It was the last day of our USA holiday and I wasn't going to leave without seeing the famous California Sea World.
It had been a long day already with a morning trip over the border to Tijuana, so it was getting on to 4.30pm when we pulled up at the Sea World carpark. It was Sunday afternoon of Memorial Weekend and crowds of people were pouring out of the park with their tired looking kids in tow.
I think we timed it quite well as it turned out as the park seemed less crowded than I had been anticipating.
As this was the beginning of the late night season, we were in for a few hours of fun but didn't think we would be there quite as long as we were. There was just so much to see and do that we found ourselves heading back to the car around 11pm.
We balked a bit at first over the ticket price of $42.50 each ... this is US$ folks and with a dreadful exchange rate at the time of (US) $1 = (NZ) 40c it was very, very costly.
By the end of the night though we felt that we had got every last cents worrth of value for our money.
What we saw. ==========
The Dolphins Show. --------------------------
This was great fun and was the first show of the day. We headed high up into the viewing stand as I didn't fancy sitting in the Splash Zone. I imagine it would be very refreshing ( not to mention fun) to sit there on a hot summers day but in the cool evening air I didn't fancy getting soaked through to the skin.
The show was loads of fun with dolphins jumping ropes and leaping to great heights doing all sorts of stunts. The funniest part was a bit of a set up with what we thought was a member of the crowd. A pygmy whale was the star feature at the time when the hapless tourist(???) had a bit of a mishap and ended up in a very compromising position indeed. Hilarious and loads of fun.
Wild Arctic Adventure. ---------------------
This was fun. We took the Virtual Ride option and found ourselves racing along in a helicopter over the arctic ice. The ride was great with lots of whoops and twists, turns and a few surprises thrown in.
If you are not up too all the excitement you can enter the Arctic Adventure the ordinary way ... through the door. Just make sure to check what line you are in.
Once we 'landed' we wandered through the exhibit past huge tanks with such delights as walrus, beluga whales, polar bears. The viewing areas are huge and there are a few interactive things to do along the way.
Pirate Movie ----------------
This had just opened when we visited so I'm not 100% it still there but if it is ... make sure to see it.
I had seen 3-D movies before but this was my very first 4-D one and it was a blast. The movie was a nice childfriendly pirate adventure but the real fun parts were the 4-D effects. When the cannon explodes in your face you can feel the rush of wind as the cannon ball rushes past your ear. When the seagulls are swooping overhead you are suddenly aware of a wet patch on your head and so on.
Everybody in the theatre enjoyed themselves and it was well worth taking the time to see it.
Shamu Show --------------------
Most definitely the highlight of Sea World. Shamu is the Killer Whale who performs with the trainer in a stunning show. We arrived about 15 minutes before the show was due to start so headed to the observation tanks and watched two of these magnificent creatrues at close quarters.
They were coming right up to the viewing glass and checking everybody out just as much as we were checking them out.
We headed in to get a seat, once more heading high up and safe from the Splash Zone. The warm-up got us all hyped up and by the time Shamu exploded onto the scene doing leaps and bounds the crowd was just about worked up into a frenzy. It all added to the fun of the show though.
The show was excellent with lots of moments of GASP making stunts. The huge killer whale was like putty in the hands of the trainer and they seemed to have a nice bond happening.
Those that hung out in the Splash Zone paid the price as Shamu was happy to splash everyone with his massive flippers whenever asked to.
--------------------------- We left there and wandered around viewing more of the exhibits. The sea otters had gone to sleep by now and even though their area was quiet and darkened we still got to sit queitly and admire them as they bobbed around, fast asleep, on their backs.
We checked out the stingrays and sharks and spent ages enjoying the manatees.
We headed over to the food court area for something to eat to find that most places had already closed down for the night. We managed to find pizza and coffee and sat back and enjoyed the fireworks display. it went for a good 10 minutes and was a great way to finish the night.
...or so we thought....
As we were heading to the exit we were drawn by the sound of music to a stage. The band 'Dr Feelgood 'were entertaining the good sized crowd with and we spent the rest of the night here enjoying the show till the end.
As we left the park there was a huge oversized polar bear in pyjamas posing for Goodnight photos with the customers. This was a nice touch and the kids were really loving it.
We eventually left the park around 11pm feeling that we had most definitely been well and truly entertained.
This was great was to end our 3 week USA adventure .
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