Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ CategoryScaresquad AuditionsAugust 26, 2010 by ChrisJordan • 1 Comment » Posted in Uncategorized
Well imagine getting paid for it! Come audition for the SeaWorld San Antonio Scaresquad and have a ghoulish time scaring your friends! Auditions are Thursdays and Saturdays from 5 until 8 p.m. through September 4. Please call 210-523-3309 for further information. Bring your best screech, howl and scream – be prepared to have a whale of a time!
And yes, scary clowns freak me out too……. Cheers! Chris
PassMember Advantages 8/15/2010August 10, 2010 by JenniferBailey • No Comments » Posted in Around the Park, Events, Our Town, SWSA Insider, Uncategorized It’s that time again, where every pass member can be a winner. Don’t forget to come out to the park on August 15 between noon and 4 to spin the wheel. We will not be giving out the free tickets this time, but the $20 Lowe’s gift card is still the big prize. In the past we have had up to 3 winners of the Lowe’s gift card in the same family. WOW! I wonder what they bought? Hmmmm. In addition to PassMember Advantages, we just had a mailer go out promoting a new Friend For Free offer. Each annual pass member is able to log onto the website using your unique barcode (beginning with the letter A) and zip code and print off (1) One Free ticket. The ticket is available online now through September 26, 2010 and will need to be used by September 26, 2010. The name of the friend that will use the ticket will need to be entered before the ticket will print. Hope to see lots of pass members on August 15 and feel free to email me with any questions. Your Personal Pass Representative. Jennifer
Wildside Bloggers ReuniteJuly 30, 2010 by Brian Carter • 3 Comments » Posted in Uncategorized IRL – it’s an acronym used when online friends meet “In Real Life.”  Shamu drops in on the Wildside Reunion Ice Cream Social Last weekend, nearly 20 Texas bloggers got together IRL for the Wildside bloggers reunion. This is the second year that SeaWorld has hosted the event, during which a group of select bloggers from across the state converge at the park for a weekend with their families. Many of these folks communicate with each other regularly on the Web – either through comments on their blogs, Twitter messages or Facebook posts. So, the chance to see each other in the flesh isn’t one they get very often. The bloggers hail from all over the state, from Dallas and Austin to Houston and San Antonio. The Wildside reunion gave them a chance to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and experience the fun of a day at SeaWorld with them all. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the bloggers at previous SeaWorld events, but this was the first time for me to meet many of them IRL. We started the weekend with an Ice Cream Social at the nearby Holiday Inn Northwest, a great hotel partner known for being San Antonio’s greenest hotel.  Debi (aka @MomonMars) meeting our umbrella cockatoo. Photo by @Kamichat. Our host, Penny Herring with Holiday Inn, treated us to ice cream and cake since the reunion weekend happen to fall on a birthday Wildside blogger MommaDJane’s teenager daughter, Topanga. At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, we met at SeaWorld to enjoy the day. First on the agenda was stopping by Dolphin Cove to feed the dolphins. Since the rest of park doesn’t open until 10 a.m., this is a great activity to get in early. Next, we dropped by Castaway Cafe to grab a bite and meet some animal friends. One of the bloggers, MomonMars, got to hold one of the animal ambassadors – Susie the umbrella cockatoo. As it turns out Susie is no spring chick, but at 30 years old she’s only middle aged. After that, the Wildsiders and their families left to experience the park, blasting Tweets throughout the day to let each other know what was going on. Finally, we all caught up for the 5:30 showing of Azul: Lure of the Sea. It was a completely packed house, so everyone scrunched together to watch the show. And after the show, we got to meet a few of the cast members. The Wildsiders are true friends to SeaWorld’s animals and staff. In fact, one of the Wildside attendee’s husband, Sean, is a tennis blogger and he’s offered to get me connected to the tennis scene in San Antonio. That’s what these folks do best – make connections – and I feel fortunate to have connected with them IRL.
More than just a place to work…July 8, 2010 by Brian Carter • No Comments » Posted in Uncategorized At SeaWorld, our fellow employees aren’t simply co-workers – we’re team members. And as members of the same team, it’s important for us to take care of each other and have fun in the process. In that vein, here are a few photos of us doing just that – having fun and being a team! (From top to bottom) Kitchen Kooks – Our Park President and Vice Presidents took over Breakaway Cafe, our team member cafeteria, to serve breakfast and lunch. To the surprise of some team members (not this one, of course), the fare was very tasty. Kickball Fun – SeaWorld has several kickball teams that play regularly. Don’t let the outfits fool you, these players come to win!  Serving up lunch in the team member cafeteria.  Park President, Dan Decker, makes a MEAN sausage and kraut!  Kicking it - Hawaii Five-O style.  Dressed for success. They won the game, too!
Weather Forecast: Looking Better By The MinuteJuly 3, 2010 by Brian Carter • Comments Off Posted in Uncategorized With lots of people planning to make trips to SeaWorld San Antonio this weekend, the weather has been a top-of-mind topic. Will the park close because of rain? Will shows still go on? What about rides? Most of the rain we’ve experienced because of “Alex” has been short and scattered. So far today, we’ve had no weather delays on any of the rides or slides. I’m no meteorologist, but my friends at KENS-TV say that the worst is behind us with rain chances as low as 30% by Sunday. Even the Fireworks Celebration is still scheduled as planned for tonight and tomorrow night.
That being said, we’re open for business and expect to have a lot of fun this weekend. And should the rain delay your favorite ride for a moment or two, you’ve got plenty of indoor excitement to escape to. Say hello to some beautiful sea life in our Sharks & Coral Reef exhibit, check out a 4D show in Sea Star Theater, chill out with our Penguins, or visit our Animal Connections centers – all of which are indoors or covered. No matter the weather, our restaurants make a perfect place to take a break and have a snack. Check our series of blog posts below about July 4 weekend to make the most of your trip!
Wherever you spend your weekend, have a happy and safe Independence Day. VIDEO: KENS5 Weekend Forecast – Saturday, July 3
The SeaWorld Fan Search Is On!June 2, 2010 by Brian Carter • 3 Comments » Posted in Around the Park, Events, Uncategorized
Have you been the park lately and taken photos of your family? Then you can play the game now! Upload your photos on seaworldfansearch.com, then click the “Share” button with friends and family so they can vote. Pictures with the most votes will be turned into billboards around the city. And we’ve made uploading your photos easy. You can submit the old-fashioned way by visiting the site and browsing your computer’s hard drive for images. Or, you can connect the game to your Facebook account use photos that you’ve already uploaded to your account. The game is free to play and you can submit as many photos as you like. And if you haven’t visited SeaWorld San Antonio lately, be sure to bring your camera so you’ll have a chance to play along. Ready to dive in? Learn how to playor start playing today.
Animal Connections: Meet Chloe the Barred Owl!May 5, 2010 by KellyMorales • 1 Comment » Posted in Animal Ambassador, Meet My Friend..., Uncategorized, animals, conservation  Meet Chloe the barred owl at the Animal Connections Center This week we would like to introduce you to Chloe the barred owl. Chloe came to us from our sister park, Discovery Cove. Chloe was originally found in a school yard eating from students during lunch. She would land on edge of the tables and wait for food. Because of this behavior, the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Orlando felt she was probably a pet that had escaped or been released and they collected her.
It was believed that Chloe had imprinted on humans. Soon after many animals are born, they imprint on their caretakers. Imprinting is a critical behavior that establishes a bond between young animals and their parents. If an animal, such as an owl chick, is cared for and raised by humans at a very young age, it will no longer recognize itself as an owl, and will continue to seek socialization from humans. A bird of prey with this behavior is considered non-releasable because their feeding behaviors are not safe in their natural environment. As a result, Chloe found a home at Discovery Cove. Barred Owls like Chloe are medium-sized, gray-brown, and they are streaked with white side-to-side barring on the chest and up-and-down barring on the belly. Their eyes are brown, and the beak is yellow and almost covered by feathers. They have a long tail, and there are no differences in coloration between males and females. Owls are nocturnal hunters, and prey mostly on small rodents. Most owls have unique, comb-like feathers that allow for silent flight. The leading edge is “fringed” so that the feathers, when moving, do not make noise when rubbing together. It is rare for the prey to hear an owl swooping in. Owls have excellent vision. Their eyes look forward in a fixed position and cannot move from side to side, as the human eye can. In order to see peripherally, the owl must turn its entire head. It is a myth that owls can turn their head all the way around. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae, allowing them to move their head 270 degrees. Although these birds have excellent eyesight, they are also capable of catching prey using only their sense of hearing. Owl ears are located one higher than the other, increasing sound reception. During flight, the left ear captures sounds below while the right ear focuses on sounds from above. In addition, their face feathers create a disc, which works to trap and focus sound.  Chloe's face feathers create a disc that trap and focus sound As predators, owls play an important role in the environment by controlling small animal populations. Because mammals are a primary prey item, this can be especially beneficial to humans, reducing the amount of food lost each year to rodents. If you would like to visit with Chloe, or maybe even take a photo with her, you can meet her at the Animal Connections Conservation Center along with our other Animal Ambassadors. For information about other birds of prey species, visit this link on our ANIMALS website.
The Little Things: Restrooms at SeaWorld San AntonioMay 4, 2010 by GeoffBaldwin • 3 Comments » Posted in Around the Park, Uncategorized I have worked at SeaWorld for over 30 years and the majority of that time I have been involved with rest rooms. In the early years, I helped clean them, later supervising the cleaning crew while still staying hands-on and finally today I oversee the cleaning and design of he restrooms at SeaWorld San Antonio. It took awhile, but my wife has finally gotten used to me coming back from visiting a rest room while out to dinner and sharing my discoveries of a new kind of dispenser or a really cool fixture of some kind. I also am always quick to discuss how clean or dirty it is, but I don’t get real descriptive with the latter. The truth is, rest rooms, how they look, smell and work is very important to my job. I have a great job at the best marine life park in the world, but no matter how great it is, if the one thing our guests remember is a dirty, smelly rest room it takes away from the experience we hope to provide. It starts at midnight with the Night Park Quality team, they go through the all rest rooms top to bottom to make sure they are not just clean, but sanitized and they also make sure everything works. Then there is a smaller detail team that only does one or two rest rooms each night, taking extra time to deep clean floors, walls, light fixtures, etc. with heavier power equipment and chemicals. Once the park opens, the Day Park Quality team takes over, they are responsible for keeping things stocked (running out of paper is a bad thing) and doing their best to keep all 32 men’s and women’s restrooms as clean as possible.
Rest rooms are a big deal with me and my team. Even though I can’t get all the latest toys, the hand dryer that vacuums water off your hands are awesome and I am still waiting for an automatic toilet tissue dispenser, but the dedicated team I have makes all the difference. As you get soaked by Shamu or become a little green after riding the Great White inverted coaster, you can be at ease knowing there is a dedicated team day and night working to make sure the next rest room you visit for whatever reason is ready. Got to go “burning daylight!” Geoff Baldwin
Our Newest Killer Whale is Oh, So Sweet!April 16, 2010 by LesliePopiel • 6 Comments » Posted in Uncategorized, animals Sakari, meaning “sweet,” is the newest addition to our killer whale family. Born to Takara on January 7, this little girl is growing and learning by leaps and bounds every day. Recently Sakari has begun to explore her heightened sense of curiosity. Though she is still nursing, her mom has been sharing fish and Sakari has been playing with them quite frequently. Takara will shake a large salmon and share the pieces with Sakari, but Sakari will also take her own smaller fish when placed in the water in front of her. We are not yet certain if she actually ingests them, but the entertainment they provide her definitely lasts a while! We have documented the progression of weening to solid food with previous killer whale calves, and we are happy to say that Sakari is right on track.  Sakari pictured with her mother Takara Sakari has also begun interacting with trainers, often soliciting tactile reinforcement. She will sit with us for brief sessions and let us rub her back, flippers, fin and flukes, repeatedly circling back for more. Sakari seems intrigued by the things given to her mom as well. She will play in the stream of a hose or watch intently as Takara receives a rubdown with a soft brush. Just the other day, I watched Takara play with a plastic flower planter then set the toy in front of Sakari for her to investigate. Providing her with objects to manipulate stimulates her thinking and presents her with a puzzle to solve. Takara will not necessarily “spoon feed” Sakari on how to interact with different objects in her environment but will allow her to figure out what to do with the objects or create her own ways to play. Our curious little calf is also discovering new things she can do. While a trainer was splashing water in front of her, Sakari mouthed at the water and gave her own little squirt in return. She will mimic her mother in waving her tail or jumping out of the water. One of my favorite memories so far is of Sakari trying to jump as high as she could out of the water. Takara sat back and watched as her calf sunk deep into the pool, paused a moment, then swam as fast as she could towards the surface then up into the air!  Sakari jumping out of the water Observing such interactions gives us insight into how killer whales develop and teach their young. At times, Takara will physically manipulate Sakari to place her where she wants her. In other circumstances, Takara will show her a behavior and wait for her to mimic it. By watching the fish sharing, we see how Takara is actually determining the schedule on which Sakari will transfer from milk to fish. It also contributes to our pool of information that helps us in analyzing the development of calves in the future. I am fascinated every day by the things Sakari learns and tries. Watching this discovery process along with the gentle nurturing and guidance of Takara has quickly become the highlight of my days. I am amused by Sakari’s playfulness and inquisitiveness, but I am utterly amazed by her mother’s protection, instruction and care.
Education Leads to Understanding and ConservationMarch 18, 2010 by KellyMorales • Comments Off Posted in Uncategorized, animals, conservation
When SeaWorld San Antonio opened in 1988, my family got season passes right away. I remember my first Shamu show so clearly, I can tell you what seat I was sitting in. As I saw the killer whales up close for the first time, I knew, right at that very moment, what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could about the ocean, and when I grew up, I wanted to work with ocean animals. Today, over twenty two years later, I have one of the best jobs in the world. I don’t work with animals every day, I don’t get to play with Shamu, and most of my work is behind the scenes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. What I love about my work here is that I understand that things that start right here in the Education and Conservation Department have the power to reach thousands of families, campers, scouts, and students through our programs and presence at the animal habitats. When I first started as a tour guide over eleven years ago, I was very excited about being around the animals. Over time, I started to realize that what made me look forward to being here was the chance to get others as excited about the animals as I was. It was always so rewarding to change people’s perspectives about the animals from simply cute, or funny, or maybe even a little scary to helping them realize the bigger picture of how the animals fit into the ecosystems of the ocean. Sharks were no longer fearsome and mysterious, but beautiful animals with an important role in making ocean Today, as a Manager in the Education and Conservation Department, a good portion of what I do involves animal information training with the staff. They come in; excited to be here and work around animals, just like I was all those years ago. They spend their first few days with me, and I feel that my job is not only to teach them about the animals, but how to engage guests and instill the same passion about wildlife that we share. I really do believe that the core of SeaWorld’s gift is that animal knowledge, and being able to confidently and effectively bridge the natural world to the minds and hearts of the guests we come into contact with every day, whether they are campers, school children, a family on a tour, or a group of guests having a conversation with an instructor in front of an exhibit. Many people come into the park already liking animals, but I hope that after spending time with one of us, they leave liking them a little bit more, perhaps caring enough to want to make the small changes that make a larger impact in conservation. Maybe they will be inspired to start recycling at home, or contribute to our conservation fund, plant a garden, or think twice before they throw trash on the ground.
We truly are ambassadors for these animals, and you never know when that “spark” might be lit in one of our guests that will lead to greater efforts for conservation in the future. |
 Wave TV is SeaWorld’s bi-weekly video feature program created for team members. Wave TV debuted in 2005 and was originally conceived to showcase park events for team members as they rode the shuttle bus to their workstation. Last year, this award-winning communications program moved to the SeaWorld YouTube channel; now everyone can share the program. Check out what’s new behind the scenes at SeaWorld San Antonio.
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Last Friday 
This can be a major challenge on a Saturday in July, when the crowd from Shamu Theater rushes over after the show.
Ask anyone in the Zoological Operations Department at SeaWorld about how their career working with animals began, and I’m positive that most of the answers you hear will be very similar to my own.
populations healthier. The strength, intelligence, and agility of killer whales were not only for showcasing behaviors at a Shamu show, but vital adaptations that allow this species to be the top predators that they are.
