A Quick Intro
This is the exciting conclusion detailing to you all the magic of Sea World! I know you're stoked. I am, anyway. And isn't that really what matters? I've already told you about how surprised and excited I was to realize how wonderful all the shows were--so now it's time to tell you about the other great things this park has to offer.
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| Among those awesome things, penguins. Interested NOW? |
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Maritime Merriment: A Second Day of Discovery
The Who:
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| Kay and Noel Turner, my fantastic parents, who were stylin' in their hats. |
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| Electrifying Elise, Zooming Zoe, and the Absolutely Fantastic Author (me) |
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The What: Complimentary Day 2 at Sea World
The When: Late September
The Where: Orlando, Florida
The Why: Because the second day was free and the first day was awesome.
The How: They always comp the second day's tickets when you pay for one day.
There aren't a ton of rides, but the ones they do have are extremely fun. The Manta, a particularly unique one, is a roller coaster in which your seat moves so you're basically laying belly down. It's a similar feeling to the Superman ride in Six Flags Over Georgia, but not exactly the same. Let me tell you, it gives you more of a rush when you're looking down! Obviously, it's supposed to feel like you're a manta ray, although instead of zooming through the water, you zoom through the sky. You do get pretty close to some water, though, on one of the drops.
Next up was the Kraken. It was intense and thrilling, but in my opinion went by just way too fast! That's how most roller coasters go, I guess. It definitely lives up to its fearsome name.
Last but not least would be Journey to Atlantis. I'll have to admit, I thought it would be cooler than it actually was. I rode a similar ride, Escape from Pompeii, at Busch Gardens. I like a ride with a plot. Journey to Atlantis has a lot of potential, but it needs a bit of work. You go through the water-path on a little boat of sorts and there's some beautiful scenery. It shows the buildings, and a holograph of a mermaid welcoming you. Things quickly turn: red lights, crashing things, and the mermaid's eyes gleam menacingly. You can just barely hear her threatening you. The sad thing is that it had the potential to be scary, but it seemed sort of half-baked. It's like they started out the ride with big intentions but never really finished it. There are two big drops into the water, though. That was unexpected. The length of the ride was nice. Also, where the ride lets out, there's an awesome room decorated in that sort of ancient Grecian style--it's circular and the walls, floor, and ceiling are all windows into an aquarium. Above you, sharks; beneath you, rays; to the side of you, eels and a flitting school of fish. It was dim, colorful, and pretty magical.
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| Outside of one of the most interesting attractions... |
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There's a small aquarium in the cave behind us in that picture ^. In this cave of wonders, I found...a magic lamp! Well--not really. I did, however, discover the existence of two creatures I had never heard of until that day...
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| A Haylee and a Zo-Bug! (Not the real discovery) |
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We were walking through looking at the rays (one of which is about 10 feet long), eels, and other fish when all of a sudden I came upon the most awesome critter: a leafy sea dragon! Yeah, it's a thing. If it weren't for its strange floating pattern, I probably would never have realized that it was actually an animal.
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| Seriously...how insanely amazing is this thing?! |
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And a similarly fantastic being, the weedy sea dragon, was right next to it:
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| Less camouflagey, but decidedly more dragonesque. | |
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Not to be cheesy, but for the first time I really understood the magic of marine biology. It's always been one of those topics I didn't care much about, but I found myself intrigued and filled with wonder. When a place can both make you feel like a kid again
and teach you things about science and life on earth, I have to admit that place is worth endorsing. Plus...
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| Dolphin Ride! |
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| Beluga Whale Smile! |
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| Jumpin' Jehosaphat(s)! |
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| A little synchronized swimming... |
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| And...whale-shaped ice cream! |
