My wife and I visited Sea World again in early January 2007, having enjoyed our last visit, (and particularly the various shows), in January 2004. It's definitely a great time of the year to visit, as the park is virtually empty and one can walk from show to show without having to queue at all. The weather is also more conducive to a full day walking around too - it must be a living hell in the July/August 80+ degrees conditions - particularly with young children.

I have read with interest the criticisms in recent reviews about (I’m paraphrasing here ) “….. a poor imitation of Disney”, and I think that some people have missed the point regarding what Sea World is looking to offer. It’s not designed to be a Disney style park, (which is one of the reasons we really like it – as I particularly find the whole Disney experience rather sinister and cynically moneymaking) – It offers an opportunity for all, but particularly children, to learn about, and interact (to varying degrees), with fish and aquatic mammals.

However, it is fair to say that some of the exhibits are looking a bit ‘tired’ now – particularly the Penguin area, where the paint is looking flaky, and which runs a very old educational film about the breeding of the penguins, starring a zoologist who looks rather like an extra from an old TV movie, due to his ‘stylish’ 80’s wardrobe and Magnum PI moustache. Also, the additional cost of all the ‘extras’ would certainly add up if one were taking a couple of children, as many of the best animal interaction opportunities are at extra cost. For example : someone has obviously thought that, rather than have the staff feed the Sea Lions and let the visitors watch, why don’t we sell the food, and the visitors can do the feeding for us whilst we make more money? In fairness, it’s great fun, but the prices for the food for the sea lions are pretty steep : $5 for a tray of just 3 fish, $7 for 2 trays , or buy 3 for $10 and get a 4th free. Everyone of course goes for the $10 deal, so the profit in this is huge, which is bit naughty when you have paid $60 per adult to get in.

I noted the comments in other reviews about the Polar Bears, and as we didn’t see them this time around, I can’t agree or otherwise, but I would hope that if the conditions are not good, then the owners will address this. If so, I can only hope they take note of the Polar Bear enclosure at San Diego zoo, which we visited last year, and is fantastic. It’s very large and the animals are clearly healthy, happy, and well stimulated, with plenty of ‘toys’ and a large area to swim, which is glass sided – so one can stand in the viewing tunnel, below the water level, and within feet of an adult polar swimming – which is a truly awe inspiring sight.

The good news is that the shows are included in the entrance fee– and we had enjoyed all of them last time around. ‘Pets Ahoy’, is a pantomime style show, with rescued animals – dogs, cats, rats and even a skunk, trained to perform a number of impressive feats. It’s very good, not too long (25 minutes), and a sure fire hit with younger children. The Clyde & Seymour Sea Lion show is also excellent : very funny, a great interaction between animals and the human cast and for us, the best thing in the park, particularly when things go wrong and the non-human cast decide to do their own thing ! It works on a number of levels, with something for all ages, and I can only agree that the ‘mime’, who ‘warms up’ the audience as they take their seats, is very entertaining too.

Both of the above shows are virtually the same as they were at our last visit, and don’t suffer for being so. However, the Dolphin show and the Shamu show have both gone through some major changes, and in the case of the latter, significantly for the worse. The Dolphin show now incorporates a large theatrical set, costumes, trapeze artists, high divers, parrots, a vulture, parakeets and a very Andrew Lloyd Webber score. When we saw this stage set we feared the worst, but it actually works pretty well, despite the fact that the ‘story’ which ties these all together and I believe has something to do with ‘Neptune’, gets lost within the first 5 minutes. Whether the impact of Cirque de Soleil style shows has encouraged the parks owners into looking beyond the ‘Dolphins doing tricks’ format, one can only guess, but the tricks are still there, including some superb new ones, and it is undoubtedly a great finale, with everything going on at once – music, acrobats, birds circling over the crowd, a girl ‘flying’ on a wire, and of course plenty of Dolphins.

Sadly, the same can’t be said about the new Shamu show – ‘Believe’ which is frankly overblown rubbish. It’s extremely disappointing and suffers from a theatrical premise that takes away from what the crowd have come to see – the whales. The show seeks to build a coherent tale by cutting between video clips of the ‘story’, and live action in the pool: quite simply is doesn’t work. The whole thing is set to a cheesy score, including a female vocal reminiscent of Celine Dion at her overwrought and overblown wailing worst. There is too much talking from the trainers, and what they have to say is also stomach churningly twee and trite : The essence of which is that you can achieve your dreams if you just ….. you’ve guessed it… ‘Believe’!

There is also a rather unnecessary hiatus in the opening section where, the crowd are asked to identify themselves if they are members of the US Armed Forces (and those of her allies), in an official Sea World ‘Hail to the Heroes’. This involves said service persons standing up and their images being thrown onto the big screen whilst we all dutifully applaud.

We really enjoy Sea World – despite the aforementioned, but possibly this is because we don’t try and do it all in one day, but make multiple visits. We always purchase a multi park ticket, which allows unlimited visits within a 14 day period to a number of the local attractions. We don’t include Disney (although one can) and opt for the 4 park version, which entitles one to visit Sea World, Busch Gardens and both Universal sites. One other point to note, is that if you have paid to park at Sea World, you can park at Universal on the same day, at no charge. We therefore spent the afternoon at Sea World, and went on to Universal for the City Walk bars and to catch some new movies, which remarkably, are far less expensive – both tickets and popcorn etc – than in the UK : $9.00 for an adult ticket (about £5.00 @ Jan 07 rates) compared with at least £8.00 ($15.00) at home.

So – top tips :

Arrive early – gates open at 9.00 a.m., first shows are at 10.00 a.m., and it’s much cooler walking around in the morning.

Upon arrival – check the show times and plan your day accordingly.

Arrive early for all the shows – especially at busy times.

Carry your own water and don’t waste time and money on the food outlets - take a picnic instead. There is a grassy picnic area next to the entrance, which is really nice and you can leave the park to go back to your parked car to collect your food. Your hand is stamped on exit, and you can simply walk back in through the turnstiles when you are ready. Much less stressful than waiting 30 minutes in the heat to buy an overpriced pizza or burger, and far more healthy!

If you want lots of rides and people in animal suits – go somewhere else!

Buy a multi entry ticket and visit more than once if you are staying locally.

We went with our whole family and had an amazing time. Watch all the shows, make sure to get to each show at least half an hour earlier because they stop letting people in once the place gets full. You can feed the dolphins at dolphins cove, you can touch the sting rays. There are a whole lot of animals to see, but make sure not to miss any shows. We thought all the shows were amazing.

I was here on 4th Jan 07. After going to discovery cove on the 2nd, this was one of our free entry days into seaworld (all discovery cove guests get the following 7 days into seaworld free).

The weather was gorgeous and we had a lovely day. First stop was to the dolphin & whale theatre. This is one of the most amazing shows i have ever seen. I became rather emotional watching it, when you see all the natural beauty we have in this world and the music that they put with the show is just amazing, i would recommend anyone to go to this show, just make sure you're there about half an hour before as it gets very very busy and they had to turn some people away.

We then did a rather quick stroll over to the otherside of the park to see Shamu. Once again emotions got the better of me, i was sat four rows from the front in the centre and it was an awesome show, i didn't get wet either even though i was in the splash zone!!

After that we went for a bite to eat at the hospitality deli, which have beautiful surroundings. Although if you're like me a non-smoker, make sure you are sat on the non-smokers side, it was rather busy and i didn't realise until too late i was sat in a designated smoking area!

Penguins, Turtles, Sharks, dolphins and manatee's were amongst my other park visits, before going on journey to atlantis. This is a very good ride and when you first go in has really lovely lights. I wasn't brave enough to go on Kraken, but my sister & nephew enjoyed it!

This is a lovely place if you want to take it easy and have a stroll around some beautiful gardens, away from the bustle of magic kingdom.

Our visit to SeaWorld came on a Wednesday and, as had been the case at Disney, we had virtually no crowds. Journey to Atlantis, Kraken, and Wild Artic had virtually no waits, but most of the shows we attended had pretty packed stadiums. We saw Clyde and Seymour, Blue Horizons, Pets Ahoy, and of course Believe with Shamu.

Having seen the old versions of what is now Blue Horizons and Believe, I have to agree with a few other folks that the new ones are now “too Hollywood” or “too cheesy” in a lot of ways. I prefer the animals do most of the show, not acrobatic humans. I also prefer the old “educational scripts” of the shows verses the newer “sentimental” versions. I preferred the dialogue where I was able to learn about the animals and their habitats. The current shows aren’t bad; they’re just not what I expected or prefer.

Pets Ahoy is a show not to be missed, even though it doesn’t involve the sea animals. The tricks they’ve taught these common household pets are amazing and the coordination of the show is outstanding. No one should miss Clyde and Seymour either, as they will have you rolling with laughter (especially if they “miss their cue”).

I must add one more comment about SeaWorld. After having been at Disney resorts and parks the four days prior, it was obvious to me how much friendlier the cast members are at Disney than at SeaWorld. While the show performers were fine, the average employee at SeaWorld who operates the rides, cooks the food, runs a cash register at a shop, etc. are no where near as friendly as the ones at Disney. It sure makes a difference in how you “feel” at the end of the day too. I didn’t once think those SeaWorld employees were at all glad I was there, spending my money to keep them employed. The Disney folks everywhere went above and beyond with their friendliness, smiles, greetings, and seemingly sincere hope that we were having a wonderful time.