SeaWorld San Diego — Attraction in San Diego

Love this place! We come here every time we visit San Diego and it’s still a great place. We had so much fun this time that we ended up spending two full days, open to close, instead of one. This time we decided to do the dolphin up-close encounter and it was such a great experience. Our dolphin trainer Tia was so enthusiastic about teaching us about dolphin facts, & was so excited that we got to get hands on with the dolphins, that she made our experience a million times better. She’s actually a big reason my family and I will be booking this experience again next time we come to town, and I really hope she is our trainer next time. One of the things I noticed was that all of the dolphins were super happy and playful, even when there was no human interaction with them. They would take the initiative to pop out of water, and play with toys all on their own. This was really nice to see. I was also really impressed with how well the bathrooms and trash cans were kept up throughout the park. We literally stayed from open to close both days, and throughout the entire day the trash cans were constantly emptied, and the bathrooms were kept really clean and stocked. The food at the restaurants is well above what I expected it to be in terms of taste, but it is super expensive so I definitely recommend buying the dine all day pass. The animal exhibits are always a joy to watch and are kept up really well, and there is still a great variety of animals to see. SeaWorld has a whole is no longer breeding Orca whales, but they still have of couple orcas left, who are living out their lives at this location, and they will still be doing rescue missions. The reason I knocked off one star is because a few of the major rides were shut down all week, and it is peak season. The electric eel, Atlantis, and Arctic Rescue are all shut down for maintenance. Atlantis is closed for a remodel, but they were running test dummies on it when I was there. I have no idea when any of these will be reopened. I did ask, but no employee was able to give me a definitive date on any ride that was shut down. Be aware of this before you go. Fortunately, the best ride in the park, in my opinion, the Emperor dive coaster, was open and operating all day and night both days, and so was the Manta coaster. Most of the rides, especially the children’s rides, were open and operational both days I was there. They’ve also stepped up their game in terms of the merchandise. The 2025 Seaworld designs are so awesome that I ended up buying a few shirts and ornaments. The merchandise at the Jewel of the sea jellyfish gift shop is also really good. We ended up getting some really nice jewelry pieces and jellyfish souvenirs. We also had a great time shopping at the beluga whale gift shop. I also bought a really nice Seaworld lightweight jacket at the main gift shop by the entrance. We don’t normally purchase many souvenirs, but they had so many great things this year that we ended up taking home way more than we expected. I recommend purchasing tickets in advance, and one of the big reasons why I recommend this is because a lot of times you can get some really good deals on both tickets and passes if you buy them in advance. If you download the SeaWorld app, sometimes they’ll even offer you discounts and offers while you’re already at the park. If you are military, you can get some amazing deals. We got great deals on almost every pass available, including the quick queue pass. It wasn’t too busy when we went, but the lines were still pretty long for the big rides, especially considering some big rides were shut down. During the summer, they end each night with fireworks, music, and a laser show which just ends a great day with a cherry on top. All in all this SeaWorld Park is fantastic and I definitely recommended it to anybody who is...

The shows were fun, and seeing the animal exhibits was awesome. We loved the animal info and the trainers. That was the best part. We liked the Wild Trek exhibit the most, and the Orca Show is the most well thought out and engaging show.

Rides: The rides are fun if all your kids are over 48in as the park has mostly adult style rollercoasters, which my 7yo is starting to like. We liked Manta, Arctic, and Atlantis. There are 2 little kid ride areas, though, which were boring for my 7yo but could be fun for littles. Just don't trust the app to tell you the waiting times. It said 15 minutes for Shipwreck Rapids, but it was over an hour we waited, and then it broke down. They kept sending boats that should seat 8 through with only 2-4 seats used and left 4-5 open on most boats. So frustrating to watch from the long line, so I mentioned it because we only were a group of 2 so we could jump into any of those rides, and the teenager working said "well people don't like to go with other groups"... that's just not true. Even the video you watch while in line says "if you are a single or double rider, go in that line" but it doesn't exist because they replaced it with the Quick Queue line that they sell for $50/person per day. They need to update the video or let single/double riders through. It's incredibly inefficient and creates a bad experience for people. Not to mention, the more time people are in line, the less time they spend buying stuff in the park! So they should really fix this for everyone's benefit.

Parking: It's $37 for basic far away parking (unless you have an annual pass that includes it).

Food: The food is very overpriced for the bad quality. For example, a basic dried out chicken sandwich and fries is $18 plus tax and a 5% surcharge on every item. Chewy ribs with bbq sauce, fries, and beans were $25. A small churro was $10! The food lines take at least 20-30 minutes (which is nuts considering it's a very limited menu with no customizations allowed). $10.99 for a kids meal (PBJ Uncrustable and like 5 grapes and a tangerine). We just stuck with water, so the "all-day dining deal" wasn't that great since we didn't want sugary drinks or basic desserts. They make it seem like a good deal because you get a drink plus a side or dessert each time, but those desserts are $9-10 each. I waited in line for 30 minutes for a chicken sandwich and soft serve ice cream at dinner, but they were out! So annoying. Also, I watched little kids grab the grapes at Chicken Shack and then decide they didn't want it and put it back. No one was watching, and the parents didn't care. Eww.

Drinks: Fountain soda was $6.99 for a medium cup, and sometimes, they were out of things. No lids and only paper straws. Only drink options in the restaurants are sodas or bottled water. No unsweetened tea or sparkling water options. They really need to update their drink choices to things today's parents allow. Do parents really let their kids drink soda or Hi-C all day or keep buying bottled water? Not very environmentally friendly or health conscious.

Bathrooms: I counted 4 separate times that I went to the bathroom that there was no toilet paper in the stalls. 2 of those times, there was also no soap in any of the pumps. And every time, the floors were a wreck. No worker in sight to let them know.

Tech: Our phones died, but there weren't charging stations in the restaurants, which is where they make sense since you are doing a lot of sitting and trying to plan your day with the app. The app is helpful for the map and show times, but I did have to keep reloading it because it would freeze.

Overall, we were gifted passes, and we'll go back to use them again, but we'll pack our own better food and enjoy the shows and animals. We won't renew...

Had a beautiful experience at Seaworld until this individual came to ruin not only my child’s experience but 3 other families and their children’s experience at this theme park. We pre-measured the height of my child at 43” inches with a tape measure before we went into the park . We went to ride the Sea Dragon Drop and Rescue Rafter which the height requirement was 42” inches where my son was above the height requirement , from 3:10pm - 4:45pm we waited in a long line to ride Shipwreck Rapids. When we finally reached the front , THIS MAN in the light blue Seaworld “leadership” shirt was making a child cry and while the family was preaching that they have rode the other rides with no issue and the child’s head was touching the 42” height sign . He simple told them “got a problem go talk to guest services”. Another family came up with their little one and they had the same issue and just told them the same thing and as the family walked away he laughed about it with his fellow coworkers. When the family in front of mine came up THEY also had the same problem, and that family told the man in the light blue shirt he’s rode all the same rides with a 42” height requirement as well with no problem and he has waited 2 hours to ride this ride with his child he just told them to bring their problem up with guest services and said “next” the family stayed their and argued while that rude man ignored them and as we walked up he didn’t even give my child the opportunity to walk up to the height requirement sign and put his hand in front of my child’s face and said “STOP , yeah naw he can’t get on yall can’t get on the ride.” - SO UNPROFESSIONAL! . My son was so frightened that a stranger would put his hand in his face in such a rude manner that he jumped and hid behind my wife , I could tell the man was angry but that did not justify putting his hand out in the front face of my child . The people in line all gasped and started to come to our defense and demanded they measure our child and so another worker said “okay step up to the sign please” and to our surprise he was barely touching the height of the sign and we were surprised as well because all the other rides he was able to get on with no problem & mentioned we had already been on the other rides with no issue and all he could say to us was “ take it up with guest services, I’ll be having a word with the other ride tenants “ we demanded that they remeasure my sons height with a tape measure and remeasure the height of their sign and so his boss finally came out with a tape measure and measured my son at 43” inches and remeasured the height of the sign and it was standing at 43.5” inches . They finally let us on the ride and that man in the light blue shirt walked away and they left us and the other party onto the ride . Afterwards , that man in the light blue shirt saw us again and gave me and my children the most rude look .. we felt so threatened….. is this how Sea World treats active duty military and children? I feel like if it weren’t for the amazing animals they had there I’d say I’d never come back to this theme park because customer service was horrible and this man set such a bad example of leadership and displayed poor problem solving skills and unprofessionalism with no regard for the families and their children who travel far to make beautiful memories at what use to to be a magical place for my...