Two Little Gutt Girls: SeaWorld San Antonio

Alternate title: SeaWorld San Antonio, in June…a Minnesotan’s Guide to Surviving a Theme Park in the High Heat.

June 14-16, I was invited by SeaWorld to attend their blogger’s conference, AdventureCon. It was a great opportunity to visit a new part of our state, and I’ve always wanted to visit SeaWorld. Discount tickets sealed the deal. It was a great gathering of Texas bloggers from all over who convened to learn from speakers on how to improve their blogs, writing, and photos. The speakers were great and even though I was definitely the little fish in the sea of bloggers, I came away with fresh, innovative ideas (hence the frenzy of blog changes in the last few days – now you can follow Two Little Gutt Girls on Facebook!) and a greater admiration towards the bigger fish I was able to meet at the conference. I’m so impressed by the reach and voice that can be had through the simple act of starting a blog and writing. I’m still scratching my head over the fact that I was chosen to attend, because when I started my blog before Ella was born, I figured three people would read it (Hi Grandma!) and it would mostly serve as a journal for the future. But according to my analytics, people actually read my ramblings. And some think I should write a book…this all still floors me.

I have to admit, I was very excited to go to SeaWorld. Loran and I attempted to visit the Orlando location back in 2007 and as we were driving to the park, our rental car broke down. Our fun day meeting Shamu was derailed by a green VW convertible bug that had to be returned to the airport and replaced with a more reliable Volvo. For six years, I’ve continued to pine over a chance to see SeaWorld.

Friday afternoon, we set out – after notarizing the closing documents of our MN house! Hooray! The traffic was slow going. We made a stop at the famous convenience store, Buc-ees. On our move down, we started seeing billboards advertising Buc-ees 400 miles prior to an actual location. I couldn’t quite get what the fuss was over a gas station. And then we arrived. Oh Em Gee. I brought a kicking and screaming Lily in to use the restroom and after browsing the store for quite awhile, using the clean facilities and then getting a picture with the beaver statue out front, per her request, Lily returned to the car a believer. She ran to Loran and exclaimed, “Buc-ee’s is awesome!” I’ve never heard her to refer to anything as ‘awesome’ before. Next time we go there, I’m bringing my wallet in, as I spied quite a few things that would have looked cute in our house. Yes, at a gas station.

We arrived at our hotel and got settled in. The girls started the customary kid-in-a-hotel past time of jumping on the beds. I love how truly impressed children are with hotel rooms. Key cards? Magical. Small hand soap? Amazing. A refrigerator near your bed? Posh. Our hotel was also the site of the conference reception. We headed down to see the mommy-bloggers convene. There was food, drinks, merriment, Shamu buckets filled with water toys for the children and a visit from Shamu himself! There was some initial apprehension over meeting Shamu, but it all ended well. Lily even went back so Loran could get a picture with him.

Wine, camera, iPhone – I’m a mommy-blogger!

Toys and cake, the girls are in!

Saturday morning, the conference began. I felt like a kid on the first day of school. My figurative pencils were sharpened, my outfit picked out (the dress code for the conference was: dress as if you’re going to a theme park in the summer in Texas. Check.), my bag was packed and my devices were labeled. Including my children…

*** Fun/Useful Theme Park/Vacation Tip ***

Write your phone number on their arm with Sharpie. It can’t wash off, sweat off, or rub off easily like a temporary tattoo or be removed like a bracelet.

I blurred my number so it wouldn’t be broadcast all over the internet. I don’t enjoy talking on the phone that much. However, we showed the girls what a SeaWorld employee would be wearing and told them if they couldn’t find us, find a SeaWorld employee and tell them you’re lost and show them your arm. We also quizzed them on what our names were, beyond ‘Mommy and Daddy’.

While the bloggers sat in our sessions, the families were free to enjoy the park. Loran and the girls went off on their adventures and I had my head filled with amazing ideas. I also got to sit in air conditioning. At lunch, I met up with my hot little family for three hours of park time before my next session. Ella showed me the aquarium and sharks, showing me her favorites, the clown fish tank. Loran and Lily enjoyed some quality time outside while Lily had a tantrum.

I feel like there should be a national campaign to rename Clown Fish. Every child calls them Nemo. Why even fight it any more?

Everyone perked up after lunch in an air conditioned restaurant. We then hit up the rides in the Sesame Street Bay of Play. Lily and I tackled the Shamu Express. Lily was tall enough to ride with an adult and the thrill rating was low. I figured she’d love the kiddie coaster. After a short wait in line, we got all situated in our car. Away we went, the ride does two loops around the same track. The nervous giggles immediately gave way to shrieking in fear. Not crying, but on the verge of completely losing it. I talked her through it and as we pulled into the platform, I heard a tiny little “yaaaaay!” come from Lily. She made no delay in exiting the ride. I asked, “Did you have fun?”, she quickly replied, “Yep!” “Do you want to ride again?” and an even quicker reply, “NO!” I’m completely kicking myself for not purchasing the $18 photo of Lily and myself on the ride. Her expression was absolutely hilarious and would have complimented our Santa and Easter Bunny horror photos.

We then headed over to Grover’s Round-Up, the carousel. This was a favorite, the girls rode this one at least six times while at the park.

Next, Loran took the girls on Big Bird’s Spinning Reef. They also loved this one. I’d say the thrill level for this one would be rated as: comatose, and when you’re a tired father, a nervous from the kiddie coaster three and a generally cautious five, that’s just what you’re looking for in a thrill ride.

We checked out the Elmo Rocks! show, which we were hoping was air conditioned. It’s not. But it’s shaded. The girls were nearly lifeless when we got there, but perked up once the characters came on stage and continued to rally throughout the show. They loved it. The walk back to the conference area was long and hot. Everyone was feeling pretty defeated. The building was locked when we first arrived so we slunk over to the coral reef to cool down. What luck, they were just starting a narrated fish feeding when we arrived. We sat on the floor watching the fish, cooled off, and Lily fell fast asleep. We carried her over to the conference room and put her in the corner on the floor to sleep of her Shamu Express hangover and Ella and Loran relaxed in the A/C while I learned photo techniques.

** Cool Smart Phone Technique: Press and hold the photo button on the screen, when you want to take your shot, release. This prevents the shake and blur you get when you just tap the screen, and helps with taking action shots. **

Sunday we were able to get in before the gates officially opened which left us with a prime parking spot. We learned that the dolphins in Dolphin Cove are very active and playful in the mornings. The trainers told us that they get lonely overnight and become very excited when the first children arrive in the mornings. They were performing their own little improv show to the overhead music.

I settled in for the last sessions while Loran and the girls hit up two shows: the new Pets Ahoy! and the sea lion show Cannery Row Caper. Lily loved Pets Ahoy! Ella loved Cannery Row Caper. They also rode Grover’s Round-up over and over again and Big Bird’s Spinning Reef again. I met them at Rosita’s Café – all you can eat pizza and pasta for lunch and then we set off. We took in the show Azul which was just amazing. We then headed over to see Shamu and friends in One Ocean. We weren’t brave enough to sit in the splash zone, which was probably a good thing because Ella slept through the entire show. Lily insists she was splashed on her tummy by Shamu (it may have been her dripping sweat).

Azul – I was too mesmerized to take photos.

One Ocean.

After the shows, we decided it was time to head towards home. It was hot, we were tired, everyone needed a dose of A/C and we weren’t about to press our luck of keeping our Northern European skin sunburn free.

Lily has a map and two hand sanitizers – she’s ready to rock SeaWorld!

My Quick Start SeaWorld Guide

1. You can navigate SeaWorld easily with a stroller. We’d left ours at home for the fear that it would be a pain, but it was less crowded than I expected.

1a. Speaking of navigation, get the SeaWorld app (free!), handy interactive maps and schedules.

2. Get wet. You can stroll through Sesame Street Bay of Play’s fountains easily, we should have done that more to cool off.

3. Hydrate! Bring reusable water bottles.

4. Sun block! Don’t forget to reapply. Hats and sunglasses are also nice.

5. Plan your eating spots and times based on shows. Shows run approximately 22 minutes. Don’t try to get food at a location near a show as it lets out. By planning ahead, we never waited in line for food or had to fight to find a spot to sit.

6. Early arrival, great parking, empty park, happy dolphins.

7. Sharpie up your kids. If you lose your child, let a staff person know RIGHT AWAY. They have a procedure. A family attending the conference lost their child, after unsuccessfully looking on their own, within minutes of notifying SeaWorld staff, they were reunited.

8. Your Shamu buckets gets you .99 popcorn refills!

9. The pizza slices at Rosita’s are sliced child-sized. I appreciate not having to cut up an acre sized slice of pizza with a plastic knife.

10. The shows are awesome! If you sit in the splash zone in a Shamu show, you will get soaked. If you sit in the splash zone of Azul, you have a better chance of getting pooped on by a macaw flying overheard.

11. Shoes. Comfy sandals are my pick. Tennis shoes will get wet, soggy and cause blisters (if you soak your sneakers, you can quickly dry them overnight by stuffing them with balled up newspaper). I saw several women wearing heels or espadrilles. I guarantee, nobody is impressed by your fancy footwear.