Ruthie Ridley

Blog

Summer Travel Series Part 3: A Day At Sea World San Diego

By 37 Comments

 

Last month we took a mini family vacation to San Diego! I get all warm and fuzzy inside thinking about this trip! We had the best time exploring San Diego for the first time.  The highlights of our time there was definitely Coronado Beach and Sea World.  With Sea World, we didn’t really know what to expect! We had a long day ahead of us and that evening we had a shoot scheduled at the beach for our anniversary so we had to make sure we made the most of our hours there!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

Going on a weekday was to our benefit! The lines were fairly long but they moved pretty fast! We arrived at the park around 10 am, grabbed a map and a pair of sunglasses (I left mine at home per usual) and got acquainted with the park! Ben is so good directionally and with time frames, that we just left all the planning to him.  Our goal was to get on as many rides as we could before the park got super busy! We hit about 5 rides prior to lunch! During lunch, Ben found a taco stand, ordered us tacos and we watched a show at the Pets Stadium where cats and dogs performed tricks! It was so cute!! After lunch we continued to explore.  There were so many cool exhibits around! The walruses, sharks, manta rays and so on! We were all filled with awe watching these animals interact with one another and swim around!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

Savannah Joy’s photography skills!!

 

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

I wanted ONE picture with the kids…. they were not feeling it!!!

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

Our ultimate goal for the day was to see the dolphin show! We wanted good seats so we were about 15 minutes early! We ended up in the “soak zone” which is about the first 5 rows! We sat down, ordered kettle corn from the sweet girl walking around and waited in anticipation for the show to start! I shed tears watching these dolphins perform! It was beautiful! They are SO smart! Also, the “soak zone” really is the soak zone! We got SOAKED! We laughed so hard because prior to the show they were selling blankets and towels and we just shrugged them off thinking, theres no way we will need those! Little did we know!

After the dolphin show we looked at our map to try and see if we could catch a few more rides before it was time to go home.  We got on some more fun rides and then Ben realized that we had enough time to see the Orca show! This is his favorite animal so this was a really big deal! We didn’t get as good seats this time, but that was fine with me! We would have gotten even more soaked because the killer whale is HUGE as we all know! This was more of an educational time and I really appreciated that.  Even with the dolphins it was a lot less performance based than I was expecting.  I also loved that they were sure to explain that a lot of what Sea World does is rehabilitating injured animals from the wild and giving back to the community.

What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day! What you must sea and do while at Sea World San Diego for the day!

Ok, so we were literally there from 10-5, but our FAVORITE rides were Ship Wreck Rapids, The Manta (Judah was too small for this ride so Sav, Ava and Ben did this one.  They said it was their favorite!) and Journey To Atlantis.  This last attraction was awesome! I wish you could see the picks they snapped of us on the ride! Hilarious!!! We covered a good portion of the park but not enough! We didn’t have time to see all the fish! Next time we go, the aquarium will be our first stop! In addition they have an entire night time show that I would have LOVED to see!  Have you ever been to Sea World?! What are some of your favorite attractions?!  Thank you as always for stopping by the blog!!


Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Jamie Beckham says

    Such a good idea to go during the week! Love planning trips during the week, to cut down on lines!

    Loved all your photos & sounds like you guys had a fun family trip!

    xx, Jamie

  5. Thirty30Courtney says

    San Diego was one of the cleanest cities I have ever been to. I still remember the beautiful jacaranda trees all around us and those flowers remind me of it. I didn’t get to visit the zoo either but I would love to visit the city again if I got the chance.

  17. Jessica Sheppard says

    Your day st Sea World looks like the most fun! The dolphin show sounds amazing…I can hear your contagious scream laugh now in that soak zone! ? Im sure it was a sweet family memory to treasure for a lifetime…yay for vacay!

  22. Ashley says

    What an amazing day of family fun!! I used to love visiting Sea World when I was little! Some of my best childhood memories!!

  31. Jen Frick says

    Ruthie, you guys looked like you had the BEST TIME EVER! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how soaked you guys got! lol worth it though I’m sure!!! 🙂 Your photos captured your trip so well! LOVE!

    Jen | MrsJenFrick.com

Copyright © 2026 · Ruthie Ridley· Blog Design by Little Blue Deer
Privacy Policy