If you are lucky to live in California you probably visit SeaWorld San Diego quite often and might have got used to seeing awesome sea creatures, watching spectacular shows and riding thrilling roller coasters. But I would like to tell about my first trip to SeaWorld San Diego ever and the incredible experience my family and I had in this amusement park.
First of all I want to say that SeaWorld San Diego was the first amusement park I visited in the U.S. I have recently arrived in the country and my friends invited my kids and me to SeaWorld San Diego. In fact, my friend Mariia even bought the tickets for three of us online and managed to save $50 on her purchase. I will share the insider secret how to save on your entertainment: use T-Mobile Tuesdays app to save up to 30% on admission tickets to theme parks, including Six Flags, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld San Diego. But as my friend had access to MemberDeals she could buy the tickets only on her name. So she purchased three Fun Cards and saved $50 on her purchase, the question was whether we could exchange them on Fun Cards with our names when we arrive there. But we worried in vain, as SeaWorld San Diego customer service staff easily replaced the admission tickets and each of us received the ticket with his name on it. So if you want to make a gift and buy tickets online for someone make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to save. You will be able to exchange the tickets in the park without any hassle.
When the issue with the tickets has been settled we set off to explore the park.
Sesame Place was the first to check. There were two 6 year boys with us and they enjoyed playing in the splashy area. Unfortunately we didn’t stay long there as the dolphin show has already started and we hurried to take our seats. We promised the youngster to return to Sesame Place later as there were tons of things to do in this section of the park, such as taking exciting rides and interacting with the famous Sesame Street flurry characters. This part of the park is just ideal for young visitors who love active fun.
The dolphin show was spectacular! We took the front seats and the marine performers splashed us with water several times during the performance. We saw dolphins jump, dance and even “run” on the water!
That was really impressing. While I was sitting and watching the performance I caught myself on the thought that many years ago I dreamt about visiting this park and I dreamt my kids would have a chance to visit it too. Now I was sitting with both of my kids watching the show and was the happiest person on Earth at that time. Dreams do come true, you just need to believe in it!
After the show we went to the gift shop to buy some souvenirs. My elder son and I got the signature SeaWorld San Diego caps and the younger boys got stuffed animals of their choice. There was also a wide selection of personalized products, such as personalized mugs and bracelets. In fact, I do love personalized products and usually purchase exclusive gifts at Personalization Mall. This is my favorite online store for one-of-the kind products and I always check Personalization Mall deals for a chance to save.
Our next stop was a touch pool with bat rays and we fed them with shrimp.
Kids were really excited and it’s a real miracle: I even saw my constantly gloomy teenager smile happily while feeding and touching the bat rays.
My younger son was scared to feed them, but he greatly enjoying feeding the sea lions and he found the sounds they were making really funny.
Flamingo habitat is probably the most scenic of all in the park and is the perfect backdrop for jaw-dropping selfies.
Getting to underwater viewing tunnel is a must as here you can see lots of sharks swimming by.
Also there you can have an up-close look at a variety of fish and other sea creatures like tortoises, octopus, giant lobsters, eels and more.
The Arctic exhibit is really incredible.
We were lucky to see beluga feeding and I was impressed by the affection this graceful mammal had to the park employee.
They seemed to be real and devoted friends.
Awesome!
And, of course, no visit to an amusement ride is complete without thrilling rides. The younger children rode planes while the adults didn’t risked experiencing new Emperor, which is currently the tallest and fastest floorless dive coaster in California. It was just enough for us to see the brave at heart plunge down and soar up in the air screaming like crazy. If you dare to ride it be prepared to take numerous loops and twists with your feet dangling above the track. The coaster culmination is a vertical drop of 14 stories facedown. The ride is 153 feet tall with 45 degree incline and the maximum speed of 60 miles per hour.
Unfortunately, the Explorer’s Reef with a series of touch pools was closed that day and we decided to visit the park again soon. Besides with our Fun Cards we can have as many visits as we want till the end of the year.
Visiting SeaWorld San Diego is always a unique and unforgettable experience and I am sure we will have more things to see and to do there during our next visit. The only thing that made me feel upset that day is that I lost my denim jacket. I checked their Lost and Found office, but the jacket wasn’t there. The park employees gave me the link to their website where I can report the lost item. I sent my report the next day and hope for the best. It is a gift from a very special person in my life and I miss it very much. They haven’t reported about finding it yet, but I keep my fingers crossed that they will!