Penguins can be the stars of an animal exhibit as they are cute, active and playful. Many guests would love an up close encounter with these “cool” animals and you can do just that at SeaWorld San Antonio Penguin Encounter. Most people only ever see the main exhibit below, but the Penguin Encounter Tour lets you go backstage to see the animal care areas, meet some trainers and even pet a penguin! At just $45, this animal encounter is a great value too.
Continue reading
It’s not uncommon to have a playground type area at a theme park consisting of slides and suspension bridges. There are some huge outdoor play areas like Elmo’s Treehouse Trek at Busch Gardens, but Dollywood is in a league of their own with a massive indoor play area in the Wildwood Grove area of the park called Hidden Hollow. However, “Hidden Hollow” is a very appropriate name as the building it’s in is very nondescript and without obvious signage, so you could easily pass it by thinking it was a shop, restroom or something else. The indoor space is well air conditioned with seating for parents and is a great place for families to refresh on a hot day, get out of the rain or cold or just give kids something to do with zero wait.
Continue reading
Walt Disney referred to the fireworks display at the parks as their “kiss goodnight” for the guest, a way to end the day on a memorable note. For many visitors the fireworks are an essential part of the Disney experience and they’ll arrive in front of the castle 1-2 hours in advance to scope out the best seats. However, did you know Disney has several options that give you reserved seating for the fireworks? The fireworks pre-party, post-party and sweets & seats provide reserved seating along with unlimited desserts and alcoholic beverages. Of course this comes at nearly a $100/person price, but is it worth it?
Continue readingOn a recent trip to SeaWorld Orlando we did the “Dine with Orcas” lunch. Here’s a review of our experience and the bottom line is, I couldn’t recommend it more. This is a essentially a great meal and a private orca show in one.
Continue reading
The SeaWorld Busch Gardens Platinum card is really one of the best values going for theme park membership. This is my review and how you can save money, with a catch. Busch Gardens is owned by SeaWorld Entertainment and you get unlimited access to any of SeaWorld Entertainment’s 11 great theme/water parks across the country, free preferred parking, free photos for the year, a daily free quick queue, a bunch of free guest tickets and a ton of other perks.
Continue reading
If you live in greater Atlanta you probably make the drive south to Florida every year or so to visit one of its many theme parks, beaches or another destination. Our family has made this trip annually for years as part of our trip to Captiva Island and numerous other trips to Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Disney World and cruises. Passing through Valdosta we’d always see billboards for Wild Adventures theme park, Google it, see that it looked pretty cool, but never manage to stop. That changed for us on November 25th when we made our first trip Wild Adventures and we had a simply spectacular day!
Continue reading
So there’s a cool new “Year in Review” in Log Ride, the app I use to track my credits and visits to parks. In addition to showing roller coasters, locations, tallest, fastest, etc., it also shows steps and miles. I was shocked to see that I had walked 174 miles in theme parks so far this year with over 300,000 steps!
Continue reading
Opening day for a new coaster is a special day you’ll seek out once you’ve done it once. The buzz in the air and the party atmosphere makes for loads of fun. I had a chance to visit Six Flags Over Georgia for the Kid Flash Cosmic Coaster opening ceremony and the technical rehearsal on Saturday, November 4th. I was a “Six Flags” day (as they say at the park) that did not leave me disappointed. This is a great new set of coasters that kids will love and parents will enjoy too.
Continue reading
Do you enjoy playing games when you visit a theme park? You’ll see people carrying giant stuffed animals around the park, so people do win, but did you ever wonder what the odds were or strategies to win? The good thing is that at a place like Busch Gardens you can at least be sure the games aren’t a 100% scam like some carnivals. However, not all games are created equal, so it’s best to be educated before you play to know your real odds and the best strategies.
Continue readingYou might have heard of ChatGPT. It’s the artificial Intelligence (AI) program that can write essays, emails, poetry, articles and even lines of computer code. There have been a lot of buzz about it in the media about kids and college students using it to do their homework for them to journalists wondering if they’ll someday be replaced. I asked it to write a review of Busch Gardens in Tampa and this is what I got:
Continue reading
BGT Safari 