Thinking about a family trip, some members demanded that we avoid Sea World due to their apparently cruel practices. Researching online, it seems there is quite a bit of debate on the topic. But knowing the internet, I assume there is also a whole lot of misinformation as well. Would you go or avoid, and why?
I think Sea World has finally phased out their live animal performances and have stopped breeding sea life unsuited for captivity (like orcas) so I don’t think it is any more ethically odious than your average zoo (which for many is still ethically odious).
This is just me, mind you: My wife and I went, for the first time, back around 1998. It was great! A year or two later, we went again – it had been Disneyfied! All the shows were now little “plays” where the animals “talked” instead of doing their animal thing. The entire park seemed geared to sponge off Walt and Mickey Mouse and we couldn’t wait to get out of there. Haven’t gone back.
I have been to Sea World as a kid in the 80s. I would not patronize them today.
I worked at a marine park like Sea World for a number of years. I rose up through the ranks to become a senior Marine Mammal Trainer and worked with Bottlenosed Dolphins, Orcas, and California Sea Lions. While I loved working with these animals, and enjoyed educating the public, I struggled with the fact that they spent their lives in tanks and couldn’t have anything close to a normal life. Note that in all of my years there, I never saw any animal treated cruelly and they were always provided with excellent care.
After I left I never went back to a marine park again for a number of reasons. I instead have gone to zoos/animal parks around the world, however, in most cases, those animals aren’t living a normal life either.
I went to Sea World before the big debate and back when they were still doing animal shows.
The thing is, by the time I saw them those animals had for the most part raised in captivity and would not have had the skills to survive in the wild. Better for them to have something to do, like perform, than to be completely bored for decades in a pool. What other alternative was there? Well, euthanasia, I suppose. I’m glad that they’ve phased out breeding at this point.
Can’t say for how the park is now, but I do remember there being more things to do than just the big orca and dolphin shows.
Visited SeaWorld in Florida a couple years ago. It was good fun. Mako is a world class roller coaster, if you’re into that kind of thing.
I’ve been to Seaworld I think 3 times, always to entertain my kids. The last time was about 10 years ago, prior to Blackfish. I felt gross the whole time and decided I wouldn’t be going back.
I think zoos are gross too, for that matter. I’m not sure what to do about the problem but I try to avoid the zoo now. Of course, it’s easier to avoid all of this stuff now that my kids are older.
This is why I want to go. Plus, the other roller coasters.
The pinnipeds were better performers, anyway. Or at least, they were in Sea World Ohio (now long closed).
They didn’t have any roller coasters, though: Those were across the lake at Geauga Lake (also long closed).
I would caution against a family trip to Sea World for a completely different reason: going as an elementary school aged child, I just thought it was so boring. Although I think that was before they realized they needed roller coasters.
Link to the Sea World San Diego site- SeaWorld Theme Park - California Aquariums | SeaWorld San Diego
I notice that they emphasize their rollercoasters first, then their “Sesame Street” exhibit, then finally their indoor animal exhibit. The animals could go away completely and they could still keep it going.
Rollercoasters? I haven’t been to Sea World since I was a kid when the most exciting thing there (besides the remote chance a trainer would be eaten by Shamu) was a bunch of indoor fountains called “dancing waters”.
I’ve brought my kids to Sea World Orlando 3 times in the last 10 years (all pre-pandemic). It was a good time each time, and there was enough to keep the kids occupied (9 and 4 during the most recent trip). It was a nice break from the more overwhelming Disney and Universal parks, but still a pretty busy day. We enjoyed the animal exhibits and other than the orcas, didnt see the animals as treated any differently than at a zoo or aquarium. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.