For those unaware, SeaWorld San Diego, a theme park in Mission Bay Park, is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, public aquarium, and marine animal rehabilitation center. Since it's been at least 25 years since we've been there, we took advantage of the Annual Pass Holiday Sale and bought ourselves an early Christmas present.

In addition to being a wonderful place to spend the day, SeaWorld has a number of conservation and educational programs, including: animal rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, conservation education, habitat protection, and species research.

Our Christmas gift was shared with Lynne and Scott whose last visit to SeaWorld was even longer ago. We all explored like it was completely new to us.

Our timing was perfect, "Bring your family together for the eye-catching spectacles, heartwarming traditions, and joyful surprises of SeaWorld San Diego’s Christmas Celebration. The holidays are meant to be merry and bright, and that’s exactly what you’ll find as this beloved event returns with more wondrous moments than ever."

First stop was to ogle, and learn about, reindeers. What fun.

I love rides and after fracturing my neck in 2019, I was told by my orthopedist that my days of wild rollercoasters are over. What fun for me to find Rescue Riders whose promotional material reads, "Get ready to feel the wind in your hair and the rush of adventure on Rescue Riders - the ultimate experience for little heroes who dream of saving animals on the water! 48" min. height. Low Thrill." It's SeaWorld's equivalent of Disneyland's Dumbo. What's not to love?

The star of SeaWorld has always been Shamu*. We had to see Orca Encounter, a live show highlighting the park's killer whales and various aspects of their lives, biology, and adaptations. Post-2015, the show focuses less on physical entertainment with the trainers and more on showcasing the animals themselves. I thought the new focus was the right one. We were all duly impressed

That's me on the left.

*SeaWorld's main attraction is its collection of orcas, eight of which are housed in SeaWorld San Diego in a 7,000,000+ gallon pool. Shamu was the name of the first orca brought to SeaWorld San Diego in 1965. Shamu is now used as the character name for the costume character at the park entrance who we missed. Next time!

Our next show was Dolphin Adventures which explained a great deal about the whale and dolphin family while showcasing some pretty cool stunts.

There are three species of dolphins here: common dolphin hybrid, Atlantic, and Pacific bottlenose dolphins, and Pacific and Atlantic short-finned pilot whales. All of which put on a terrific show.

A perk of our new passes is food to feed the sea lions. It may seem simple but we were severely harassed by some very aggressive egrets who were hungry, too.

Next we entered into an amazing underwater viewing tunnel and watched as sharks of all shapes, colors, and sizes passed us, no doubt licking their lips if they had any.

What's extra fun about this photo is that I brought Cub Scouts here for a sleepover quite possibly the last time I was at SeaWorld. Because we were some of the first to arrive, we got to choose the best spot in which to place our sleeping bags. We were lucky enough to be on the ledge above the moving sidewalk right next to the shark tunnel (where Steve is leaning). I will admit it was a bit ooky seeing creatures swimming by all night, but how totally fascinating.

After feeding them, we had to learn more about Sea Lions at a new educational presentation featuring California sea lions and Asian small-clawed otters.

As the sun went down, the festive level rose. SeaWorld does festive well.

Although short, the All-New! Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Parade provided 'festive'. Mrs. Claus and her merry band of elves journeyed through the park delighting children of all ages.

The only ride Steve went on was the Electric Eel. Opened in 2018, the Electric Eel is a Sky Rocket II model by Premier Rides. It stands at 150 feet tall, with a track length of 853 feet, and speeds of up to 62 miles per hour. Both he and Scott loved it... once.

We loved this first visit to SeaWorld with Lynne and Scott. We all left feeling as if Christmas was really here. Steve and I are excited to share this special place with our sons and their families. It will be the first time for our grandchildren and at least one of our daughters-in-law. I'll be sharing more adventures here with photos but with less detail. You've been warned!