The BeeHive Works

06/22/2026

Good old Sea World, we went on 06/19/2026 Friday. It was a beautiful sunny day with a soothing breeze throughout the whole day. Sunglasses, hats, and sunscreen are a wise decision.

The last time I was here Budweiser still had a barn here with their famous Clydesdale horses. There were no rollercoasters at the time. According the news articles, the horses departed due to a change in ownership in 2009-2010-ish. That just shows you how long it been since visiting Sea World.

The entrance now has covered touch pools where guests are already invited to interact with wildlife such cleaner fish. Stick your hands down, don’t move as these little cleaning fish clean your hands. It tickles for me, and I giggle the whole time. Think of these fish as a car washer, where big fish swim into their environments to park and get a clean down. The park now has lots of sea themed decorations which adds to the charm of the park. The major coasters have very nice displays too, some are informational like the Artic Rescue ride. Some are pure fantasy like the Journey to Atlantis ride.

Sea World, San Diego has 5 coasters: Emperor- drop coaster like and emperor penguin’s plunge from a glacier into the ocean, Manta- like a manta ray playing fast and hard in the waves, Electric Eel- twists and slows like an eel swimming, Artic Rescue- roughing it on the snowmobiles to the rescue (my favorite by the way 🙂 ), Journey to Atlantis- a water coaster where you are trying to get away from a kraken. There is a waterfall plunge followed by a lift to a coaster track and speed around. This is the only water coaster I’ve been on. There is another water ride called Shipwreck Rapids, its a classic raft ride. Both water rides will get you wet. (Note: there are extra large “dryers” available near the water rides to walk-in and dry off, $7 per use. Ponchos for purchase are available, but just go on a warm-hot day and you’ll be dry in no time. I recommend strap walking sandals for the day, that will dry without having to worry about wet socks and sneakers). Interested in reading more about the rides, visit SoCalRideJunkie (to be linked soon).

There is a section meant for little ones with little rides.

Animal exhibits are one of my favorite things of about the park. Penguins were there, however if you visit during the summer the exhibit is dark with red lights to mimic their surroundings in the wild. In the South Pole weather is currently Winter for them and dark. Rays and touch pool, dolphins, beluga whales, otters, walrus, orcas, and sea turtles are some of the animals you’ll see. I love Shamu! Several large animals have “encounters” which allow an up-close and personal interaction in the water, under the direction and supervision of trainers. See their website for more information. I didn’t participate in any encounters.

There were also lots of shows too, but we mainly focused on rides during this particular visit. We did also come back in July. I’ll talk about that visit further down this blog. You’ll need to have the right timing if you want to do both shows and rides. Take into account wait times aren’t always what are stated at the gate to the rides. When we first entered the ride line for Artic Rescue, the gate wait time stated 10 minute , but it ended up being 50 minutes. Don’t want to wait long?, then get the quick queue pass, per person will set you back ~$69. It can totally be worth it during high times. We happened to be there on Juneteenth and the park was packed, so the quick queue was worth it.

Many food locations push for mobile ordering. Be prepared for long waits if you play-by-ear, when it comes to meals, if the park is packed plan accordingly. There are a few places that are open air grab-and-go and pay that have hot dogs, pizza, etc. Makes it easy when your tummy can’t wait. There is an Deyers’ ice cream location towards the front and a Rita’s Italian Ice towards Orca-Manta Ray area. I love me some Rita’s. If you’ve never had it, I recommend it. Read about Rita’s here.

PART 2: our next visits were 07/29 & 30, Wednesday and Thursday. We came back! There was a $59 deal buy one day and get second day free. The fine print did say the second day had to be completed within 14 days of the first visit. So we decided to do the 2 days back to back, no rush of rides and shows. It was an easy 2 days. During our visit, it was still the Summer Spectacular event, where they have a cool night drone show. But honestly we were always so tired by the evening that we skipped the show. I know it cool because while driving back to the hotel we saw it from the car.

These particular days during our visit, unfortunately Rita’s Italian Ice machine wasn’t working on both days. I ended up having chocolate frozen custard, still very delicious though.

This time we was the orca show. It was a long time since I saw the orca show. It was fun to watch. I find orca whales to be fierce and cute all at the same time. They are the perfect blend of danger and beauty.

The lines during shows help when you are trying to get a ride on a coaster. I will say the wait times posted never correlate to the actual wait times. One negative I noticed was the ineffective loading of riders, especially the Shipwreck Rapids ride. Some of the rafts were half empty. The staff could have asked riders near by for smaller parties or even single riders. They didn’t.

Food is still a problem here. Whenever it noon or 6-7pm there are terribly long lines at all food locations. Not all food stalls and restaurants are even open, even when the Sea World app shows that they are. This causes major backup. The most convenient place is still the grab-and-go places, even on the slower days. Caution, prices are high for a hotdog $13 per plain dog and $7 for a fountain drink, regular size.

Info: Summer Spectacular Jun 1- Sept 7, on select days, 2026.

• Located: San Diego’s Mission Bay
• Tickets: $69.99 per person as on 06/19/2026
• Parking: $40 general per car
• Advice: All purchases/sales and ticket prices, a portion goes towards their conservation fund.
  • Look for upgrade to annual pass deals if you want to come again or live nearby.
  • On hot days, head to water rides first upon entering the park. The rides that cool you off get packed the later you go in the day.
  • I purchased an exclusive Sleep Snuggler at more than half off. Price difference from Wed to Thurs changed from $49.99 to $20. Good thing I waited for Thursday to make any purchases. This isn’t always the case, shop around.