FLORIDA: Seaworld brings back childhood memories
Wednesday, 15 Jan, 2013
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Bev Fearis and family are doing a whirlwind tour of Florida, starting with Orlando. With only three days there, the parks were a priority.
Day 1: Seaworld.
Seaworld Orlando was built in 1973, which makes it nearly as old as me. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it’s looking old, just a little old-fashioned perhaps, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, in many ways, its datedness adds to its appeal.
On a personal level, it took me right back to my first Seaworld experience, aged 8, to the original Seaworld in California. It was the first time my younger sister and I had seen dolphins, seals, killer whales or many others of the amazing sealife species in the flesh and we were blown away. Seeing Shamu the killer whale rise from the water was something I’ll never forget and one hilarious encounter between my Grandma and a walrus (a stare-off which ended with the walrus spitting right in her face), has gone down in family history.
Of course, since that first visit I’ve been to many aquariums and zoos but at Seaworld everything is bigger and better. Shamu Stadium, for example, is like a football stadium, seating 5,500 people. I guess you need a venue that big when you’re showing off the skills of six-tonne killer whales. These days, the show is more high-tech than the one I remembered, with big ‘Disneyesque’ motivational songs and dramatic images on a big screen encouraging togetherness, love and wildlife conservation. But if the rest of the crowd was anything like me, they were more interested in seeing how wet the people were getting in the front few rows, otherwise known as the ‘splash zone’.
Click here to sample the Shamu show
The whales amazed as always, obeying every instruction just for a few meagre fish (presumably they get a proper nosh-up afterwards), but their tricks were far outdone by those clever dolphins. Despite the dreadful costumes and a slightly weird acrobatic element, involving real parrots and heavily-made-up women dressed as parrots, the dolphin show was the highlight for me.
Click here to sample the dolphin show
Freddie preferred the pirate-themed sea lion and otter show – ‘Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island’. It’s a farcical affair, a panto-on-sea, and he loved it. The warm-up act – a mime artist who silently ridicules people as they arrive for the show – was very funny too, unless you’re an unsuspecting victim of course.
Seaworld today also has a few hair-raising rollercoaster rides thrown in, none of which I dared to go on. Warren braved the Kraken, which is apparently consistently ranked one of the world’s top coasters by ride enthusiasts. Warren (not exactly an enthusiast but he’s done Alton Towers), reckons it was the best rollercoaster he’s ever done too.
This Spring, a brand new ride opens at Seaworld called Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. We saw the construction site and it looks like it’s going to be a big attraction. Apparently it’s a state-of-the-art family adventure car ride with "closer-than-ever" encounters with hundreds of penguins – kings, gentoos, Adelies and rockhoppers. Riders will follow a young penguin’s adventures with moving simulators and a completely trackless ride (what, does it fly?). The designers say: "When our little hero penguin learns to waddle and slide, we’ll feel what it’s like as the car moves and reacts to the storyline. When he takes his first swim or barely escapes danger, our guests will feel as if they’re right there with him."
Sounds like fun.
Hopefully, the investment will inject a little bit of energy into the Seaworld staff, who fell considerably short of neighbouring Disney when it came to smiles and good customer service. Except for the show performers, most other staff looked like they’d rather be somewhere else. Those in the eateries looked particularly glum, and when we sampled the poor quality food we kind of understood why. You’re not supposed to take food and drink into the parks, but next time I go back to Seaworld, I’ll be smuggling in a sandwich in my handbag.
For more information on Seaworld go to http://seaworldparks.com/seaworld-orlando/
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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