Sea World San Diego - 3/16/13

[clara]

For the boy's birthday, I decided to take a mini-vaca out to San Diego for a day at Sea World. I hadn't been there since 2000 and the boy had never been there.
The drive turned out to be pretty good with only a few spots of traffic. It turned out to be a 2 hour drive but without traffic can only take 1 ½ hours.

The hotel I chose was very nice and Hawaiian themed. (that reminds me I need to get on Hotels.com and give a review). We got upgraded to one of the nicer rooms on the top floor. Hence a great view from our balcony of the golf course. And every once in a while the Red Trolley would pass by which the boy enjoyed.

View from room balcony by amorain, on Flickr

Some of the Hawaiian theming and water falls around the hotel.

Mini water fall at hotel by amorain, on Flickr

Water pond in the hotel by amorain, on Flickr

Water display inside lobby by amorain, on Flickr

The next morning it was onto Seaworld. It was a cloudy day and a little chilly but I don't mind cold. Parking was very organized and we didn't park that far from the entrance.

Journey To Atlantis by amorain, on Flickr

Upon entry we were greeted with….

They are so fluffy!!! by amorain, on Flickr

Sky Tower by amorain, on Flickr

Then we waited for rope drop to get to Manta. This was the first rollercoaster the boy would be riding.

Waiting for Manta to open by amorain, on Flickr

On the way to Manta!

Huge Tree by amorain, on Flickr

Let's Ride Manta! by amorain, on Flickr

Manta by amorain, on Flickr

The boy didn't like it. He doesn't like going fast. I loved it!

So then after riding Manta it was time to touch some Manta Ray! Slimy!

Manta Pool by amorain, on Flickr

This shot below was an error but I actually like how it turned out. Looks like the Manta Ray is flying through the air!

Flying Manta! by amorain, on Flickr

Next, we went under to the under water viewing!

Underwater viewing hall by amorain, on Flickr

Manta Ray Belly by amorain, on Flickr

Then it was time for Dolphins

Dolphins and Trainers by amorain, on Flickr

IMG_0605 by amorain, on Flickr

Onto Shamu! We caught the first showing of One Ocean. Great show. But first we walked across the pathways over the Killer Whale Pools!
IMG_0614 by amorain, on Flickr

Before the show started, they showed a tribute to how the new Baby arrived.

IMG_0621 by amorain, on Flickr

Then it was show time! It was a very informative show. They explained how the whales respond to their trainers and how long trainers spend with the whales. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

IMG_0632 by amorain, on Flickr

IMG_0634 by amorain, on Flickr

Shamu by amorain, on Flickr

Waving Hello by amorain, on Flickr

Ta Da! by amorain, on Flickr

After the show we went to the under water viewing to see the new Baby.

ok ready? all together now!!!!!







AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Baby Shamu by amorain, on Flickr

The team member there was explaining how the baby learns to swim and how the mother teaches him (it's a boy). She also gave background on the mother. Fantastic stuff.

Some walking around after Shamu show. Merchandise was all over. I wanted this whole display of Shamus to take home and love!

Can I have them all please? by amorain, on Flickr

More walking onto the Animal Encounter. Many different types of animals to be seen. Some I've never seen up close before ever!

Flags by amorain, on Flickr

On the way, a team member had this.

Uh...that's close enough...blegh by amorain, on Flickr

I kept my distance.

Llama! by amorain, on Flickr

Armadillo by amorain, on Flickr

Porcupine by amorain, on Flickr

Then it was time for some Penguins! Yay!

Time for Penguins by amorain, on Flickr

King Penguins by amorain, on Flickr

Lunch Time! by amorain, on Flickr

Puffins! just as cute as their names

Puffins by amorain, on Flickr

Swimming Puffins by amorain, on Flickr

The exhibit drops us off right into this.

Can I take these home to? by amorain, on Flickr

I'll take them all please, k thanks!

Next was the Polar Bears.

On the way to the Polar Bears

Onto the Polar Bears by amorain, on Flickr

IMG_0701 by amorain, on Flickr

Artic Camp by amorain, on Flickr

Polar Bear made out of Plastic by amorain, on Flickr

But alas! they were cleaning and putting out more toys for the Polar Bear so the Polar Bear was in seclusion while the team members were doing that. No Polar Bears for us!

And apparently no Baluga Whales for us either!

No Beluga Whales for YOU! by amorain, on Flickr

So we moved onto the Walrus

I'm a Walrus by amorain, on Flickr

On the way out of the Polar Bear Exhibit, we decided to go back to visit the Penguins one more time. Can't get enough of those little guys. .

On the way back to the Penguins we noticed some of the Penguins were enhoying the sun

Penguins getting some sun by amorain, on Flickr

Swimming in the sun by amorain, on Flickr

More Penguins the 2nd time around

King Penguins stare by amorain, on Flickr

IMG_0722 by amorain, on Flickr

Turtle Time!

Its Turtle Time! by amorain, on Flickr

Bruce the Turtle by amorain, on Flickr

Upon Leaving the Turtle Exhibit.

Colorful Surfboards by amorain, on Flickr

Sharks are next!

Time for Sharks by amorain, on Flickr

On the way to the sharks.... by amorain, on Flickr

A certain musical theme always runs through my head when I look at this..

Du-nu- Du-Nu by amorain, on Flickr

Onto small aquatics….

Unhappy Fish by amorain, on Flickr

See Through Fish by amorain, on Flickr


Blue Frog Sees You by amorain, on Flickr

Then one of my favorite parts of this trip, next to the Shamu show, the Pets Rule show! All kinds of dogs, cats, pigs and even Kangaroos showed up to perform! They explained that all the animals were rescue animals. Even better

IMG_0804 by amorain, on Flickr

Pets Rule set by amorain, on Flickr

Fancy Feet Pig by amorain, on Flickr

Walking dog by amorain, on Flickr

Walking in between feet Cat by amorain, on Flickr

Kung Fu Pup! by amorain, on Flickr

And my favorites of the show,the cats! They jumped from high places and tight rope walked right side up and upside down!

Sky Diving Cat by amorain, on Flickr

Rope Walking Cat by amorain, on Flickr

Another Cat walker by amorain, on Flickr

The all the animals went crazy!

Kangaroos Emerge by amorain, on Flickr

Someone let the Hot Dogs Out! by amorain, on Flickr

Purty Bird... by amorain, on Flickr

So, then it was more walking around and playing some of the games in the arcade area and more of these

I want all of these! by amorain, on Flickr

Last thing on the agenda for the day was Dining With Shamu.

We had seats right at the side of the water, no zoom needed. It was a buffet with turkey and pasta and chicken nuggets for the kiddies and much much more

Time for Dining with Shamu! by amorain, on Flickr

Shamu Shaped Cookie by amorain, on Flickr

Basically, a trainer came out and explained the history of the whales that were currently in the pool and then the whales did some tricks.

Dining with Shamu by amorain, on Flickr


It's Me! Shamu!! by amorain, on Flickr

Shamu Food by amorain, on Flickr

This was funny. A bird had swooped down and proceeded to steal the Whales' fish.

"Uh..hello bird? You know that whale can swallow you whole right? Put the fish down slowly..."
�

Fish Stealing Bird by amorain, on Flickr

Then it was the final jumps from the whales...

Weeeee!! by amorain, on Flickr

And some showing off....


"Is this seat taken?" by amorain, on Flickr

Some fish for whales....

Feed Me...THAT BIRD WHO JUST STOLE MY FISH! by amorain, on Flickr


I Believe I Can Fly.... by amorain, on Flickr

And that was the end of the trip. It has started to sprinkle a bit so I was glad the day was over.

Overall, I want to try and make a trip out to SeaWorld an annual event. We had a great time.

Thanks for reading. Here is the Flickr Set for all the photos I took if you care to have a look. Sea World 3-16-13 - a set on Flickr

[penguinsoda]

I wondered if those waterfall shots were from the hotel! Those are so pretty... wish I had that in my backyard!

I love the pet show they do! You expect dogs to be trainable, but to see cats and pigs and other critters in the show.. amazing!

And of course... penguins....

Great shots, thanks for sharing your adventures with us!

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Part of this story seems fishy to me, but overall, I like the splash you made with your trip report.

[Poisonedapples]

you didn't say the name of the hotel. What was the name? I might wanna take my future husband their someday and he has a little girl..it be a nice family trip.. or go with my cousin and stay near San Diego for other things..

[KingEric]

What an INCREDIBLE Trip Report Clara! Glad to see you had a great time! I would love to hear some more of your thoughts on your SeaWorld experience!

[clara]

KingEric...I had meant to call the number you gave me, I just completely forgot.

What I really liked about Sea World and all the team members that worked there was that they were VERY knowledgeable on everything. I also liked that at the Shamu show, just before the show started, there was a presentation on how Sea World saves alot of stranded and lost marine life that end up near the shores of the west coast. They told the story of two animals, a dolphin and a whale that Sea World officials stepped up and helped to rescue. The story about the whale was good because they worked hard to dislodge some netting that had got caught in the whales mouth.

But along those same lines the Pets Rule show was my favorite also because every single animal that came out had been rescued and cared for personally. I like to hear that kinda stuff

[clara]

Oh and the hotel was Mission Valley Hotels: San Diego Area Hotel: Crowne Plaza Near SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo.

I'm sorry, I'm having lots of trouble posting on MC at the moment or I would have answered that a while ago.

[swampymarsh]

What do you mean the bird stole the fish?

From the whale food buckets, or when tossed into the air for the whale?

[clara]

From the food bucket. If you notice in the bird photo...he is standing on a cooler and inside are buckets that were filled with fish and ice. The bird was standing over the buckets just swallowing fish, one after the other. He got about 4 of them.

[swampymarsh]

How much did you get the hotel for?


Why only two pictures of dinner with Shamu, and I mean the food? I need some dinner inspiration.



Was Manta your only ride?

[swampymarsh]

Ok cause I saw this.

[QUOTE
It's Me! Shamu!! by amorain, on Flickr

This was funny. A bird had swooped down and proceeded to steal the Whales fish. ][/QUOTE]

And I'm think the Orca is having bird for dinner if it could jump a little higher.

[clara]

Swampy wants food porn! LOL He isn't satisfied with the Shamu Shaped Cookie! It was a buffet, I felt weird walking up there and snapping photos of the buffet. But it was pretty good stuff.

And I changed the way the bird stealing the fish looked along with the photo of Shamu jumping. No, he didn't try to eat him in mid air LOL

Manta was the only ride. The boy didn't want to do Journey to Atlantis and I didn't want to do Shipwreck Rapids as I didn't feel like getting wet.

Hotel was $261 for two nights through Hotels.com

[CreepyMonkey]

Awesome trip report Clara! I really enjoyed it.

[Dutchman]

Very nice, but I'm getting a feeling of deja vu...........

[clara]

Very nice, but I'm getting a feeling of deja vu...........

Hardy Har Har....you had me doing a double take .....