We spent a positively fun, but frigid day at SeaWorld Orlando.  It was 40 degrees and blowing 40mph. Not exactly an ideal day to visit but we decided to make the most of our time.  That’s one of the dangers of going to Orlando in January…it could be 85 degrees when you get there and 40 degrees by the time you leave.  You just never know.  That’s how the weather has been the last two times we have gone in January.

But due to the weather, the park was relatively empty.

We honestly weren’t sure how long we would make it in the cold so we decided to hit our must-do attractions first.  We headed over to Shamu Stadium for the One Ocean show with the killer whales.  It was so cold Chad bought a blanket for the girls to wrap up in while they rode in the stroller.

Then we headed around to the Shark Encounter.

(Side note:  The park is beautifully landscaped with lots of spots for photo opps.)

Next we visited the Sea Lions.

And made our way through Antarctica…

We made it to the Blue Horizons show which was the best one in my opinion.  We had a round of hot chocolates while we waited for the show to start.

McKenna spotted an artist drawing caricatures on our way out of the show and talked her Daddy into a drawing in no time.

We can’t leave out Miss Avery!

Then we rode the Empire of the Penguin ride since it was broken down when we came through the first time.  We chose the tame version since I was pregnant.

The ride lets you off in “Antarctica” where you can see lots of penguins.  (It was really cold in there.)

By this time we decided to call it a day and made our way out of the park.

A few tips for visiting Seaworld Orlando:

• Check their website for deals on tickets.  We didn’t have any purchased ahead of time but I checked my phone on the drive over and bought them that way and saved over $20 per ticket.  They emailed the tickets to me and I pulled the bar code up on my phone for them to scan us into the park.
• You can see the park in one day but they offer discounts for to visit again the next day.
• Don’t miss the Blue Horizons show.  It was, by far, the best one we saw.
• They have photographers in the park that take pictures and give you a bar code to see you pictures on the way out or later online (similar to Disney’s photopass).
• It’s not just animals.  They have several large thrill ride rollercoasters!