Sea World

Today we took the kids to Sea World! I have not been to Sea World since I was very young and Robert had never been at all! The kids were very excited to go although I think they were planning more of a theme park day...because all they could talk about was the rides! We waited to go until the afternoon because we were supposed to be covered in some pretty severe thunderstorms that would be passing through by the afternoon. It was actually really good timing because we drove in to Sea World with heavy rain and lots of thunder and lightning. Everyone was leaving the park and the parking lot was practically empty! We got a space right up front! Jen was feeding Tiegan and by the time she finished, the storm had passed!
We got into the park about 4pm and we had planned to stay until park closing so we could see the fireworks. Since the storm had come the temperatures were mild and the park was pretty empty! We took the kids to the section of the park where the rides are and they rode the carousel and the shamu roller coaster and then Robert and I took Paige and Cole over to "BELIEVE" which is the Shamu show. Jen and her kids had already seen it so they went to feed the dolphins.

For "BELIEVE" we sat in the soak zone only to get the true experience. We were right up front by the tank and the show was amazing! It was so much better than I remembered it being, but of course there have probably been a lot of changes over the years!

Cole did NOT like getting splashed by Shamu!

After the show we met back up with Jen and the other kids and watched a little bit of the motor boat and waterskiing spectacular and then we headed over to the Arctic Encounter. The Arctic Encounter was awesome!! There are 2 ways to experience this exhibit. One is by walking through, and the other is by a simulated Helicopter ride (similar to Star Tours at Disneyland). Robert took the big kids on the helicopter and Jen and I took Cole and Tanner, Tucker and Tiegan on the walkway. Robert told me the helicopter simulation is a ride that takes you on a flight to the Arctic circle and then crash lands. When they came off the ride they met up with us at the Balooga Whale exhibit. The guide there told us the waters these beautiful creatures were swimming in is 50 degrees and if you fell in you would last 3-4 minutes before freezing to death. Brrr!
The balooga whales were so graceful swimming and the whole area was made cold by the giant wall of ice surrounding it. The ice was real, you could touch it.
After leaving the whale exhibit we went into the Polar Bear exhibit. The polar bears at Sea World in Orlando are KLONDIKE and SNOW! For those of you Denver people, you know that they were born here a few years ago... it was cool to see them again - all grown up!
After that we went to the sunken ship part of the exhibit. It also had a room full of would be supplies for an actic exploration. It was really neat.
When we came out of the Arctic Encounter it was dark. They had a big area with live entertainment and several people were dancing. I guess the DJ's job was to get everyone to stay for what Sea World calls the "encore." SHAMU ROCKS is the night time Shamu spectacular. The show was every bit as amazing as it sounds! The lights, the music, and of course, the whales! The kids really enjoyed it and I think it was the highlight of MY day!

After Shamu rocks we sought out a place to watch the fireworks. Compared to what we have seen at Disney, they were a bit of a disappointment. But it was still worth it to stay late to see Shamu Rocks!