Seaworld San Diego or Seaworld Orlando

[kirst_al UK]

What do people think of Seaworld CA compared to Seaworld FL?

We have never been but are hoping to go next year - if you could have one or the other which one would you choose and why?

:shrug:

 

[crazydaveh]

Never been to the original.

I hear it's quite different because it's on the coast and not in a tourist trap like Orlando.

I'd love to go out there though. I know it's the smallest of the three SeaWorld parks.

 

[Mecha Figment]

I"ve been to san antonio and florida. I liked the feeling of San Antonio and the rides were better. but it was smaller. Florida is bigger and has larger theaters. But I liked their dolphins better in Texas. they were not bottle nose in the show. But it has been about 5 years since I last went to Texas.

 

[crazydaveh]

I"ve been to san antonio and florida. I liked the feeling of San Antonio and the rides were better. but it was smaller. Florida is bigger and has larger theaters. But I liked their dolphins better in Texas. they were not bottle nose in the show. But it has been about 5 years since I last went to Texas.

San Antonio is the largest of all the SeaWorld parks! It's double the size of Florida which is larger than the original out west.

San Antonio might not use all their land, but they have plenty to expand on.

 

[Phox]

What do people think of Seaworld CA compared to Seaworld FL?

We have never been but are hoping to go next year - if you could have one or the other which one would you choose and why?

:shrug:

Hey, I'm from the UK also and have been to both. The first thing to note is that Orlando is larger.

If rides are your thing, it also has the rollercoaster Kraken, which stands out in my opinion is one of the best in Orlando, as well as Journey to Atlantis. When I went to San Diego, Journey to Atlantis there was closed for repainting, but from what I can tell it is slightly more adventurous than the Orlando one. That said, San Diego also has the gondola Skyride which takes you across the bay and back and also Shipwreck Rapids (round boat going down rapids whilst you get soaked).

As far as the shows go, they are fairly similar. Both have the Believe and Blue Horizons shows (whales and dolphins respectively), although I believe both shows opened at Orlando first. There is the Clyde and Seamore Sea Lion show at each and whilst this varies, the basic comic premise is similar. The stadiums at Orlando seem bigger. In my experience, things just seemed more polished and refined at Orlando, but it being the bigger park, that isn't too surprising. Both have similar petting areas and the fantastic Dining with Shamu (eating dinner right next to the training pool whilst trainers show you how they interact and train the whales, great photo opps, whales as close as a metre or 2 when you eat) and trainer for a day experiences.

Overall there are a great number of similarities, especially since the new whale and dolphin shows. Many of the restaurants are the same, the feel reasonably similar. The rides are the only real difference.

Having done both a few times, my best advice would be to think about what else you want to do whilst out there. Orlando has Walt Disney World, MGM, Epcot, Universal, Islands of Adventure, Discovery Cove (tropical paradise, limited entry, swim with dolphins), Sea World, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Wet n Wild and Busch Gardens is within driving distance. In California, Disneyland is at Anaheim and Universal is at LA. Less parks and further apart, but then also other fantastic things to do in the area and less touristy (good and bad).

Hope this helps!