SeaWorld San Diego Tips
Last week, I took advantage of SeaWorld San Diego’s current deal for an adult ticket at the kid’s price ($55) plus a second day free. Since my son is under two, he got in for free both days. We had a blast. Here’s what we learned:
Shows
“Believe: The Spectacular Shamu Show,” which is indeed spectacular, is an obvious must-see at SeaWorld, even if you only catch the first five minutes of it while chasing your toddler up and down the bleacher stairs. Is it weird that I think killer whales are beautiful? Because I do. This show captures their beauty, contrasts it with their awesome power and adds the amazement of their training.
Unless the park is so crowded that you’re worried about getting a seat at all, there’s no need to follow everyone’s advice to get to the show at least half an hour early unless you really want to sit front and center. In my opinion, it works much better to just go in right before the show starts, especially for young children who won’t want to sit and wait a half hour. I suppose one parent could save seats for the family, but really you can see just fine from anywhere.
I thought Jack would really enjoy the “Pets Rule!” show, and I think he might of if it weren’t for the extremely loud music. I actually had to cover his ears. And, FYI, for the animal’s safety, once the pet show starts, you’re not allowed to leave. So, that was a fun 20 minutes.
The “Sea Lions LIVE” show is funny for older kids and adults, but relies very heavily on pop culture. Since Jack has no idea what CSI and American Idol are, he was not very interested.
The best show for toddlers and preschoolers is definitely the Sesame Street presents Lights, Camera, Imagination! 4-D movie. Jack didn’t want anything to do with the 3-D glasses, but happily watched the blurry 2-D picture. The 4-D aspect was neat, but scary to some younger kids and babies, as water shoots at you suddenly.
Sesame Street Bay of Play
I wish we had spent more of our time here instead of at some of the shows. This two-acre Sesame Street-themed play area has tons of stuff for younger kids to do. There are three rides: “Elmo’s Flying Fish,” ”Oscar’s Rocking Eel” and “Abby’s Sea Star Spin.” Kids under 48″ can ride these with an adult, but they were still a bit too much for my one-and-a-half-year-old son. There are some other parts of the play area with height restrictions, but there’s plenty for kids of any height to do, including a sand play area, a soft “pool” with soft blocks, nets to climb on, water fountains, tunnels and even an area to play musical instruments.
Note: Sesame Street Bay of Play opens an hour AFTER the rest of the park; so don’t plan on going there first thing.
Animal Exhibits
The animal exhibits are very nicely done. The highlights are definitely “Rocky Point Preserve,” ”Wild Arctic,” “Penguin Encounter” and “Manatee Rescue.”
At “Rocky Point Preserve” you can go right up to the dolphin pool. You can even pet and feed the dolphins for $6. I couldn’t believe that! I always thought you had to pay hundreds of dollars to get that close to a dolphin anywhere. There is an age requirement though (I think it’s 6?), so we’ll have to save that until Jack is older. The sea otters right next to the dolphins are also a must-see.
“Wild Arctic” has polar bears, walruses and beluga whales as you wind through a cool building with helicopters and boxes and stuff to make it feel as if you are on an arctic expedition. Jack loved the blinking red lights, of course. I was thrilled to be able to check off #51 on my bucket list to see a beluga whale, although I would still like to see one in the wild someday.
“Penguin Encounter” cracked me up. It was EXACTLY like the penguin enclosure in Happy Feet. They obviously based the enclosure in the movie on this one, but it was just funny to see something from a cartoon in real life. The penguins were funny too.
“Manatee Rescue” was Jack’s favorite. When he hears me telling someone about San Diego or SeaWorld, he immediately chimes in with, “Man-a-tee! Man-a-tee!” They were pretty darn cute. We saw two of them kissing a few times and another one was just floating around in circles, which Jack thought was hilarious. Expect a lot of questions if you have older kids, as these animals have been rescued and many have obviously been pretty mangled. This exhibit made me feel good about spending the money on the hefty entry fee, if even just a small part of it goes toward SeaWorld’s conservation and rescue efforts. Very cool.
Rides
There are several rides Jack and I didn’t go on, two because Jacks too little and two because they cost extra. “Journey to Atlantis” is part roller coaster, part water ride and looks like it would be a lot of fun. If you go as a family, you could take turns riding it while one parent stays at the “Bay of Play” with the kids. Same goes for the “Shipwreck Rapids,” which also looks really fun. On this one, you splash through rapids in a chair on a raft. For an extra $3 (or $5 for both), you can ride across beautiful Mission Bay in the “Bayside Skyride” or go up in the “Skytower” to see the San Diego skyline for up to 100 miles in every direction.
Finding your way around
The way SeaWorld is laid out makes no sense at all (at least to me), especially since they are doing construction right now right in the middle of the park. So to get from one side to the other, you have to go ALL the way around. Plus, all the signs are wrong thanks to the construction. We got lost over and over trying to get to the different shows. I wish we would have just done everything on one side and then the other instead of wandering around trying to find a specific exhibit or show.
Other SeaWorld tips
• Since SeaWorld is owned by Anheuser Busch, you can see the famed Budweiser Clydesdales here in addition to ocean life. You can also get a cold beer pretty much anywhere in the park.
• Be sure to check SeaWorld’s website or call about attraction closures before you go. I saw many excited people come up to the “Journey to Atlantis” ride, only to be terribly disappointed to find it closed for maintenance.
• Before we went, I heard all about the terrible, overpriced food, which I kind of expect at a park like this. We did have some not-so-great food, but we got some good pizza at Mama Stella’s at our last meal there. Next time, I’m only eating there.
• Expect to get wet. Bring ponchos if you want to sit up front at a show. Bring ziplock bags for your camera and phone, just in case. And bring swimsuits and swim diapers for the kids to splash around at the “Sesame Street Bay of Play.”
• Don’t forget the sunscreen! There is very, very little shade at SeaWorld.
• Speaking of the sun and heat, go to the left when you enter the park in the morning and save the right side for when it gets hotter. Then you can cool down at attractions like “Wild Arctic” and “Penguin Encounter” in the afternoon.
• Members of the military and up to three of their dependents can get complimentary admission for a single day in 2009. SeaWorld also does a nice tribute to members of the military at the beginning of the Shamu show.
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