Posts Tagged ‘shamu’
January 7, 2010 by DanDecker • 51 Comments »
Posted in News, animals
It’s a whale! Takara, an 18-year-old, 5,080-pound killer whale, gave birth to a calf today in the main pool of SeaWorld San Antonio’s Shamu Theater. The calf arrived at approximately 7:15 a.m. after a short period of labor.
This is an exciting event for our team members and our guests, but the first days and weeks for a young killer whale are critical. SeaWorld’s Zoological Operations will be monitoring Takara and her calf round-the-clock, watching for nursing behavior, regular respirations and other positive vital signs.
We will keep you posted on the progress.
December 31, 2009 by LesliePopiel • 3 Comments »
Posted in Children, Christmas Celebration, Christmas Miracles, animals
In the midst of the holiday chaos, I find myself easily lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping, baking and decorating while maintaining a full work schedule. Even at work, I get caught up with the many tasks to be accomplished and lose sight of what the holidays are really about. A small visitor recently reminded me to take a step back, slow down, and count the blessings that are all around me. I was watching through the eyes of a child…
I love this time of year because we celebrate the season at Shamu Theatre with “Shamu Christmas Miracles,” a fun-filled, action-packed, very festive show. During this show, we invite children to join in the fun and interact with the whales through the glass.
One lucky boy or girl gets the chance to step up to the glass with a trainer to give Shamu signals to perform behaviors, such as waving and dancing around in a circle. Interacting with a certain little boy is one of my fondest memories from this holiday season at the park.
The excitement and wonder was written all over this child’s face. His smile was huge, his enthusiasm contagious. In that moment, I felt the joy of being a kid myself. Like I said, it was contagious! My own smile grew and grew and I laughed as watched him waving and dancing with Shamu. I still have a silly grin plastered across my face.
 Seeing a child’s expression when he sees Shamu for the first time or watching her amazement as the whales leap through the air reminds me daily of the dreams I had a child. My hope is that children young and old watching “Miracles” will remember their dreams and believe that miracles still happen.
Have a Happy New Year!
December 2, 2009 by SuzyBehne • 1 Comment »
Posted in News
What if you could take a walk around our parks or plan your vacation without leaving your easy chair? Now you can. The SeaWorld parks are now shown in Street View on Google Maps!
Up-close, 360-degree, see-everything, virtual visits to the SeaWorld parks in San Antonio, Orlando and San Diego –- as well as Discovery Cove, a swim-with-dolphins resort and Aquatica, SeaWorld’s waterpark, both in Orlando –- are now online.
What a great way to check out your favorite parks.
Working with Google’s Street View team, nearly every inch of the parks was mapped using one of Google’s “Trikes.” A state-of-the-art camera automatically gathered photographs from the back of a modified bicycle. Google software then blended the images, creating the famous, interactive and completely movable 360-degree scenes Street View is known for.
 Here is the Google Trike at our sister park gathering images of Shamu Stadium And the best way to make sure every show, splash, adventure and fave world-class thrill ride was mapped? The 250-pound Trike, complete with camera and GPS mounted on a mast, was pedal-powered by a Google staff member. It’s the ultimate mix of technology — both high and low.
Soon, Street View for Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and Williamsburg, Va., Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa., Adventure Island in Tampa and Water Country USA in Williamsburg, will be available, so be sure to check back often.
Here’s how to get started: Street View visits to the parks are accessible via Web and mobile applications. Go to maps.google.com and search for any of the SeaWorld parks, Discovery Cove or Aquatica. Then drag the orange “Pegman” icon (found at the top left of the map) for a “walking tour.” Among the highlights -– also seen in “satellite mode” — SeaWorld visitors can look for the world’s most famous killer whale, Shamu.
Enjoy!
November 30, 2009 by SuzyBehne • 1 Comment »
Posted in Around the Park, Events
- Christmas list mailed to Santa…Check.
- Christmas gifts for friends and family…Check and check, thank you Black Friday and Cyber Monday!
- Second annual holiday trip to “SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration” with friends… Man-o-man, I still need to plan my trip to SeaWorld this weekend!
One would think since I work at the park I would have already had this planned out. Well, time to get started.
So, first things first… Time for the park map!
First stop is to take a picture at the park’s Main Entrance in front of the giant Christmas tree. Next stop, the all-new “A Sesame Street Christmas” at Nautilus Amphitheater to see Cookie Monster, Elmo and friends, then over to Shamu Theater! I just love “Shamu Christmas…Miracles,” it always helps me celebrate the holiday season as a time filled with hope and peace and just possibly, miracles. Okay, then it will be time for some thrills on the roller coasters. Sea Lion Stadium is next on the list for “Deck the Halls with Clyde and Seamore,” those two zany sea lions get me every time! We will need to warm up a bit at Sea Star Theater which features The Polar Express™ 4-D Experience, I heard it’s a great show with all the 4-D effects including the scent of hot chocolate. By this time we’ll be pretty hungry, so over to Mango Joe’s Café Olé to eat and listen to SeaWorld’s Holiday Singers. The rest of the day will be spent over at FantaSea, the all-new walk-through where Shamu Claus and friends are preparing for Christmas the SeaWorld way and to get our picture with Santa at Seaside Landing, his home away from home. Oh, and we can’t forget to go and see the Underwater Santa too at Sharks/The Coral Reef!
We are going to have a really busy but fun-filled day. I am excited to be a guest in the park and have a blast taking in all of the beautiful decorations, shows and photo opportunities. Interested in coming to see the holiday splendor too? The park is open through Jan. 3 with varying operating days so you have plenty of time to gather the family and come and check out the festivities!
August 20, 2009 by LesliePopiel • 12 Comments »
Posted in Around the Park, News, animals
Thirteen years ago, I visited Sea World San Antonio with a close friend. We entered the White Whale and Dolphin Stadium where a trainer was observing the animals in the front pool. “You have my dream job!” I said after introducing myself. “What do I need to do to become a trainer?”
This is the answer I received…
You have to love animals. You need to be strong team player. You need patience. Every applicant is required to pass a swim test. We require a high school diploma, though a college background in marine biology or psychology is preferred. Applicants must be certified SCUBA divers before receiving an invitation to participate in the swim test.
You must swim a distance of 250 feet in less than one minute and twenty seconds and swim 125 feet underwater taking only one breath. Applicants must also dive into the pool from a six foot platform then surface dive to the bottom of the pool. By the way, in the Whale and Dolphin Stadium that pool is 25 feet deep. After retrieving a dive weight from the bottom, you must pull yourself onto a ledge that is one foot above the surface of the water. Once you are completely out of breath, we test your skills on the microphone.
Trainers that work at Shamu Theatre are required to swim to the bottom of its main show pool – a depth of 40 feet. They are also required to be leap up to the top of the six foot glass that encloses the pool and also to lift themselves out of the water onto a wall that is two feet above the surface.
I listened intently to her answers as did my friend. Both of us were brimming with excitement. I realized in that moment that my dream could become reality and nothing would stand in my way.
Now, I get to share my dream with so many each day in our killer whale show at Shamu Theatre called “Believe. Dedication, hard work, and persistence have taken me through the journey of a lifetime and have enabled me to reach heights I never thought possible. So remember, anything is possible as long as you BELIEVE.
July 8, 2009 by DanDecker • 8 Comments »
Posted in News, Photo Sets
 Shamu Theater, one of seven ways to get WET at SeaWorld San Antonio Great ways to get wet at SeaWorld San Antonio…I certainly have my favorites, however I like to spend most of my time in the park trying to view the park through our guests eyes. This is sometimes difficult for me to do as I am very close to our product. That’s why I frequently turn to my favorite four person focus group, my family. Every time they I ask my wife and my two teenage boys what they liked most liked the least and what they would change. While their input provides quite a bit of value to my job, I realize that even their opinions come with a certain amount of bias making it difficult to equate to an actual guests visit. This however is not true with my seven year old daughter Kady. The honesty and enthusiasm of a sassy little girl is pretty easy to trust. You know exactly what is wrong and why. You also get to know what is most important from the constant questions and “pester power” as it is affectionately referred to. Young children are creatures of habit, so when something is right it is easy to spot by their desire to do it over and over and over again. So without further ado, here are Kady Decker’s top ways to get wet at SeaWorld San Antonio verbatim;
- Atlantis (Journey to Atlantis) is great because when you go down the hill you get splashed and when you get off the ride you get to get splashed again.
- I like the (Lazy) river because it gets you wet because you are swimming in it
- Shamu gets you wet, you take two hands and wave and you get splashed
- Dolphins splash water in the pool and sometimes get you wet, they make me laugh they are so cute
- And the Rio Loco (raft ride) waterfall gets everyone wet
- Swimming with the Sea Lions gets you wet, also when you watch the Sea Lion show the big tower explodes and sprays water all over everyone
- At the Viva Show the guy (the Waterworks Mechanic) splashes you and you get to watch the butterfly lady fly around
So whether you’re a kid, have kids, have grand kids or simply resist the urge to ever grow up Kady’s favorites should help keep you cool during the hot summer days.
What are your kids favorites?
I’d love to hear from you.
Dan
To see photos of all seven places, check out our Flickr photo set.
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