SeaWorld San Diego + Scandia Ontario: My Bodacious ACE Coaster Con XXXVII Trip Report - Part X

We made it. We've reached the final chapter of My Bodacious ACE Coaster Con XXXVII Trip Report.

Do your feet hurt? My feet hurt.

The end of a great vacation can be so bitter, but at this level of exhaustion, I've made my peace with returning to the real world. 

BUT FIRST: SeaWorld!

SeaWorld has been in the news a lot lately.

Since returning from this trip, continuous chatter regarding the documentary Blackfish has given way to chatter about SeaWorld's plummeting stock value and meager attendance. The announcement of remodeled orca exhibits for all 3 SeaWorlds, however, has lifted the spirits of many. 

My opinion of SeaWorld San Antonio in 2008 is above-average; great coasters, great exhibits, decent shows, terrible food. Other than a visit to SeaWorld San Diego when I was 6, my SeaWorld San Antonio trip was the only SeaWorld experience I had to hang my hat on. 

Happy birthday, Sea World! Here's to 50 more years…hopefully...? 

SeaWorld is being pulled in a lot of directions right now, and really anything is possible. My experience, in and of itself, was good. Not spectacular, but good. There was nothing (short of Manta and the Skyride) that wasn't eclipsed or challenged by the surprisingly well-put-together Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (which was kind of a shock for me to conclude, but that's honestly the case for here).

A plus right out of the gate for SeaWorld is their touch pools at the entrance. I can't think of a better way to quickly appease the varying influxes of crowds. :}

Mr. Yellow Long-nosed Butterfly Fish says,

"I'm happy, but my tank looks drab. Can I move to Six Flags?"

"There was a twenty-two shark pile up inside SeaWorld. No one was hurt."

Can I get a MACK YEAH?!!?

MACK YEAH!!!

Manta gave me some pretty glorious blue fire Megacoaster flashbacks. Everything about Manta is on point, including its surroundings (which were really the only parts of the park that seemed to be "polished" these days).

Landscaping was another story. While many areas of the park showed visible signs of aging, SeaWorld's gardens were awash with color and life. 

Shipwreck Rapids was pretty darn good for a rapids ride that I didn't know existed. I got soaked.

The dolphins are charming, but are best enjoyed from afar, so as not to be distracted by the countless cuts and gashes in the glass.

DOLPHIN BEER BONG!

And who says SeaWorld doesn't keep their animals happy. ;}

Here's this adorable kiddie ride that doesn't exist anymore...

But Sesame Street is here to save the day!

You can't go wrong with Muppets. In fact, it probably goes without saying. Forget I said anything. ;}

AGH! I WANNA PLAY!!! I can't though. I might squish a child. :{

Did you know that the collective noun for a group of flamingos is a "flamboyance?" :}

SeaWorld has a lovely flamboyance of flamingos. :}

Except for this one. This flamingo wants to sell you drugs. 

I don't have a caption for this flower. I'm still sort of preoccupied with the drug-dealing flamingo. 

They say the sequel is never as good as the original, and nobody remembers the third. That's kind of what SeaWorld has applied to their series of "Journey to Atlantis" coasters.

While visitors of SeaWorld Orland have the privilege of experiencing a full-immersion Journey to Atlantis dark-ride coaster, SeaWorld San Diego visitors must settle for a comparatively bare-bones (albeit more coaster-like) version. 

By the time the Atlantis concept made its way to Sea World San Antonio, the ride was reduced to a glorified shoot-the-chute. But hey, a MACK's a MACK, right?

I tip my hat to you, sir.

I think my favorite part about Journey to Atlantis is slaloming between the industrial water pumps during the ride's back half. Really nails that metropolitan SoCal theme.

No, but seriously, the best part about the ride was the aquarium in the gift shop. It has NATURAL LIGHTING!

Which means PHOTOGRAPHS OF SEA CREATURES WITH ADEQUATE LIGHT EXPOSURE!!!

Look at these fish.

Look. 

Like, seriously. We're going to get to some typical dark-room aquarium stuff later and it's not going to be pretty. 

"Hello, I am a sting ray. Do you love me?"

LOVE ME!!!!!!!!

"Hello. I am a penguin. I will ask not for your love, but only your respect. And maybe some bread."

Life must be pretty good if you get to do this all day. 

"Hello fellow penguins. I am also a penguin."

"I have my reservations about the penguin with the yellow nose, but he seems to be an alright guy."

These remarkable irises made me think of Tennessee. :}

Big aquariums shots are hard because all the cool stuff moves too much, leaving you to focus on some rocks or something in the foreground.

Or a small child.

Here's what happens when a striped Angelfish gets too excited about the camera and blocks my shot. 

It's easy for me to forget that SeaWorld is in an actual bay, in which people do actual bay stuff. Like paddle-boarding. 

SeaWorld really is in a beautiful surrounding area. Now the infrastructure just needs to get on the same level as the landscaping.

SEA PANCAKES! :D

Here's my one good up-close picture of a fish, which happens to be of a temporarily-motionless Clown Loach.

The Disci are pretty chill too.

And I got lucky with the excessive lighting inside the Glass Catfish and Tetra tank.

And finally, this Australian Blue Lobster was kind enough to pose for a picture. Yes, he is really that blue. :}

Back outside, this flamingo is also posing for a picture, reminding everyone around  that flamingos are basically just cranes with obnoxious color palettes.  

We'd only been in the park a few hours, but it was already ice-cream-o'clock!

It was also photograph-Manta-o'clock!

Manta really carries this place. I mean, I know this place is more about shows and exhibits, but I think Manta is pretty much the life blood of SeaWorld.

Of course, that should really be the case for any MACK launched coaster. :}

But we can't forget about the other star of SeaWorld:

The SkyRide! Shamu who??

Thank you again to Aunt Sarah for feeding the insanity. :}

I'm not much of a show person. And I've seen some great shows at parks. The reason I don't do shows at parks is either A) I'm too busy doing other things, or B) I'm so tired that I could fall asleep if I sat still for too long. Today, the story was option B.

This photo was a pain in the arse to color-adjust. I'm over here trying to make the picture look a bit more realistic, but this really is just how the place looks. Pretty bright, huh? I can't get over the sun reflection on that footer for the Skyride support. :x

SeaWorld's got a ton of curb appeal.

Here's a Trigger Fish made out of garbage. :}

Here's more Manta, looking positively electric. 

Here's me fulfilling my artsy quota for the report. 

Like I said, the areas surrounding Manta are the nicest in the park. I hope that by focusing on the nicest parts of SeaWorld, I can encourage you to go to SeaWorld and make a manta ray friend. :}

The resident mantas here are quite friendly, after all.

Likewise are the flowers. :}

Thank you SeaWorld for a great day. I hope you continue to thrive and grow.

Our day ended a little early, so we decided to make a credit run!

Scandia is an over-grown-mini-golf-course-turned-amusement-park. A California tradition. :}

Scandia's claim to fame is "The Screamer," the largest roller coaster ever built by Miler.

While quite remarkable in terms of scope and g-forces, The Screamer had me in a panic. Each drop turned our car into what can only be described as a "Kneecap Guillotine."

In contrast, the kiddie coaster was comfortable and awesome.

AND I made a new friend!

Goodnight Scandia! Thank you for sparing my kneecaps.

After a day at SeaWorld, nothing in the world sounded more appetizing than sushi. :}

The sushi bar we found on Yelp was full of loud house music and rowdy waiters!

The sushi was out of this world.

I leave you with this mouthwatering display of puréed sea critters and rice. Thanks for reading!

And so ends another spectacular ACE Coaster Con. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all of the friends I bonded with on this adventure, old and new, and to all of you at home who read Thrillography! Now that the Trip Report is complete, the trip is really, truly over for me. Yet another exciting ACE chapter is in the books! 

What does the next big Thrillography adventure have in store for us? Just wait; it might be sooner and bigger than you think.

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