Blue Horizons show and birds...!?

[AussieAngel]

Quick question... Do the birds in the Blue Horizon show fly near the audience?!

I love dolphins and would be devestated to miss their show, however it also features.... BIRDS! AUGH! Birds freak me out, especially if they fly anywhere near me.

Weird, yes, but true!!

So... has anyone seen this show? If so, can you explain what part the birds play in it? If they swoop the audience, I'm outta there, unfortunately!!

 

[DixieDolphin]

Yup, they do.

They have blue & gold macaws who do an audience fly-over, a whole flock of sun conures that do as well, and a large condor that makes a quick appearance before the false killer whales perform.

 

[AussieAngel]

Oh dear!!!

Thanks for your reply, DixieDolphin.

I guess my next questions should be... Are the dolphins in it a lot? Is the show really, really good!?

If it is, maybe I should face my fears and go anyway.

Or at least, squeeze my eyes shut tight anytime a bird comes out...

 

[DixieDolphin]

It's definitely worth checking out! It's one of the better shows they have running currently.

Hmm... here's a thought: Sit away from the aisles (the aviculture staff tend to stand in the aisles to retrieve the birds after their free flight bit). Stay out of the upper lefthand (or 'stage right') corner of the stadium, as the condor is released from a box up there. And try to sit mid-to-low-center. The birds tend to fly around the perimeter of the audience, staying pretty high up. They don't /always/ follow this pattern, so there's no gaurantee... but generally I don't see them overhead quite as often in the mid-to-lower center of the stadium seating.

In case you want to close your eyes, here's when the birds come out:

(SHOW SPOILERS TO FOLLOW)

After the first dolphin act, a scarlet macaw lands on the pink trainer's arm (but doesn't really approach the audience)... during this segment, a bunch of bird-dressed-people will come out and perform. They will also let the blue & gold macaws do their fly-over, which doesn't last too long.

Then, the music will turn 'dark' and they'll release the condor. He'll fly over from the upper left corner of the stadium and land backstage behind the set.

After that, you'll be bird free until the very end. During the big finale, they'll let the sun conures out. There are a lot of them, but they usually fly over the water and end up in the trees behind the show set.

Hope this helps! =)

 

[AussieAngel]

Wow, DixieDolphin! That's amazing! Thankyou!! You're definitely a SeaWorld expert... maybe you choreographed the show!

That does, however, sound a little bit terrifying. Birds flying everywhere!! I guess I'll have to wait and see if I'm feeling brave enough on the day.

If I do, I'll definitely take your advice and sit in the mid to low centre.

Thanks again!!

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

aussieangle i have alittle bit of the show on my computer if you'd like i can upload it for you, You should also check youtube for the show, most likely you can ee and get a taste of the show.. dont worry they wont hurt you their trained and fly pretty high but fair warning the lower you sit the better chances you will get splahed..lol i learned that one quick..

 

[AussieAngel]

Hey, thanks for your suggestion, Tillikumtrainer! I watched some footage on YouTube... but couldn't really find much with the birds in it. It was mostly footage of the dolphins whizzing around, which was very cool!

I think I'll be brave and go see the show. I'd be really disappointed with myself if I missed out on seeing the dolphins performing!

Really, it's the birds wings that I'm scared of. But as you said, they're well trained and won't touch me... will they!? How close do the birds actually get to the audience's heads?

Goodness me, I sound like such a scaredy-cat!

 

[DixieDolphin]

I expect, but couldn't say for sure, that those birds are trained to stay away from the guests for liability's sake (a macaw can put quite the nasty bite on if poked and prodded).

All the times I've gone (which is a whole lot), I've never once been touched by any of the birds. Only time I've had them really come close was when I was sitting real high up in the stadium and they buzzed me about three feet overhead (there's not much room left between you & the ceiling at that height in the seating). But they've never approached closely enough for me to even feel the wind off of them. =)

 

[RR0206]

Just weighing in myself, I would almost say that the best place to sit IS upper-left-hand of the stadium. If you sit near that top corner, but NOT in front of the Condor-box, I'm almost certain the birds don't fly up there.

If you sit below / infront of the condor box you'll be having him swoop partially over you, but if you're even with it and to the side you won't. You'll see him clearly fly by but you'll be fine.

As for when they are flying, the birds only want to land on their trainers however stupid guests do reach up and try (and sometimes succeed) in touching them.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

I expect, but couldn't say for sure, that those birds are trained to stay away from the guests for liability's sake (a macaw can put quite the nasty bite on if poked and prodded).

All the times I've gone (which is a whole lot), I've never once been touched by any of the birds. Only time I've had them really come close was when I was sitting real high up in the stadium and they buzzed me about three feet overhead (there's not much room left between you & the ceiling at that height in the seating). But they've never approached closely enough for me to even feel the wind off of them. =)

I was once sitting on the aisle and the bird trainer happened to stand right beside me. When the bird flew in, I felt his wings in my hair!

 

[AussieAngel]

When the bird flew in, I felt his wings in my hair!

Oh my. AUUUUUGHHHHH!

That sentence nearly made me decide never, ever to go see this show!

It seems I'll just have to pick my spot in the crowd carefully.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Oh my. AUUUUUGHHHHH!

That sentence nearly made me decide never, ever to go see this show!

It seems I'll just have to pick my spot in the crowd carefully.

Don't let that scare you! Just don't sit in the aisle!

 

[FlaNative]

But they've never approached closely enough for me to even feel the wind off of them. =)

Uh, when the condor "takes off" he has to dive and freefall a bit to get enough air speed to start flying. Last month I sat about 1/3 the way up, about 20 feet from the left edge of the stands. When the big bird fell out of his cage he came directly over my head at about 3 to 5 feet, and though his wing did not hit me, I felt the wind as he went over. However he is going so fast that by the time you notice you just got buzzed, he is already over the water. As long as you look alive, he won't stop and try to grab a bite to eat.

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

AussieAngel I sent you a message with my home video of the show..

 

[DixieDolphin]

LOL, guess I've just never been sitting in the Buzzed-By-Birds section. I usually sit in just the same areas I described, as they're pretty good for photos.

Anyway, good luck to the OP! It's not so bad, really... the rest of the show is really worth it, in my opinion. =)

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

i actually sent her my video and she decided she's going to see the show anyway yay !! here is my video if you want to see it.. i told her exactly where i was sitting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy91wFb-anM

and she plans to do it yay!!! please message us when you come back from SW Aussieangel we def. want to hear how everything went.

 

[AussieAngel]

please message us when you come back from SW Aussieangel we def. want to hear how everything went.

Okay, I will!!

Thanks for all your help and friendly comments, guys!!

 

[Manymice]

We're going to the show tomorrow and have been several times before. I have to agree with other posters who say that depending on where you are you will actually feel the birds wings in your hair. Big birds!

One time I went they did an X pattern from top right to bottom left and top left to bottom right. We just happened to be smack in the center and it totally creeped me out. Their feet touched my BIL's hat.... ewww!

So, to be safe, don't sit smack in the center of the show