Travel Log: San Diegeo - Sea World

Well, every vacation has highlights and lowlights, and it looks like we finally hit ours. No offense to anyone who LOVED Sea World, as there are many of you out there, but it just didn't do for us what it seems to do for many. Certainly there were parts of it that were fun, and some of the blame on our somewhat bad experience/attitude towards the park can be put on us, but it's hard not to compare it to San Diego's other main and exemplary animal attraction, the Zoo. It feels like at half the price the Zoo is twice as good.

Trying not to get into too much detail, Sea World is mainly for little kids and family oriented fun (no surprise there I expect), it's all about showmanship and at times, more about the ego of the trainers than the animals that SHOULD be the center of attention. ("Believe" is a prime example of that). Sometimes the cheese-o-meter was off the charts. While we partook in certain interactive activities that allow you to feed dolphins, sea lions and manta rays (three separate areas), we couldn't help but feel like there was something a little shameful in what we were doing as the Sea Lions went mental begging for fish and wondered if the manta rays really wanted to be touched at all, a controversial issue of late... but like I said, we were involved too.

Add to this the format of the Amusement Park which is often a "Wait and Bake" type of experience while you scurry through the park from show to show and sometimes melt in the stands without shade or risk being denied entry. AND for all their lip service to "save the environment" and the animals in it, the park itself generates a lot of useless garbage which again they could take a lesson from the Zoo on true recycling and reduction of waste.

Anyway, we made the most of our admission fee, saw most of the attractions and shows and stayed until the end, but this is an experience we don't need to repeat. At least not without little kids in tow. (You never saw so many strollers in one place!) It wasn't bad, but still a big "PASS" on Sea World if you're coming here and don't have kids to bewilder in the process. Curiosity got the better of us, but it doesn't have to get you too.