Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you do want to see the animals in action, check show and feeding times online before
visiting, and plan your day accordingly.
Two sea-inspired roller coasters maximize the knuckle-whitening adrenline rush with
simple design twists.
Kraken
is a whiplash zip of twists, turns, inversion and plunges
touted by aficionados as one of the most wicked coasters in Florida and beyond; it has no
floor so your feet dangle free. On
Manta
, you lie horizontally, face down, several to a row,
so that the coaster vaguely resembles a manta ray, and dive and fly through the air in this
position, reaching speeds of almost 60mph. Neither of these hard-core coasters is for the
fainthearted or weak bellied. SeaWorld's third and last thrill is a water ride.
Journey to At-
lantis
begins in darkness, moving gently through an underwater world of neon and fluor-
escent coral and fish. Things turn macabre when the creepy evil mermaid beckons you into
her world and up, up, up you go, through the steam, before the coaster plunges 60ft into
the water.
Folks with little ones in tow should count on spending a couple of hours at
Shamu's
Happy Harbor
, where six eye-candy rides, four stories of nets connected with slides and
tunnels, and a water-spewing playground delight the under-10 crowd. Come first thing
when the park opens and during Shamu shows, when crowds are thinnest and lines can
dwindle down to nothing. To feed the stingrays at
Stingray Lagoon
, swing by anytime
and pick up a box of fish ($7). Hold them between your index and middle finger, and place
your hand in the water palm-up. When the rays go by, they vacuum them up. You can feed
dolphins at
Dolphin Cove
($7), but you can only do this at scheduled feeding times. Fin-
ally,
Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin
is a family-friendly ride through the South Pole
that follows baby Puck and ends in the frigid air of a live penguin colony. If you would
like personal interaction with the dolphins, sea lions, penguins and more, check the web-
site for details on SeaWorld's
Up Close Tours
.
The park's most famous draw is the corny and melodramatic Shamu show. Other popu-
lar performances include
Blue Horizons
, an extravaganza of light, music, dolphins, birds
and acrobats in costume. The show tells some sort of story of good and evil, with lots of
splashing and drama. Kids like the goofy and slapstick humor of the
Clyde & Seamore
Take Pirate Island
; this stars sea lions, otters and walruses in 'comedian' roles. The
30-minute water-themed
A'Lure the Call of the Ocean
is a bit like a dramatically pared-
down Cirque du Soleil. It combines acrobats, elaborate costumes and a heap of special ef-
fects to tell the story of the sea sirens, the mythical creatures who lured Odysseus.
