Fun and Sun, but mostly Stars, in San Diego

[CaptPhoebus]

Having a few free days from work, what better than to take a relaxing trip down to San Diego and spend some time with some good friends and enjoy some of the local attractions. Please check out Part 1 of my trip, in the Weekend Update, as I check out the seaside attraction that is Belmont Park Amusement Park. Part 2, listed below, is the World Famous San Diego Zoo. Coming in for Part 3, Cirque de la Mer at SeaWorld. And lastly, Part 4, SeaWorld San Diego, will be coming up soon, when I get time to finish processing the pics.

Quicklinks to various sections
Part 1- Belmont Park (Weekend Update article).
Part 2 - Scroll down
Part 2.5 - Elephant Odyssey (Weekend Update article)
Part 3 - Cirque de la Mer
Part 4 - SeaWorld San Diego at Night

So let's begin, or more appropriately, jump right in the midst of things.

Part 2:
The World Famous San Diego Zoo

The new Elephant Odyssey entrance


Tar pits, in San Diego? Okay, maybe not actually, or are there? You be the judge.


The only kitty you can "safely" play with


Amazing what you can do with a little Play-Doh and some metal wire.


You care to dance?


The only thing missing would be the herd of zebras guarding the sleeping lion. (Feel free to insert your own awesome Jungle Cruise reference here)


And here we have a MiceChatter doing what they do best, taking lots of pictures of course.


Why do I feel like singing Tom Jones? *HINT* you might throw off his Groove


I've heard of Siamese twins, but Siamese Camels?


I promise I'll behave next time


These new hand puppets are sure amazing


Rixter in the wild




Does anyone else find this to be a bit creepy and disturbing?


Don't you dare touch my potato sack. I'm watching you!


Don't you just want to snuggle on up too?


A Giant soda and a bench? Must be a Monorail Man sighting


Talk about crane-ing your neck


Wait, am I supposed to blow bubbles and wiggle my ears first?





Hey, I'm sensing a disturbing theme here.


Amusing little sign


Obligatory Skyfari shots




Aren't you ever going to finish that?


Stay tuned for more highlights. Same MiceThread, same MiceForum.

[Goover]

Omg I love the pictures of the monkeys!! Go monkeys go!

[Coheteboy]

Haha way to go! Great TR so far!

[DisneyFan28]

Cool TR so far!

[NeverNeverland]

Oh the new elephant place looks good!
Ad the Skyfaries!
Loving it.

[yoyoflamingo]

Loved the zoo when we last visited CA, even if the skyway was closed, the new elephant exhibit wasn't open yet, and we didn't get to see the polar bears....that zoo is huge!!

Just another excuse to go back I guess.

[Dustysage]

More, more, more!!!

What did you think of the new Elephant Odyssey? It looks like it takes up the whole back side of the park.

[aashee]

Very cool stuff. I haven't been there in years.

[CaptPhoebus]

Originally Posted by Dustysage

More, more, more!!!

What did you think of the new Elephant Odyssey? It looks like it takes up the whole back side of the park.

I found the new exhibit to be a great new addition to the park. The layout of it all is pretty massive, but it's all pretty much built on almost level ground, which is definitely a plus in the Zoo. It stretches around the perimeter of the park from near where the back Skyfari station is all the way around to where the Meerkats and the Botanical House is. The elephant enclosure itself is a vast improvement over the old section where they were kept. It definitely allows them a lot more freedom of movement, as well as having their own dedicated Care Center. And, yes, the bus tour does include this new exhibit area on it's route. My only big concern about the exhibit is that throughout the entire area, there was a rather lack of shade, unlike the rest of the park where it's nice and green. However, for 90% of the days in San Diego, it's not that bad of a problem.

And as for the the rather lack of pictures now of the new exhibit, I promise there will be more. But you'll just have to wait until Saturday morning and the Weekend Update.

[NeverNeverland]

CP, what did they do with the old elephant area?

[CaptPhoebus]

It's now the rhino enclosure.

[Disney1978]

The chimp caption = perfect! It looks like he just did the eye point too.

Great TR. Please continue. I wanna see how much soda MM will drink. Do you recover Rixter from the wild?

[CaptPhoebus]

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, and in order to move this trip report along, I'm going to be posting a copy of my Weekend Update article here, which should be in next week's edition. So for those of you who want to be surprised, please click here to jump to Part 3, and my documenting of Cirque de la Mer at SeaWorld (should be up Sunday evening, Monday morning at the latest). All links will be provided on the first post of this thread for easy navigation.





Now for those of you still with me, please act surprised when you check out the next edition of the Weekend Update, and see this article, for the first time *WINK WINK*

Part 2.5
Elephant Odyssey

Now no visit to San Diego isn't complete unless you make a stop at the World Famous San Diego Zoo. Definitely plan on spending the day here as it's very easy to get lost here spending time checking out all the trails and paths and how all the exhibits are so seemingly easily laid out amongst each other. Though take note, the Zoo is basically in a canyon, and while it might be easy to get down to the lower areas, it's not so easy to get back uphill quickly. This trip to the World Famous San Diego Zoo is going to be more focused on it's newest exhibit area, Elephant Odyssey.

The World Famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California is one of the largest and most progressive zoos in the world with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species. It is also one of the few zoos in the world that houses the giant panda.[1] It is privately operated by the nonprofit Zoological Society of San Diego on 100 acres (0.40 km2) of parkland leased from the City of San Diego, and ownership of all animals, equipment and other assets rests with the City of San Diego.
Wikipedia

Elephant Odyssey
This exhibit opened on May 26, 2009 in the area once known as Hoof and Horn Mesa. The main feature of the exhibit is the 2.5-acre elephant habitat--more than 3 times the size of the Zoo's former elephant exhibit. The herd includes one male and six females and blends the Zoo's herd of one African and two Asian elephants with the Wild Animal Park's four Asian Elephants. Elephant Odyssey also features a glimpse of the past with the Fossil Portal and life-size statues of ancient creatures of Southern California next to the exhibits of their modern-day counterparts. The ancient life represented include the Columbian Mammoth, the saber-tooth cat, the American lion, the Daggett's eagle, and the Giant Ground Sloth. Elephant Odyssey's other animal exhibits include African lions, jaguars, tapirs, guanacos, tree sloths, Secretary birds, dung beetles, turtles, frogs, camels, pronghorn, horses, rattlesnakes, and for the first time at the Zoo, the California condor.
Wikipedia

The fastest way to the new exhibit, Skyfari of course.




Welcome sign


The first area you encounter focuses on California's past animals






Past meets present in the next exhibit area. Now who's a pretty kitty.






Half of the new elephant enclosure




Tree of Life? You be the judge


At the end of the exhibit, the graceful California Condors


And lastly, here's a few selected shots from the park:
Meerkats


Gorilla


Bonobo


One of the many trails to explore, doesn't it just look peaceful

[CaptPhoebus]

Part 3:
Cirque de la Mer (SeaWorld)

In case you are just tuning in
To access Part 1, click here.
And Part 2, click here.

A whole section, just for one show? Yes, because it's strong enough to be able to stand on it's own (and it doesn't fit the theme of the next part of the TR). Not to mention that the show has now ran it's production for the year, and will (hopefully) return next year for the summer season. It was worth while to document one of the last shows of the year.

This show, deriving it's name from that more famous show company, tries to carryout something that has the same kind of production value, with the added benefit of water. With the use of pole climbers, aerialists, strongmen, tumblers, and clowns they do a fairly successful job in capturing some of that energy into a productive show.

The symbol


The stage


The premise of the show is about a pageant put on to honor the first human visitor to the mysterious realm of Amphibia.

The opening act. Pole climbers






The clowns (acting like MC's) lead the human visitor to their home


Not sure if they're technically members of the amphibian family, but Strongmen lead the next act








Taking to the sky in the next act, aerialists perform their feats at a respectable height












One of the clowns calling for the last performance


Salamander Tumblers (though they sure don't seem to look as cute as Tumble Monkeys)








Even the visitor is able to tumble around






The performers taking their bows.




For a 25 minute show, they definitely put out a lot of energy into each performance. Not to mention a show of this caliber to be included in park admission for no additional cost, talk about a plus to the guest.

Stick around guys, I promise to have the last part up within the next day or two. So please come back to check it out. It's definitely worth it.

[CaptPhoebus]

Part 4 (and Final):
SeaWorld at Night

In case you are just tuning in
To access Part 1, click here.
Or Part 2, click here.
Or Part 3, click here.

Is there any better way to wind down a night than to spend it with all our marine world friends down at SeaWorld? Does SeaWorld even have enough to offer to fill an entire evening? The mission before me, should I choose to accept it, was to spend an entire evening at SeaWorld and manage to stay until closing while still having a good time. This rambling will now self destruct in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...... On with the show.

So having gotten our orders, a trip up the SkyTower was deemed necessary to gain a better foothold of the park's layout.


After gaining our bearings, it was decided to hit the Night show Ignight, starring those lovable dolphins. Not to mention those perky trainers, like *checks scribbled names on hands* Candy. (For the 3 of you who get this, thank you for laughing)

Unfortunately, it seemed that we took a wrong turn and ended in the predator tank with the sharks.




We make a narrow escape, and find ourselves only a few feet from our target destination, Dolphin Stadium.






However, between all the spinning lights, fire, and a lot of waving blue LED sticks, caused a kind of hypnotic effect amongst the entire audience. Well, here's the proof, if you don't believe me:










Luckily these effects were only temporary, lasting what seemed like a mere moment, and the show seemed to progress as normal.


Maybe he can illuminate us on what to see after the show




*Note: This is the stadium where they will be putting Blue Horizons into next year. And with the Dolphin Discovery show closing after Labor Day, this nighttime show may also be on the chopping block for next year. I can only speculate as Ignight has no counterpart in either of SeaWorld's other properties. So hurry on down here, before it's too late.

ANALYSIS: I found the show to be quite enjoyable. It was more theatrical in nature, than it's daytime counterpart. There seemed to be a lot less jumping, and more "choreography" with the dolphins. Not to mention clever use of lighting, and fire. Quite a bit of it too. I'd definitely go see this show again.

After finding success at our first "stop," we decided to find something a bit less colorful, and a bit more black and white. Sorry penguins, but we'll just have to visit you another day. It's onward, to the Orca tanks, home to that lovable character, Shamu: the Killer Whale.

Does Shamu Rock?


Is he ever going to show?


What's going on, did we miss him?


Oh look, there he is


And he's there...


And there, acting like a platform? What's going on here....


3 "Shamus?" Hey, that's cheating guys. Shame on you.


ANALYSIS: Again, found this show as well to be as a whole better than it's daytime counterpart. No overdrawn story to make you believe in, no need for to be completely soaking the audience, and it doesn't have a merchandise tie in. This show is all about movement, and music, which play into each other quite nicely. The music doesn't overpower the show, nor do the animal trainers, and they definitely let the whales be the star of this show.

After two quite enjoyable shows, we found ourselves trying to REMEMBER, what our mission was again. Do we BELIEVE it's possible to make it until park closing? Is this truly going to be a MAGICAL evening after all?

*FIREWORK INTERLUDE*




Finding ourselves parched, we set out to find a vending machine to quench our thirst. After finding what we believe to be a good deal and lots of choices to boot. See look, they even stock Pepsi


Hey wait a minute, just what kind of fishy business are they trying to pull here


After enjoying those tasty beverages, we grab the nearest seats, which happen to be at the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium and see that they are getting ready for another rousing edition of Sea Lions Tonite. Tonight's show was all about spending the day at SeaWorld, let's watch and see what happens.

Arriving at the park


Some of the amazing acrobatics over at Cirque de la Mer


As if the park didn't have enough of these already...


*END TRANSMISSION*

Well it seems like we lost our feed over at Sea Lions Tonite, but I hope you were able to get a glimpse into that show and maybe you can catch it at a later showing.

ANALYSIS: Highlight of the evening. How many shows can get away with making fun of itself, and of it's neighboring shows, and still be successful? They do a good job on highlighting the park itself, in a fun and joking matter, that you would be surprised to expect. I recommend getting there early to catch the pre-show as well.

And on that note, the park bell chimes announcing that it's closing. Was the mission a success? Is one able to enjoy the night at a marine park? I think the pics speak for themselves.

Thanks everyone for following my adventures down in this wonderful city called San Diego. I hope you enjoyed it.

*NOTE* Check out the Weekend Update in the coming weeks for a few more shots of these shows, and more.