Splash Out on a Good Day Out (Seaworld Adventure Park (Florida))

Member Name: scuzz

Product:	Seaworld Adventure Park (Florida)
Date:	15/01/05 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great fun

Disadvantages: none

I was taken to Orlando by my boyfriend's parents for Christmas 2003. This was my first trip to the states and they'd bought us all a pass to the five parks in the area - one being Seaworld.

====What Kind of Attraction?====

As the name suggests, this is a water park. It's not filled with rides like to many others, but is manly sea animals.


====The Shows====

There are a range of shows that take place throughout the day. I went to the Shamu - killer whale - show, dolphin show and the seal and otter show. I thought all of these were great, although the Shamu had one let down. At the beginning is a warm up quiz to get the crowd hyped up. There are cameras based in the audience and is supposed to be filming you. However, as I went to the park and show more than once, it was obvious it's just a recording going round and round.

Shamu
Several killer whales perform amazing stunts here. There are some great photo opportunities with some of the stunts they do. Be warned that if you don't want to get wet, don't sit in the splash zone. I found it funny just how many people started off down the front and then moved further back when a second announcement was made!

Dolphins
This I think was my favourite because I love dolphins. Again there is a soak zone, so avoid it if you want to stay dry. This show really shows the intelligence of these animals. A special appearance is also made by some animals known as false killer whales. These look nothing like whales in my view, and more like bizarre looking dolphins. The let down to this one was the warm up again. It was a guitar playing bloke, who thought he was funny - really he wasn't.

Seal and Otter
This is more for children, although I found it hilarious and I was 20 at the time. It's more of a play than a performance show. This show also has a warm up act, this one is the best of the bunch. A mime takes the mick out of everyone coming in. He really is great and could easily have had a show all to himself

====Other Attractions====

Killer Whales
Here you can see what they get up to underwater.

Sharks
These stink, but are well worth a look.

Penguins
An ingenious way of seeing these. You stand on a conveyor belt and go past there enclosure. There are all sorts of penguins in there from fairy to emperor - no chocolate ones though! One very kindly pooed at me when I was looking at it.

Dolphins
Here you can go below the water level and watch them playing, or go up to the edge and stroke them as they come by. There is the option of feeding them, but this is quite expensive, at $2 for four small fish! This really was the high light of my trip being able to fuss them. You can really hear them clicking at you too.

Nursery
As if playing with the grown ups wasn't enough, you can see the latest additions to the family at the nursery. There were two when we went, they were so cute. You can't touch them obviously but definitely not a place you want to miss.

Manatees
Otherwise known as sea cows, these majestic beasts move silently through the water. All of the ones at Seaworld are recovering from boating accidents, and nearly all have cuts down their backs. Highly endangered, this is one of the few places you can see them, although I was lucky enough to see them in the wild on my trip too. There's also a video you can watch on them there too.

Stingrays
Another hands on area. You can feel free to touch them or buy some shrimps to feed them with. Another expensive thing to do.

Turtles
I've never seen them this close before! Easily missed, so make sure you don't!

Tropical
A smallish aquarium has numerous tropical and marine fish for you to wonder at. "Nemo" was very popular with the kids as the film had just come out. You can see all sorts from seahorses to lobsters.

Seals
A whole host of seals and sea lions are waiting for you to go say hi here.

The Arctic
Yes you can visit the snow lands! Well nearly. There are two ways of getting there, by foot or by "air". We went by air, which was a simulator ride. Once there, you can see a variety of animals from a walrus to whales to polar bears. Make sure you visit this part, it's quiet and you'll kick yourself if you don't.


====The Rides====

This is what most theme parks are associated with. If you're someone who only goes for these, then you'll probably be disappointed, as apart from the Arctic ride, there are only two others.

That said, they're two of the biggest I've been on!

Kraken
If I remember correctly, this is the highest and fastest rollercoaster in Orlando. It goes upside down, round and round and is not for the faint hearted! We went on this so many times I lost count.

Journey to Atlantis
Otherwise known as a watershute! Definitely the best one I've ever been on both in the UK and the US. Be warned, if you don't want to get wet, don't sit in the front row, as we sat there and were soaked from the waist down all day!

====Other Bits====

Budweiser seems to be a big thing there! Eight horses pull a special wagon around, you can meet the horses in there stables when they're not on parade.

There's loads for kids to do and plenty of shops to keep us girlies happy. Pressed pennies are all the rage in the parks, so I would suggest choosing carefully before going overboard on getting these. There are around 40 odd in each park to collect and at 50 cents a time plus your penny, it can work out quite expensive. There are pressed quarters available too, which cost around a dollar a time.

I really liked the hedge cuttings dotted around the place. They're all in the form of an animal in the park, and in case you didn't realise it would make a good photo, most are labelled "photo point".

A giant killer whale walks around - like a Mickey Mouse at Disney - which all the kids seem to love. You can have you're piccie taken with him too.

Security is tight. You'll have all your bags searched before going in and if you've got the passes that we had, you'll have to sign a form for each surname in your party and produce proof of ID per surname. We took photo copies of passports for this.

There are plenty of places to eat around the park along with toilets. There are also washing facilities at any hands on areas.

====Cost====

As I say, we had a 5 park pass that lasts for 14 days from its first use. This cost around £150 each, which I thought was great value. Worth investing in, otherwise it will be around £30 each to get in for a single day.

====Over All====

Definitely go if you're in Orlando. I think people of all ages will enjoy it. Lay out a full day though so you can take your time. The first time we went, I was hauled around at someone else’s pace, and we missed nearly everything as all they were concerned with was the rides. When I went back a second time without that person - I shall name no names! - we saw so much more.

Thanks for reading

Summary: