Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sea World - Not As Magical As Before...


This past weekend my husband and I took our girls down to San Diego for the weekend..... I have always been a huge fan of Sea World and was very excited to go... It was a beautiful day... The weather was in the high 70's (yes in January) - the sun was shining and the park was not full... In fact - we did not have to stand in line for any event - that was a nice change... But I have to say - the shows - were no longer magical...

The Shamu show was always a favorite of mine... To see these incredibly large mammals jump out of the water 20 feet to touch a white ball was beautiful... To see their trainer riding on their backs made it even more exciting.... In addition to the trainers playing in the water with these killer whales - the show would also invite a guest down to have a meet and greet with Shamu... The meeting would always end with Shamu giving a kiss on the cheek.... Aww - so sweet.....

Now the show is completely a "non-participating" show. The trainers do not go in the water with Shamu and the guest gets to say "hi" through the glass tank (like everyone else)... I feel like I was completely ripped off.... Granted a trainer was killed in a show a while back and I am sorry for that BUT does a race car driver stop racing if a driver gets killed on the track? Or does a jockey stop racing horses because a horse turned around to bite him? Does the circus close down when an elephant decides to push their trainer? No - they don't.. There are risks in this kind of entertainment.... Sea World has been around as long as I can remember and the incidents of injuries - fatal or otherwise is so very low...... To completely change the show around - in my opinion is wrong... And the whales no longer jump out of water 20 feet.... They are no longer personable..... There is no longer any magic.....




The dolphin show was not much better - yes, the trainers interacted with the stars of the show BUT over 50% of the show was acrobatics by HUMANS - hanging from a cord and diving.. The dolphins and pilot whale were not the main attraction and that made me mad... I am definitely writing a letter to Sea World.... I did not pay $70 per person to see HUMANS perform instead of dolphins - If I wanted to see HUMANS - I would have gone to Cirque Du Soleil!!!!


I did enjoy the penguin encounter.... I did enjoy the flamingos.. The flamingos were herded across the park and it was very cool to get up close and personal with them... We even had the opportunity to have them "nibble" on our hair.... That was fun... I loved watching the polar bears AND my girls and husband had fun petting the dolphins... There's a trick I learned many years ago from a trainer to get a dolphin's attention and it still works... It worked so well that many of the people around us were talking about how all the dolphins kept coming to us... (Do you know the secret?)










I have to say I miss the old Sea World.. The beauty and magic of watching "beast" and man in a wonderful entertaining show... I hope to experience it once again someday..

14 comments:

  1. You got some very nice pictures of your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely weather when you went!!! And yup! The price to get in is getting higher and higher! Sometimes, it's nice to just take a stroll there. I love seeing the beautiful trees and flowers around and just enjoying the cold breeze from the ocean. God bless you sister.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think your complaints are justifiable actually. Seems like the price point should be adjusted downward for the lesser entertainment value of what you saw!

    ReplyDelete
  4. OH MY! 70 dollars a person!?!?! I had no idea that's more than the local amusement park that you can spend all day at and not ride all the rides. I would complain, and complain loud.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ditto to Mamma has spoken's opening remarks!
    That is a LOT of dough ... I'd be perturbed if I were you too; especially because you are a returning visitor and expected certain things to be part of the show...they should perhaps explain in their brochure or online that things have changed over the years...at least, then, people can make an informed choice.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Ramada Plaza San Diego Hotel
    Sea World San Diego offers a
    wide variety of comfortable rooms, convenient location near San
    Diego Zoo
    and San Diego Sea
    World
    , and plenty of amenities that you can take advantage of; all for an
    affordable price and packages and discount rates at this San
    Diego Hotel SeaWorld Hotel
    . This popular Sea
    World hotel
    and San Diego Zoo
    hotel
    is centrally located near everything San Diego has to offer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What wonderful pictures. I love them all, especially the flamingos. Thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think it's because the animal rights activists came down hard on them after the trainer was killed. What those animals do is not natural and I think there's controversy about if it's good for the animals. Maybe Sea World should do something different to make up for it, because $70 is a lot of dough!

    ReplyDelete
  9. So are you going to say what the secret it? I was bitten by a dolphin in Florida. No scars or anything but that was as up close and personal as I wanted to get. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't been to Sea World in years and years!! One day I hope to get back there or the one in FL. We are usually to busy visiting family while we are in CA. What will the price be when I finally do go? $70 is way too much!
    Are you going to tell us the secret?
    Love the pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow thats a horrible price fro non interative shows!

    We went to Sea World in orlando in 2008 and loved it!

    Your pictures are great, I love how close the flamingos are! My daughter would love that!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Looks like you still had a nice, but thise prices...ughh.

    I want to take my little ones this summer, but not sure if I can afford it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We have passes to Sea World and admittedly spend more time in the kids' area than the shows right now (girls are 7 and 4). But I *do* want to know your dolphin trick! At the one in Orlando, you cannot even get to where the dolphins play most unless it's feeding time and you've bought fish. :-/ That was one change I was unhappy with.

    Also, our dolphin show is heavier on the human acrobatics now as well, and I think I also wrote to them about that. It's still very beautiful, but you're right -- we came to Sea World to watch the animals!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sorry you missed out on the show you were expecting, I do love your pictures of the polar bears.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin