SEA WORLD - CALIFORNIA (SeaWorld (California))

Member Name: jewels

Product:	SeaWorld (California)
Date:	02/08/01 (216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great for all the family, Excellent disabled facilities, Easy to follow layout

Disadvantages: The shows were timed too close together, Too much for one day, not enough for two.

Well! where to begin. This was the highlight of my latest holiday to the U.S.A. We arrived when it opened at 10am. There was a queue to get in but it was'nt that long. You were not that bored waiting as there were guides on hand telling you about the attractions and handing out leaflets. The only thing I did find a bit over the top was the American National Anthem booming out over the loudspeaker system before the gates opened.

We got the itinerary to make sure we saw all the shows. It was quite obvious that you would not fit all of them in in one day. There seemed to be only about 5 minutes between the end of one show and the start of another. You needed to be in the queue for the attraction about 20 minutes before it started therefore we had to choose what we wanted to see and what we were prepared to miss.

Of course the dolphins were on the adgenda. We went there first off. It was chock a block with kids. The show was good and really informative. On our way out, we noticed we had attended the childrens educational show.
Oh, well, never mind.

Next we went to the newest attraction, the 4D Cinema. Well that really was an experience. Some smaller children would find this quite frightening. The film seemed like it was playing to you and you alone. The glasses you had to wear made everything seem "in your face". The seats were rigged so you not only got 3D vision but you also got the sensation of wind, vibration and water dropping on you.

We also saw the Sea Lion show, this was quite amusing but I couldn't help feeling sorry for them.

There was a great complex with all the dangerous sea creatures. You could walk through a tunnel with sharks swimming all around you and there were some vicious looking brutes I can tell you.

We went to the feed the dolphin area and were lucky enough to be able to buy some fish to feed them. This is only done once a day so they are not overfed. It was quite
moving having a large mammal come and eat from your hand. You could also touch them, it was a strange feeling.

The highlight for me was Shamu the killer whale show. It was so proffessional. It was obvious why this was the main attraction and definitely not to be missed. In fact, if we had enough time I would have seen it again. The build up to the show had you sitting on the edge of your seat with anticipation. If you don't like getting wet, don't sit too near the front or you'll get drenched.

There was also a few rides to go on at an extra cost. Nothing too scarey and the majority enabled you to see the park in it's entirety. The facilities were good and there were lots of places to eat and drink.

We did not see all of Sea World on our one day there but I doubt you could get two full days out of it. I found it an extremely good quality excursion and it beat Disney hands down for me.

Summary: