April 2, 2011

Sea Lions Up-Close Tour Review: Fun Had by Fins and Fans Alike

If you have ever imagined meeting those lovable clowns Clyde and Seamore, the Sea Lions Up-Close tour is the perfect opportunity to do so. Tickets for the tour, which are $40 for adults and only $20 for children, include VIP seats to Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island, a photo shoot with one of the show's sea lion stars and an exclusive mammal feeding session. 
The fun begins when tour participants meet with a SeaWorld Educator at the entrance to Pacific Point. The Educator serves as a tour guide throughout the duration of the 60-minute tour and is always ready to answer any and all questions. The first perk of the tour, VIP seating at Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island, ensures that participants do not miss a single bad pirate joke or sea lion shenanigan. After the show a trainer meets with the tour and calls a sea lion over for a special photo opportunity where both the humans and the animal share great big smiles!  
The final part of the tour, and the favorite of many, is the animal feeding at Pacific Point Preserve. Each participant is given a 10-pound feed bucket of different types of fish to feed to the sea lions and harbor seals that call Pacific Point home. Dozens of sea lions and seals (and Floridian birds) gather for a chance to catch a tasty fish. The Educator tour guide even encourages participants to play "baseball" with the sea lions, throwing the fish to animals watching from the rocks in the center of the exhibit. Throughout the entire experience, the Educator and the animal trainer share information about training methods, the daily life of the mammals and information SeaWorld's conservation efforts.
During the summer, my boyfriend and I chose the sea lion experience because it was one of the park's more affordable tour options. We both love the playful pinnipeds and their antics, so learning about the ins-and-outs of daily sea lion was a ton of fun! We had an incredible time and are planning to go on the tour again next summer. We both highly recommend the experience for all SeaWorld guests including families, couples and Clyde and Seamore fans.
Big thanks to our new contributor
 Ashley C. Nichols for composing this review and providing the pictures! 

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

DO NOT PAY FOR THIS TOUR. Save your money because you will not be up-close with a sea lion like the title and the picture suggest. First, you go to Pacific Point Preserve and they tell you the difference between a sea lion and a seal; which can be read on the signs around the exhibit. Next, you go to where the “Clyde & Seamore” show takes place. You are asked to sit in the first two rows and then are quickly taken up to the tank, a group at the time to have your picture quickly taken. You are not allow to look at the sea lion (you keep your back towards him) and have to take a large step forward before you can walk back to your seats. Then you head back to Pacific Point Preserve where you are given a bucket of fish to feed them with everyone else. Just save your money and get to the show early to sit in the first two rows and spend $20 and get five trays of fish to feed the seals/sea lions at Pacific Point Preserve.

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