SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego, California

Clean, friendly, and full of oohs and ahhhs; that sums up our day spent at SeaWorld San Diego with a passel of small children and four grownups. A popular tourist destination, but also a great escape for locals, SeaWorld held enough activities to amuse the big, and little, kids in our party. Coming from Alaska, where Orca whales and sea lions frequent the waterways and breach and bark on their own, it was a bit curious to our older child that these animals would do this under the tutelage of humans. However, the shows were humerous to his 8 year-old brain, and the little kids delighted in the silliness of trainers during the program. The Shamu Show was nothing less than a spectacle of splashing and environmental awareness, with plenty of "we're all in this together" narration and lots of fluke-flapping to get those in the "splash zone" all soaked. Kid mecca, I tell you. But there's more than shows. Go see the new shark exhibit, where a motorized walkway takes visitors under the shark's tank, and definitely visit with the flamingoes and seals. There are lots of opportunities for active pursuits, too. Little kids will enjoy the Sesame Street-themed Bay of Play, and older ones the Shipwreck Rapids, not unlike a river ride at Disney parks.

The combination of animals and rides was perfect for everyone in our family, no matter what the age. We went in January, the weather was perfect (not too hot, not too cold), and the best part was NO crowds!! There was no waiting in lines, the kids got as close as they wanted to the animal exhibits, and were able to spend as much time as they wanted watching the animals. The lines were so non-existant for the rides, that a few times, they didn't even have to get off of them to ride again!

This was our first visit to a SeaWorld park. The kids really enjoyed all of the shows. We were there mid-week late summer and the park seemed pretty empty. The kids were able to get on rides very quickly. The park could probably use a few more rides but overall there was enough to keep us busy all day.

As a military family, we have been blessed to participate in the Anhueser Busch "Here's to the Heroes" program every year since it began in 2005. This program gives free admission to active duty military families. We use ours every year and typically go to Sea World. Our favorite is in San Diego. It is such a fun place for the entire family. Our favorite show is the Dolphin show...but we can never resist seeing Shamu live. There is definitely enough to do for a full day, so plan on staying from opening till close. We have a tradition of buying the kids a new stuffed animal every time we go to Sea World and their collection keeps getting bigger.

SeaWorld San Diego totally lived up to all the hype. My kids were fascinated by the whales and dolphins and getting splashed on by an Orca was the highlight of the trip!