SeaWorld is one of Orlando’s most versatile parks, and a key element to that is their constantly expanding list of events. In May 2018, they introduced Inside Look weekends, as a way to let guests see how SeaWorld rescues and cares for their animals. They brought it back in January 2019, and I was able to rearrange my schedule so I could go.
My only complaint about SeaWorld’s events is that they are always only on Saturdays and Sundays, and I’m always at work on those days!
There are six Inside Look Locations, and five of them were open from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, with the final one being open from 11:15 am to 1:00 pm, and then from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm. I figured that would be plenty of time to get to everything, which would make for a long day, so I purchased an All-Day Dining Pass. This lets you eat once an hour all day long.
(Hint: If you visit four Inside Look locations and get a stamp at each one, you can turn it in for a free pin!)
I got a later start than I meant to, but I still made it to the park in time to get breakfast. In theory, because the only All-Day-Dining restaurant that served breakfast now opens at 11:00, and no longer serves breakfast.
Oh well! So instead, I headed to the Pretzel Kitchen. It’s one of my favorite places to eat, and probably has the best pretzels in all of Orlando. It’s also near Infinity Falls, and the Animal Ambassador Hamlet which has the Inside Look location that would be opening at 11:15 am. I figured I could take my time eating and wait for it to open.
his was actually a terrible idea because it wasn’t time efficient, but I wouldn’t realize that until much later in the day.
When I got to the Animal Ambassador Hamlet, a line was already starting to form, so I hopped in.
There were two barns, and I immediately recognized them from trips to SeaWorld when I was younger as the barns that used to house the Budweiser Clydesdales. Once upon a time, SeaWorld was owned by Anheuser-Busch and the famous Budweiser Clydesdales could be found in the park. They even had the donkey from the Superbowl commercials!
SeaWorld recycles everything, even buildings!
I went into the first barn and, sure enough, the stalls had been converted into holding pens to house SeaWorld’s Animal Ambassadors. Ambassadors are animals that wouldn’t normally necessarily be at SeaWorld, but wound up there after being rescued. Now they come out for educational excursions, tours, and sometimes even private events. Host a party at SeaWorld, and your guests can pet a sloth!
These little guys love the camera too. While I was taking pictures, Merlyn the Kookaburra hopped right up to pose for me, and then the toucan did too! (I didn’t see what his name was.)
Mila the two-toed sloth drew the most attention. She was rescued when she was two years old, and now she spends most of her time napping in the barn when she’s not greeting guests.
The second barn was empty, but the signs were still up where it was recently used to house the animals for O’ Wonderous Night, which is the Nativity Pageant SeaWorld does every year for Christmas.
As I was heading out of the barns and back into the park, there was a large group of people headed my way so I hopped up on the curb to get out of their way. It was only then that I realized I had nearly walked into Jack Hanna! Each of the Inside Look weekends have a different special guest, and I happened to be there on Jack Hanna’s weekend. He was doing two shows, and I figured I would go to the later one after I got all my stops in.
Trying to keep my walking back and forth across the park to a minimum, I headed towards Wild Arctic next to visit the Beluga and Seal Primary Housing.
I was desperately hoping I would not have to ride Wild Arctic in order to get to the Inside Look location. While I love SeaWorld, one of my least favorite things about it is having to go through a ride to get to the exhibits. I just want to see the animals!
Thankfully they had the signs pointing into the gift shop and to the back door open that normally is for employees only. I ducked through and followed the signs until I reached the line. I was surprised by both how long it was and how slow it moved! It wasn’t until I got to the front of the line that I realized this was a very different experience than the Animal Ambassador Hamlet. I had wandered through there at my own pace, but here they were essentially running multiple tour groups of about twenty-five people at a time. The line was moving so slowly because we had to wait for a guide to be available.
I actually have been backstage at Wild Arctic before, when Jay and I did the Beluga and Walrus Up-Close tour last year. Since they didn’t allow personal cameras, Inside Look allowed me to take some of the pictures I had missed!
We walked down the hallway and went past some seal pools to the Beluga outdoor area. When we did the Beluga tour, we were right at the edge of the pool. Now we were on the other side of the wall looking through a glass window.
SeaWorld has three pools for the beluga whales, and they can be in whichever pool they want to be in, so there weren’t actually any whales while I was there. However, I got to learn about my new favorite animal at SeaWorld – Wiley the Harp Seal.
SeaWorld has nineteen Harbor Seals, and one Harp Seal. Wiley was rescued fourteen years ago in New England when he was a pup. He had hauled himself out on a rock, and a coyote grabbed him by his back flippers. Fortunately, he got away! After being rescued, he was sent to SeaWorld Orlando because US Fish and Wildlife decided that was the best fit for him. He’s been at Wild Arctic ever since. He has access to the same pools as the Belugas, and he hangs out there all day. His favorite spot is in the gate between two pools. From the looks of it, it gets a nice sunbeam, and it’s also the most in the way he could possibly be. (The trainer didn’t say that, I just gathered that from what I was seeing.) He still has scars from the coyote attack, and even now they’re still doing cold laser treatments on the tissue to help him heal.
hese seals are called Harp Seals because they have a mark on their back that is shaped like a harp. Wiley doesn’t have his at the moment because he’s molting and waiting for a new coat to grow in, so right now he’s bald. (I could be wrong, but I have a theory Wiley is the one who got out of the water and tried to sneak over for attention at the Beluga and Walrus Up-Close tour we did.)
Next, they brought our group into the kitchen to see how they prep the meals for the animals at Wild Arctic. There are two beluga whales, four walruses, and I’m assuming twenty seals (19 Harbor seals and one Harp seal, but some of them might not be in Wild Arctic) to feed every day, three meals a day. That’s a lot of fish!
SeaWorld has to meet both USDA standards for their kitchens like any restaurant would, plus AZA standards, and then their own higher standard that keep. Fish can only be thawed out for twenty-four hours before it must be used, anything past that is deemed not good enough for the animals. Most humans keep fish “on ice” or refrigerated for up to seven days!
The kitchen was the last stop inside Wild Arctic, after which they brought us out the same way we came in. I headed out through the gift shop and on to my next stop: Sea Lion and Otter Primary Housing.
The line for the sea lion and otter area was almost as long as the line in Wild Arctic had been, but the Sea Lion High show that was about to start helped to pull some people away. Honestly, this was the Inside Look location I was the most excited about. It’s never been open to the public before, and I have a soft spot for the sea lions. My parents and I used to have a dog named Clyde, who barked like a sea lion – hence his name.
The show was actually going on while I was backstage, so that was kind of cool. We got to see where the otters live, but no actual otters because of the angle of our view.
SeaWorld only has male sea lions in their shows due to the size discrepancy between males and females. There are two baby sea lions that were born last year that they are raising to be the “future stars of “Sea Lion High”. They look for animals that are alert, make good eye contact, and seek out time with their trainers. They weren’t very interested in the tour group though because they had ice to play with. Their names are Pepperjack and Queso, and they are stinking adorable.
On the wall was a board that laid out what trainer was playing which character in the show, and some more information about the workings of the show. The trainer I was with didn’t talk about it, but as someone who is obsessed with how theme parks operate, I find it fascinating.
They took the group back behind to see the “Bubble Car” used in the shows to transport the sea lions. For some reason, it has a dolphin hood ornament. That’s silly. It should be a sea-lion!
The final stop at the Sea Lion and Otter Primary Housing was their “Critical Care” area, which sounds way worse than it is. It’s just for any sea lion that needs to be away from the others, whether because it’s sick, or pregnant, or needs a time out.
I stopped for food again before I made my way to the Manta Aquarium. This stop was really cool because I got to go inside the ride building and get a better look at the coaster track. Roller coasters are actually the ride system I know the least about, but they’re still fun to observe. Interestingly enough, this was the only Inside Look location that could not accommodate a wheelchair. They took the group up the steps to look at the top of the aquarium that you see from inside the ride’s queue.
I happened to be up there when they were feeding some of the rays, and watching that was pretty cool. They use a green platform that looks kind of like a Roomba that goes along the floor of the tank, and they also get in the water wearing waders to use a bottle to feed others. The tour guide was explaining how they use them and why, but unfortunately there was a really bad echo and it was hard for me to understand him.
They took us back down the stairs to look at the water filtration system. SeaWorld makes its own salt water since we’re in central Florida and not near the coast. Their water is also much cleaner this way since there’s no pollution. SeaWorld also grows its own coral through something called “coral fragmentation”. They split off pieces of coral and place them in their own tanks, and supply them with lots of calcium to help them grow. This helps SeaWorld produce lots of coral more quickly, and they don’t have to take from the wild, where coral isn’t doing very well at the moment.
After four Inside Look locations, I had enough stamps to get my free pin, but I wasn’t done yet!
My next stop was the Fish House, which is where SeaWorld prepares the vast majority of the food they handle every day for the animals. It was like the kitchen at Wild Arctic, just much bigger, and it was staffed by a total of two people. I shudder to think what happens when one goes on vacation.
They talked about a lot of the same stuff the Wild Arctic kitchen talked about such as the food standards and how they handle the thawing process. By the time I was done with the Fish House, I had a choice to make. It was a little after 2:00 pm, and Jack Hanna’s last show was at 3:00. The last Inside Look location I needed to hit was the Rescue Center, and I heard someone say it took about forty minutes. I stopped over there to ask, and sure enough, thirty to forty minutes.
I walked over to the Nautilus Theater, where a few people had gotten in line for Jack Hanna but it wasn’t terribly crowded yet. However, I was worried that by the time I got out of the show, they might have cut the line for the Rescue Center.
I eventually decided I’d rather get to see the Rescue Center, since Jack Hanna comes to SeaWorld frequently. Plus, I already almost ran into him! That was way more exciting than watching him on a stage.
I went back to the Rescue Center and jumped in line. With six points inside, it was the biggest Inside Look location. They were starting to take bigger groups, and they pulled close to thirty people when it was my turn.
The first stop was at the Rescue Board. SeaWorld’s only rescued one manatee so far this year, and no turtles, but it is only January. In 2018, they rescued 64 manatees, 72 turtles, and over 400 birds!
Fun Fact: SeaWorld Orlando is the only SeaWorld that has manatees!
We also got to see the devices they use to transport marine mammals in on trucks. Padding is put in before the animal is lowered in a sling, and then it’s filled about half way up with water before it’s loaded onto a truck. For dolphins and whales, there are even holes for their flippers!
The boats they use are repurposed fishing boats with the motor in the front to protect both the net integrity and the animals. Once an animal is located, they place the net around the animal in the water, hook it up to the crane “and pray”, because they have no idea how big an animal truly is until they’re trying to haul it out of the water. Once it’s on the deck, there’s a backboard on the boat that has to be secured before they take off, or the animal goes back in the water and you get to do the whole thing all over again. The way the Rescue Team Member was talking about it, I could tell that that very thing has happened to her.
Someone asked how much notice the rescue team is given before they have to take off on an assignment to go get an animal.
“Oh, I’ve got go bags in my truck right now.”
Sometimes they get overnight notice, sometimes they get an hour before they have to head to New England, or Texas, or south Florida, or where ever they need to go to help.
I am not sure why I find this sign so funny.
The manatee hospital area was next, where there were four manatees still recuperating from last year. Most of the manatees that were rescued in 2018 were sick due to the Red Tide that hit Florida, which puts manatees into a coma-like state. The hospital pool has a bottom that can rise to raise the animal out of the water so they can treat the manatees as needed. Apparently, a lot of Red Tide manatees won’t eat after they wake up, so they have to be fed a “lettuce smoothie” through a tube.
Aqua, Bam Bam, Kaio, and Goober
Also, in the back pool that I couldn’t see, were two manatee calves that are being hand raised, which means they’re being bottle fed every three hours.
I could tell a lot of the trainers weren’t necessarily used to doing this much public speaking. They weren’t doing practiced spiels, they were just talking about what they do every day. The same could not be said of the “Aquarist” at the Quarantine section. I know a practiced speech when I hear one. He asked the group questions, and then when someone guessed the right answer, he went onto explain a little more.
All new animals at SeaWorld are in quarantine for thirty days. They also handle most of the baby animals that don’t need to be with their mothers, animals that get sick, and animals that need a “time out” that aren’t getting along with their tank mates or damaging their exhibits. The animals that get the most time outs are the sea turtles apparently.
I still want to know how you get the title of “Aquarist” but I didn’t get to ask that question because we moved on to the area with the Lab Techs.
SeaWorld has a full lab, vet clinic, and pharmacy on site, which is next to the rescue and quarantine areas for obvious reasons. Most of SeaWorld’s techs used to work in hospitals because most of the blood work and medicine have the same procedures that would be used with humans. So really what this means is my brother could come work for SeaWorld when I finally convince him to move to Florida!
The final Rescue Center stop was just another twenty feet down at the vet clinic. SeaWorld has four vets and four vet techs, and they’re all women! To quote the tech that was speaking to us, “We’re very busy ladies taking care of all these animals!” Most of their equipment is designed to break down and be mobile so they can go to the animals instead of the animals coming to the clinic. They try to do most of their appointments in the early morning before the park is open and guests arrive. All of the animals at SeaWorld are trained for voluntary physicals so they don’t have to be sedated for routine care. They can do blood draws, eye exams, weigh them, pretty much anything you can think of!
A few more guest questions and the Rescue Center tour was complete. They walked the group back into the main park, and I went off to collect my Explorer pin!
I vastly underestimated how in-depth SeaWorld’s Inside Look would be. This was the least use I’ve ever gotten out of All-Day Dining pass in my life. If I’d gotten there right at the beginning before the lines built up, or even gone right to a location instead of stopping for food, I would have gotten all six done and had time to go see Jack Hanna. Instead I barely got all six locations done, and really only got one full meal and a couple of pretzels. (My usual average is five meals/snacks.)
However, I am so impressed with everything I got to see! SeaWorld really went all out on this event, and I learned so much. Unlike most tours at SeaWorld, the main people talking about the animals were their actual trainers, not a guide with a script. These are the people who work with these animals every day and love what they do.
Inside Look will be back in May, and the SeaWorld Rescue Center will be open again, but the other five locations will be different. Personally, I can’t wait!
Cost: Included with park admission.
Value: 10/10! Can’t wait to go again!
Duration: It’s a full day if you want to see everything.
Add–Ons: All Behind the Scenes Tours were buy one, get one free during Inside Look.
