Making good use of our SeaWorld passes due to proximity (our neighborhood was nextdoor to Shamu), we went every single week of summer…and even for my daughter’s birthday for their spring opening for the season to see all the fun marine animals.
UNIQUE EVENING FUN
Sometimes we’d go in the evenings to enjoy shaded walks and venues, the evening parade with all the SeaWorld characters, special animal evening shows, and even just for the beauty of the gardens, while fun music played all around.
PERFECT SENSORY INTEGRATION ACTIVITIES
Apart from the quiet activities we could do, were the wonderful play experiences that really boost sensory integration (SI) which is needful for the development of all kids, to prepare their minds to learn the 3Rs and beyond.
Amazingly SeaWorld has the best SI around for those starting out like my daughter who struggled greatly with developmental delays.
At SeaWorld she enjoyed many wonderful SI activities with SeaWorld’s wave pool, ship of nets and tubes to climb upon and through, and their merry rides, all of which were perfect starting off points for those who need more SI input at the pre-teen age.
WAVE POOL
If we weren’t swimming in our neighborhood pool in the hot Texas afternoons, we might be at the Wave Pool at SeaWorld.
CLIMBING THE SHIP NETS AND TUBES
The kids loved that giant net and tube playscape, the best in the world, providing the best Sensory Integration activities possible!
It’s so good for kids to climb and move and SeaWorld is the best place for that!
SPINNING PAINT POTS
DOLPHIN PETTING POOL
For quieter moments new SI entailed petting and feeding the dolphins…and sometimes we fed the Sea Lions!
DINNER WITH SHAMU AND OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS
Now that the kids are older, I’m budgeting for special opportunities at SeaWorld.
One evening this summer we had dinner with Shamu.
For future birthday celebrations I’m considering an opportunity to swim with one of the animals, like…Sea Lions! My favorite!
SADNESS OF BYGONE SEA WORLD EXPERIENCES
Missing the old days of fireworks closing out the evenings then picking up an ice cream sundae waffle cone as we excited the park, I regaled my kids with all the stories of what SeaWorld was like before they started visiting.
I told them how there was an extra section to the park, back when it was owned by HBJ Textbook Company.
That was back by the tower where there were extra experiences, a few of which included climbing to the top to the tower, the USA map below, and a lovely walk through shaded Texas Live Oaks where there were bronze statues of famous Texans.
The current Anheuser Busch tasting room used to be a huge sit down restaurant named after Bluebonnets.
Every evening there used to be a parade with all the SeaWorld characters dancing to music throughout the park.
There used to be lots of concerts at the section near the tower, my favorite being John Denver.
When Anheuser Busch took over, they changed all that.
There even used to be fun ski shows with imagination, the first was a play on Grease from the 1950s, and then a great Old West theme.
EPILOGUE 2020
After son took his new wife to San Antonio to see all the sites he grew up with, he was shocked to find the nets and tubing had disappeared, the best part of the playground.
Now it’s just boring, with no adventure at all.
Sadly, he told me and my daughter about it which deeply saddened us. =(
