Side note: the boys talk about Sea World all the time now, and cannot wait to return. Finn calls it "Seed World" emphasis on the D in Seed.
Right after we entered the park there was a lemur on a leash. It was super cute and the boys were able to get a glimpse of him before hurrying off to the next adventure.
There was a little kiddie area with pint-sized roller coasters (or, in Finn-speak: roaster-coasters). Unfortunately my roller-coaster fun was nil because of baby-on-board, but I took advantage of the time to take lots and lots of pictures of my family enjoying them!
Oh! The smiles!!!!
This ride was like one of those elevator drop rides, except kid-appropriate so it just dropped a little at a time. Finn and Keagan's facial expressions and squeals or enjoyment were awesome!!
At the sea lion show. Finn was a little restless during the show, and kept asking for a "blue drink" and actually was getting mad that he hadn't yet received his promised "blue drink." This was early in the day and I was a tad concerned that this foul mood was going to permeate the rest of the day. We ended up finding him and Keagan a commemorative Sea World shamu-cup with free refills right after this show, and this was the best money we spent all day because the child was content! You pick your battles... Keagan, on the other hand, LOVED the shows. He screamed with delight when the animals appeared and did their tricks. He was so engaged and excited. His reactions were priceless and I so wish I could bottle that and keep it forever and ever. Nothing like a child's reaction when seeing something exciting for the first time.
The next show we bee-lined to was the killer whale (or as I like to call it, the Shamu show...though I think that may be my generation because I never heard the name Shamu the whole time I was in the park except when I said it!). This really was super awesome, and again...Keagan was all-about it!! Finn was still a little whiny, but nothing like during the sea lion show because he did have his awesome drink.
This is a momma and her two babies. One is a two years old, the other's age I cannot remember but it was older. The baby is on the far side and the momma in the middle. This really was so neat to see and Keagan loved it.
See the baby trying to get up on the platform with her momma? It took a few tries but finally did get up there!
Another whale and her babies!!! (bwhahahaaa! get it?! it's ok...you can totally laugh!)
Unfortunately, Finn and Keagan were just not tall enough to ride the roller coasters. So the grown-ups (minus me) did the riding.
We finally stumbled upon a water ride that the boys could go on. Keagan was super apprehensive at first and chose to hang with me while the others went on, but at the last minute changed his mind. Finn wasn't scared at all and didn't question it. They both had a great time and begged to ride it again...so Josh took them again later in the day. When I zoomed in on the pictures of Finn I cracked up because he looks absolutely petrified. But he LOVED it!
Second time around:
Part of Sea World has an amphibian center. I really didn't care about the snakes and such, but was thankful for some air conditioning, or at least a minute to be away from the sun. Keagan was obsessed with the snakes (still talks about them) and really wanted to use my camera to take some pictures. He took the one below, and several others that I didn't care to ever see again, but then wanted his picture taken with the giant yellow snake. Don't ask me what it is. Big.
Another promised treat: Shamu ice creams. In theory this sounded great and refreshing. But there was one problem. The SECOND they were out of the freezer, they began to melt. And make a giant mess. And fall on the ground, causing me to pick up the expensive treat before a kid started crying and "clean" it to be consumable again. (you do what you gotta do. germs are everywhere. remember the whole "pick your battles" thing?? yep, they ate ice cream off the ground at an amusement park.) It was a dirty, sticky job but I guess that's why I am Mom.
Flamingos!! Who doesn't love a good flamboyance of flamingos?!
Dolphins!!! This part of the exhibit actually used to be where you could stick your hands in the pool and pet the dolphins. These guys came right up to us and so that's just what we did. Then Sea World staff flew all over us to not put our hands in the water and wouldn't let us place the boys up on the wall and yada-yada. They apparently changed the rules since the last time any of us had been. So that was kind of a bummer, but then they directed us to this underground viewing area and that was really cool. The only problem was we had told the kids that they were gonna get to pet the dolphins!! Luckily they were good sports and forgot all about that once we got down to the viewing area.
Keagan kept pretending to swim like a dolphin. Crazy kid. I think it kinda looks like he is trying to kiss that dolphin right next to him!
We let the boys pick out souvenirs before we headed home and they both picked killer whales. Finn named his "Salsa" (I believe this was the name of one of the seals from the show..?) and Keagan named his something weird that I cannot remember. They love their whales, Finn especially does and can't sleep without him now!
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