The Hulse Family: Sea World

Last trip we didn't make time for Sea World; so we knew it was a must this trip. Our hotel was supposed to have a shuttle, but it there wasn't any room on it until after noon. So we had to pay the $12 parking fee-ouch. It was pretty much a straight shot from our hotel to the park, but we still ended up making a wrong turn. San Diego roads!!!

When we finally arrived the first thing we saw was this cool car.

The gates were opened at 9:30, but you could only get in far enough to shop. So we hung out for 30 minutes enjoying the perfect weather.

First off we went to see the penguins. As you can see the girls loved watching them swim.

The penguins dove in and out of the water, swimming right in front of us. It was quite neat.

Inside the building, you step onto a moving walkway that takes you past lots of different penguins. These Emperor penguins just stared at all the strange people going by taking pictures of them in all their glory. I've only seen the little penguins at the Hogle Zoo before. I didn't really realize just how large the Emperor penguins can get.

Since I'd been in junior high school, Sea World has made lots of changes. It no longer just has animals. They now have rides too. There is a fun Sesame Street Play Area for the little kids. They've copied a few of Disney's classic rides. Abby's Star Spin (tea cups) was lots of fun, but unfortunately we had a cup in our backpack that spilled and soaked Allie. She was a good sport about it though. I can only do this or the tea cups if I focus my eyes and don't look away. It gave me a good chance to stare into my sweetheart's eyes, but I couldn't look at Allie without getting sick. She was having too much fun getting thrown all over the place.

Kayla had fun spinning Grandma and Grandpa around.

Next Mom and I took the girls on Dumbo-I mean Elmo's Flying Fish. Allie just had to ride in the pink one.

Kayla opted for something a little more angelic.

Next we went on the eel. It rocked us and spun us around. Kayla loved it, but Allie spent the whole time worrying about the hole beneath us where all the moving parts were.

Next we hurried over to catch Shamu's show. It was AMAZING! It is so cool what they can teach those animals to do on command. The girls were disappointed we sat so high, but none of us wanted to be in the soak zone.

WOW!

Afterwards we stopped and grabbed a picture with everybody's favorite cookie loving monster.

We watched an Elmo 4-D show. There was nothing scary at all in it; it's Sesame Street for goodness sakes. But Allie was still nervous the whole time. She was certain something was going to get her.

The opening act for the Sea Lion's show was put on by the "janitor." Using his remote he would switch between songs from many popular shows-Friends, Brady Bunch, Cheers, High School Musical, Batman, etc. The girls favorite was when he sang along to "The Best of Both Worlds" wearing a 1/2 blond, 1/2 brunette wig as Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. He was very fun to watch.

The Sea Lion's show was also very entertaining. They did their version of CSI, Superman, Dancing with the Stars, The View, and more. It was lots of fun for everyone.

We bought an all you can eat pass for the day after a suggestion from my friend. It was well worth the money, and the food was really quite yummy. The sliced turkey and fresh strawberries were my personal favorite. Here's Allie enjoying her Shamu cookie.

The shark exhibit has a tunnel where you can walk under the shark tank. As someone who is irrationally scared of sharks, this was not exactly my favorite area, but even I have to admit it was pretty cool to see them like this. The girls were awed by the whole thing.