The Longdogs

The Longdogs
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Seaworld Adventure

Saturday morning we headed off to an adventure to SeaWorld.  Thanks to Anheuser Busch's Salute to Heroes 2011 program, my son Steve was able to get 4 tickets to visit SeaWorld or Busch Gardens at no cost.  Since he was here in San Antonio and had the kids and we have a SeaWorld, timing was perfect.

It took a while to get in as you have to bring in a pass from the Internet and then the manager approves the tickets but here they are at the beginning of the day.

SeaWorld starts Halloween early and they have lots of decorations all over the park.

Our first stop was the "One Ocean" show featuring Shamu.  They do a good job of not only showing the whales but talking about caring for the one world we all share.




This is baby Shamu born last year.  They have a huge screen where they even showed baby Shamu being born.

You can see how large the whales are and they are so graceful as they swim around.  Part of the fun is being in the splash zone when the whales line up and hit the water with their tails.  They can send up some big splashes.

Next we were off to walk around the park.  Had to take a quick stop in Alligator Alley.

The next stop was at "The Count's Un-haunted Castle".

Pushing buttons brought forth all kinds of noises for the younger crowd.

Here Morgan was having a conversation with a pumpkin head.  The "voice" could obviously see and hear her because it was a real conversation.  I wish I could have captured the look on her face because she was definitely not expecting this.


Everyone got a real kick out of the mirrors.  You could be tall and skinny or short and fat depending on the mirror.

And then a final photo with the Count.

"The Cannery Row" show in Sea Lion Stadium was wonderful.  The whole set-up is amazing.

The whole show revolves around a story about the fact that fish are missing from the cannery and the detectives are looking for them.  This is the detectives office.

Here they are looking for clues in the soda fountain.  Both the people and the animals are performing.  The people narrate the whole show as they go through it.

In the end, the "owner" of the cannery is the culprit.  It is a wonderful and entertaining show for adults and kids.  The people were in and out of the water with the animals as they went through the story.

The next stop was to catch a couple of rides on the Shamu Express.

These were just a few of the characters roaming around the park.

Sea World also had Halloween "Trick or Treating" at FantaSea.

Again, all kind of characters this time all with a sea theme.  You walk through this area and the characters give the kids packages of Halloween themed gummy candies and also real "baby bananas".




This character was right outside of FantaSea.  Steve is 6'4" so you can see how tall he was on his stilts.

Time for some more kid sized rides.  We also went on the "Rio Loco" wild river ride which is not just a kids ride but I didn't get a picture of that.  I don't like any of the wild rides and the kids are too young but I like the Rio Loco even if you do get a bit wet.  After all it is hot out.

The kids were hot by now so we were off to the "Sesame Street Bay of Play" where there are fountains and water elements, rope nets and lots of climbing around.  They did all the climbing first and then hit the water along with Dad.  Needless to say, they all got soaked to the skin but 20 minutes later they were all dry again.


Back to some more rides.  This ride swung back and forth along a track and well as twirling around.

Our next stop was the "Azul" show which features beluga whales, pacific white sided dolphins, tropical birds, aquatic acrobats and aerialists from around the world.  It is another fantastic show with lots of action and beautiful colors.

Here you can see some of the performers in mid-air.

These dolphins can really jump high out of the water.

This "flyer" came out of the rafters of the pavilion and performed on lengths of fabric suspended over the water.  She swirled across the surface of the water as well as up and down the lengths.


Another trip to the rides before we left.  This was a kids version of the ride that goes way up in the air and then drops down suddenly.  It went up to the top, then dropped a few feet, then back to the top, etc.  One of the nice things about the kids rides is that the adults can actually go on all of them with their children or kids past a certain height can go alone if they want to do that.

After a very long and exciting day, Cameron is relaxing in the Relax a Back chair with his Grandpa.

Thanks again to Anheuser Busch Salute to Heroes 2011 for their support of the military.  When you give so much, it is nice to know that even companies care.  It made the day extra special.

1 comment:

  1. What a wonderful park. I appreciated all the photos. Most important that you were able to have such a family outing at no expense.

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