Category Archives: Orlando area

Sea World has developed into one of those “must-see” attractions in Orlando.  And although I remember it from my youth as a large outdoor aquarium with the occasional animal show (like Shamu, the killer whale with his own special act), it’s definitely grown and expanded.  Being somewhat of a purist (and because I knew we would be limited on time), I decided we would skip the big-ticket rides (like Journey to Atlantis) and the glitzy shows (like Blue Horizons or the acrobatic A’lure, The Call of the Ocean) and focus on the animals.  Whew!  I’m glad we did, because we were able to avoid the crowds and lines those attractions drew on a HOT HOT HOT day.

By the time we disembarked our Disney cruise, checked into our Cape Canaveral hotel, had breakfast, and drove BACK to Orlando, it was already mid-morning.  The parking lot at Sea World was packed, so we knew it would be crowded.  Thankfully, we weren’t worried about seeing Shamu because I had pre-planned a special event (more about that later), so we just grabbed a map and explored the park.

Our first stop was the sea lions – those silly, barking mammals that are so very cute.  You can buy fish to feed them and boy, do they know exactly who’s got the food and where they are.

Near the sea lion exhibit is the show: “Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island.”  The next show was about 15 minutes away, so we decided to catch the performance, sitting under the shade to be out of the worst of the heat.  Our loss – if we had sat lower, we might have gotten sprayed with water when the walrus and seals dove into the water.  It was a silly show, but the kids loved how the animals were “pirates” – especially a tricky otter who stole the show by traipsing across the stage carrying a toy sword in its mouth!

By this time, the sun was really broiling, so we made our way over to the “Penguin Encounter” and blessed air conditioning.  Too bad we couldn’t stay there forever, but while penguins are cute – they also smell.

The heat and humidity was pretty intense by now and we bought lots of water (and melting ice cream).  I’m very lucky that my guys don’t complain much, but we also made sure not to push them too hard by forcing them to stand in long lines (like the Journey to Atlantis – 1 1/2 hour wait – wow!)

Instead, we headed over to another shaded spot – the Manatee Rescue area and Dolphin Cove where yeah! we got to touch and feed dolphins!!!

After our debacle in Nassau (see Jan. 11, 2010 post) with the dolphin encounter, there was NO WAY I was going to leave without petting a %#@*-ing dolphin.  Granted, we didn’t get in the water like they did in Nassau, but at least we got to pet the dolphins and my guys were SOOOO happy.  (And okay, I’ll admit it’s easier to pet the dolphins if you buy them fish.  They, like the sea lions, are friendlier to those with food.)

We could have probably left happy now, but I had planned a special event for dinner – eating with Shamu!!  This is a prepaid dinner buffet where you get to meet the animal trainers and Shamu and you get your picture taken with him.  I thought it would be pretty cool, so I arranged (and paid) for it ahead of time.

Since we had the rest of the day to kill until dinner, we headed to another indoor spot – Wild Arctic.  (Perhaps you are also detecting a theme to our visit – cool, shaded, indoors).  You can get into the exhibit without riding the “Wild Arctic” ride, but hey, the kids hadn’t done any others and it looked pretty tame.  It’s a simulator ride of a helicopter trip to the Arctic.  When you “land” and the doors open – voila! you’re in the Arctic.  Polar bears, walruses, and beluga whales frolic.  Plus you get to learn about what’s needed on a polar expedition.  Best of all – it’s air-conditioned.

After we exited, we noticed lots of disappointed people near the Believe pavilion.  This is the place where Shamu and his gang perform several shows throughout the day.  We weren’t interested in the show’s long lines because we knew we’d see him later on – at dinner.  But now, they said they were having “technical difficulties” with the whales and cancelled several shows.

Hmm, a little disturbing, but we hoped for the best and walked over to the Shark Encounter, another – you guessed it – indoor exhibit!  Wow!  Those sharks were huge and all I can say is I am so glad they were behind glass!  There’s a neat restaurant near the exhibit (sort of underground) where you sit next to the tanks as the sharks swim by.  We went in, hoping for some bottled water – and got the last four at the bar!

Holy cow!  It was so hot, the park was running out of bottled water!  Thank goodness, we managed some indoor souvenir shopping then slowly walked over to our Dinner with Shamu – and discovered exactly what they meant by “technical difficulties.”

Shamu, a male killer whale weighing several thousand pounds, was apparently in an amorous mood.  In other words, he was more interested in the lady killer whales than doing what his trainers wanted him to do.  To make matters worse, all the other killer whales had caught the “love bug” and were refusing to perform.  Furthermore, as the trainers explained, when a two-thousand pound animal doesn’t want to do something, there is no way they can make them do it.

So ergo, we (and several other thousand people) were at the mercy of killer whale’s hormones.  I guess it’s true what they say about show biz – never work with kids or animals.  Not to worry, the kids had their “dolphin encounter” so the day was a success.

For tickets and more information:  www.seaworldorlando.com       

Next:  #297:  Kennedy Space Center