SeaWorld San Antonio is both the newest and largest of the three SeaWorld parks.
This park has all the animal exhibits you’d expect plus a small, but strong collection
of roller coasters.
But this park is also notable for its odd set-up.
So in this video, I will review SeaWorld San Antonio providing an overview of the park’s
history and attraction lineup.
SeaWorld San Antonio is roughly 20-30 minutes from both downtown San Antonio.
The park originally opened n 1988 as Sea World of Texas.
At the time, it was the only major amusement park in San Antonio.
Although, maybe amusement park isn’t the right term since this park opened without
any rides.
It only had animal exhibits and shows.
A few years later, it was announced that Fiesta Texas would open in 1992 just 20 minutes away
from Sea World.
This would be a major amusement park nestled within a quarry.
To compete, Sea World decided they needed to start adding amusement rides.
Because of the hot Texas climate, they went with two water rides- the Texas Splashdown
log flume and the Rio Loco river rapids ride.
Both opened in 1991, but only Rio Loco still soaks guests to this day, as Texas Splashdown
closed in 2011.
In 1996, Fiesta Texas was purchased by Time Warner and rebranded as a Six Flags park.
In response to the blossoming thrill park, SeaWorld looked to add the chain’s first
roller coaster.
In 1997, Great White, a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, was added and the strong
reception of this ride was important for both SeaWorld San Antonio and the entire chain.
The success of Great White showed SeaWorld roller coasters had a place in their marine
life parks and it’s unlikely we’d see the major thrill coasters across the chain
without this ride.
Today, SeaWorld San Antonio has 6 roller coasters and just 13 rides in total.
That is an incredibly small amount for an amusement park as large as SeaWorld San Antonio.
This park is a whopping 250 acres in size and it feels every bit as large.
The park forms a giant loop around a central lake and the major coasters are spread out.
For most parks, a massive amount of land is an advantage.
It allows them to add things without removing rides.
But I think it’s a weakness for SeaWorld San Antonio.
It causes the park to feel hollow and empty.
Because of the lack of attractions and sheer size of the park, you will have long walks
with no attractions on the way.
Most parks break these walks up with flat rides.
SeaWorld has barely any.
So most of the time, you’ll walk down these desolate pathways.
There are some shops, animal exhibits, and shows, but the latter are on a timed schedule.
I really hope SeaWorld can rectify this issue going forwards since it would breathe some
much needed life and atmosphere into this park.
The park does look nice though.
Like all the SeaWorld parks, this one is very well landscaped and the rides all sport fresh
paint schemes.
At several points, it feels more like you’re in the jungle than an amusement park because
of the shrubbery and lack of attractions.
The other thing that plays into the park’s empty feeling is the park’s odd set-up.
At the other two SeaWorld parks, all of the animal exhibits are inside the park’s gate.
That isn’t the case at the San Antonio location.
After passing through security, you reach a central plaza with three options.
To the right is the amusement park.
Straight ahead is Aquatica, the park’s separate gate water park.
And to the left is Discovery Point, a free admission oasis home to dolphins and sharks.
It always confused me why Discovery Point wasn’t built inside the amusement park itself.
Having these animal exhibits inside the main park would really help fill out the park in
a similar manner as it does for the San Diego and Orlando locations.
But the benefit here is that you can visit Discovery Point without having an admission
ticket to the theme park if you aren’t into amusement rides.
Discovery Point is just as well-landscaped as the main park.
The star of the area is undeniably the dolphins.
The park has tons of them and they’re always super active.
You can watch the trainers feed them from above ground or you can watch them swim from
the underwater viewing area.
But I also really enjoy the Explorer’s Reef indoor aquarium.
Inside the main park, you have a few other animal exhibits, most notably the Penguin
Encounter where you see more penguins than one can count and Pacific Point Reserve where
you see sea lions.
Beyond these animal exhibits, you have a few aquatic shows.
The most popular is the Orca Encounter featuring the park’s famous killer whales, but you
also have Ocean Discovery with beluga whales and Sea Lion High with the always funny Clyde
and Seamore.
The latter is my favorite show in the park, but the others should not be missed if you’re
a whale fan.
And one major tip I have for you is to avoid visiting the closest ride to a stadium once
a show concludes.
These arenas hold a lot of people and they will flock to the nearby attractions once
it concludes.
This causes a massive but brief spike in the ride’s wait time.
Orca Stadium drives up Texas Stingray’s wait.
Beluga Stadium drives up Journey to Atlantis’s wait.
And Sea Lion Stadium spikes Steel Eel’s wait time.
In general, wait times at SeaWorld San Antonio are very manageable if you can avoid these
spikes.
Steel Eel and Great White are usually walk-ons.
The water rides can get long lines on hot summer days, but you can avoid these lines
once night falls.
But the one ride that consistently has a long wait is Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster.
This ride has always had a 30-45 minute wait in my visits to this park, so I advise hitting
this ride early.
Texas Stingray is another one that can generate a long line.
In my visits late last year, Texas Stingray was usually a walk-on if it was running two
trains, but if it was running just one train, it often had a 30-60 minute wait.
The biggest reason the rides at SeaWorld San Antonio can sometimes have long lines is the
park’s atrocious operations.
The park will often run just one train on each of the major coasters, even on weekends.
Dispatches are also painfully slow at this park.
This is most evident on Steel Eel where the park has separate seat belt and lap bar checks,
but even rides like Great White and Texas Stingray that are quick loaders at other parks
take a while to send out trains.
The third issue is that SeaWorld often has staggered openings.
Definitely check the operating hours for the major rides the day you visit.
Steel Eel typically opens with the park, but it’s not uncommon to see the other coasters
open an hour later.
And some will close a bit early.
If lines are an issue, the park offers an affordable skip-the-line pass in Quick Queue
that will usually get you on the next train.
Just know the park’s newest ride can only be skipped once and it will be a pricey upcharge.
This is the policy shared across all the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks.
While the staff may not be the most efficient, they are very friendly.
They are always willing to accommodate seating requests and are helpful if you have any questions.
Moving onto the ride lineup, SeaWorld San Antonio has 6 coasters.
The newest is Texas Stingray, a Great Coasters International wood coaster that opened in
2020 just before the pandemic.
This GCI is a fast-paced coaster with a strong layout.
The first half has a wonderful airtime-filled first drop and several larger turnarounds
with pops of airtime.
The second half is weaker on the airtime than I expected, but it hugs the ground and really
maintains the ride’s sense of speed.
And because the ride just opened, it’s as smooth as a wood coaster can be.
I have a separate review that goes into more detail, but Texas Stingray is one of GCI’s
better coasters and this will be the favorite ride in the park for many enthusiasts.
But my favorite ride at the park is Steel Eel, the Morgan mega coaster.
This coaster has a simple out-and-back layout, but the giant camelbacks offer some of the
most sustained floater airtime of any coaster.
The one issue is that the seats don’t have much padding, so you are violently slammed
back down into your seat after each hill.
However, I’m willing to take the pain for the quantity of airtime that Steel Eel delivers.
I have a separate review on this coaster as well that goes into more detail.
For inversions, your only option is Great White, the B&M invert.
I find it funny San Antonio features two Batman the Ride clones, yet neither are called Batman.
Like the other Batman clones, this ride is incredibly smooth and forceful.
The vertical loops always cause me to start seeing grey, the zero-G roll is very snappy,
the turns always cause my legs to tingle, and the final two corkscrews really whip you
through them.
I know this is a clone, but it fits in very well at the park and I go into more detail
in a separate review.
Wave Breaker is the park’s best family coaster.
Built over the central lagoon, this Intamin multi-launch coaster has riders aboard jet
skis.
The riding position is neat and combined with the ride’s placement above the water, it
really accentuates this coaster’s speed.
The launches have some decent kick to them and there are a few forceful U-turns, but
the ride spends most of its time just meandering about, which is understandable for a family
coaster.
And I also go into more details on this ride in a separate review.
Journey to Atlantis is a short Mack water coaster.
It feels like a glorified shoot the chutes ride.
The ride isn’t a major soaker and it feels sort of gimmicky with the two turntables and
backwards drop, but the final plunge is quite large and thrilling for a water ride.
Just note that this ride is often closed if you visit early or late in the park’s season.
The final coaster is Super Grover’s Box Car Derby, a Zierer kiddie coaster.
This ride is perfect for the kids and it is part of a colorful children’s area in the
Sesame Street Bay of Play.
This land has a few other kiddie rides plus a giant play area and some character meet
and greets.
As I mentioned earlier, the park’s flat ride lineup is miniscule.
They only have the Riptide Rescue spinning ride and Sea Swinger frisbee ride, both of
which were added in 2019.
The park is rumored to be receiving an S&S screaming swing, which will be a much appreciated
addition, but I still think more work is needed in this area to round out the park.
The final attraction is the aforementioned Rio Loco, an Intamin river rapids ride.
This ride is well-landscaped and has some very turbulent waterways, but it wasn’t
a major soaker for me.
So I wouldn’t recommend waiting in a long line for it on a hot day.
If the rides are a priority for you, I would strongly advise against visiting on a rainy
day.
Last year, I tried visiting on a rainy day and the park kept everything closed, even
in-between the breaks in the rain.
If you’re only priority are the animal exhibits, rainy days are a great day to visit since
the crowds will be extremely minimal.
I have never had any meals at SeaWorld San Antonio since I usually eat at Six Flags Fiesta
Texas with my meal plan.
The only item I’ve had here was a pretzel.
It was better than your average super pretzel, but it wasn’t as good as the ones you can
find at the other Busch Gardens parks or SeaWorld Orlando.
The last tip I have if you plan to visit several of the SeaWorld parks is to purchase a platinum
pass at SeaWorld San Antonio.
Platinum Passes at this park cost $200 as of this recording.
The same pass will cost you almost $400 at the Busch Gardens parks or SeaWorld Orlando.
SeaWorld San Diego and Sesame Place are just a hair pricier than SeaWorld San Antonio’s
platinum passes, but purchasing it at the San Antonio park is still the most economical
option if possible.
Of the three SeaWorld parks, the San Antonio location is probably my least favorite due
to the park’s poor operations and empty feel.
With the chain’s focus shifting more to amusement rides, the latter should be corrected
over the next decade.
These new rides should help give the park more life and compliment the park’s headlining
coasters, which are already quite strong.
SeaWorld San Antonio isn’t a perfect park, but it does have some great roller coasters
and several nice animal encounters.
If you’re only here for the coasters, you probably only need a few hours.
But if you’re interested in the marine life, you’ll likely need a full day to experience
all the shows and animal exhibits.
Of the San Antonio parks, I much prefer Six Flags Fiesta Texas since I prefer rides.
So those are my thoughts on SeaWorld San Antonio, the massive hybrid aquarium and amusement
park in Texas.
Have you been to this park?
How do you think it compares to the other parks in the SeaWorld chain?
I would love to hear your thoughts about this park down in the comments.
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Thanks for watching!