Sleep was the first entry in the itinerary.
After a deep, pill-induced sleep, I woke up to a beautiful sunny San Antonio day. The weather was perfect to go Shamu-ching. The child in me was giddy with excitement.
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| The theme park's lead star |
Destination: SeaWorld. This is one of the top attractions in Texas, “the largest educational and marine-life theme park in the world” when it debuted, and the birthplace of Baby Shamu, aka Kayla, the first killer whale born at this park. The San Antonio marine mammal park, oceanarium and animal theme park is the biggest among the three SeaWorld chain in the US (the other two is in San Diego and Orlando) and sits on a hundred hectare spread in the Westover Hills District of the city.
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| Perfect day to stroll at the park--theme park-- HUMONGOUS theme park.... |
A park this huge is impossible to enjoy in a just a day. The trick is to choose what appeals most to you and enjoying the thrilling rides and shows with the company you’re with. In my case, it’s with a huge contingent of Pinoys.
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| Pinoys + Mexicans |
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| "This is where we will go"......You can't have a better tour guide than this guy. |
But not all rides are made for everyone.
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| First, you have to meet the height requirement to get to ride the rides. |
I, for one, may seek for thrills but my gut can’t handle it. Guess which of these SeaWorld rides I took? Is it the Great White (floorless roller coaster), Steel Eel (roller coaster ride with 15 story drop), Journey to Atlantis (part coaster, part water ride), Rio Loco (“crazy river” ride on a round craft), or the Shamu Express (kiddie-coaster ride)? Clue: It was on those I got wet (not by myself, puh-lease!)
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| The Steel Eel |
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| Journey to Atlantis.... and get wet! |
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| A more artistic angle of the splashing at Atlantis... |
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| Roll it, roll it, roll it on the (crazy) river... Rio Loco |
Sea shows will always be amazing. The all-new Shamu show, One Ocean, and Azul, where beluga whales, dolphins, colorful birds and human acrobats perform together, were very exhilarating and truly inspiring. I’m sure the rest of the shows we didn’t catch were as well.
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| Venue of "One Ocean" where Shamu stars |
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| Cirque de Soleil-ish show at Azul |
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| Can we ever outgrow Sesame Street? @ the "Elmo Rocks" show |
From the exhibits the group caught moving from one show to another, the closest we got to the stars of the park were at the Dolphin Cove during the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins’ feeding time. I called it the “happy zone”, I may have seen jaws drop in amazement at the shows but this area surely had the biggest smiles when both kids and adults got crazy feeding and got to pat the dolphins.
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| Feeding time at Dolphin Cove is the happiest spot in the park. |
With so much more to do and see at so little time, how does one end the visit? By stopping at the most thrilling destination at the park— the souvenir shop. Even if the events of the day were captured in hundreds of photos, nothing beats shopping and taking home an item or two (or more) of the theme park’s goodies with you. Every time you get to wear the piece or see it on the tabletop or refrigerator door, the good vibe brought about by the memories of the fun times is priceless.
For more travel & lifestyle stories, visit http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/ and http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on April 11, 2013.
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