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Home / Tips & ideas / Seasonal / 5 things I learnt at SeaWorld Orlando

5 things I learnt at SeaWorld Orlando

May 24, 2013 by Gretta Schifano Leave a Comment

SeaWorld rescue boat. Copyright Gretta Schifano

SeaWorld rescue boat. Copyright Gretta Schifano

My first trip to Florida was to review SeaWorld Orlando’s Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. It was the company’s biggest ever expansion of a single attraction and I was sent there before it opened in order to write a newspaper feature about it. It felt very odd visiting Florida for the first time with no children in tow, but I loved meeting the penguins and couldn’t believe how friendly they were.

Meeting a SeaWorld penguin. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Meeting a SeaWorld penguin. Copyright Gretta Schifano

I also spent a day being shown around the theme park by guide Jim Groening. Here are some of the things which I learnt that day.

Sea dragons

There really are creatures called sea dragons. I thought these only existed in the wonderful How To Train Your Dragon books for children, but it turns out they exist in real life too. They are cunningly disguised to look like floating seaweed and I took this photo of one in the dimly-lit Manta aquarium.

Sea dragon, SeaWorld Orlando. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Sea dragon, SeaWorld Orlando. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Animal rescue

From the beginning of 2013 until the day of my visit in April 2013, SeaWorld Orlando had rescued 25 sea turtles and 8 manatees, amongst other creatures, and had released 21 turtles and 1 manatee back into the wild. I found this out on a Behind the Scenes Tour to see the park’s marine conservation work with rescued birds, animals and sea creatures.

Manatees

Manatees, also known as sea cows, are closely related to elephants and have finger nails on their flippers. I saw some swimming in a tank with turtles in the wonderful Turtle Trek attraction. Some of the park’s manatees are there because they’ve been so badly injured by motor boats that they wouldn’t survive in the wild.

Manatee, SeaWorld Orlando. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Manatee, SeaWorld Orlando. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Salt water

SeaWorld makes its own salt water, which is tested at least twice a day to make sure it meets the conditions required for the animals’ well-being.

Walking

If you walk, rather than drive, in Orlando, the locals may get concerned. I have two items of flimsy evidence to support this claim. Firstly, as soon as I stepped foot in the SeaWorld car park to walk across it, an official SeaWorld car pulled up and offered to drive me to the gate, two minutes’ walk away. He gathered up two other Brits en route. Secondly, on the way to the airport my taxi driver pointed out a lady to me, purely because she was walking along the side of the road. He was confused about what she was doing: she was just walking and looked absolutely fine apart from being slightly sunburnt.

More on Florida

I went back to Florida for a family holiday with my husband and kids a few months after this visit. You can read about our trip in these posts:

How to avoid the queues at Disney World

Cooling down at the Orlando water parks

Tips on visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida

Florida Alligators: Gatorland and Boggy Creek Airboat Rides

A trip to Winter Park, Florida

5 things I learnt at Busch Gardens, Florida

Disclosure: I was a guest of SeaWorld for the purposes of a freelance journalism commission.

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Related

Categories: Seasonal, USA
Tags: Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, family travel, Florida, manatees, Orlanod, penguins, SeaWorld Orlando

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Trackbacks

  1. Tots Travel: America | Tots 100 says:
    March 18, 2014 at 11:40 am

    […] from Mums Do Travel went to Florida and gives us some great insight into her trip to Sea World Orlando, as well as tips on visiting Disney’s Hollywood […]

    Reply
  2. Best things to do at SeaWorld Orlando | Mums do travel says:
    August 26, 2013 at 9:56 pm

    […] trip to SeaWorld Orlando, but we had such a wonderful day there that it’s difficult to choose. I visited the park for the first time in May to preview the new Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin ride for the FT. I […]

    Reply
  3. Celebrating Summer with Tots100: 40 Family-Friendly Holiday Destinations | Tots 100 says:
    June 19, 2013 at 2:38 pm

    […] for families while you’re there. Check out Mum’s Do Travel recommendations for Sea World Orlando and recommendations from Who’s the Mummy on making the most of Disneyland Orlando and […]

    Reply

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.

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