We also checked out the SpongeBob 3D and Beach Break Bay kids area. Both were pretty much as expected. It's been a while since I'd seen any 3D at Sea World, I did laugh at the plastic chairs inside the 3D theatre, but I guess it doesn't make a big difference. The show itself was alright. Beach Break Bay is really just a Sesame Street Beach without Sesame Street. My favourite attraction is what I call the shade ride.
During the week Sea World officially announced Dinosaur Island! A new attraction coming in June. While they haven't officially announced where this will be located, they have indicated it will be a new space. Rumours that it might be at least partially using the island with the Lighthouse on the main lake appear to be true. They have closed off the paths leading to the front and back of this "island", and appear to be replacing them. I grabbed a couple of shots of the front walkway (coming from the main path next to the paddle boats) being resurfaced, and of the construction walls next to the Dockside Tavern.
Highlights of the day included Dolphin Show, Penguins, Monorail and Jet Rescue (which had a medium sized but suprisingly slow moving line). Overall I must say that it was a wonderful day and I enjoyed it greatly!!
The Sea Viper is still undergoing extended maintenance. It continues to be sad to see the Bermuda Triangle looking completely untouched on the outside (although there could have been some work going on to the show building visible from the Monorail, but don't quote me). I'll leave you with a unfortunate photo of nothing happening.
