pinktink83
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DAY 1 of 3
DAY 3 of 3
Post 2 of 3: Day 2 SEAWORLD
When: Sunday-Thursday August 5th-9th 2007
Who: DH, me, DS6 and DD4, Grandma #1 & DH's sister 18, Grandma #2 and my bro 19
Where: SeaWorld, La Jolla beach, San Diego Harbor
Hotel: Motel 6 La Mesa
Transportation: drove from AZ
Park Package: "borrowed" SeaWorld "2 day for the price of 1" tickets
Weather: high 70's, low 80's, overcast in the mornings, sunny in the afternoons, cool breezes, very nice!
Day 1 is our hotel review. Day 2 will have our SeaWorld review, day 3/4 will have our La Jolla beach and SD Harbor review! HTH!
Day 2, Monday 8/6: The next morning we got up around 7am, got showered and dressed and ready for SeaWorld!!
We left around 8:45am and (after getting slightly lost for 15 minutes) waited in line, got in the park and situated by 10:00am. For those curious, we had "borrowed" tickets from my cousins who had just been to SeaWorld a couple weeks earlier. They bought the "2 days for the price of 1" tickets, but only went 1 day. So they gave us their extra tickets (which helped out SO MUCH!) 
We were concerned they might not work, and as we stood in line we saw that they do indeed have fingerprint scanners at the turnstiles and were checking most people. However, we all got through just fine, no fingerprint scans, no IDs required. The only ticket that didn't work was one that had my uncle's name printed directly on it, so my brother had to run back and buy a ticket. The other tickets were blank. I dont know what the method is to their madness and why some seemed to get checked and others didn't (perhaps only year pass holders are fingerprint-ed?) 
who knows!? Anyway, we got in and it saved us $200 so yippee! 
I'll do a run down of the shows by the order we saw them, all the shows were between 20-25 minutes long, and most of the day shows had a showing every 1-2 hours starting at 11am and ending around 6pm. The night shows had 2 showings each, starting around 7pm with the last showing around 8-9:30pm. I had printed out a map from the SeaWorld website before we went, and had divided up the shows, rides, eating areas and attractions into 5 sections according to where there were in the park. I wrote those under the map part (it only took up half the page) and then listed each one on the map itself, too. Then we tried to go around the park in a clockwise fashion, but no matter where we ended up, we could just glance at our map real quick and see what attractions were close by and cross them off as we saw them. It was really helpful and we were able to do everything we wanted to without a ton of backtracking. Otherwise I think we would have wasted a lot of valuable time hemming and hawing about where to go next.
Believe: The kids wanted to see Shamu straight away so off we went for the first showing of Believe at 11am. We arrived about 45 minutes early and chose seats in the upper "soak zone" though there were plenty still available all over. However, by the time the show started we were so HOT we wish we had sat lower down in the middle of the zone so we could've gotten wet...no splashes reached the top few rows.
***one reminder: PLEASE remember sunscreen!!!!*** We didn't start applying it until we were seated and waiting for the show to start and that wasn't soon enough. I got a really bad (and stupid looking) sunburn along the side of my neck, it looked fantastic the next day at the beach 
and so did a few of the others in our group (don't forget your ears and scalp/hair part!). The show itself was SO CHEESY, DH, the teen sibs and I just laughed and rolled our eyes all the through. (Whatever happened to actually LEARNING about the whales?!) Now its all "Saturday morning special" inspirational (which isn't in itself bad, just not what we're at SeaWorld for, haha) 
However, the kids LOVED it and you could actually see the moment when my DS6 magically decided he wanted to be a "marine biologist" when he grew up, haha. 
(didn't we all back then?!) The show is mostly focused on the younger whales though, Shamu only came out towards the end, but the kids didnt know the difference! And it was still really cool, the whales did a lot of fun tricks and it was very interesting to watch. Afterwards we bought some frozen lemonade at the drink stand right outside ($4 each), then hit up the Rocky Pointe Reserve. It was SO crowded, and there is actually a line you have to stand in now to get up to the side. We couldn't really see the dolphins, it was all roped off everywhere else, which was pretty disappointing b/c that was my favorite part when I was a kid. So we left that pretty quick and saw the sea otters, and then the Forbidden Reef for the stingrays and eels which the kids LOVED. TIP: theres a really cool little Japanese garden right behind the pearl jewelry shop at the Forbidden Reef which has a GREAT photo op, some really pretty mini flamingos, bonsai trees, shrines, and a pond!
Dolphin Discovery & Coconut Bay Cafe (lunch!): Next we headed up to the Tide Pools for the starfishes, then went through the World of the Sea Aquarium. We walked past Flamingo Cove, went through the FreshWater Aquarium, Shark Encounter and the Manatee Rescue (which was really hot & stuffy inside for some reason, but we LOVED it so don't let that deter you!). It was after 12 at this point and we were all pretty hungry so we stopped at Coconut Bay Cafe for sandwiches and smoothies. It was $6 for a kids meal which included a turkey sandwich, carrot sticks, raisins in a plastic SeaWorld lunchbox, which the kids liked. They ate it all. For adults we got turkey sandwiches and fries for $8 and a large fruit smoothie for $5. It was actually really good (lots of meat, toppings, yummy bread) and the portions were big, in fact, some of our group split 1 meal just fine. The eating area was nice, right off the water with a pretty view, canopy overhead and bathrooms nearby. The lines however were LONG. Be prepared to wait 30-45 minutes before you eat. :/ And if you want a smoothie and a meal you have to stand in two different lines, so split up to save time. I really wish the park didn't discourage you to bring your own lunches...we did see some people there with their own, but we had decided not to bother with it. It used up a lot of our time standing in line and was just a big PITA. They really need more vendors/workers/something!!! Next we went to the Dolphin show, I think it was the 2:30 showing, and we got there about 20 minutes early and got okay seats. It was a smaller sized stadium. We reapplied more sunscreen as we waited. This show was kind of dissapointing, which I had read, but didnt want to believe haha. Now I do!! Half the show was just singing songs with the guitar dude (which was fun) and then half of the other half was spent watching pilot whales, and finally the dolphins for the last portion. They didn't even really do that much....I remembered them doing a lot of jumps and playing with balls, etc when I went as a teen, and this time they only did a few flips, and only one jump up to the flag. The kids liked it, but weren't as impressed as with Shamu. I might even daresay that if you're running out of time...skip this one altogether in favor of something else.
Pets Rule! Afterwards we went to Pacific Point for the Sea Lions. Bought some more frozen lemonade (that stuff was GOOD!) and laid in the shade for awhile to rest. It was pretty hot at this point and we were getting tired. We went to the 4pm showing of Pets Rule! which I HIGHLY recommend. I think it was pretty much everyone's favorite, even the young adult/teens! It was SO funny! It was a smaller stadium, too, but we showed 15 minutes prior and got great seats, and it wasn't completely full until the show almost started. So its a good one to sneak into at the last second. I understand now why everyone raves about this show! 
Cirque de la Mer: Afterwards we went over to the Wild Artic...the rest of our group stood in line for the ride simulator, and I stayed outside with my DD4 (she wasnt tall enough and I was pregnant, so neither of us could go on it) we watched the penguins at the outdoor pool across the way for 15 minutes then headed back into the Wild Artic exhibit side to catch up with our group. All of the group said the ride was NOT worth waiting for (well, actually DS6 thought it was pretty cool, haha) the graphics weren't very good and it was kind if cheesy. Plus, you can actually watch it when you go through the "exhibit only" side, the benches just dont move. We walked through and saw the polar bears, walruses, and beluga whales. Next time, we'll skip the ride part and just go straight to the animals.
Then we went through the Penguin Encounter (yay! nice and cold inside!). It was almost time for the last showing of Cirque de la Mer which was at 6:30pm. I wanted to see it since I know we'll never be able to afford the $300 Las Vegas tickets, haha. We got there 30 minutes early and got pretty good seats, it was a large stadium and the show is way out in the bay so any seat would be a good seat IMO. However, this show was kind of lame. Half of it was watching an audience member being messed around with by two clowns, and by the middle I was like "Ok, enough with the tourist, I want to see the ACROBATS" The kids liked it well enough though, and I guess now I can say that I've seen the so-raved about Cirque performers. 
Afterwards we walked into the Aquarium de la Mer, but walked right back out (it was CROWDED) and it only had little fishies in little tanks that were high up on the wall (not very kid friendly), and we had seen plenty of other fish already in the other, bigger aquariums.
SeaLionsTonight: After Cirque de la Mer our group split up...the boys went to stand in line for the Shipwreck Rapids ride (a 45 minute wait) and the girls went to Pineapple Pete's for some funnel cake and hot chocolate as it was getting chilly since the breeze had begun to pick up and the sun was going down. And let me just say: YUM!!!
You could get it with powdered sugar, soft serve ice cream and whipped cream with either strawberries or cinnamon apples, or the chocolate version which had the same plus hot fudge- we got one of each and shared! Then we went to save seats at the Sea Lions show, 30 minutes before the last showing which was at 8:15pm, and the boys got done with their ride just in the nick of time. We had decided to opt out of the Risky Rescue Sea Lions Show earlier in the day in favor of the night show SeaLions Tonight. However, if the day show is anything like the night show, we will *definitely* do it next time!!! SeaLions Tonight was SO FUNNY! Our whole group was laughing, it was great!
Shamu Rocks: Straight after SeaLions ended we walked over to the Shamu stadium for the last showing of Shamu Rocks which was at 9:30pm. We got a little lost on the way (that park is so confusing) and so we didn't get there until 35 minutes before the show and even then barely got good seats. So if you do this, hustle over there fast!!! Our group split up again at the stadium and some saved seats while the rest of us hit up the gift shops nearby (yikes! it was crowded!!) and bought our souvenirs. Shamu Rocks was a fun show, and not nearly as cheesy as Believe was! It was a great way to end the day. Then there were fireworks afterwards for a couple minutes which you could see from your seats (so stay put!) Then we packed up and drove back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!!!
All in all, it was the kid's favorite part of our trip, and they had a lot of fun at everything we went to, and loved seeing all the animals and fish. It was very doable in just one day, especially if you had it mapped out prior like I did. However, we could have found more things to do if we went back a 2nd day, like caught the other show we missed (Risky Rescue), played at the Happy Harbor water park, actually stood in line for the dolphins at Discovery Cove, and gone on the Journey to Atlantis ride and we probably would've taken our first day a lot slower, too. Looking back I would probably have skipped the Cirque show altogether and just stood in line for the dolphins instead. And skipped the Wild Artic ride in favor of the Journey to Atlantis ride. I still miss the "days of old" where you actually got to LEARN about the animals you were watching instead of getting some cheesy "Saturday morning special" show but ah well. Times they are changin' I guess. LOL!
Click HERE for DAY 3 of 3: La Jolla beach/SD Harbor review!
DAY 1 of 3
DAY 3 of 3
Post 2 of 3: Day 2 SEAWORLD
When: Sunday-Thursday August 5th-9th 2007
Who: DH, me, DS6 and DD4, Grandma #1 & DH's sister 18, Grandma #2 and my bro 19
Where: SeaWorld, La Jolla beach, San Diego Harbor
Hotel: Motel 6 La Mesa
Transportation: drove from AZ
Park Package: "borrowed" SeaWorld "2 day for the price of 1" tickets
Weather: high 70's, low 80's, overcast in the mornings, sunny in the afternoons, cool breezes, very nice!
Day 1 is our hotel review. Day 2 will have our SeaWorld review, day 3/4 will have our La Jolla beach and SD Harbor review! HTH!
Day 2, Monday 8/6: The next morning we got up around 7am, got showered and dressed and ready for SeaWorld!!
We left around 8:45am and (after getting slightly lost for 15 minutes) waited in line, got in the park and situated by 10:00am. For those curious, we had "borrowed" tickets from my cousins who had just been to SeaWorld a couple weeks earlier. They bought the "2 days for the price of 1" tickets, but only went 1 day. So they gave us their extra tickets (which helped out SO MUCH!) We were concerned they might not work, and as we stood in line we saw that they do indeed have fingerprint scanners at the turnstiles and were checking most people. However, we all got through just fine, no fingerprint scans, no IDs required. The only ticket that didn't work was one that had my uncle's name printed directly on it, so my brother had to run back and buy a ticket. The other tickets were blank. I dont know what the method is to their madness and why some seemed to get checked and others didn't (perhaps only year pass holders are fingerprint-ed?) who knows!? Anyway, we got in and it saved us $200 so yippee! I'll do a run down of the shows by the order we saw them, all the shows were between 20-25 minutes long, and most of the day shows had a showing every 1-2 hours starting at 11am and ending around 6pm. The night shows had 2 showings each, starting around 7pm with the last showing around 8-9:30pm. I had printed out a map from the SeaWorld website before we went, and had divided up the shows, rides, eating areas and attractions into 5 sections according to where there were in the park. I wrote those under the map part (it only took up half the page) and then listed each one on the map itself, too. Then we tried to go around the park in a clockwise fashion, but no matter where we ended up, we could just glance at our map real quick and see what attractions were close by and cross them off as we saw them. It was really helpful and we were able to do everything we wanted to without a ton of backtracking. Otherwise I think we would have wasted a lot of valuable time hemming and hawing about where to go next.
Believe: The kids wanted to see Shamu straight away so off we went for the first showing of Believe at 11am. We arrived about 45 minutes early and chose seats in the upper "soak zone" though there were plenty still available all over. However, by the time the show started we were so HOT we wish we had sat lower down in the middle of the zone so we could've gotten wet...no splashes reached the top few rows.
***one reminder: PLEASE remember sunscreen!!!!*** We didn't start applying it until we were seated and waiting for the show to start and that wasn't soon enough. I got a really bad (and stupid looking) sunburn along the side of my neck, it looked fantastic the next day at the beach and so did a few of the others in our group (don't forget your ears and scalp/hair part!). The show itself was SO CHEESY, DH, the teen sibs and I just laughed and rolled our eyes all the through. (Whatever happened to actually LEARNING about the whales?!) Now its all "Saturday morning special" inspirational (which isn't in itself bad, just not what we're at SeaWorld for, haha) However, the kids LOVED it and you could actually see the moment when my DS6 magically decided he wanted to be a "marine biologist" when he grew up, haha. (didn't we all back then?!) The show is mostly focused on the younger whales though, Shamu only came out towards the end, but the kids didnt know the difference! And it was still really cool, the whales did a lot of fun tricks and it was very interesting to watch. Afterwards we bought some frozen lemonade at the drink stand right outside ($4 each), then hit up the Rocky Pointe Reserve. It was SO crowded, and there is actually a line you have to stand in now to get up to the side. We couldn't really see the dolphins, it was all roped off everywhere else, which was pretty disappointing b/c that was my favorite part when I was a kid. So we left that pretty quick and saw the sea otters, and then the Forbidden Reef for the stingrays and eels which the kids LOVED. TIP: theres a really cool little Japanese garden right behind the pearl jewelry shop at the Forbidden Reef which has a GREAT photo op, some really pretty mini flamingos, bonsai trees, shrines, and a pond!Dolphin Discovery & Coconut Bay Cafe (lunch!): Next we headed up to the Tide Pools for the starfishes, then went through the World of the Sea Aquarium. We walked past Flamingo Cove, went through the FreshWater Aquarium, Shark Encounter and the Manatee Rescue (which was really hot & stuffy inside for some reason, but we LOVED it so don't let that deter you!). It was after 12 at this point and we were all pretty hungry so we stopped at Coconut Bay Cafe for sandwiches and smoothies. It was $6 for a kids meal which included a turkey sandwich, carrot sticks, raisins in a plastic SeaWorld lunchbox, which the kids liked. They ate it all. For adults we got turkey sandwiches and fries for $8 and a large fruit smoothie for $5. It was actually really good (lots of meat, toppings, yummy bread) and the portions were big, in fact, some of our group split 1 meal just fine. The eating area was nice, right off the water with a pretty view, canopy overhead and bathrooms nearby. The lines however were LONG. Be prepared to wait 30-45 minutes before you eat. :/ And if you want a smoothie and a meal you have to stand in two different lines, so split up to save time. I really wish the park didn't discourage you to bring your own lunches...we did see some people there with their own, but we had decided not to bother with it. It used up a lot of our time standing in line and was just a big PITA. They really need more vendors/workers/something!!! Next we went to the Dolphin show, I think it was the 2:30 showing, and we got there about 20 minutes early and got okay seats. It was a smaller sized stadium. We reapplied more sunscreen as we waited. This show was kind of dissapointing, which I had read, but didnt want to believe
haha. Now I do!! Half the show was just singing songs with the guitar dude (which was fun) and then half of the other half was spent watching pilot whales, and finally the dolphins for the last portion. They didn't even really do that much....I remembered them doing a lot of jumps and playing with balls, etc when I went as a teen, and this time they only did a few flips, and only one jump up to the flag. The kids liked it, but weren't as impressed as with Shamu. I might even daresay that if you're running out of time...skip this one altogether in favor of something else. Pets Rule! Afterwards we went to Pacific Point for the Sea Lions. Bought some more frozen lemonade (that stuff was GOOD!)
and laid in the shade for awhile to rest. It was pretty hot at this point and we were getting tired. We went to the 4pm showing of Pets Rule! which I HIGHLY recommend. I think it was pretty much everyone's favorite, even the young adult/teens! It was SO funny! It was a smaller stadium, too, but we showed 15 minutes prior and got great seats, and it wasn't completely full until the show almost started. So its a good one to sneak into at the last second. I understand now why everyone raves about this show! Cirque de la Mer: Afterwards we went over to the Wild Artic...the rest of our group stood in line for the ride simulator, and I stayed outside with my DD4 (she wasnt tall enough and I was pregnant, so neither of us could go on it) we watched the penguins at the outdoor pool across the way for 15 minutes then headed back into the Wild Artic exhibit side to catch up with our group. All of the group said the ride was NOT worth waiting for (well, actually DS6 thought it was pretty cool, haha) the graphics weren't very good and it was kind if cheesy. Plus, you can actually watch it when you go through the "exhibit only" side, the benches just dont move. We walked through and saw the polar bears, walruses, and beluga whales. Next time, we'll skip the ride part and just go straight to the animals.
Then we went through the Penguin Encounter (yay! nice and cold inside!). It was almost time for the last showing of Cirque de la Mer which was at 6:30pm. I wanted to see it since I know we'll never be able to afford the $300 Las Vegas tickets, haha. We got there 30 minutes early and got pretty good seats, it was a large stadium and the show is way out in the bay so any seat would be a good seat IMO. However, this show was kind of lame. Half of it was watching an audience member being messed around with by two clowns, and by the middle I was like "Ok, enough with the tourist, I want to see the ACROBATS" The kids liked it well enough though, and I guess now I can say that I've seen the so-raved about Cirque performers. Afterwards we walked into the Aquarium de la Mer, but walked right back out (it was CROWDED) and it only had little fishies in little tanks that were high up on the wall (not very kid friendly), and we had seen plenty of other fish already in the other, bigger aquariums.SeaLionsTonight: After Cirque de la Mer our group split up...the boys went to stand in line for the Shipwreck Rapids ride (a 45 minute wait) and the girls went to Pineapple Pete's for some funnel cake and hot chocolate as it was getting chilly since the breeze had begun to pick up and the sun was going down. And let me just say: YUM!!!
You could get it with powdered sugar, soft serve ice cream and whipped cream with either strawberries or cinnamon apples, or the chocolate version which had the same plus hot fudge- we got one of each and shared! Then we went to save seats at the Sea Lions show, 30 minutes before the last showing which was at 8:15pm, and the boys got done with their ride just in the nick of time. We had decided to opt out of the Risky Rescue Sea Lions Show earlier in the day in favor of the night show SeaLions Tonight. However, if the day show is anything like the night show, we will *definitely* do it next time!!! SeaLions Tonight was SO FUNNY! Our whole group was laughing, it was great! Shamu Rocks: Straight after SeaLions ended we walked over to the Shamu stadium for the last showing of Shamu Rocks which was at 9:30pm. We got a little lost on the way (that park is so confusing) and so we didn't get there until 35 minutes before the show and even then barely got good seats. So if you do this, hustle over there fast!!! Our group split up again at the stadium and some saved seats while the rest of us hit up the gift shops nearby (yikes! it was crowded!!) and bought our souvenirs. Shamu Rocks was a fun show, and not nearly as cheesy as Believe was! It was a great way to end the day. Then there were fireworks afterwards for a couple minutes which you could see from your seats (so stay put!) Then we packed up and drove back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!!!
All in all, it was the kid's favorite part of our trip, and they had a lot of fun at everything we went to, and loved seeing all the animals and fish. It was very doable in just one day, especially if you had it mapped out prior like I did. However, we could have found more things to do if we went back a 2nd day, like caught the other show we missed (Risky Rescue), played at the Happy Harbor water park, actually stood in line for the dolphins at Discovery Cove, and gone on the Journey to Atlantis ride and we probably would've taken our first day a lot slower, too. Looking back I would probably have skipped the Cirque show altogether and just stood in line for the dolphins instead. And skipped the Wild Artic ride in favor of the Journey to Atlantis ride. I still miss the "days of old" where you actually got to LEARN about the animals you were watching instead of getting some cheesy "Saturday morning special" show but ah well. Times they are changin' I guess.
LOL!Click HERE for DAY 3 of 3: La Jolla beach/SD Harbor review!
