KIDS TOP TEN AT SEA WORLD

 

Orlando, Fla. – To help parents and kids get the most from the world’s most popular adventure park, SeaWorld Orlando has compiled a list of "Top 10 Tips For Kids." Twenty-five years of experience observing millions of children serves as the basis for this list, which includes park favorites and some little-known opportunities that may not be published on the general park map.

10. Interactive displays -- SeaWorld focuses on educating while entertaining, with dozens of interactive work stations and computers located in attractions throughout the park. For example, kids can test their lung power against a walrus in Wild Arctic or see how a manatee grinds its food at Manatees: The Last Generation?.

9. Behind-the-scenes tours -- Guided tours, led by experienced education specialists, take guests behind the scenes where they can witness the rehabilitation of rescued animals or even touch a shark or a penguin. Tours are $6.95 for adults and $5.95 for children and can be easily booked at the front entrance.

8. Sea signatures -- Parents should bring a notepad or autograph book for their child. SeaWorld’s animal experts and skiers are more than happy to sign autographs directly after shows. Costumed characters also are eager to take pen in flipper and sign their names.

7. Penguin pal – A little-known opportunity at SeaWorld Orlando is the Penguin Encounter question- and-answer session. Every day at 1 p.m., an education specialist allows guests to ask questions of an aviculturist (penguin expert) who is located inside the icy exhibit along with more than 200 penguins. The expert answers questions on microphone while feeding and interacting with these comical birds. One lucky guest who answers a special question correctly will to go behind the scenes and touch a real South pole penguin.

6. Comical characters – A sure favorite for all ages is Shamu and Crew, a cast of crazy, cuddly characters that make appearances throughout the park each day. The best bet for meeting one of these irresistible walk-arounds is from 9 a.m. to noon inside the front entrance along the pathway leading to Key West at SeaWorld.

5. Thrills and chills -- For kids with a sense of adventure and a strong stomach, the simulated jet helicopter ride at Wild Arctic is a sure-fire winner. This wild excursion takes adventurers soaring through the Arctic where they encounter an ice storm, causing the aircraft to toss, turn and tumble through a tumultuous trip. The thrills continue when guests depart the ride and come nose-to-nose with real Arctic animals -- playful polar bears, graceful beluga whales and enormous walruses.

4. Fish food – A trip to SeaWorld isn’t complete without experiencing ooey-gooey fish hands. Feed sea lions at Pacific Point Preserve or touch and feed dolphins and stingrays in Key West at SeaWorld. Families should check feeding times and plan to be in line at the feeder booths well in advance. Ask the little ones what the animals feel like. Some may say stingrays feel like wet liver. Others say a dolphin feel like a wet inner tube. But they all say it’s cool.

3. Shamu’s Happy Harbor -- This immense three-acre play area is a kid’s dream. Complete with a four-story net climb, tire swings, tubes, ball crawl, vinyl mountain, life-size schooner equipped with ready, aim and fire cannons, water maze, air bounce, and more. Parents can relax in the shade and watch as their little ones tromp from area to area, expelling some of that natural energy called youth.

2. Sleeping with the fishes -- Imagine sleeping with dolphins, learning what it takes to be an animal trainer or going on a supervised snorkeling trip to the Florida Keys. Camp SeaWorld offers more than 200 summertime classes and oodles of year-round programs. Parents can call (407) 370-1380 for more information on all that the SeaWorld Orlando education department has to offer.

1. Soggy socks – A day at SeaWorld is not complete without a soaking splash by Shamu the killer whale. Every kid must rush to the first 14 rows of Shamu Stadium and anxiously await a splash by the big guy. Some even come fully prepared – wearing their bathing suits. (Photo tip: use a disposable waterproof camera for great action shots of the drenched darlings.)

The Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks include Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and Williamsburg, Va.; SeaWorld Adventure Parks in Orlando, San Diego, San Antonio and Cleveland; Adventure Island in Tampa Bay; Water Country in Williamsburg; and Sesame Place near Philadelphia.

A leader in conservation and education, Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks maintain an animal information site on the World Wide Web designed especially for students and teachers at www.seaworld.org. To learn more about the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, visit their new interactive Web site at www.seaworld.com or call toll-free (800) 4ADVENTURE.