Fun at SeaWorld's Seafari Tour

Did you know that SeaWorld San Antonio has tours?  They do!  And they have several different ones available.  Last week I was able to take B on a special birthday surprise.  We drove down to SeaWorld San Antonio and participated in their Seafari Tour, a 3 hour before the park opens tour.  We had such a blast - it was so much fun!  We were able to see SeaWorld's animal conservation center, visit the penguin encounter and the puffin area, see and feed the sea lions, visit the beluga whales and pacific white sided dolphins, visit and pet the sting rays, pet a shark, see their baby sea lions and bottlenose dolphins.  We saw so many animals it truly was hard to keep track.

 Blue-tongued Skink

 Lemur

 Lemur

 Penguin Fun

 Puffins

 

 Pacific White Sided Dolphins

 

The Beluga Whales were having playtime when we visited.

 Feeding the Sea Lions

Baby Sea Lions (about 6 months old)

 

 Sting ray touch tank

 B touching the sting rays

 The shark waiting to be pet.

B was the only kid on the tour brave enough to touch the shark.  She was surprised at how rough the shark was compared to the sting rays.

 Bottlenose Dolphins

Special things to note concerning the Seafari Tour at SeaWorld:  it is a walking tour so you will be doing a lot of walking,  it is recommended for guests 8 and older (kids must be accompanied by a paying adult), this tour is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., you will check-in at the main security gate (not the main entrance because the park is not open yet), tour by reservation only, and prices start at $20.

SeaWorld AdventureCon15

Guess what?  I am headed to AdventureCon again this year and I am so excited!  This will be my third year to attend (my first year as a Wildside Ambassador).  Three years ago I attended by myself and I was blown away by the information and content as well as the friendliness of the attendees, wildsiders, and the park itself.  And every year, it just gets better.  Last year, David and the kids came up for one day and met me at various times throughout the conference.  This year, we will be doing the entire conference as a family and I cannot wait.  The speakers look amazing and there is so much to learn.  So join me in my #AdventureCon15 adventures as I have fun and take my blog to the next level.

You can follow along our adventures on facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. by looking for the hashtag #AdventureCon15.

Oh, and we are really hoping to see the baby beluga whale that was born just last week.  Enjoy the video below.

Satisfy Your Palate at SeaWorld San Anotonio's Seven Seas Food Festival

Do you know what I got to do this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day?  On Saturday we went to SeaWorld San Antonio's Seven Seas Food Festival and it was a blast.

I met SeaWorld's Chef Scott personally and I can tell you that under his watch recipes get an extra special ingredient - passion.  He has a passion for cooking and he cares about his creations and authenticity!  This can be seen and tasted in the many choices available throughout the Seven Seas Food Festival.  The variety and creations available will tantalize your palate and keep you circling the festival for more.

 

This festival features area-inspired cuisine from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, North Pacific, Pacific and South Atlantic.  It was awesome to try such a variety of dishes from such various locations.

David and I went to the Caribbean first.  You can see C checking out the menu.

Here I am with my Food, Wine and Brew Sampler Card ready to go!

There are several different VIP Samplers available for purchase.  You can buy a Food Sampler which allows you to choose any 6 samples of food throughout the festival for $26.99.  You can buy a Wine and Brew Sampler which allows you to choose any 6 samples of beer or wine throughout the festival for $19.99.  Or you can buy the Food, Wine and Brew Sampler and choose from any 3 samples of food and any 3 samples of beer or wine throughout the festival for $24.99.

I chose to get the Jerk Chicken with Rice and Gungo Peas and a Red Stripes Lager.

Red Stripes Lager

David enjoyed the Red Stripes Lager.

Our whole family enjoyed the Jerk Chicken, the flavor was just right.  Even F was asking for more.

Next, we followed the event map and headed to the South Atlantic area.

The South Atlantic area was very festively decorated with bright colors and had an area for live music.

I really loved the trees.

There were some amazing fruit and vegetable sculptors.

We loved seeing all the creations.

 A close up view

David chose the feijoada (Pork stewed with black beans in a sausage, beef and chorizo blend served with a side of collard greens).

At this point, we could tell that each area really had its own flare.  And F was sold as a food sampler, he loved the beans and sausage.  He even ate some collard greens.

 Meeting SeaWorld's Chef Scott and Chef Virginia Willis

I was so excited that I was able to attend the Cooking with Coke demonstration in the North Pacific area with Chef Virginia Willis.  It really was a treat.  Chef Virginia Willis was extremely warm and friendly, not to mention talented.  She walked us through how to make Honest Green Tea Marinated Grilled Shrimp and Simply Orange Rice Pilaf using products from the Coca-Cola family and then we were able to sample her delicious creations at the end.

The set up was amazing and made it very easy to follow along with Chef Virginia Willis.

Ingredients ready to go for the demo.

 Chef Virginia Willis in the middle of her demonstration.

 My sample - delicious!

After the demo, we headed to the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico menu

David sampled the street tacos and I ordered the tostones with garlic oil.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the street tacos before they were consumed but they were delicious as were the tostones.

 Tostones with Garlic Oil

We rounded out our tour at the Mediterranean area.

Mediterranean Menu

David sampled the Seared Quail with Kouros Nemea.

 Seared Quail

I sampled the Shawarma with Kouros Patras.

Shawarma with Skhug Sauce

 I cannot think of a better way to end the day!

I have to say that this festival was both fun and delicious.  If you are headed to SeaWorld San Antonio in the month of May you will definitely want to check it out or maybe the festival itself will take you to the park.  This culinary voyage takes place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 8th-31st (plus Monday, May 25).  The festival opens at 11:00 a.m. and closes with the park on all event days.

Disclosure:  I am a SeaWorld Texas Wildside blogger.  I received complimentary passes for myself and family and have the opportunity to receive other perks throughout the year.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

Time to Get Wild Throughout 2015

 

 The older four kiddos with Shamu

I have some amazing news, squeal - I have been chosen as a SeaWorld Texas Wildside Ambassadors for 2015!  I am beyond thrilled and honored to have been chosen to work with some amazing bloggers and a truly inspirational park.  And of course, the kids are over the moon excited.  Ready to hear about our first adventure this year - let's dive right in!

Saturday we left the house early to make it to SeaWorld's Kids Fest including a hearty Sesame Street Breakfast.  E was really excited to meet Elmo himself.  For those wondering, the Sesame Street Breakfast is an extra attraction that opens before the park.

We found our seats and the kids dove in to our breakfast buffet.  Breakfast included scrambled eggs, warm tortillas, French toast, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, assorted cereals, and assorted muffins as well as juice, milk, coffee, tea and water to drink.  The food was great and we were oh so hungry from our drive.  This was just the thing to fill us up for our day!

E loved her food.

A and D enjoyed their breakfast as well.

Then the real fun began.  Elmo and friends came to see the kids.  They met Elmo, Zoe, The Count, Cookie Monster and Big Bird!  The characters all came around to the tables (except Big Bird who was too tall) for a visit and there were lots of opportunities to take photos together.

Elmo at our table.

Zoe was next.

I love their faces in this photo.

 Zoe giving F high fives!

 Pure, pure joy!

D ran to Cookie Monster when she saw him.

These two were pals from the beginning.

 B and Cookie Monster

 Here I am with Big Bird and B and D.

David and F with Big Bird

 E wanted one more photo with Elmo

If your kids love Sesame Street and you are planning a trip to SeaWorld Texas I would highly recommend their Sesame Street Breakfast.  And right now for the month of April (on weekends only), when you purchase 1 adult reservation, you get 1 FREE child reservation.  You can see more details and purchase your reservations here.  You can also find out more about SeaWorld's Just For Kids activities here.

Disclosure:  I am a SeaWorld Texas Wildside blogger.  I received complimentary passes for myself and family and have the opportunity to receive other perks throughout the year.  All opinions expressed here are my own.