5 Things you Must Do at Sea World with Young Kids

We were provided media tickets to attend Sea World San Diego during our fall break vacation.

It has been almost 20 years since I’ve been to Sea World.  My husband hasn’t been there in more years than that.  So when we were planning our fall break trip to San Diego, I knew that a trip to Sea World was in order with our kids.  I knew things had changed in the last 20 years and I would be going with my kids so this trip would be different.  Before we got there and when we first got to the park, I took some time to plan our list of 5 things you must do at Sea World with young kids.

The number one thing to do at Sea World San Diego; see the shows!

We loved watching the shows!  When we first got to the park we looked at all the scheduled show times and decided which shows we wanted to see.  Of course we couldn’t miss Shamu’s One Ocean show featuring the killer whales.  We found a shady spot in the tops of the stands to see the killer whales.

Our most favorite show was Clyde and Seamore Sea Lion show.  The show was really entertaining and right now they have their Halloween show going on which was really fun.  The best part though might have been the pre show entertainment.  Biff got the crowd excited with his pre show costume changes and dance moves!  We were laughing and my kids were dancing the whole time!  If you only have time for one show, I would for sure put this on the list.

We watched the dolphin show at Dolphin Stadium and it was really hot.  But the show was great!  My tip for this show is to bring an umbrella to sit under as you wait for the show to start.  I also brought some snacks and water to keep the kids busy while we waited.

The next must do is to take a break at Bay of Play.

At Bay of Play kids can cool off in the splash pad (which is really great to do right before or right after waiting for one of the shows to start), climb the ropes, jump on the big inflatable bubble, ride Elmo’s flying fish ride (which my kids loved) and take a picture with Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Make a stop at Pineapple Pete’s.

While the kids are taking a break at Bay of Play, mom and dad can enjoy some of the yummy food and especially the pineapple whip from Pineapple Pete’s.

The next must do at Sea World with young kids, touch the sea life.

We mad our way over to Dolphin Point to get up close and even touch the dolphins.  It can get kind of crowded around the pool, so you if it’s crowded, check back later.  Usually during one of the shows, the crowds seem to be less.

Ok my kids ultimate favorite thing of the day, feeding the bat rays.

You can go to the bat ray touch pool to touch the rays, but I recommend bringing $5 to buy some fish and letting the kids feed the rays.  We actually bought 2 trays of food, which was a good thing.  The kids were too afraid at first and would just drop the fish in the pool.  They finally got it down though and thought it was so cool!

We stopped to let the kids touch the sharks and to get their hands tickled by the cleaner fish.  Hearing their giggles when the cleaner fish were cleaning their hands was really cute.

Lastly, check out the Penguin Encounter and Wild Arctic:

This was a great way to cool off in the afternoon.  The kids thought the penguins were so cute and they tried to pick out the king of the penguins.  We could easily maneuver our stroller around in both of these exhibits which made it nice to not have to leave it outside.  The kids really loved watching these chilean penguins that were outside the exhibit.

A couple cool things that I noticed while we were there were the water fountains that made filling up a water bottle super easy and the charging station.  These were located right outside the Sea Lion and Otter show stadium.

Just so you know, there are some roller coaster and water rides at Sea World San Diego.  However, my kids did not want to ride any of them.  They were tall enough for a lot of them.  The minimum height is 42 inches for any ride at Sea World.  The rides in Bay of Play, younger kids will need to ride with an adult.  Our friends that were there with us rode the rides with their kids and they loved them.  So if your kids are older than mine (7+) there are things they will love to do too.

Just remember to bring sunscreen, an umbrella, snacks, water or water bottles and we even brought in our own lunch.

We had fun at Sea World and my kids won’t forget all the animals they saw and touched while they were there.  Yes, I’m THAT mom that makes the family match when we go to theme parks! 🙂

If you are planning a trip to Sea World in October, kids (3-9) can get in free with a paying adult.  Plus they have their Halloween Spooktacular going on during weekends at Sea World San Diego.  Kids 12 and under are encouraged to wear their costumes and go trick or treating to 12 underwater themed stations.  I’m sad we weren’t able to make it during the weekend!

Happy Traveling!

Liz