Bastard Abroad In San Diego Part 1: Sea World
Yes, this Bostonian Bastard was in San Diego, and all I can say is this was an amazing trip to go on! For this new segment I will be going through the pros, cons, and everything else in between about how every aspect of the trip went.
Yup, that's a manta ray eating my hand (just feeding him mini-squid, actually).
I'm not going to lie: the first day in San Diego I thought my girl and I might had brought the New England weather with us, as we dealt with some rainy weather right on the get-go. It sucked getting stuck out in the middle of the park with no umbrella or poncho, and we were thinking at the time if we were to obtain a poncho that the rain wouldn't come. Lo and behold, while waiting it out the sun came shining and we finally were able to go about the park.
So when the rain was slowing down we were able to find a little covering to hang under. The trainers came out and brought some dolphins into the tank area where we were standing by, and all of a sudden we were in the midst of a little training session for them. It really was interesting to see how they trained the dolphin because it was still a pretty young, so they were having fun having him do the simple tricks to send them between trainers, along with getting them to hit a special white ball at the end of stick for a little fish treat. I do have to give it to the trainers to have patience to train dolphins, but yet again that's why they love their jobs.
The first real show we got to see was the seal show, which was very funny and cute. This was just after the rain finished, so I had to plant my arse down on a wet metal bench to watch the program. It started with one of the guys watching a TV while going along with whatever music was playing in the background. When the Oompa Loompa song came on he ran over to a phone booth that looked like the T.A.R.D.I.S. and changed and start doing a funny little dance as the stand started to really fill up. Once the show started up they were doing a CSI-type thing with who stole the fish. It had a funny little outline of a fish, and it was very funny how the two seals and otter were interacting with the performers on stage. The show was very funny in every way possible, especially when they did a Dancing with the Stars parody. However I was kind of sad that it was only fifteen minutes long, but the way I see is that if it was a nicer, sunnier day then you would have been roasting under the sun.
An awesome shot of Shamu
The Shamu show wasn't like I remembered, because when I was younger the actual trainers would get in the water and do a launch off the fish in the air. Sadly, due a female trainer dying a couple years back, they don't do that anymore. With that said they were able to do a whole lot more with these whales then I remember. Again, though, from the waiting we did at the gate to the end of the show it seemed like the show was around twenty-five minutes long. I feel like this could have been a wee bit longer, but all in all the show was spectacular (especially seeing the whale with her baby).
FINAL THOUGHTS:
The first day wasn't a complete and utter loss due to rain, but to take a walk on the wild side and be able to go around the park and have a great time with my girl was all worth it. I do have to say that with some of the attractions, they need to add a little more time to, especially the shows. I believe the Sea World in San Diego is a lot like the other one in Florida, so if you've seen that one then you kind of seen it all. Next to that the other thing is if you want to buy a souvenir from Sea World, don't expect it to have anything that says San Diego. It was one of those things where it was kind of disappointing to not be about to buy something that says, "I have been to the Sea World in San Diego," so you basically have to take my word for it. We didn't go at a busy time of the year, so the lines were so short that I went on the Manta Ray Roller Coaster three times in a row. (Since the ride is about a minute long I can say that's a very very sweet deal.)
All in all I rate the Sea World in San Diego a 3.8 out of 5
PROS:
- Great shows, exhibits
- Feeding the manta rays was pretty awesome.
- Going on the Manta Ray Roller Coaster was so much fun
CONS:
- Shows are short at times
- Souvenirs doesn't have a logo with San Diego
- Pricey food, with beer $7, Dippin' Dots $5
P.S.
Seaworld San Diego is close to 200 acres, even though it doesn't feel like that because it is mostly level. It is very big so when the weather is really nice don't forget your SPF 100 and drink lots of water other wise you might end up literally falling into a tank and sleeping with the fishes.
