Family Vacation to Gold Coast, Day 3 - Seaworld and Surfer Paradise Night Market

The kids woke up excited! I told them that we are going to find sea animals and DORA! Yes, though I am not so sure about the link between Dora the Explorer and SeaWorld, it is always a joy for kids to see their familiar favourite character.

The park open at 9.30am and we reached there 10minutes after it was open (cos the GPS nearly led us the wrong way!). There was already a queue forming when we reached there. As we have gotten a 6-month season pass through an online promotion which offer better rates and gave us access to the 3 Worlds ie Seaworld, Movieworld and Wet N Wild, we have to join the queue to exchange for our season pass.

Welcome to SeaWorld! It has been a decade since I was there with my parents and siblings

While queuing to change our season pass at SeaWorld entrance

I guess they have thousands of sea gulls in SeaWorld as they were everywhere in the park and they are not shy to snatch food from the visitors. I was playing hide and seek with one of them when I was enjoying my churros!

Our first stop! It was one of the must-watch performances for my kids. 

 

We were in time for the Meet N Greet with Dora! See how delighted Janelle was!

The boy need a while to warm up though as he clammed up when I brought him near to Dora. But yet he was very enthusiastic in waving goodbye to Dora before we left.

As we were early and there was another 30 minutes before the performance starts, the kids couldn't resist the kids' rides at the Kiddy world located next to the Dora's performance area.

First ride of the day. The kids sat inside the cabin while the parent or guardian was supposed to sit on the open seat. Spot the kids inside the cabin.

This is one of their favourite rides as they went on it at least twice.

 

There is a lever that the kid can pull so that we can fly up high. And my boy can do it by himself. Guess he wouldn't miss out on anything when it comes to play and fun.

See how engrossed the kids were during the Dora performance

Dora's Best Friend Adventure. The kids simply loved it!

I spotted this rainbow ice-cream during Dora's performance as a little kid was savouring it. Hence I simply had to get it after the show though it was still very early at 11am. Yes, I allowed the kids to have ice-cream early in the morning before lunch. Well, we were on vacation and there are no rules during a vacation right? It's all about experience and having fun!

Up close and personal with the beautiful dolphins

This girl was just so happy in the park that she started skipping and hopping in her stride and singing at the same time. I loved to watch her skip away as this meant that she was enjoying herself thoroughly.

Next was the SpongeBob ParadePants. The parade was spectacular and amazing with the extravagant floats, stunning water displays and thematic boats. Another parade not to be missed!

We also visited the Shark Bay to see the magnificent sharks, sting rays and other tropical fishes.

Another show that must not be missed, Imagine!

These dolphins are simply intelligent and amazing. We really have to protect and save the dolphins from being endangered.

Another ride that Janelle loved! The ride move up slowly and drop down in a slow pace. Jayven wanted to go on the ride too but he did not reach the minimum height limit. She went on this ride again before we left the park.

Happy shoppers!

We also brought the kids to Penguin Encounter and Polar Bears Shore so that the kids can learn more about the different animals.

The park is relatively big and it was challenging to cover every area and catch every performance with 2 kids in tow hence we decided to skip some animal enclosures and shows. The park closes early at 5.30pm and we left the park at 5.15pm before the skies turn dark.

We did research beforehand and knew that there is a night market at Surfers Paradise every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night. It took us a while to find the place as we were trying to google for the nearest car park to the market and we walked quite a distance to reach there. 

Finally! We reached the night market after a good 20 minutes walk

There are alot of stalls selling fashion and accessories, art pieces, handicrafts, beauty products and house wares. Nonetheless, the prices ain't exactly cheap considering that it is a night market. Not really for bargain hunters but more for treasure hunters and great for after-dinner walks.

The temperature was much colder at night but it felt good to walk along the beachfront with the cool breeze. We liked the place and decided to visit the beach again another day before we left.

It was the first night in Gold Coast where we gotten back to our apartment later than 9pm and everyone was exhausted after a long day out.