Monday, April 25th: SeaWorld, continued
After Shark Encounter, we decided it was time for a ride on the Sky Tower. This attraction was closed on our Christmas Day visit as it had suffered from some technical difficulties a few days prior which caused the ride to stop when in the air. When that occurred, guests were stranded for two hours, 200 feet up, before the capsule was able to be returned to the terminal. On our visit before that (August 2014), the capsule was encased in a special wrap in celebration of the park’s 50th anniversary, which made the view from many seats garbled and less than photo-worthy. Now that the wrap was removed and the technical issued remedied, we were ready for a spin on the tallest observation tower in Orlando
.
There was literally no one in line as we approached the queue, and the only wait we encountered was for the ride in currently process to conclude before we boarded. Not purchasing quick queue was definitely a good suggestion
……it wasn’t needed today whatsoever.
There is a photo location at the entrance to the ride which we have never seen staffed before today. We stopped and had our picture taken and added to our Photokey.
The doors opened and we were ushered inside. We took our seats in the lovely air conditioned pod and we began our ascent.
I love the views from up here….you can see every single part of the park as the capsule slowly rotates around.
While we knew it was quiet that day, we were kind of shocked to see how empty the parking lot was!!
No wonder there were no lines to speak of.
One quick photo as we exited to the Waterfront…..for some reason, this picture just speaks to me. I may have to use it as the screensaver on my laptop.
I was just about to ask the guys where they wanted to head next, but I didn’t even get the words out of my mouth when they informed me that the next thing we did was going to be all for me: they had appreciated my patience and good humour as they indulged in their coaster love for the early part of the day, and they wanted to reward me with the thing I was looking forward to most at SeaWorld this trip: the Pearl Dive
.
Picking a pearl and having it placed in a special setting has been on my Orlando to-do list since the very beginning. Despite the encouragement from Steve to experience it on our previous trips, I never allowed myself the splurge (it seemed so indulgent….I always thought those resources should be directed toward something we could all enjoy
together). This time, though, he was not taking no for an answer: he informed me long before we left on this vacation that this was what he wanted to do for me for our anniversary (which we would celebrate during the latter part of this trip….23 years!
). I couldn’t say no. So onward we went to the pearl dive tank.
We checked in with the hostess at the top of the stairs, who advised us that the pearl diver would be returning momentarily to help guests obtain their perfect oyster. We strolled down to the bottom of the tank to await her arrival. The floor was littered with multiple oysters and a host of sunken treasures
.
Within a few moments, down she came!
She happily gave the small gathering a photo-worthy pose:
The bubbly and energetic hostess, who wore a microphone and a large floppy hat, invited anyone who wished to take part in the pearl dive to make their way to the bridge at the top of the tank. The diver would swim up, chat with them for a moment, and bring up a selection of oysters from the sandy tank floor from which we could pick. Choosing an oyster, she reminded everyone, was $16.95 plus tax….but you were guaranteed a pearl.
Despite their insistence, I truly didn’t want this to just be “my” thing….I wanted the boys to be involved, too. So I encouraged them to join me for the oyster selection and all three of us made our way to the bridge.
We had a delightful little
get-to-know-you chat with the diver (ever notice how many times you're asked
"where are you from?" while on vacation in Orlando?), who then disappeared on a quest for the most awesomest of oysters!
This little duck flew in and kept us entertained while she was gone
.
She brought up two big handfuls of oysters of various sizes, colours and hairy-ness. She instructed us to pick out the oyster we liked best, put it into one of the small glass bowls, and take it to the hostess at the podium (who I could hear, on the microphone, was excitedly awaiting our arrival back at her little kiosk).
Steve and Jake encouraged me to do the oyster picking honours, but I explained to them that it would make the whole thing more special if they made the final selection…..I would pick the setting, of course, but I wanted the choice of the oyster....and the eventual pearl....to be their contribution to such a cherished gift. It would give it so much more meaning for me, and they understood those feelings….so they dutifully got down on their knees to evaluate the ugliness of each individual shell. When they finally decided on just the right one, we plopped it in the bowl and made our way to the Pearl Dive hostess station.
I have to say, this is quite an entertaining production. The hostess was super fun, high-energy, and really made the experience a memorable moment and a BIG DEAL. She excitedly encouraged other guests to gather round to witness the ceremonial opening of the oyster, and a surprising number of people all formed a semi-circle around us to watch her animated show.
She handed us a wand which she explained was essential to the ceremony. She asked one of us to come forward to say the magic words and wave the wand above the oyster before it was opened. Jake took a pass on the opportunity, but Steve was quick to accept the task.
Then began the big reveal:
As she pried open the shell, we were assured that no oysters were harmed as a result of the pearl dive experience: the oysters, she explained, were already dead
. I am not sure if that made me feel better or worse?
Finally, our treasure was unveiled! A beautiful 7mm white pearl
. The pearl colour and size were both excitedly announced to the crowd and the hostess led everyone in a big cheer
.
We took the pearl into the adjacent jewellery shop where they provided us with the options for settings. For those that didn’t want the pearl placed in earrings, a necklace or a ring, they had other lovely non-jewellery options such as a tiny box in the shape of Shamu. So cute. I had already known, before we visited, that I wanted to have the pearl set in a ring, so the decision was quite easy to make as that only left me with two options
(note to readers…..SeaWorld’s shop doesn’t offer nearly the vast amount of settings as the Disney and Universal pick-a-pearl locations, if that’s important to anyone). I made my selection, was fitted for the correct ring size, then proceeded to the cash to pay for both the oyster selection and setting costs while the jeweler went to work.
SeaWorld had this special offer for pass members currently which we happily took advantage of:
https://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/passmembers/exclusives-and-events#promo2
The normal pass member merchandise discount was 10%, so this increased our savings by an additional 15%......which would be substantial on this larger purchase. It made the Shoppers Card a smart buy, and we could still use it on all other gifts and souvenirs throughout the balance of our vacation…so the savings would continue to add up. They applied the 25% discount to both the oyster purchase and the setting, bringing the total cost of the entire experience to a very reasonable $82.55 ($9.95, no tax, for the Shoppers Card and $72.60 for the pearl, setting and tax).
And this was the finished product:
The jeweler advised me that I shouldn't wear my beloved treasure for at least 5 hours, to give the setting time to dry and hold. They put the ring in a little mesh bag, which I tucked safely into a small padded pouch in my camera bag....that seemed the most cushion-y place to store it while we finished out the balance of our day at the park.
I think this was turning out to be one of my favourite SeaWorld days, ever
. And there was still so much more to go.
.
.
. It's the little things that mean so much!
Now I know something I definitely want to do at Sea World!
Does it come with any kind of warranty? I would worry that the pearl would pop out of the ring setting.
.
.
(just kidding!).
. 
) address it by amping up your game, not with a punch to the face. Issues aren't....or shouldn't be....solved that way in my world. In the end, what did that accomplish? I don't think anyone came out looking good from that whole mess. But what do I know, I'm just a Mom and I can't help but expect everyone (especially grown men) to have a little class. And yep, that goes for the players on "our" teams as much as the competition.
..
