Sea World

We took our first family trip to San Antonio and loved it. There is so much to do we can't wait to go again. We left at 4:00 in the morning and arrived at the front gates shortly before 9:00. It was an easy drive. Jacob and I took turns so we could both sleep and the kids slept as well. As soon as we arrived, we bought our tickets and got in line. The greatest thing we did both days was arriving early to beat the crowds to rides. We started with the Steel Eel. Allan and Nathan LOVED it and rode it 10 times the first day. Atlantis is also a popular ride. It is fun but San Diego has a much better version. Emily's favorite ride is the Rio Loco.



Our favorite shows were Cannery Row Caper,

Cool Vibrations

Sea Lions Tonite, and

Azul.

This show had dolphins and beluga whales in a deep tank with windows, aquatic divers and swimmers doing amazing tricks, and flying parrots. The preshow stuff at these shows should not be missed.

One Ocean is the new Shamu show. The trainers are not in the water with the killer whales anymore, but they do touch them and get close to them when they are out of the water. Also, if you sit the splash areas, you will get wet.
It is okay if your kids sit in the splash zone and you observe from a few benches above. As an note to the picture below, do you notice something missing? Nathan's glasses. He rode the Great White three times and loved it. On the third time, he glasses fell off early in the ride. Lesson learned - remove anything loose and leave it in the baskets. We got Nathan's glasses back at closing time with one missing lens. Also, the Great White is a super fun ride, especially in the front but if you get motion sick, avoid this ride.

Rachel's favorite show was Elmo and the Bookaneers. We happened to be playing the playground area close the stage. As soon as Elmo, Rosita, Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster went on stage, she looked at me with a super excited look. I wish I had it on camera. Then, she started running for the stage and didn't even look to see if I followed.
It was a fun show for Emily and Rachel and they loved meeting the characters at the end.

Sea World's Bay of Play was fun. It was nice to cool down in all of the water features and climb the ropes of towering heights.

Dolphin Feeding - Rachel woke right up when we arrived here but refused to touch the dolphins or the fish. Everyone else loved it. The interaction with the dolphins is amazing.



Included in Seaworld is a fun waterpark called the Lost Lagoon. The kids loved everything about it - great slides (Bucaroo Mountain, Castaway, and Sidewinders) Wave Pool, Lazy River, a three story water playground, and many other pools. First thing we did on Saturday, was ride the slides and then enjoyed every thing else in the park. After the park had been open three hours, the lines were an hour long and even longer just to enter the Lost Lagoon. Emily braved the Wave Pool even when the waves went over her head. She is turning into a fish. Rachel loved sitting in the shallow water of the wave pool while Allan, Nathan, and Joshua preferred the slides. Next year, Seaworld is closing Lost Lagoon and turning it into Aquatica. This is the last picture I took of our trip. The kids were hot and exhausted and Emily left in tears. She wanted to go on more of the rides but we weren't willing to stand in line. She loves amusements parks and can't wait until we go again this year.