OT: Seaworld animal encounters?

[kcromley]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but does anyone have experience with the Seaworld animal swims other than dolphins? The Seaworld in Texas offers swims with whales, seals, etc, and I was wondering if anyone had insight into the experience! thanks in advance!

 

[kc7gr]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but does anyone have experience with the Seaworld animal swims other than dolphins? The Seaworld in Texas offers swims with whales, seals, etc, and I was wondering if anyone had insight into the experience! thanks in advance!

No direct experience per se (though I did get to touch one of their eagles once, at Orlando during a private event).

HOWEVER -- I do feel qualified, having visited most of the oceanariums and zoos in North America, to give some advice. That advice is to see if you can observe a session of whatever program you want to do BEFORE you even think of signing on the dotted line. This will help give you some idea of whether the program will give you the experience you expect in the way that you expect it. Watching first could save you some serious dollars and disappointment, not necessarily in that order.

I learned a hard and expensive lesson along those lines back in 2002, when I, along with my wife and two friends, visited Discovery Cove for the first time. Just as a quick summary -- The aviary was the high point of the trip. Absolutely gorgeous design, incredible array of featherheads, and wonderful staff. Had we known that the dolphin "swim" was going to be the poor excuse for such that it was, it's unlikely that we would have shelled out the extra $$ for it.

We all know now to do the 'Unobtrusive Observer' bit FIRST at every park we visit that has any sort of animal interactive program. If the park involved doesn't permit observers beforehand, then we figure we can live without participating.

Happy travels.

---
Bruce "What are they doing now?" Lane
ARS KC7GR
Associate member, AZA, AAZK, IMATA

 

[dismorgh]

We live near San Antonio and went on the Beluga whale interaction last year. Wow!! What a wonderful experience! It was truly amazing and our whole family loved it! The cost might seem a bit steep ($150/person) to some, but we thought it was worth every penny! Here's a pic: