Frommer's Review
One of California's most heavily marketed attractions, SeaWorld, which opened here in 1964, is a big draw for a number of visitors coming to San Diego. With each passing year the educational pretext increasingly takes a back seat to slick shows and rides, but the park -- owned by the Anheuser-Busch Corporation -- is perhaps still the country's premiere showplace for marine life, made politically correct with a nominally informative atmosphere. At its heart, SeaWorld is a shoreside family entertainment center where the performers are dolphins, otters, sea lions, orcas, and seals. The 20-minute shows run several times each throughout the day, with visitors rotating through the various open-air amphitheaters and aquarium features.
Several successive 4-ton black-and-white killer whales have functioned as the park's mascot, and Believe, starring Shamu, is SeaWorld's most popular show. Performed in a 5,500-seat stadium, the stage is a 7-million-gallon pool lined with Plexiglas walls that magnify the huge performers. But think twice before you sit in the seats down front -- a high point of the act is multiple drenchings of the first 12 or so rows of spectators. A nighttime show, Shamu Rocks, featuring concert lighting and a remixed soundtrack, debuted in 2007. Most days, the venue fills before the two or three performances even start, so arrive early to get the seat you want. The slapstick Clyde and Seamore's Risky Rescue (sea lions and otters), the fast-paced Dolphin Discovery, and Pets Rule! are other performing animal routines, each in arenas seating more than 2,000. There are also shows focusing on humans: R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse, a "4-D" movie starring a roster of multisensory effects; and in summer, Cirque de la Mer, which features acrobatic acts.
The collection of rides is led by Journey to Atlantis, a 2004 arrival that combines a roller coaster and log flume with Atlantis mythology and a simulated earthquake. Shipwreck Rapids is a splashy adventure on raftlike inner tubes through caverns, waterfalls, and wild rivers; and Wild Arctic is a motion simulator helicopter trip to the frozen north. The Skytower and Skyride each cost an additional $3 to ride.
Guests disembarking Wild Arctic (or those using the ride bypass) find themselves in the midst of one of SeaWorld's real specialties: simulated marine environments. In this case, it's an arctic research station, surrounded by beautiful beluga whales, walruses, and polar bears. Other animal environments worth seeing are Manatee Rescue, Shark Encounter, and the Penguin Encounter. Each of these attractions exits into a gift shop selling theme merchandise. The 2-acre hands-on area called Shamu's Happy Harbor is designed for kids, and features everything from a pretend pirate ship, with plenty of netted towers, to tube crawls, slides, and chances to get wet.
The Dolphin and Wild Arctic Interaction programs allow people to meet bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales up close. Although the programs stop short of allowing you to swim with these animals, it does offer the opportunity to wade waist-deep with them and try giving training commands. These programs include some classroom time before you wriggle into a wet suit and climb into the water for 20 minutes. The cost is $150 to $160 per person (not including park admission); minimum age for participants is 6 for the dolphin program, 10 for the arctic. One step further is the Trainer for a Day program, a 7-hour work shift with an animal trainer. Food preparation, feeding, a training session with a dolphin, and lunch is included; the price is $495 per person ($150 to be an observer). It's limited to three participants daily, and the minimum age is 13. Advance reservations are required for all programs (tel. 800/257-4268, press 7).
Although SeaWorld is best known as the home to pirouetting dolphins and fluke-flinging killer whales, it also plays a role in rescuing and rehabilitating beached animals found along the West Coast. Still, there is a troubling aspect to this kind of facility -- for another point of view, check out the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society at www.wdcs.org.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
