SeaWorld San Diego Part 1: Marine Animals and Shows
Yesterday we toured San Diego's historical park, and today we headed to SeaWorld San Diego with a friend's family for the kids. San Diego is already famous for its zoo, but its marine counterpart, SeaWorld, is just as renowned. You can think of it as a massive, historic marine theme park that opened back in the 1960s.
Arriving at the entrance, a giant blue wave-shaped structure welcomed us. Since it was early January right after the holidays, the weather was clear and warm. It wasn't too crowded, making for a very pleasant experience. Basking in the bright California sunshine always feels great.
We're usually the type to wander around and then make a mad dash when it's time for a show. As soon as we entered, we checked the huge show schedule board. Since the park is so vast, I highly recommend downloading the SeaWorld app in advance to check showtimes frequently so you don't get your route tangled up.
Our first stop was the O.P. Otter theater for a kids' show. Even though Christmas and New Year's had passed, they were still running a holiday-themed performance. Honestly, the main reason we brought the kids here was to show them this slightly cheesy but educational show.
Inside the theater, lights flashed from the ceiling and paper confetti flew around, giving off a real festival vibe. The kids quickly got excited and had a blast singing along. It definitely made me feel like bringing them was the right choice.
The characters on stage were cute, and the audience response was pretty good too. From a parent's perspective, it's also a sweet opportunity to sit down in a cool indoor space and rest your tired legs after walking around outside.
After the show, we headed out to properly start our marine life sightseeing. We passed the surfboard marking the entrance to Turtle Reef and went to see creatures like turtles and stingrays—those fascinating animals where you're not quite sure if they're fish or something else.
Honestly, up to this point, it felt pretty similar to the COEX Aquarium back in Seoul. We watched the undersides of the stingrays swimming right up against the tank glass; they look so peculiar, like they have a smiling face every time you see them.
Next, we timed it right to go see the dolphin show. To get straight to the point, it was the most spectacular dolphin performance I've ever seen in my life. The ones I've seen in Korea always felt a bit forced, but the dolphin show here is on a whole different level of quality. The dolphins' synchronization was incredible, and there was so much variety in the routine that it kept me captivated the entire time. I was so mesmerized taking videos that I barely have any photos to post!
Still riding that high, we went back to looking at more turtles and fish. Rather than small, pretty ones, there were far more massive, rare creatures that you don't easily get to see. When we got hungry halfway through, instead of lining up at a restaurant, we pulled out the packed lunches and snacks we had prepared in advance. Eating inside a theme park is usually just expensive and chaotic, so handling it this way saved us time and was an excellent choice.
After that, it was time to catch the sea lion show. According to my friend, this is the most famous and popular show at SeaWorld. Since it was my first time ever seeing one, I grabbed a seat with pretty high expectations.
Right from the start, the sea lions had us laughing with their cheeky acting. If the dolphin show is about showing off flashy skills, the sea lion show is purely dedicated to making you laugh out loud. Their chemistry with the handlers was so good that we were laughing cleanly right through to the end. A walrus even makes an appearance near the finale; it was as big as a mountain but moved so hilariously that I genuinely suspected there might be a person inside a suit.
SeaWorld is so massive that it's impossible to write about it all at once, so I'll have to split it up into multiple posts. To give a quick overall review for Part 1: if you go to San Diego, this is an absolute must-visit, and it's the kind of place you'll want to return to every time you're in town.
