SeaWorld San Diego was one of the places that we were most looking forward to during our visit to the city. This is very famous in the US because of its shows and the opportunity to get a bit closer to amazing animals such as whales, otters and belugas.

We knew that Noah would enjoy the park a lot, but we didn’t expect him to love it as much as he did.

The park opened its doors as usual at 9am and we were there just a bit after. As it doesn’t close until 10pm we were sure that it would be a long and pleasant day.

Our experience at SeaWorld San Diego

Immediately after the entrance we reached the Explorer’s Reef. This is a fish pond where you can touch the fish and let them touch you. It even has those small fish that clean your skin. Noah put his hand in and no fish came – a good sign that he was clean. But when Ruth put her hands inside the water, all the fish immediately came to kiss her hand … Thank God it was just a small pond otherwise all the fish in the park would have come and tried to have a bite. It´s a paradox, because Noah was frustrated that there were no fish around his hand and Ruth was also frustrated that all the fish were around her hand. I didn’t even think about putting my hand in there. It could have been worse …

The first show that we saw was the famous Killer Whales: Up Close Show. It is funny to hear that name (Killer Whale), as when you look at those animals you think they couldn´t harm anything. Of course, the trainers are always very careful and it takes a long time to train a Killer Whale to be a star in this park.

The show is very educational with a lot of interesting information during the presentation. It was so good that we even considered going to another show later, but of course due to time constraints that didn’t happen.

We saw three shows in a row and the next one was one of the funniest that day: Clyde and Seamore’s show. In this one the stars are sea lions and an otter. What intelligent animals … They really showed their personality and made us laugh… incluso repetimos por la tarde 🙂

The next show we watched at SeaWorld San Diego was the one with the dolphins – Dolphin Days. Noah loves to see dolphins, so as we expected this was the one that he liked the most. It is amazing how these extremely docile animals interact with people, and especially with kids. They are able to move in a very synchronized way without any mistakes.

Next it was time to stop for a bite, and that is something that you can find easily in SeaWorld San Diego as there are several kiosks serving food throughout the park … We ate at one of them and stocked up on energy for the rest of the day. As usual, Noah chose a hotdog and given this is one of the most popular foods in the US he needed to enjoy it, because in just a few days he would start having different kinds of Asian food.

Cirque de la Mer

Now the unmissable show: Cirque de la Mer! This is an acrobatic show in the water where visitors are amazed by some of the most difficult moves a person can make. It’s also a chance to laugh at the funny clowns.

I think we were lucky in that session, as one of the people who was chosen to participate in the show seemed to be in the mood to get really into the joke. The guy was just not expecting that the clowns would leave him in the middle of the water inside a plastic bubble all by himself. Of course that was harmless but the poor guy really looked worried …

Pet Rules

The show called Pet Rules was also worth watching. It was a kind of competition in which pets go through obstacles to decide which one is the best. Of course pets are not as competitive as humans, so in the end it was a funny show in which dogs, cats and other pets were able to entertain the crowd.

Some of the attractions at SeaWorld San Diego, as in any other theme park, have a weight restriction, so Noah couldn’t try those. We tried almost all the attractions that are suitable for the whole family, but I also had to try the Manta roller coaster. I’m not a big fan of rollercoasters, so I have to admit that in the beginning I had butterflies in my stomach. This was particularly because by chance our car took a bit longer to leave than the rest of the cars, which created more suspense.

There were two fast points that were a bit scary, but what the heck, at times like that the best thing to do is put your hands in the air and let the machine do the rest. The lady next to me probably didn’t appreciate that though …

Ruth also went on a helicopter simulator at Wild Arctic. We were all supposed to go on that one together, but at the last minute Noah felt that he was not ready for that flight. We left the line and Ruth went by herself. It was harmless, basically taking her up to see the Beluga Whales, the Polar Bear and Walruses.

Talking about walruses, we saw some of them just next to the simulator, and we believe that one of them was smiling at the camera …

Some of the other attractions at SeaWorld San Diego

There was much more to see in the park, such as:

Journey to Atlantis

Animal Collections

Shipwreck Rapids, one of best in Noah’s opinion!

Sesame Street Bay of Play, where Noah had the time of his life…

And to finish the day on a high note, the Shamu’s Celebration, with a nice night presentation, and Fireworks.

What a fantastic day! No wonder this is one of the top theme parks in the US and in the world. We would highly recommend it, and if we had to we would go back there in a heartbeat.

Many thanks SeaWorld San Diego for the invitation – we definitely enjoyed it a lot.

Next stop, Aquatica!

Family Travel Secrets was invited to SeaWorld as guests. All opinions and the oodles of pictures remain our own.