As we were waiting in line to enter SeaWorld San Diego, I heard an employee chatting with another guest about a Behind the Scenes Tour that took you into a few of the restricted areas of the park. This was a few years ago and we have taken the SeaWorld Behind the Scenes Tour ever since! Especially when you have toddlers or small kids in tow, the interactive experiences on this tour are super memorable.
SeaWorld Behind the Scenes Tour
The Sea World tour is an additional cost on top of general admission, but it’s also the #1 thing not to miss at SeaWorld San Diego. Considering it was a small group tour and my kids get to ask the guide any questions, I think the marginal price is always a worthwhile cost considering how much they learn and experience in a short tour.
Sea World Tour
Each time we’ve joined a SeaWorld Behind the Scenes Tour San Diego, it’s been a decent sized group. Certainly not a private experience, but the kids always feel seen and heard. The meeting place is easy to spot right after the main entrance of the park.
One of the best aspects of these SeaWorld tours are the employees and professionals we meet! As they have matured, my kids begin to understand how many people it takes to run all the SeaWorld exhibits, take care of sick animals and how much SeaWorld does for conservation in the community.
Related: Go Ahead, Feel Good About Visiting SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld Sharks
The Sea World shark encounter is fascinating! I had no idea the extent SeaWorld goes to support sharks in the wild. It is amazing to think of all that SeaWorld is doing to replenish our marine worlds. The park gets a bad wrap sometimes, as ultimately it is a for-profit business, but as evident by their breeding and research efforts, I’d say visiting SeaWorld is a great way to foster a love of marine biology and respect for ocean life in our children.
We learned so much at this shark exhibit. We touched the sharks, learned how they are born and how misinformed the public is about them.
Related: San Diego Safari Park with Toddlers
Dolphin Encounter at SeaWorld
For some reason, I thought that we would also be feeding dolphins on this tour, but I was mistaken. You can either choose to include the dolphin encounter at SeaWorld in your Behind the Scenes package or not. That experience is an additional $60/person. Definitely a hefty price tag. Maybe when the kids are old enough, we’ll reconsider! (I think the minimum age is 6).
Note: we eventually did include the dolphin encounter at SeaWorld and had a great time! We got to feed the dolphins and were taught how to use their commands to communicate with them! Check out the additional SeaWorld posts for more information.
All in all, the Behind the Scenes Tour was worth the extra cost. If even for the fact that we got to walk the whole park and learn tib-bits we otherwise wouldn’t have known.
