Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sea World

Mom raised me with a healthy appreciation for animals. This means a place like Sea World (and Animal Kingdom) is sort of like giving me a blank cheque and telling me to go for it. Except instead of material stuff  and a wad of cash I get, the much more valuable (not to mention, long lasting - unless you have a memory like a cheese grater), experiences.

Aquatica - Sea World's water park - offers fantastic beaches, excellent rides and rapids. If you're feeling lazy you can grab a tube and float under an aquarium or catch a glimpse of the dolphin tank. If you're looking for something quicker you can take a speedy plunge - through a dolphin tank. Just don't close your eyes like Ramona and miss the underwater show!

Sea World's new ride Manta wins the second best ride of ALL of Orlando's rides. And I can say that because we did all the rides at Universal, Disney and Sea World. So if you're in the area, do it. It's a thrill. It's an especially exciting experience after you've pet a stingray.

Let a mushroom sit in water for two days, touch it and you'll get a replicated experience of touching a stingray for real. (Although, maybe don't hold me to this because I don't know how long you should leave the mushroom in water, but it should have a little give and be a little soggy. Also, I figure touching wet produce won't be as fun. And hopefully not as alive...)

Stingrays also give excellent high fives. Though they give them frequently it took me a while to get this shot - Ramona kept missing her cue.
I saw Cirque de Soleil years ago and it was an unforgettable experience. Sea World has a show, Allure, which is sort of like a half hour long unofficial version of the show with amazing acrobatics and will leave you slack jawed. I had enough presence to get one (unfortunately not in action) shot. This girl was dangling and doing tricks on this thin piece of cloth (How do they do that?!)
Blue Horizons - their dolphin show - incorporates live (and gorgeous) birds, acrobatics and dolphins. My favorite part of Sea World, for sure. It was awe-inspiring.



If the show wasn't enough we got to feed the dolphins shortly after. Please note my hand on its chin as well as the fish not quite in its mouth. Dolphins feel like rubber!


And look, a nursery! (There were also baby manatees but those aren't nearly as cute.)


And let's not forget about Shamu the famous Free Willy (who lived at the Vancouver Aquarium for most of his life..and this is obviously not him but I like calling all Killer Whales Shamu. It's a lot friendlier and makes them seem more approachable, don't you think?).


Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the big Harry Potter reveal. (I know this is killing you Jen.) 

Also, don't forget about my contest!

See you then. 



Anyone else been to Sea World or another all Animal park they loved? Anyone actually get to SWIM with Dolphins (I'm SO jealous!)? Anyone who didn't appreciate stingrays now think they are awesome (I hated them before. Now I think they rock!)?

20 comments:

  1. Wow, what an awesome vacation!

    We swam with dolphins in the Bahamas years ago when we were on a cruise. Luckily Kelly's dad picked up the bill because it's apparently very expensive!

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  2. Aww, you're making me want to go back to Sea World! Such cute baby dolphins! And I definitely call all killer whales Shamu. Even in the wild :)

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  3. wow! what an experience! those are some great pics!

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  4. Strangely I didn't go to Sea World as much as I would have liked while living in Orlando. I'm almost positive the fact that I was broke was preventative but the times that I did go it was always amazing. And of course I love the Animal Kingdom which I went to far more often. Hey, it was free. Bonus!
    I have been swimming with dolphins but not at seaworld or any other park but in the wild out in Hawaii. That was freaking awesome. They don't do stunts but they do show off which is really cute. Mantarays are rockin! LOL I call all Killer Whales Shamu too. Way friendlier. I can't wait to see more, great pics!

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  5. Wow Wow Wow!!!!! I love it!!! I want to go swimming with the dolphins right now! The water look so inviting!!! I'm so jealous and you're already back from the vaca, memories for a lifetime I can see!!!

    Cirque de Soleil is one of my favorite things ever to see whenever they come through town or I'm in the area!!!

    You are really making me wait for Harry Potter!! Oh did you see I converted a fan last night?? Lisa and I were emailing about how she met J.K. Rowling in real life!! Pictures and all and I told her that she had to stop by your blog IMMEDIATELY!

    (PS have you ever met J.K. Rowling?? I would be uber jealous!)

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  6. You rode ALL the rides?!?! haha awesome!

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  7. I love SeaWorld. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

    NOW WHEN DO WE GET PICTURES OF HARRY POTTER WORLD??? You're killing me. ;)

    Love,
    Lola

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  8. I haven't been to Sea World yet. Looks awesome! I've ALWAYS wanted to swim with the dolphins!!! Some day!

    I love Zoos and Aquariums. Animals are so amazing!

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  9. I've never been to Sea World, but I did go to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo which was a teaser and made me want to live with dolphins as a grown up, Yes, not so much now that i"m grown. Anyways, still love dolphins! Sea World does look fantastic :)

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  10. I have not been to Sea World in years but I can remember just how much fun I had. Great photos!!

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  11. Lovely pictures of Sea World! Once I had to swim in the ocean with manta rays. The excursion said "feed the manta rays" and I thought it would be something like your picture up above, but it wasn't! The water was DEEP. I screamed my head off. :)

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  12. Oh, I love SeaWorld. It's my absolute favorite place on earth. Last time I was there, I was pregnant and couldn't do any of the rides. I need to go again!

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  13. I laugh EVERYTIME at the Ramona jokes! hahahaha! I guess that's cool about the stringrays high five, but I think the only animal (living creature) I could calmly (and lovingly) approach is a dolphin because they have the best reputation.

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  14. Hi, Melilssa! I hopped over from Erica's blog. What a wonderful vacation - it looks like you had a ton of fun. My niece swam with the dolphins in Hawaii, but I have never been so lucky. :-)

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  15. Hi there, Thank you for having a look at I see you see and following. Loved this post, it looks like you had a fab time. I have been to a small deep sea world in North queensferry. You can take a short ride under a large tank, no dolphins, but they do have a couple white sharks! one was called Tinkerbell!
    Oh Jen I havent met J.K rowling but i have seen her walking around Edinburgh a couple times, once when there was book tour in Edinburgh, and the second time when i was in a car and the driver got lost and parked right out side what must have been her Edinburgh house as she was putting the bins out. (The street was a fair bit like privet drive).
    defo be back to take a look at your Harry potter reveal!

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  16. I grew up in San Diego so I had the luxury of season passes to Sea World, the Wild Animal Park and the Zoo. Loved them all! When I was in high school, I was hiding from my boyfriend because we'd had a HUGE fight (you know, all high school drama). I ran into the eel exhibit. F-R-E-A-K-Y. They all come out at night. I ran smack into a dark exhibit that was lit only from the inside and had all those creepy things coming out of holes in the rocks staring at me. Shudder.

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  17. I LOVED Sea World -- got to pet and feed the dolphins, but not swim with them. :(

    However, last year in Utah, I got to pet a sting ray (weird place to pet a sting ray. . .but it was an aquarium! I SWEAR.)

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  18. Whoa! The dolphins look so cool! That must be amazing to see, I've never been to anything like Sea World before (I've never been to Florida before) lol. And I will try the mushroom thing and get back to you haha. Thank you for stopping by my blog today, Melissa. I know how tempting it is to start research before you have a finished product. It's just so exciting!!!

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  19. Whoa! The dolphins look so cool! That must be amazing to see, I've never been to anything like Sea World before (I've never been to Florida before) lol. And I will try the mushroom thing and get back to you haha. Thank you for stopping by my blog today, Melissa. I know how tempting it is to start research before you have a finished product. It's just so exciting!!!

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  20. What an awesome vacation! I have always wanted to swim with dolphins. Maybe someday!

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