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SeaWorld San Antonio facts for kids

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SeaWorld San Antonio
Previously known as Sea World of Texas
SeaWorld San Antonio logo
Entrance
Location 10500 Sea World Drive
San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas United States
Coordinates 29°27′30″N 98°41′59″W / 29.4584°N 98.6998°W / 29.4584; -98.6998
Opened May 27, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-05-27)
Owner SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
General manager Byron Surrett
Slogan "From Park to Planet" (See It Here, Save It There)
Operating season Year-round
Area 250 acres (100 ha)
Attractions
Total 9
Roller coasters 6
Water rides 2

SeaWorld San Antonio is a huge park in San Antonio, Texas. It covers about 250 acres. This park is a special place where you can see amazing marine animals. It is also an exciting animal theme park with many rides.

SeaWorld San Antonio is the biggest of the three SeaWorld parks. It focuses on helping animals, teaching people, and rescuing marine life. The other SeaWorld parks are in California and Florida. SeaWorld San Antonio is part of groups that make sure animals are cared for well.

Discover the History of SeaWorld San Antonio

Shamu March 2013
One Ocean (the Shamu show) at SeaWorld San Antonio, on March 14, 2013

The park first opened on May 27, 1988. It was called Sea World of Texas back then. Building the park cost about $170 million. On its first day, 75,000 people came to visit! In its first year, over 3 million people visited. This made it one of the most popular places in Texas. When it opened, it was known as the biggest educational marine-life park in the world.

In 1989, the company that owned SeaWorld sold it. Anheuser-Busch bought the park. They made some changes, removing less popular areas. They also added their famous Budweiser Clydesdales horses to the park.

A special event happened on November 26, 1988. A killer whale named Kayla, also called "Baby Shamu", was born at the park. She was the first killer whale born there.

Later, in 2008, SeaWorld was sold again. A company called Blackstone Group bought all the SeaWorld parks.

In 2016, SeaWorld Entertainment made a big announcement. They said that the killer whales currently at their parks would be the last. This means no new killer whales will be brought in. SeaWorld San Antonio currently has 5 killer whales. They also changed the killer whale shows. Instead of theatrical shows, they now have "Orca Encounters." These shows focus more on the whales' natural behaviors. SeaWorld San Antonio's Orca Encounter started on February 22, 2020.

Like many places, the park had to close for a while. It was closed from March to June 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exciting Rides and Attractions

SeaWorld San Antonio has many fun rides for all ages. You can find thrilling roller coasters and gentle rides.

Roller Coasters and Thrill Rides

# Name Opened Description Image
1 Texas Stingray 2020 This is the tallest, longest, and fastest wooden roller coaster in Texas.
2 Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster 2017 This coaster launches you twice! It is based on SeaWorld's animal rescue team.
3 The Great White 1997 This was the park's first big roller coaster. It goes up to 50 miles per hour. It was the first of its kind in Texas.
4 Steel Eel 1999 This tall coaster is 150 feet high. It goes up to 65 miles per hour.
SteelEel
Steel Eel roller coaster
6 Journey to Atlantis 2007 This ride is a mix of a roller coaster and a water ride. It was the first of its kind in North America.
7 Super Grover's Box Car Derby 2004 A fun roller coaster for younger kids. The cars look like race cars.
8 Riptide Rescue 2019 This is a spinning ride that looks like an airboat. It is themed to animal rescue.
9 Sea Swinger 2019 A spinning pendulum ride that swings you high in the air.
14 Rio Loco 1993 A thrilling river rapids ride where you get splashed!

Live Shows and Animal Presentations

SeaWorld San Antonio offers amazing live shows. You can learn about and see many different animals.

# Name Opened Description
16 Orca Encounter 2020 (1988) This is where the park's five killer whales live. The show teaches you about these amazing animals.
17 Beluga Stadium 1988 This stadium is home to beluga whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins. You can watch shows featuring these animals here.
18 Sea Lion Stadium 1988 Watch the funny "Clyde and Seamore" show here. California sea lions and Asian small-clawed otters perform in this show.
19 Bayside Stadium 1988 This stadium hosts exciting water skiing shows. It is also a great spot to watch the park's fireworks.
21 Sea Star Theatre 2003 This theater now hosts fun Sesame Street shows. It used to show 4-D movies and a "Pets Ahoy" show.

Meet the Animals at SeaWorld San Antonio

Seaworld-SanAntonio-Shamu-5217
Killer whale at Orca Stadium

SeaWorld San Antonio is home to many different marine animals. The park works hard to care for them.

Killer Whales

The park has 5 killer whales living in Orca Stadium. Most of them were born at SeaWorld. Their names are Takara (F), Sakari (F), Kamea (F), Tuar (M), and Kyuquot (M).

Beluga Whales

Penguin House, Sea World San Antonio IMG 1626 (2)
The Penguin House at SeaWorld has about 250 birds on display

SeaWorld San Antonio has a very successful program for breeding beluga whales. Many belugas at this park were born here. Some belugas at other parks were also born in San Antonio.

A rescued beluga whale named Tyonek now lives here permanently. He was too young to survive on his own. The park was chosen because it has many belugas, including experienced mothers. Tyonek surprisingly became friends with Betty, a Pacific white-sided dolphin!

As of 2021, there are 10 belugas at SeaWorld San Antonio. Their names are Crissy (F), Martha (F), Naluark (M), Luna (F), Atla (F), Pearl (F), Samson (M), Kenai (M), Innik (M), and Tyonek (M).

Dolphins

SeaWorld has 18 bottlenose dolphins. They live in two different areas of the park. Discovery Point is where most female dolphins live. You can see them above and below the water. Zoological Support is a special area for male dolphins and other animals needing care.

Most of these dolphins were born at SeaWorld parks. Four of them were rescued and could not be returned to the wild.

  • Discovery Point: Yoyo (F), Ripley (F), Nikki (F), Sadie (F), Neelee (F), Capri (F), Blyss (F), Haven (F), Yuri (F), and Rimmy (F).
  • Zoological Support: Notchfin (F), Mattie (F), Brady (M), Alice (F), Cisco (M), Koko (F), Zip (M), and Cooper (M).

They also have 7 Pacific white-sided dolphins at Beluga Stadium. Their names are Betty (F), Piquet (F), Avalon (F), Hailey (F), Ohana (F), Bolt (M), and Ipo (M).

Sea Lions, Seals, and Otters

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Basking sea lions

Besides the sea lions and otters in the shows, you can see many California sea lions and harbor seals. You can even feed them for an extra fee! This SeaWorld park has a special exhibit for Asian small-clawed and African spot-necked otters.

Sea Turtles

The newest animal exhibit opened in May 2019. It features rescued loggerhead and green sea turtles. They live with many marine fish. The exhibit uses a natural system to keep the water clean.

Aquatica Water Park

Aquatica is a separate water park next to SeaWorld San Antonio. It used to be a part of SeaWorld called Lost Lagoon. Lost Lagoon closed in 2011. The new Aquatica park opened in May 2012. It is based on the original Aquatica in Orlando.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: SeaWorld San Antonio para niños

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