By Jeffrey A. Rendall
Sea World combines animal trick show entertainment with modern amusement park thrills
Having toured a sampling of central Florida’s non-Disney recreational offerings the previous few days getting a taste of major league spring training, delving into the deep and dark world of the Titanic Artifact Exhibition and discovering the very living (and slithering?) world of Wild Florida Adventure Park, it was time to take a walk on the conventional side by going to a good ol’ fashion amusement park.
But not Disney.
Our original goal for our spring break trip to Orlando was to do central Florida on the cheap. Since we bought 11-park passes for Busch Gardens Williamsburg in central Virginia, one of the incentives for purchasing an annual pass was the prospect of having several of the group’s theme parks included in the deal.
One of the 11 was Sea World in Orlando, as was a water park called Aquatica and Busch Gardens in Tampa, about an hour and a half’s drive from where we were situated. We’d originally intended to try Busch Gardens in Tampa in addition, but we opted to stay closer to the home base and visit Sea World, which literally was next door to our resort, instead.
First we picked up a member of our party at the Orlando airport, which was surprisingly easy to navigate and self-explanatory. Not bad for as large as the Orlando airport is.
Having seen the park’s entrances before, it wasn’t hard to locate the spot we were supposed to begin our Sea World Visit. We flashed our Busch Gardens pass – which we were told included VIP parking at all parks – and a quick wave-through from the attendant indicated things were thus far going as planned.
Upon approaching the ticketing window, however, we weren’t able to redeem one of our guest passes for Sea World. What? When we purchased the passes before Christmas last year, we were told that each 11-park pass included eight guest passes per ticket, none of which we had yet redeemed. The automated system didn’t elaborate, either.
Talking with a human park ticket seller, we were informed that the guest pass portion of our tickets were only honored at our “home” park, which was in Virginia. Here, practically a thousand miles south of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, we couldn’t use them. Our 11-park passes were good as gold, but the member of our party that “only” had a Williamsburg Busch Gardens pass would need to purchase a pass for Sea World.
The “fun” pass for Sea World was good for a year’s admission to the Orlando park, but wouldn’t be honored at the other Sea World parks, either. There’s a Sea World park in San Diego which it’s possible we could visit later this summer. But we’d run into the same problem there, too.
So beware when buying annual passes to theme parks. Prior to handing over your credit card, clarify what’s included – and what isn’t. You’ll save time, hassle and money for when the moment arrives.
We were also told that we’d have to purchase the “Fun Pass” online in order to receive the best rate, so we left the park and went back to our resort to do it on the computer. More first-world problems that we didn’t have to deal with decades ago when everyone purchased a cardboard ticket and received a book of A through E tickets at Disneyland. Those were the days. Life was simpler.
Returning to the park was similarly easy, but we noticed that the crowd had started to grow in the interim. There was a line at security this time, which was a new feature of our contemporary existence. Armed security at large gathering places is the reality, which, kind of like at an airport, mandates emptying pockets, turning over smart phones and allowing personnel to peak in purses and carry bags.
For some reason I triggered the metal detector, the same one I’d passed through and was waved through just a couple hours before. A park employee, rather rudely told me I’d need to walk through again. I noticed I hadn’t taken my car keys out of my pocket, so I showed them to the security folks and said, “What did I do?”, since there wasn’t 
a little basket to fill with the keys, phone, coins, etc.
“What did I do?” I repeated.
By this time, the Sea World people were waving me through without any kind of indication that I’d “passed” the examination. I was confused. “What did I do?” I said again, basically only wondering what had been the difference before, and hoping to avoid having to do it again.
I didn’t receive an answer, which didn’t leave a positive opening impression of Sea World Orlando. Employees process tens of thousands of people every day, so some empathy is called for, but they can keep it in mind as well. I had to have a special security check in Lakeland the other day in addition. Maybe I just look scary.
Once inside the park, we noticed that Sea World doesn’t look the same as it once did. For me, it’s been about 20 years since I went to Sea World in San Diego, and haven’t had reason to do it since. We’d heard that the park had added “thrill” rides to their repertoire of amusements, and judging by the rather large metal tracks jutting skyward throughout the park, we knew it was the truth.
I’d gone to Sea World a number of times in the late 1970s and 1980’s, and the emphasis back then was wowing visitors with the amazing intelligence of the sea creatures, which were trained to do all sorts of tricks and were rewarded with generous amounts of fish for their performances. The animals didn’t seem unhappy at the human prodding, but apparently some of the orcas (killer whales) had rebelled against the humans at certain points.
There have been no documented cases of wild orcas attacking humans, but the captive orcas – or a couple of them over the years – have exhibited stress factors from “captivity”. It’s dangerous being an orca trainer, and the humans no longer ride the whales like they used to. I also recall how the shows had themes and storylines to them back then, and the main Orca was named “Shamu”. Guests would be treated to a sampling of the awe-inspiring things these intelligent creatures could do while attending the “Shamu University” show.
Now, however, the Orcas no longer “perform” as much as they’re encouraged to do certain things that demonstrate the abilities of the animal. Sea World also offers a Dolphin show which features bottlenosed dolphins displaying their amazing athleticism. Orcas are very athletic too.
Don’t get me wrong, Sea World’s shows are still enjoyable. They’re just shorter than I remember and the animals don’t get to “do” as much as they used to. Animal cruelty is real, though I’m guessing the Sea World people have always done whatever they could to ensure the animals are happy and well-treated. But if there are problem teenager humans, it wouldn’t be too far removed to find animals that deviate from the norm, too.
There’s a Sea Lion and Sea Otter show at Sea World Orlando in addition. The sea lions are still named “Seymour” and “Clyde”, just like the old days. Why are Sea Lions different? It wasn’t clear.
We actually visited Sea World Orlando over the course of two days, the first being Thursday and the second the next day, with a noticeable difference in the number of visitors. Thursday was a bit cooler and it rained a little bit, which might have kept the crowd size down. We walked right onto the “Atlantis” water ride, which was a first at an Orlando theme park for us.
The Atlantis ride was a combination of part river raft attraction, like a “log” type ride and a little bit of roller coaster, which was on rails. The drops weren’t huge and the ride itself didn’t last long, and we didn’t get too wet, which was nice because we were rained on at different points of the presentation. It did the trick.
We also thought about riding the Penguin Trek ride, but there was a size restriction. Simply put, big guys stay away. I’m glad golf carts contain no such limitations.
The Sea World experience – mostly – was fairly stress free and relaxing. We were told the Thursday version was very lightly attended and the staff was gearing up for the arrival of spring break crowds soon. Friday was a different story, as I’d say the park was much fuller the second day – and was warmer, too.
Other interesting things at Sea World… there was a fairly large pool that held stingrays for guests to pet – and feed. You can purchase a tray of shrimp to give the animals for $10, which didn’t last long. It’s like you’re paying to give them food. The creatures themselves are rubbery and strange, exactly the type of encounter you’d expect in this setting. Cruise ships offer “Swim with the Stingrays” excursions, which are popular and relatively tame.
Stingrays aren’t dangerous despite their reputation. Animal expert Steve Irwin was killed in a freak accident twenty years ago. But he’d tell you not to be afraid of the animals. Certainly nothing we saw at Sea World would suggest the strange fish-like things were dangerous.
There’s also a pool area for Manatees and Sea Turtles, which was unique to Florida. I don’t remember Sea World San Diego having manatees, which were rescued locally after being injured in boating accidents. An interpretive program was given by a Sea World employee at an appointed time, but the PR system didn’t function properly and we couldn’t hear/understand what she was saying.
The manatees were strange and wonderful to behold. Displays suggested they reach up to 800 pounds in size an propel themselves with their large fin-like tails. There was a healthy sampling of lettuce on the pool surface and the manatees would eat at their leisure. Large and slow and gentle.
We’d seen sea turtles in Hawaii, so it wasn’t new to us to see them in Orlando, either, knowing that turtles proliferate in the Caribbean Sea.
Lastly, as we’d remembered, there was a shark exhibit where several species of the toothy creatures were available for viewing for visitors. The shark exhibit wasn’t really a main attraction, and interpretive signs discussed preservation efforts and emphasized, like with stingrays, that sharks have much more to fear from humans than vice versa. I’ll try and remember that if I ever spot a shark while swimming.
There’s lots more to do at Sea World and I’d recommend adding it to your Orlando itinerary if you require a theme park-like experience without the crushing crowds, excessive stimulative experiences – and costs – of the Disney parks. Because we possessed annual 11-park passes from our Williamsburg membership, I’m not aware of how much Sea World would cost individually. And nothing in Orlando that’s related to rides and shows comes cheap.
A multi-day pass might be the ticket, which permits coming and going to one’s individual desires and stamina.
The food and snacks there were expensive, too. Know before going to Sea World that it will set you back for anything you consume. And, like practically everywhere these days, the vendors don’t accept cash. What’s this world coming to?
Sea World isn’t as special as it once was. The Sea World of my memories was different… and slightly better. But it’s still a good place to go to sea amazing wildlife up close – and enjoy a little entertainment along the way.
Next up: The Disney Springs experience – sensory overload without paying admission
Florida Spring Part I – Family friendly major league baseball spring training and why we decided to avoid Disney: https://www.golfintheusa.com/2041-2/
Non-Disney Florida Excursion: Day Two brought more baseball in Lakeland Florida, visiting the Detroit Tigers’ facility: https://www.golfintheusa.com/non-disney-florida-excursion-day-two-brought-more-baseball-in-lakeland-florida-visiting-the-detroit-tigers-facility/
Non-Disney Florida Excursion, Day Three — Touch an iceberg and live at the Titanic Artifact Exhibition: https://www.golfintheusa.com/non-disney-florida-excursion-day-three-touch-an-iceberg-and-live-at-the-titanic-artifact-exhibition/
Non-Disney Florida Excursion, Day Four — Hidden gem Wild Florida Adventure Park – where the African Savannah meets the Florida Everglades: https://www.golfintheusa.com/non-disney-florida-excursion-day-four-hidden-gem-wild-florida-adventure-park-african-savannah-meets-florida-everglades/