Sea World, Florida is a great place for animal lovers. There is always lots to do here and I have never found that one day is enough, you really need two in order not to rush everything. I will pick out some of the highlights of the park, but there is much more than this to see and do.

Dolphins – everyone loves dolphins. Here you can see the show in which the dolphins do tricks etc in a huge pool and usually soak the audience. Or you can have a closed encounter and actual feed and stroke them. I did this and was spellbound, there is definitely something calming about being near a dolphin. If you are wondering what they feel like – image a peeled, wet boiled egg. I have never been able to describe it more accurately than that.

Whales – the Shamu show is breathtaking. It takes place in a huge arena with a large pool in which Shamu the whale does various tricks and manages to soak the first 20 rows of the audience. The most breathtaking trick is when a diver gets in the pool with her and they shoot up from out of the water with the diver standing on Shamus nose at very high speed. The show is also shown on a huge screen at the back of the pool, so you can see all the detail of the show.

Sealions – there is a sealion show – I think his name was Clyde. This is very funny and entertaining. Kids love it, you can almost believe that he can speak – well worth seeing.

Penguin Encounter – I just love penguins and this encounter is great. You walk through or ride a conveyer belt through a penguin paradise. There are rocks and water and it even snows here. Don’t worry though, you are on the other side of a large glass wall. You can watch the penguins sitting on nests, waddling about and as the glass descends to below water level, you can watch them swim.

Terrors of the Deep – this is the area to go to to see the fish swimming in huge tanks – some of which you walk through.
If you have been to a Sea Life centre in England, then you know the sort of thing – sharks swimming overhead, pet the sting rays etc.

Wild Artic is a simulator ride which takes you to the artic in a helicopter, however when the copter crashes you have to get out and explore until help arrives. This was obviously very real as my partners youngest daughter, who was seven at the time really thought we were there and was worried how we would bet back home! Once out of you “helicopter” you come across polar bears swimming and playing – you can see them underwater too which is really nice. You can also see Beluga Whales, which are a particular favourite of mine. Very cleverly done.

Sea World has much to offer and there is plenty of space and seating at the shows. You can buy special tickets which give you discounts and extra days at other parks such as Busch Gardens and Wet N Wild.