Sea World San Diego's 55th Anniversary Celebration

Sea World's 55th Anniversary Celebration

San Diego, CA

I have had a Platinum pass with Sea World / Busch Gardens for years. When we lived in Virginia, we were 30-40 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg. With the husband having family in San Diego and us visiting Florida on vacation occasionally, getting the Platinum pass for all of the parks just made sense. 

I have had the pass so long, I pay $10.50 a month, and I have a Platinum pass!

Honestly, I thought when we moved to San Diego, I thought I would be visiting Sea World like once to 3 times a month at least. We are about a 10 minute drive from Sea World. My husband and I visited before he went out to sea, but since he left, I had not been once!

I knew I had to visit for Sea World's 55th Anniversary Celebration. I really thought that Sea World would celebrate their anniversary all season. 55 years is a landmark. However, Sea World just had an Anniversary weekend. It also happened to be the first weekend of Spring Break for some of the schools in the area. I went on Sunday, March 24. I wanted to check out some shows and check out the food festival that was going on too.

It was really crowded. The weather was amazing, sunny but not hot and with it being the first weekend of spring break, the park was very crowded compared to the size crowds that I have seen before.   Normally when I see the orca show at Shamu Stadium, there are seats left open. I think it was at capacity for this show. 

I knew from reading the news that Sea World had stopped the Pets Rule show. The stadium looked like they were remodeling for another show, but I could not tell what type of show. They are probably still using the stadium for evening shows and will use it in the summer for the special shows for Electric Ocean.  

Sea World is always loaded with kids, no matter which day we go. But I feel like this Sunday was a "3 kid minimum" day. I have never seen so many strollers in my life. I know some people believe that theme parks like Sea World are "for kids" and the ChildFree should not be there. But honestly, I could not imagine trying to enjoy the day at a theme park while pushing a stroller, or dragging a small child. It would have to be hell on earth. 

Theme parks are yet another experience in my life that convinces me that ot having kids is the most amazing choice I could have made. 

Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California, December 2017

Knott's Berry Farm

Buena Park, California

December 7, 2017

We love Knott's Berry Farm!

This was our second year in a row taking advantage of the free military days from Knott's Berry Farm.  When we lived back in Virginia, Cedar Fair had the theme park Kings Dominion. Cedar Fair operates Knott's Berry Farm, so the rides are very similar. 

The best part of going to Knott's Berry Farm during the free military days is that the park is decorated for Christmas. We really enjoyed the day. We changed it up and saw some different shows, and tried some different food.

The roller coasters will always be my favorite. My favorite coaster at Knott's is the Silver Bullet! It reminds me of the Dominator at Kings Dominion.

Sea World, San Diego, April 2016

We have had Platinum passes with Busch Gardens / Sea World for years. Whenever we have had to go to customer service for an issue and the rep actually realizes how little we pay each month, they are shocked. That tells you exactly how long we have had our passes. 

Before moving to California, We lived in Virginia about 45 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and about 50 minutes from Water Country USA in Williamsburg. We would go to Busch Gardens at least 4-6 times a year and Water Country USA 1-3 times a year when we first met. Over the last couple years we lived in Virginia, we reduced the amount of times we were going because we were doing other things. But we kept the passes. Living that close to the parks, it made sense.

Living in Southern California, the only parks nearby are Sea World San Diego and Aquatica in Chula Vista.  We have not visited Aquatica yet. But we try to go to Sea World at least twice a year.

This visit was our first visit of 2016. It was great weather. We went during Sea World's Magic Days. It was the first time that we had been able to go to Sea World during Magic Days. Sea World had a schedule of visiting well known magicians who performed during the month.

When we visited Sea World during Magic Days, We got to see the Magician Rick Thomas. We had seen him on tv. Obviously, the show stage at Sea World is smaller than what he is used to, but he was still able to give a great show!
We really enjoyed the show. 

The theme days and special events at Sea World are truly a don't miss. If you are visiting Sea World, make sure you check out the schedule of special events and plan accordingly.