By Holly Sosa
Earlier this year, we visited Sea World with Collin, Aiden, and Evelyn. In a blended family, vacations are hard and more often than not someone is missing out. In our situation, this is further exasperated by our dire need for a minivan, but we’re raising five kids over here….who has the budget for a minivan?! I have two dreams for our family: one is for a minivan so we can all go somewhere together (I fantasize about loading everyone up for a family dinner out in town); the other is a dining room table big enough for us all to sit at (currently Jacob and I eat over the kitchen island as the children occupy all the chairs). For now we enjoy what we have and make the time for two vacations to the same place because it’s just what our situation is. This trip to Sea World was just for the Sosa gals and our handsome man of the house.
We kept the trip a surprise up until about a week before we planned to leave and both girls were thrilled, especially MJ, who dreams of a career involving marine life. The days following were filled with chatter about rides and animals and previous visits to the park.
We spent the morning on a behind the scenes tour that showed us everything that happens when they rescue and rehabilitate animals. They had just returned from a release mission just a few days prior, so we were able to see how animals are rotated to different habitats based on the severity of their injuries before ultimately being released back into the ocean. MJ was mesmerized by a dolphin who was equally as curious about her and continuously bobbed his head up towards her, getting as close as he could. Girlfriend couldn’t have been more excited.
After our tour, we hit up a snack stand for water and purchased the souvenir cups that you can refill over and over for free. The cashier who rang us up politely asked how old our girls were. He averaged their ages and told them if they could name seven animals found at Sea World, he would let them each choose a snack for free. The had no trouble naming off the animals as they’re both sea lovers, and we walked away with free snacks. I’ve never experienced that at a park before and I thought it was just the coolest thing ever. Props to Sea World for hiring such sweet people!
Jacob and the older girls cooled off on the rapids ride while Evelyn and I explored the tide pool together. She touched a starfish and sea slug, but was most interested in splashing in the cool water.
We visited the bat rays, but both of the older girls chickened out when it came time to feed them. Evelyn had no qualms however, and had to be held back by Daddy.
Our next visit was the dolphins where Evelyn had the most magical moment with a dolphin who spotted her and came face to face with her for several minutes. He followed her hand with his nose for several minutes and it was so plainly obvious that we attracted a crowd who marveled at our dolphin whispering toddler. Of course now I’m convinced she can speak to animals and is the most magical child ever.
Seal feeding was a little more successful than the bat ray experience and all three of the girls were less grossed out and more excited to participate. Evelyn once again had a moment with a seal who stayed at her feeding tube during our entire stay. This was probably because of the fish she was holding, but I’m positive it was her magic Dr. Dolittle abilities.
The shark exhibit was miserably crowded and we were pushed and shoved around the entire time. This was disappointing because MJ loves the mysterious creatures and was looking forward to this exhibit the most. It was so horribly overfilled that I couldn’t take any photos and Jacob had to keep Evelyn on her shoulders. Maybe the crowing was due in part to the recent Shark Week TV special? I’m not sure, but it was such a bummer.
The penguin exhibit is currently very dark inside because their natural habitat currently has very few hours of daylight. I took this opportunity to hide out in the cool, dark exhibit while Evelyn drifted off for a nap. Once she fell asleep, we waited just outside of the Wild Arctic experience while Jacob took the older girls inside.
Our last stop was to the much less crowded touch pools where Jacob and all three girls enjoyed a manicure a la river fish. Fish make my skin crawl, so I just couldn’t bring myself to stick my hands in and let them suck off my dead hand skin, but I think this exhibit is the coolest and such an amazing way for kids to get to interact with the animals.
The next day, we visited Sea World’s new water park, Aquatica. This place was incredible and had something to offer everyone. Unfortunately I didn’t have a waterproof case for my phone to take pictures with, but I did purchase a disposable waterproof camera. Only…no one develops film anymore. I’ve been to every drug store chain, my bog box store, and several other grocery stores. No one develops film. I’m mailing out the camera to a service I found via the Internet, but here are some photos from their website of the things we experienced.
While we loved our time spent at Aquatica, I’d have to recommend that if you’re going as a family, you rent a cabana. We walked around for a solid hour trying to find somewhere shady to park it when Evelyn needed a nap. We also had to fork over a hefty amount for a locker big enough to house all of our belongings. We actually left early because of lack of proper space to shield ourselves and our children from the sun. Don’t get me wrong though, we had a blast and really enjoyed the water features and rides. In fact, I was super impressed at the toddler play area with shallow water (one foot) and slides that had lifeguards with measuring sticks at the top to ensure no big kids spoiled the fun for the tots. If you’re going to go (and you totally should!), I’d definitely recommend forking over the extra money for a cabana where you’ll be guaranteed water, shade, and a locker for your valuables.
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