I sent my field team to SeaWorld San Diego to check the park out from the perspective of a family who could actually enjoy an entire day there.  (With my own two boys under 4, everything we do is limited by naptime).  My intrepid team consisted of M – the narrator, the-9-year-old – her sister, and her father.  These are their stories.

Shamu strikes a pose

We started out at Shamu’s show. All in all, it was incredible. The 9-year-old said that it was by far the best part of the day. The orcas are gorgeous and always look bigger up close than you expect them to. We sat in the last row of the “soak zone,” so we didn’t get splashed nearly as much as some. Some people got absolutely drenched. The trainers were very talented as well. The 9-year-old told me that she wants me to become a trainer so she can get first dibs on meeting the animals up close. I told her she should become a trainer instead. She said, “Yeah, that’s a better idea.”

Of course, there was a young female volunteer who got up and got to touch Shamu. The 9-year-old was jealous.

Hey, jealousy

Sea dogs

Then we went to the “Pets Rule” show, where they have trained dogs, cats, and pigs. This was also very impressive. The 9-year-old giggled throughout the whole show. I think her favorite part was when a dog stood up on its hind legs and rotated a wheel on a “Hot Dog Cart,” which proceeded to produce four dachshund puppies. Very, very cute. Certainly not something you’d expect to see at SeaWorld, but there were plenty of chances to get sprayed by the hydrant or the “TNT” explosion.

After this, we got a chocolate brownie funnel cake. Always good from a nine year old’s perspective: “This could be the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Next we went to the dolphin show. Very impressive. The dolphins jumped amazing heights. Again, we sat at the way back of the splash zone. The people sitting front and center looked like they had jumped into the pool with the dolphins after the show, but we stayed nice and dry. The 9-year-old’s favorite animal is the dolphin, so she was disappointed when the show didn’t last hours and hours. I thought each show was perfect at 20-30 minutes long, as did my father.

Not cool.

We did a bit of walking around. We didn’t go into the Sesame Street playground, but all three of us (me, my sister and my father) were all in agreement that it looked like a blast. [Although this attraction is aimed at younger children] I can certainly say, as an adult, I really wanted to just let loose in that place. So many things to climb… it looked like a blast! The 9-year-old was afraid of looking uncool, so we didn’t venture in.

Shark Encounter

We also did the “Shark Encounter” where you go through an underwater acrylic tube to see the sharks all around you. Unfortunately the floor of the tube was a moving platform, like the one in airports, so you didn’t get to look at the sharks as long as you wanted to. But there was a separate flat-panel of acrylic past the tube that was nice to look at.

We also went into one of the aquariums- the “Sea Life” one or something like that, where there were just several types of fish. Some of the fish were bigger than the 9-year-old, so she was very impressed.

Equal opportunity screaming

To end our trip, we went on the Atlantis roller coaster. I’d say it’s not for the faint-at-heart. There are two plummeting 50+ foot drops. The 9-year-old had a good time, but she didn’t admit it until we were on the car ride home. She was scared out of her mind during the ride, and I have to say that I, personally, had no idea I could scream like that. It’s been nearly two hours and my throat is still sore.

L.A. local note:  if you go with older kids who can suck it up for the car ride, this can actually count as a super long day trip.  If not, and who can blame you, here are some links to San Diego hotels reviewed by Uptake bloggers .

[field work and photos by Martha King-Devine]