It’s No Disneyland, But Still Worth the Visit
Okay friends, so just up front, I compare everything to Disneyland – and that’s just not fair to the non-Disney, but it is what it is. Sea World is definitely something I’d recommend for everyone to at least go to once, but not more than that. Not for me anyways. As opposed to Disneyland, where I could basically live each and every day of my life! Plus, they were kind of allergy friendly, but nothing – NOTHING – like Disneyland. In fact, I’m pretty dang good at investigating and finding safe things, asking questions, navigating etc. It was not so easy here, BUT that’s not to say it wasn’t worth. It was fun, we found safe things, and I hope my finds can help you. Because my kids sure did love it and had a great time!
So all that said, it was fun, albeit hot, hot, hot! There were really neat exhibits and shows. We were able to investigate and find things that were both yummy and safe. So don’t discount them completely, it’s worth it especially if you have a kiddo with a love for aquatic animals.
Shows & Rides
As far as things to see, I would definitely make sure to see each of the shows. They really are very cool. My son has a shellfish allergy so we skipped any of the interactive areas where they feed the animals chum and other animal feed.
For the little kids, we loved the Sesame Street play area, Sesame Street Bay of Play. There were lots of kiddie friendly rides, colorful, and great place for parents to take a rest and relax from all the heat and walking!
Flatbread & Fry Cones Stand | Across From the Otter Exhibit
When we first arrived, we had kids complaining that they were hungry just from the car ride itself. So we grabbed some of their seasoned french fries from the food stand across from the Otter Exhibit.
I highly recommend this as a stop for one of your meals. Not only was it friendly for our family with peanut, shellfish and gluten to avoid, it was seriously delicious! We tried the Fry Cones (seasoned fries in a paper cone fried in vegetable oil), the Chili Verde Pulled Pork (this is seriously good to look at AND eat), as well as the Crunchy Tenders. The Pork and Tenders both are served with French Fries. They’ve also got a California Cheese Steak, Tomato Basil Caprese Salad, BBQ Chicken Crunch (chicken tender bites), and chipotle sauce Pulled Pork.
My son that is anaphylactic to peanuts and shellfish safely ate the Crunchy Tender meal with the chicken strips and french fries in a paper cone. They used vegetable oil for frying and there were no shellfish there to fry and cross-contaminate (a common concern with our shellfish allergy is in fryer cross-contamination). The BBQ sauce for dipping was individually packaged and labeled and of the Top 8, did contain soy.
Soda, Water, Juice, Milk, Coffee, Tea, Beer and More!
Standard fountain drinks, bottled water, juice, hot cocoa, milk, coffee, hot tea, bottled beer, draft beer, pilsner, and Kids Souvenir Cups. We got the Kids Souvenir Cups. They are super cute and you get to pick your aquatic animal topper. Free refills all day long too! We brought ours home and they would have been great had we not put them in the dishwasher – if you get one, wash by hand only! We did save by buying one, and refilling it at the several self-serve fountain drink stations throughout the day. Sometimes we filled with soda, but most of the time we used it to refill with fresh ice & water to keep us all hydrated. Other stands had bottled drinks, and even Icee fountains!
