SeaWorld San Diego

After visiting San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park the first few days of our San Diego trip back in May 2014, there was one more major attraction we had to see: SeaWorld San Diego.  It opened in 1964 and has since opened locations in Ohio in 1970 (which was sold off in 2001), Orlando in 1973 and San Antonio in 1988.  The first location out of the US would be Abu Dhabi and that is expected to open in 2022.

map of SeaWorld San Diego

I love visiting animals, aquariums and amusement parks, and SeaWorld combines all 3 aspects.  My buddy and I were really excited to visit SeaWorld for their 50th anniversary and knew we wanted to experience everything at this theme park and were prepared to spend at least 4 to 6 hours here.

celebrating their 50th anniversary

Getting There

Since we had success with using rideshare in San Diego, we did the same thing and took it from our hotel The Sofia Hotel to SeaWorld.  When we arrived, we noticed there are so many wheelchair accessible parking spots.  I don’t remember seeing that many accessible parking spots at any parking lot, and it was surprisingly empty when we went.  Parking starts at $25 per vehicle.

lots of accessible parking spots at SeaWorld

When we went (May 2014), SeaWorld offered free admission to wheelchair companions, but that was discontinued by the end of 2014.  They do have the option to buy a San Diego 3 for 1 Pass which is valid for 7 days since first use and gives 1 admission each to San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park and SeaWorld San Diego.  This offers the best value as it is cheaper than buying them individually.

Skytower ride

Rides

Like most amusement parks, there isn’t many accessible rides for disabled guests.  SeaWorld does have a Ride Accessibility Program (RAP) where it matches disabled guests limitations and requirements for each ride.  Guests can then enroll at guest services to get special access where they can get put on a virtual queue at each ride, leave and come back to the ride after an estimated time.

inside Skytower looking out

The only ride we went on was the Skytower.  This ride was free and included with entry when we went but starting 2018, requires a $6 surcharge.  Skytower raises 100 meters (320 feet) high while spinning around 360 degrees.  This ride lasts about 6 minutes and gives us a birds eye view of the park and the surrounding areas of San Diego.

flamingos

Bayside Skyride is a gondola that takes you across the park from one end to another.  This was something that I would have loved to go on but unfortunately was not wheelchair accessible. This ride was previously free and included with entry too, but starting 2018 also requires a $6 ticket.  There are lots of other thrill rides like roller coasters and water rides too.

Journey To Atlantis ride

Animal Exhibits

After Skytower, we went by the cool Journey To Atlantis ride to Ray Aquarium to see a variety of rays and fishes.  Wild Arctic was adjacent to that and it was the home to seals, walruses and beluga whales.

string ray at Ray Aquarium

beluga at Wild Arctic exhibit

Penguin Encounter was home to almost 400 penguins, the population includes Emperor and King penguins and the smaller Adelie, Gentoo, Chinstrap and Macaroni penguins.

so many penguins at Penguin Encounter

We also visited Turtle Reef to see loggerhead, hawksbill and green sea turtles live with thousands of other fish.  At Shark Encounter, they even have a moving walkway where you can can get the full experience of going through an underwater tunnel at a slow pace to see panoramic views of sharks and other aquatic life.  It was fun trying to spot the sharks go by.

underwater shark tunnel at Shark Encounter

Shows

The first show we saw was Pets Rule! show at Pets Stadium (now called Nautilus Amphitheater).  This was a high energetic 23 minute show featuring dogs, cats, pigs and kangaroos doing tricks and stunts.  This show has been running for many years and has been discontinued as of February 2019 because many people felt like it didn’t fit with the SeaWorld brand.

Pets Rule! animal show has been discontinued since February 2019

Orca Encounter is held at Shamu Stadium which seats 5500 curving around a 1.7 million gallon tank with trees, rocks and a waterfall surrounding the 138 foot high video wall.  The accessible seating here is perfect as we get to see trainers interact with the killer whales in a fun educational style 25 minute performance.  We didn’t even get splashed from where we were.

accessible seating at Orca Encounter

orca killer whale

After seeing see lions at Sea Lion Point, we saw the hilarious Sea Lions Live show at Sea Lion & Otter Amphitheater.  There is the comedic Californian sea lion duo Clyde and Seamore and their Asian otter friend OP performing in their own 25 minute variety show.  They and along with their human trainers spoof some of today’s most popular shows.  Wheelchair seating for this show was at the front.

funny Sea Lions Live show

The last animal show we saw was Dolphin Days at Dolphin Amphitheater.  Here we get to see a bunch of bottlenose dolphins swim fast and jump out of the water and interact with their trainers.  We couldn’t believe just how smart these dolphins were.  The show was only about 20 minutes long and the accessible seating was at the front, kind of to the side and not directly in the splash zone.

Dolphin Days show

All shows get pretty busy so it is best to arrive at least 15 minutes before showtime.  There is also and option to skip lines if you purchase a fast pass at the entrance.

jumping dolphins

We definitely had a lot of fun visiting SeaWorld San Diego.  Too bad they do not offer wheelchair companion free admission anymore but there is still a lot of value checking out this park.  It was pretty easy getting around the park in a wheelchair and even though most rides are not wheelchair accessible, all the animal shows are really entertaining and make up for it.  Wheelchair seating is excellent for all the shows and I hope to check out the other locations of SeaWorld really soon.