SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego News

SeaWorld San Diego celebrates their 55th anniversary today

 

3 rescued Pilot whales, rescued from a 2012 mass stranding in Florida have arrived from Seaworld Orlando.

Behind The Thrills | Rescued Pilot Whales Arrive at SeaWorld San Diego

 

How many do they have now?

 

They originally only had 1 male, Argo, but they now have another Male, Ace, and 2 females Piper and Ava.

 

Within one day 2 dolphins were born at SeaWorld San Diego :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1697209860413109

 

Saw them today, very cute! SeaWorld has stopped the dolphin show for the time being and visitors can enter the Dolphin Stadium to view them. They weren't allowing anyone up close next to the windows (closest you could get was about 5 rows up and were under the watchful eyes of keepers the entire time monitoring their behavior) so you couldn't get many clear views of them but could see them for brief moments when they breached for air or swam close enough to the glass. It also appeared they had access to a side pool in the back if the mothers wanted to escape the crowds.

 

SeaWorld hopes to reopen by July 1.

Legoland California, SeaWorld among local attractions aiming to reopen by July 1

 

As of a year ago Google says it still holds true. That said, it's a little different than what Giant Eland said nowadays. You have to pay full price, and then return to the entrance within an hour with an item from the gift shop and receipt, and they will reimburse you the full-priced ticket. However, with Covid-19 things have changed drastically, so if you're looking to take advantage of this I would call ahead.

 

Now with COVID and heavy restrictions the last thing on my mind would be saving over and above a facility or educational organisation I would be pay-ing a visit. Support your local and see where you can be that change.

 

I'm not quite sure what your point is. Chlidonias asked a question, I answered. No opinions were given from either of us about doing this, and in fact I have visited 2 local facilities as safety permitted. I'm also not sure what you mean by "saving over and above a facility". 1 hour is not enough to see nearly anything at SeaWorld San Diego, especially given you have to buy something at a gift shop, and they're making money off of both your merchandise purchase and the price of parking, which is roughly $20.

 

I have the answer to this from my 2019 visit. I went through some old photos to find that there are three harbor seals (denali, gunner, and Phoebe) and one ringed seal(Maybe: natuck of natchuck)

 

It appears they have turned the former Polar Bear exhibit in Wild Arctic into a Northern Sea Otter exhibit.

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Great news! A terrible, badly outdated Polar Bear exhibit becomes a spacious otter enclosure!

 

I could have sworn I had heard about them moving northern sea otters into Wild Arctic a few months ago but I couldn't find where. Also I have met the woman who was talking in that video, if I'm correct she usually works with the walruses.
This does bring up a question though, what happened to natcheck and the three harbor seals. I doubt they would have been move to the beluga exhibit as they have had problems there in the past and the pacific point isn't the best place to put a ringed seal.
One other note, while looking to see if they put the ringed seal somewhere else in the park I noticed the park now lists their Curl Crested Aracari, Green Wood Hoopoe, Moray Eels, and Sloths. These are on the map so if you have any desire to find these species they are listed. Also it appears Turtle Reef is closed as the shipwreck rapids is the only place listed with Sea Turltes.
Also the website says otter outlook is currently closed.

 

I wanted to ask for a general consensus: should I visit SeaWorld now or wait until later due to COVID? I’ve only every visited once 15 years ago and really am curious to know what are some animals that would make the visit worth it. I know they have a solid penguin collection and walruses too, are there other animals that aren’t found too often at other facilities? I plan visit San Diego county in a few weeks, mainly for Butterfly Jungle at SDZSP appreciate any feedback or tips!

 

I last visited Sea World in 1995, and my impression is that animal-wise not much has been added since then beyond the Wild Arctic complex. They did have manatees for a few years also, but that ended years ago. Most of what has been added in the last 15 years are rides and remodels of areas like their entrance complex to have a bunch of touch pools.

 

Ah I see, that’s a shame that not much in regards to new extravagant animal exhibits have been built instead of rides :/ I wonder if and when they will do major renovations to their habitats, I fairly remember their penguin exhibit and I did actually like it from what I can recall.

 

Oh sweet, that’s awesome to hear! I’ve seen some recent photos of it and it certainly is a time capsule of something dating the 70’s or 80’s era