Seaworld

Day 2 was originally going to consist of two parks and a little bit of sightseeing.

ZDT's had already been visited the night before so this meant we had the one park Seaworld for most of the day and the evening spent around the Alamo and Riverwalk area.

The drive to Seaworld was easy, the Toyota Camry was our vehicle of choice for this trip. Most do something more stylish for a road trip but with us looking to drive 6 thousand miles we wanted something a little more economical.

Seaworld is a chain that is having to undergo some reformation. For years it made millions from it's killer whale shows but the recent public backlash following the Blackfish documentary, whether it was right or wrong, has meant the park has had to end its breeding program and a recent death of a trainer resulting in much less interaction in the shows.

So it was a little disconcerting that they still charge a fortune for the ticket. 

As corporations measure their success in how much money they can take from their customers, the need for new money making ideas are always prevalent. On top of the entrance, it's not uncommon to charge for parking and queue jumping. The latest addition looks to be dining options which I can only assume has to be a money maker if the food is much cheaper than the ticket, even in a state which prides itself on everything being bigger, including appetites.

In gambling parlance a whale is someone who spends a lot of money in a casino, so I see your joke Seaworld!

The park is home to four coasters and for those who hadn't been here before a decision had been taken to ride the kiddy one first, which we failed to walk the straightest line to, getting lost through the new Sesame Street section, where misbehaving staff were made to dance in costumes in really hot weather.

So coaster number 1 was Shamu Express, which is now the closest a human can get to a killer whale in this park now.

The second coaster was the water coaster Journey to Atlantis. I was pleased not to have to ride this again as it looked wetter than the Galveston log flume.

As the first timers rode I watched as others strayed, some unknowingly, into the splash zones not appreciating just how much of a splash zone this actually was.

In the other side of the park is what I believe to be one of the best looking roller coasters in the world, Steel Eel with its hill after hill going on and on. 

A collection of flamingos is called "a flamboyance". 

To escape the heat we spent a bit of time in the penguin and puffin enclosure. The park needs to do something with it's windows as the condensing made it really hard to see into the penguin enclosure and nigh on impossible to get any decent photos. The puffin enclosure next door was a little better. Still, the shade and cranked up air con in here made it a worthwhile reason to visit.

So onto Steel Eel which was one I was happy to ride over and over. Having loved this in 2008 it was good to know it was running just as well 8 years on. Lots of air time at the top of each hill and slightly bum thumping slams at the bottom.

Tal find a spot in the station where a fan was pointing.

The group enjoyed the ride. Christof, that's just his poker face; inside he's smiling more than the others.

Steel Eel is still the best reason to visit the park by a long long way. We liked this a lot. Even more so with the station playing Vangelis; a great choice.

The fourth coaster is a B&M inverted coaster, which when I started this hobby was my favourite type but now as a jaded 40+ rider I've noticed that these rides haven't really changed over the years and as such I'm tired of them.

I did still give it a ride, and it rode ok but I just don't get wowed by them anymore. Perhaps if I tried riding it in the incorrect position it would be more exciting. Later on in the day this ride was playing Brian Eno in the station, a perfect accompaniment to the Vangelis of earlier.

Thomas grabs a quick break

I'm not quite sure what the banana minions are about. I thought they just ate them, not became them!

Is this the future of Seaworld? People paying to see plastic ducks where once killer whales roamed.

We did watch the killer whale show but with minimal interaction between the trainers and the animals (they no longer enter the water) the show is a pale shadow of what was already a tired formula. It's sad that at some point the park are going to be left with a single lonely orca.

I had to sneak the camera over the staff entrance to get this shot, which prompted a few questions from staff what I was up to. A shame they've fenced this view as it's a great angle.

In another attempt to avoid the heat we checked out the small animal house that they have at the back of the park.

All of the animals were asleep, I guess even indoors it was too hot.

They should just have called it the sleeping zone.

and that was pretty much Seaworld. In my opinion it's not good value for money and it's a shame you have to spend so much to get to Steel Eel, which is my only reason for recommending this park.

Coaster of the day was Steel Eel

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