SeaWorld San Diego (SWSD) Discussion Thread

[Someotherguyuser]

Get ready, a new video about how Seaworld abuses their orcas by PETA. Featuring Jason Biggs is coming out! http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/05/19/jason-biggs-peta-sea-world/

I find it quite humorous that they listed Matt Damon and Miley Cyrus as the big celebrities to quit supporting the park...as if that's going to add credibility to their claim.

[Coaster19]

^that is extremely funny! I am pleased to see that Miley Cyrus is not supporting. I won't have to see here there!

[c0sterfreek]

Not to sound annoying but any chance anyone can help with the questions I posted a page ago? Thanks in advance!

[Diamondbacker27]

Hey everyone. My wife and I are going to Seaword SD for our honeymoon with our 3 year old on Monday June 23rd. Had some questions for anyone who is a regular around San Diego and Seaworld.

 

First off, how will crowds be? Should we get the pass that gets us through the lines and VIP seating at the shows? I read somewhere that the shows (especially the whales) fill quick and if your not In line early your screwed. We are planning to be there from the time it opens to the time it closes with a 2 hour nap time in the middle.

 

Next do they have the souvenir cups that get you free refills for the day? Lastly, we're planning on spending Sunday doing stuff around San Diego. What are some fun inexpensive stuff we can do with a 3 year old and a 6 month along pregnant wife?

 

Any help and input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

VIP passes are not needed from my experience. Week days are slightly crowded and weekend days are always crowded. So much so, I got my ankle ran over with a stroller 4 times. Shows do fill up quick, I'd advise getting to the stadium around 20 minutes before the show starts. If not, your probably going to be sitting in the soak zone. I'm not 100% sure about the free refill thing. But more than likely you will get free refills on the day of purchase. I hope this helped a little bit.

[XYZ]

Hey everyone. My wife and I are going to Seaword SD for our honeymoon with our 3 year old on Monday June 23rd. Had some questions for anyone who is a regular around San Diego and Seaworld.

 

First off, how will crowds be? Should we get the pass that gets us through the lines and VIP seating at the shows? I read somewhere that the shows (especially the whales) fill quick and if your not In line early your screwed. We are planning to be there from the time it opens to the time it closes with a 2 hour nap time in the middle.

 

Next do they have the souvenir cups that get you free refills for the day? Lastly, we're planning on spending Sunday doing stuff around San Diego. What are some fun inexpensive stuff we can do with a 3 year old and a 6 month along pregnant wife?

 

Any help and input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I wouldn't buy a Quick Queue since there is only a few rides at SWSD. You could easily do Manta and Atlantis before noon, when the lines aren't too long. If you see Wild Arctic with a long line, just skip it and go through the entrance that goes directly to the Wild Arctic exhibits. The ride itself isn't that great, though the exhibit behind it is really nice and probably is my favorite SWSD exhibit.

 

I usually don't watch shows at SWSD (I'm more of a person who just goes to the park to go on the rides and check out the exhibits), though I did see the Shamu show and dolphin show the Monday after Christmas. I only waited 10 minutes and was only able to go in the top rows, though this was fine with me. Obviously, if you want better seats, you just wait longer. I wouldn't spend extra money on any VIP seating on the shows unless you are very interested with the shows.

 

 

San Diego has a ton of fun free stuff to do.

 

Old Town is a historic park featuring 1850s buildings. It is home to many shops and restaurants. It's similar to the cities in the Gold Country such as Placerville or Jackson. Since you are from San Jose, it's like a larger version of History Park.

 

Seaport Village is a "tourist trap" shopping area themed to a fisherman's village in downtown San Diego. It's similar to Pier 39 in San Francisco.

 

Balboa Park is the main park of San Diego and was home to the 1915 World's Fair. What is nice is that most of the buildings from the 1915 World's Fair still exist, which makes Balboa Park really unique. The museums require admission and there is only a few of them that are still free, though it is still a really nice area to walk through. It is also home of the San Diego Zoo.

 

Gaslamp Quarter is the most popular area of Downtown San Diego and is the historic district of it. The area is littered with restaurants and shops, though it is a bit hard to find parking in the evening.

 

Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach are more of the rowdier parts of San Diego, so I wouldn't recommend going there with a 3 year old. Mission Beach is more family friendly, though it still is a bit on the rowdy side. (Also, you can swing by and get the Giant Dipper credit for $5 at Mission Beach.)

 

I would recommend doing Balboa Park, Old Town, and perhaps stopping by Mission Beach in the evening on Sunday. Old Town and many things at Balboa Park typically close at 5pm. This is doable since most of these areas don't take an entire day to go through and they are all just a few miles apart. San Diego usually has little traffic, so there's not much to worry about that.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm a San Diegan who grew up in San Jose, so it's rather easy to answer your questions.

[coasterbill]

PETA is spending $17,500 on a poster at the San Diego Airport to tell people to avoid SeaWorld. Link

 

Personally I think this is a great use of $17,500. Thank god they didn't spend the money on anything frivolous like actually helping animals.

[XYZ]

PETA is spending $17,500 on a poster at the San Diego Airport to tell people to avoid SeaWorld. Link

 

Personally I think this is a great use of $17,500. Thank god they didn't spend the money on anything frivolous like actually helping animals.

 

I just saw this on the local news. I want to spend money on an ad that supports SWSD in the airport.

 

Anyways, PETA should rather invest their money into commercials like this one where dog poop turns into a rubber ducky:

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by XYZ

[c0sterfreek]

Wow thanks for all of that information! That was very helpful. Thank you so much.

[gerstlaueringvar]

CNN will re-air Blackfish twice tonight! Support Sea World!

[SingleRiderCam]

I heard that there will be a large protest against SeaWorld tomorrow with thousands of people being part of that protest. Why can't we all just get along here?

[djboss302]

I. So. Hate. PETA. All they do is pick fights with companies, and they virtually have no proof that the company in question did anything.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Why don't we all hold a large protest against PETA?

[TPDave]

PETA is spending $17,500 on a poster at the San Diego Airport to tell people to avoid SeaWorld.

 

Personally I think this is a great use of $17,500. Thank god they didn't spend the money on anything frivolous like actually helping animals.

 

This. How people can say that this group is about helping animals when they drop this money on a billboard are crazy. There are thousands of good animal charities that house unwanted/abused animals and actually do good work and these guys just run around shouting their own name all the time.

 

Grrr.

[cfc]

PETA's headquarters is located, in all places, Norfolk, Va. They've already said that they're all about the publicity and headlines. While I value the work of other associations who do actual work to help animals, I have zero respect for PETA.

[megametal]

Every time I pass that building, I hope it falls into the water it's located over.

[harper83087]

What's up guys?! I'm considering making the drive from Phoenix for a weekend trip to SW in the next month or so and was curious about a few things. My main curiosity is if there are more credits in the area. I'm not familiar at all with San Diego and the surrounding area. Second, on a weekend in June would I be able to hit all of the main shows and lap Manta a bunch in one day without feeling rushed? Third, what else in the area outside of animal life is worth checking out? Thanks in advance.

[KBrylczyk]

^ Really the only other credit in the area is going to be the Giant Dipper at Belmont Park, about a 5 minute drive from SeaWorld's parking lot. It's a super old wooden coaster that's survived a few destruction attempts. I believe it's $6 to take a ride and it's AWESOME! I've ridden in the front and the back and couldn't tell you which seat is better. I mean, it's a classic woodie. You don't ride it to be blown away like a modern RMC. http://www.belmontpark.com/

 

The past times I've been SW we were able to ride Manta as many times as we cared to. The line was a two-train wait throughout the day. However we weren't exactly visiting on crowded days. If you're going to the park for the rides you're missing the point anyway. The shows and exhibits are where all the fun is with this place. Manta and Journey To Atlantis are nice diversions, but if you spend your whole day riding them and miss half of the exhibits or ANY shows you'll have really missed out. Seriously. See every show.

 

Downtown San Diego is a nice place. Head to the Gaslamp Quarter if you're into the bar hopping scene. It's a nice place even if you're not into drinking, too, really. We wandered aimlessly and found more than enough ways to entertain ourselves for a few hours before we bothered booking a hotel room last December. If it's during the day I HIGHLY recommend wandering Balboa Park. Since you mentioned no wildlife, skip the zoo (but you really should spend a day there) and just check out the architecture and The Old Globe Theatre (go back a few pages for my last TR for some photos).

 

La Jolla Cove, if you're willing to make the 10-15 minute jaunt up there, is a nice area with a ton of wild sea lions hanging out on the rocks and swimming around. There's also the Olympic Training Center down in Chula Vista if that interests you.

[harper83087]

^Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for. I've been wanting to ride manta since it was announced but I do agree with you on the shows, I'll definitely take all of them in. I've been to the zoo many years ago, maybe it's worth another visit. I'm just looking to get out of this town and do a bit of exploring, a mini vacation if you will. The two I'm bouncing between is here and Knott's. I'd love to go to knott's since I've never been but then I'd be tempted to tack on SFMM and that's a lot of money I just spent haha. I figured San Diego would be less of a hassle and less people.

[XYZ]

^You can check out my post in the last page as it probably will answer a good amount of your questions.

[leqant]

http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/05/25/vandal-modifies-seaworld-sign/#axzz32r1uoMXE

I just had to share.

[KBrylczyk]

^ Handled well by Dave Koontz.

[Gnome]

I. So. Hate. PETA. All they do is pick fights with companies, and they virtually have no proof that the company in question did anything.

Who needs proof when you have an agenda and people willing to blindly support entirely based on emotions and not fact.

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Ha Ha Ha, Love Sea Worlds response.

 

 

 

 

 

LOL at PETA giving Steve-O an award for the fight for animal rights. I guess they've never seen what he has done with a goldfish or earthworm.

[Midgetman82]

Absolutely unreal. It's one thing to have an opinion about something and to voice them in (relatively) more appropriate manners. It's another thing to risk your life vandalizing city property to make your voice heard. Their intentions and expectations do NOT match many of their actions, and quite frankly, it gets them no further than did groups like the Westboro bunch.

[Gnome]

The difference is Peta targets the youth to carry their message. As long as they can influence the young and impressionable and convince the masses that its liberal and progressive thought, they will continue to be a loud and visible part of the population.