How to Visit SeaWorld San Diego

With the mess of other parks in San Diego, it's sometimes easy to miss enjoying SeaWorld San Diego. If you find yourself with enough time, spend a day here to get to know more about animals. To learn how to prepare for your trip and visit...

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing

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Purchase your SeaWorld tickets online (or over the phone) before visiting the park, particularly if you are visiting from outside the US. This will save you time when you arrive at the park - you won't have to wait in any queues at the ticket offices!
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Preview the attractions in the park before your visit. Try previewing each attraction or show on YouTube, or take a peek at the ride through photos from others. Learn from what others see. This can help decide which rides and attractions will take priority during your visit.
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Pack water, snacks, money and most importantly your park tickets before you leave for the park that day!

Part 2 of 3:

Entering the Park

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Drive and park to the parking lot at SeaWorld SanDiego. The address to SeaWorld is 500 Sea World Drive, San Diego, CA^{[1] X Research source} The cost to park your car at the SeaWorld San Diego resort will run you about $16 for cars and upwards from there (depending on complexity of vehicle).^{[2] X Research source}.
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Look at the set up of SeaWorld San Diego as you enter through the turnstiles. SeaWorld San Diego doesn't have "lands" in the way that some theme parks do, but it has many prominent attractions to help you navigate through the park.
1. Follow the park outline by taking a left and follow clockwise around the park.

Part 3 of 3:

Visiting Specific Attractions

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Take in the Explorer's Reef section of the park, just in front of you as you enter the park. If you'd like to touch sting rays and other aquatic animals, this is the place to go. This attraction was also built to commemorate SeaWorld's 50th Anniversary.
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Watch Shamu (the icon of SeaWorld) at the Shamu Show (in One Ocean) at Shamu Stadium here. Get to know a lot more about his habit and a little more information about how powerful his fins really are.
1. Find out what times the Shamu show is showing on that particular day. It normally only has a few shows per day.
2. Be careful of the Splash Zone at the Shamu zone. Sit back in the upper deck if you don't want to get super soaked. If you're game to get soaked, you can try out the bottom row of seats.
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Exit out of the stadium and head towards Dolphin Point and Otter Outlook (what you'll see in the back of the Shamu screen several yards away). You'll be able to see dolphins and otters in these two little areas.
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Head towards Shipwreck Rapids, if you like whitewater rafting rides. It's a wild ride, much like Grizzly Peak White Water Raft Ride at Disney's California Adventure park, Kali River Rapids at Disney's Animal Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, FL), or Rio Loco at SeaWorld San Antonio.
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Pass in back and over top Aquaria: World of Fishes exhibit. Here you'll see a whole bunch of types of fishes in an aquarium-like setting.
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Look at some of the Washed Ashore Sculptures. Some of these are truly interesting and highlight some really neat recycling projects.
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Take a right outside of the Washed Ashore Sculptures and head towards Manta and the Bat Ray Feeding area if skyrides don't thrill you.
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Catch feeding time at the Bat Ray exhibit, if you find yourself there at the right time.
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Ride the Manta roller coaster.
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Look at the park from the SkyTower. To get there from the Manta roller coaster, you need to take a left. It's a little way up, but the ride is cool and relatively easy and can definitely take a load off of any tired feet that may exist.
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Pass by the Sea Lion feeding. If you've caught the Bat Ray feeding and have taken in SkyTower as well, you'll most likely have missed the Sea Lion's feeding. But if your timing is just right, you can catch them in the act!
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Head up towards the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium. You can catch the Otter show here.
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Watch the flamingoes at the Flamingo exhibit just outside of the Mission Bay Theater. You'll learn a lot about the solitary life of a flamingo and its biome.
1. There are two places you can see flamingoes. The other one is to the one side of Animal connections near the Dippin Dot's Sundae Shop on the other side of the Arctic Plaza. (Arctic Plaza is a special events-only area across from Pets Stadium down a small pathway).
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Take in a few minutes of the theatrical performance (if one is showing) at the Mission Bay Theater.
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Ride the Bayside Skyride at this point. This Skyride is an out-and-back Skyride that takes you out over the Bay and back around and back to the entrance house.
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Take a look into the Freshwater Aquarium. Look at how these clean fish and aquatic creatures live in such a secluded place.
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Walk through the Shark Encounter exhibit. Young children might be afraid of the sharks, but for most, this is an interesting stop.
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Take a look at the Turtle Reef just around the corner from the Shark Encounter. It's definitely a less scary exhibit!
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Watch the SeaWorld's dolphin show called Dolphin Days at Dolphin Stadium.
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Check out the turtles in the Turtle Trek exhibit. You'll be able to see many different turtles up close.
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Head towards Riptide Rescue, if you like "Scrambler-like" rides. Although the ride vehicles look like life-boats, and the center column has an aquatic feel and a blue painted floor, it's actually not a boat. If possible, take in at least one preview, as there are some differences between other Scrambler rides and this ride.
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Skip the Nautilus Pavilion area unless you're attending a special event. It is only open as a special events venue seating area.
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View the Penguin Encounter area of SeaWorld San Diego. Get a good glimpse of the habitat of a penguin. This exhibit is walk-through and is exactly like the former Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld Orlando.
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See the polar bears up close in the Wild Arctic exhibit. This is one area that is not to be missed.
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Take in the funny show at Pets Stadium. Much like Universal's Animal Actors at Universal Studios Hollywood, this show is super funny and a good time for all.
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Head down towards the Journey into the Atlantis area near the tip of the bottom of the park. Ride the Journey to Atlantis log-flume for an out-of-this-world experience.
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Connect with several different types of animals at the Animal Connections building. This building offers a walk-through exhibit, so no need to fear you'll be taken quickly through this - it's completely at your pace, and you can take your time.
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Have your kids play with Sesame Street and the gang in the Sesame Street Bay of Play. Its official entrance is near Dolphin Treasures and directly across from Pineapple Pete's Island Eats and nearby Dolphin Stadium.
1. Take in SeaWorld's version of the teacup ride at Abby's Sea Star Spin in the Sesame Street Bay of Play area.
2. Ride the hub-and-spoke ride styled to Elmo's world at Elmo's Flying Fish ride. Push the lever up to raise the fish high and release it down to descend downwards again.
3. Ride the rather tame version of a pirate ship-like ride at Oscar's Rockin Eel ride.

ride park seaworld like

Samuel Daniel

Update 24 March 2020

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