With all our talk about doing the lesser known attractions in Central Florida, we still love our visits to the major theme parks – and Sea World is among our favorites! Today it was just Kevin, Laurel, Ella and I (our nieces arrive Monday morning!) and we thought we’d start off with a nice relaxing day watching the shows and catching a few rides. Before I begin to describe our experience, I feel compelled to point out that my husband, Kevin, is from the UK and has only been in the US for a year. So this is fun as many of our experiences are done from both local and tourist viewpoints. Kevin has been to all of the major area attractions with the exception of Sea World – and it’s always pleasurable to see someone experience something for the first time!
"...it’s always pleasurable to see someone experience something for the first time!..."
We made a late day of it, because we wanted to have the energy to stay until the fireworks – so we arrived at the park around midday. What I love about Sea World is the way you can literally work your way around the park in a circle! So we headed straight for Key West to Dolphin Cove. One place you can cool down, escape the blistering sun & chill out is to enter “behind” the Dolphin Cove & go to the underwater viewing tank. There you can see the dolphins playing and interacting with the people above who are petting & feeding them!
This time, as we curled around the cove, we noticed Turtle Trek – a brand new exhibit/experience! We were so excited to get to see this! For Sea World pros, this has been incorporated into the [formerly] Manatee exhibit…and it was really well done! Of all 3D experiences I’ve ever been to… nothing has ever had such a WOW impact as this! It was not only in 3D, but it was what I like to refer to as 360 degrees of eye candy. You are experiencing the trek of an endangered sea turtle from hatching to adulthood to laying its’ own eggs. There is still the reminder of our impact on the world, explaining the importance of recycling, and picking up trash – teaching us to turn off lights during nesting season as well! And of course, the interactive zone as you leave where you can pretend to be a turtle swimming to shore, and you can still view the manatees from above the tanks!
We also decided to make a point to catch shows on this trip. My daughter, Laurel, and I are die hard Clyde & Seymour fans – but we wanted to see a few of the other shows as well! Kevin absolutely LOVED the Blue Horizon show with the dolphins! We were fortunate enough that we saw 5 shows, which included Clyde & Seymour as they made of parody of all the other shows, as well as Pets Ahoy! and Shamu Rocks and fireworks at the end of the night. We didn’t only do shows though… Kevin went for a ride on Manta and said it was “one of the best rollercoaster experiences” he had ever been on. And dining at the Voyager Restaurant was both a relaxing reprieve from the heat, as well as a yummy BBQ feast! All in all, I’d say Sea World still ranks top notch in our book – and only 15 minutes away from Kissimmee makes it even easier to visit on a regular basis!
We'll be back tomorrow with a new adventure! Be sure to check out i.seekissimmee.com as well (for our adventures and more!)
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