I’m not sure if we could have managed it if our children had been with us, but because it was just the two of us and we had a hotel nearby, we decided to go for it.
With just a short nap in between, Jared and I hit two amusement parks in one day.
After spending the first part of the day at Aquatica, we decided to check out SeaWorld for their “SeaWorld After Dark” events. Of course, it doesn’t get dark in the summer until at least 9 pm, so we had a few hours to kill before the nighttime festivities began. We both knew exactly how we wanted to spend the time.
Although we’ve been to SeaWorld since this roller coaster opened, neither of us had been able to ride it and we couldn’t wait to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. (For those of you who don’t live in Central Florida, there was much fuss, believe me.) We practically ran to the ride entrance, only to discover that the estimated wait time was about an hour. But we were determined, so we took our place behind the dozens and dozens of other determined riders.
I fell in love with Manta right there in that really long line. The waiting area circles around several underwater viewing tanks, the first of which is filled with tons and tons of sting rays, the animal that the ride honors. Some of these rays were absolutely huge, and they were beautiful to watch. There were more tanks that featured other sea creatures, but the most notable for me was that ray tank. Honestly? This is a brilliant way to make people wait in line. Research has shown that watching fish calms people down, and we were next to ride before I knew it.
For the ride itself, you are strapped into a seat with your feet hanging freely beneath you, and then the seat is pulled backward so that you are basically hanging in midair on your belly. The coaster takes off and you really do feel like flying. It was a completely unique roller coaster experience that was exhilarating without being frightening. This is definitely a ride I’ll happily wait in line for every single time I visit SeaWorld from now on, and I highly recommend you put this on your must do list.
We also rode the Kraken (which gave me a headache) and the Wild Arctic (which made me sick to my stomach). I’d recommend walking through the ride portion of the Wild Arctic to get to the underwater viewing of the walrus. I can’t think of another place that gave me that kind of up close view of these ginormous creatures gracefully swimming through the water – but I’d skip the helicopter simulator if you have any chance of getting motion sickness.
Just as we began to make our way to Shamu Stadium for “Shamu Rocks”, one of the special nighttime shows, the skies opened up. We weren’t sure how long the rain would last, so we decided to go ahead and run to the stadium, which we would soon realize was on the opposite end of the park from where we were. Jared and I were completely soaked by the time we reached the stadium – and the rain stopped. I was cold, hungry and annoyed, so we grabbed a bag of popcorn and grabbed the first open seat we could find.
In the splash zone.
For those who have never been to SeaWorld or attended a Shamu Stadium, the “splash zone” are the seats right next to the massive tank. You are advised that you will get wet if you sit here. I was already soaked to the bone and wanted desperately to sit down, so we went for it (or rather, decided “fine, whatever”.)
SIT. IN. THE SPLASH ZONE.
Sure, there was a little splashing, but we also had a tremendous view beneath the surface of Shamu’s tank while the show was going on. If you’re sitting higher up, you miss out on being able to watch the whales roll and spin and swim between tricks.
But I digress. Shamu Rocks combines pyrotechnics, rock music, dancing and, of course, entertainment from Shamu and his (her?) whale friends. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this show, because honestly? The daytime “Believe” show isn’t my favorite thing. It’s ok, and my kids love it, but it’s not something I run out and tell my friends about. Shamu Rocks, however, was a really good time – and I didn’t even have kids with me. The show managed to say on the right side of cheesy, which is difficult thing to do when you’re combining a whale show with a rock concert vibe.
The margarita I had wasn’t bad either. 
Immediately after Shamu Rocks ended, my husband and I raced over to the Bayside Stadium to watch the evening fireworks show called Reflections. This show is like a combination of the water fountain spectacle in front of the Bellagio hotel in Vegas and the fireworks that end each day at Disney World. We sat inside the stadium and, consequently, were only able to see the bottom three-quarters of the display. We contemplated moving but stuck around because even three-quarters of this show was pretty dang cool. Jared even went so far as to suggest that it may be the “best fireworks display ever”. My recommendation is to sit in the lower sections, or skip trying to sit inside the stadium all together. I’m guessing that anywhere around the lake would have provided a great shot of the fireworks and water fountain display.
After the fireworks show, we dragged our tired butts to the parking lot and made our way back to the hotel. It was a busy, thrilling day that we would never have been able to do with the kids. I do think, however, that we might schedule a day at SeaWorld with the kids that starts a little later in the day so that they can enjoy the “After Dark” festivities as well.
