Sea World Orlando Water Park is central Florida’s premier marine life park, accepting visitors year around and presenting its guests with an sea wildlife experience that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.
Theatrical Performances
Shamu, the killer whale, performs in the Shamu Stadium in Sea World’s signature performance called “Believe”. This show features a choreographed demonstration of music, video, stunts, and splashing whales, to deliver one of the most unforgettable performances you will have the pleasure of viewing in this lifetime.
Also at Sea World Orlando is the Cirque-du-Soleil-style show called Blue Horizons. Blue Horizons is a show that integrates the performance of trained dolphins and birds, enabling visitors to enjoy the beauty of nature and the theatrics of the choreographed animal performances.
Exhibitions
My favorite Sea World Orlando treat is the acrylic tube walkway through and under the giant shark tank, called the Shark Encounter. The opportunity to see a wide variety of fish species up close and personal in their own habitat is a thrill to those of us who never took up snorkeling.
The exhibit begins at the Sharks Underwater Grill, a sit-down restaurant, which features windows looking into the huge fish tanks above and beside the restaurant. If you are traveling without children, you will find that if you are willing to sit in the restaurant bar, then you can frequently bypass the lines of families waiting for a table. In the restaurant bar, you can order a drink, and you may order from the full restaurant menu as well.
If you have never been to Sea World Orlando, you might be surprised to learn that you will see more species of fish than just sharks.
As you enter the acrylic tunnel, you will find an artificial reef built into the display, and in the first tank, you will be able to view moray eels swimming with a wide variety of reef fish, in and around the artificial reef that has been designed to mimic the natural habitat known to these fish.
As you progress down the tunnel, you will see a number of fish tanks separated from the others, each with their own habitat and species of fish.
In the various tanks, you can see:
* The Camouflaged Lion Fish – The feathery appendages of the camouflaged lion fish are actually poisonous spines that can inflict great pain on any swimmer that actually touches its spines.
* Fugu is also known as the Puffer Fish – If you have ever seen Spongebob Squarepants, Spongebob’s driving instructor is a Puffer Fish – Ms. Puff. The Puffer Fish is considered to be one of the world’s most poisonous fish and accounts for several human deaths each year. The Japanese consider its edible portions to be a delicacy, and Fugu Chefs must be licensed in Japan in order to prepare this fish for eating. The Fugu Chef must be trained to separate the poison glands from the meat of the fish, but mistakes are sometimes made, and people die from Fugu poisoning after ingesting this fish.
* Surgeon Fish – Surgeon Fish swim in the same tank as the Puffer Fish (Fugu). Although beautiful, the Surgeon Fish carries a secret weapon, in the form of fins near its tail that are extremely sharp to the touch. If a person or other creature grabs the Surgeon Fish, it will whip its tail violently, often inflicting a deep cut on the person or animal that crossed its path.
* Barracuda – In a nearby tank, one can see Barracuda up close and personal. Although the Barracuda has a fierce reputation, it seldom attacks humans swimming in its midst.
* Sharks, and more Sharks – When you finally reach the main feature, you will be in a room at the bottom of the shark tank. The room is insulated by a one-foot thick panel of acrylic that offers solid protection from the 450-tons of man-made salt water overhead. In the main tank, you will see small brown sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks, nurse sharks, sandpiper sharks, and sawtooth sharks.
* Even more Sharks – On the way out of the exhibit, near the restaurant, there is one more shark tank that is quite a bit smaller than the main exhibit. In this second shark tank, you will be able to see small hammerhead sharks and nurse sharks, as well as a variety of rays, which includes the jet-black bat ray.
Additional Sea World Orlando Highlights
On my last visit, I personally received more pleasure from the Shark Encounter than any portion of the park. But when it came to what the kids enjoyed, they found the greatest pleasure in the following three attractions:
* Stingray Lagoon – There is a reason why so many people were shocked to hear of the death of naturalist Steve Irwin, as the result of a Stingray piercing his heart. Stingrays are known to be one of the most docile creatures in the oceans of the earth. When Steve Irwin was stung by the ray, it was a freak accident. In fact, there were only 18 deaths as the result of Stingray / human contact in recorded history. Although the Stingray carries a barb in its tail, most incidents related to the tail of a Stingray, were the result of someone accidentally touching its tail, as is theorized to have happened in the Steve Irwin incident. At Stingray Lagoon, visitors can reach into the pool and pet the Stingray as it swims by. Just don’t reach for the tail.
Sea World animal care experts oversee the Stingray Lagoon, where the adults swim, and they also oversea the shallow pool where Stingray pups swim.
* Dolphin Cove – At Dolphin Cove, visitors can enter the water with the Dolphins, pet them and feed them, under the supervision of Sea World caregivers.
* Penguin Encounter – At Penguin Encounter, it can be a chilling experience as the air temperature is maintained at a steady 30 degrees and the water temp is kept at 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This exhibit is designed to mimic life in Antarctica, complete with 6,000 pounds of snow falling everyday, in the heart of Florida. The Penguins are so accustomed to the human visitors that they spend their days playing on the snow and swimming through the water. The Penguin Encounter enables visitors to watch Penguins in a habitat where they enjoy life as only a Penguin could enjoy life: waddling, running, falling, sliding and swimming. Okay. I enjoyed this exhibit almost as much as I enjoyed the Shark Experience, but don’t tell my kids that I said that.
They will think I am getting soft in my old age.
Final Thoughts
Sea World Orlando is on the southwest side of Orlando Florida, just to the northeast of Walt Disney World. You can reach Sea World Orlando by traveling east from I-4 on Central Florida Parkway.
Although open year-around, Sea World Orlando has different operating hours for different times of the year. You can check their schedule on the Sea World website.
When visiting Orlando Florida to see the many attractions, it is easy to assume the easiest accommodations to be one of the many hotel chains that operate in and around Orlando FL. But once you have taken the time to research the vacation home rentals available in the Orlando FL area, you might just realize as I have done that vacation rentals make so much more sense for the traveling family.
If you go the hotel route, you will be stuck in a small room and have to take all of your meals at a restaurant. However, if you choose the vacation home route, you will often find that you can stay in a large, beautiful home, often with a swimming pool or hot tub, and always with a full kitchen with dishes and cookware.
Once I started going the vacation rental route, I found that the money I saved by not taking all of our meals in restaurants enabled us to be able to get into much nicer vacation homes for about the same amount of money as I would have spent on the hotel and food.