The family-friendly SeaWorld parks in Orlando, Florida, and Busch Gardens, their sister park in nearby Tampa, combine outstanding animal attractions with thrill-a-minute rides and colorful shows that are every bit as entertaining as those you'll find in the nearby Disney and Universal theme parks. In this, the only guidebook devoted exclusively to the SeaWorld/Busch parks, authors Monaghan and Kubersky share their inside knowledge of rides, attractions, restaurants, and shopping venues along with tips for getting the best value for your time and money. They also devote a chapter to the hotels near SeaWorld, including several luxury options. Will without a doubt help you to get the most out of your vacation, especially if you are visiting…for the first time. -- Sam Carta, Orlando Theme Park News, April 16, 2012 If a visit to SeaWorld is in your future, you want this book. It's got everything. Descriptions, menus, prices, tips, tricks, and things to avoid. -- Kevin Yee, Ultimate Orlando.com, May 9, 2012 I love the little ratings system of stars [for attractions], along with a quick explanation of type, time and Kelly says.… Because my kids are so far apart in age…and so different in personality, this is extremely helpful. -- Heidi Strawser, blogger, Inside Heidi's Head, 12/8/14 A whole NEW WAY to experience the magic of Orlando Swim with the dolphins. Dive into a shark tank. Hand feed exotic birds. Go on safari. Pet a giraffe. Meet a beluga whale. Snorkle past barracuda. And top it off with some of America’s most awesome roller coasters. Then sip fine wine in some of Orlando’s best restaurants and pamper yourself at some of its poshest resorts. This is your luxury guide to great theme parks that celebrate the wonders of Nature and the great resorts nearby: SeaWorld Busch Gardens Tampa Discovery Cove Adventure Island Aquatica Orlando-based Seth Kubersky is an author, artist, and entertainment professional whose career began at Universal Studios Florida, where he was a technician and an entertainment supervisor. Seth has worked on stages across Central Florida as an independent theater producer. His arts & entertainment opinion column “Live Active Cultures” appears in each issue of the Orlando Weekly alternative newspaper. Kelly Monaghan has been covering the “other Orlando” for nearly two decades. In addition to co-authoring this book, he is the author of Universal Orlando: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure and After Disney: The Other Orlando. Over the years, Kelly has written a number of other travel-oriented books on topics such as how to travel on the cheap and how to be a home-based travel agent. Chapter Two: SeaWorld “I’ve been to Disney,” people will tell you, “But y’know what I think is the best thing they’ve got down there in Orlando? SeaWorld!” I heard it over and over again. In a way this reaction was somewhat surprising. After all, compared to the Magic Kingdom or Universal, SeaWorld is downright modest, with only a smattering of thrill rides. Of course, this “I-liked-SeaWorld-best” attitude may be one-upmanship — that quirk of human nature that makes us want to look superior. After all, SeaWorld is educational and how much more flattering it is to depict yourself as someone who prefers educational nature shows to mindless carnival rides that merely provide “fun.” I’m just enough of a cynic about human nature to give some credence to this theory. However, I think the real reason lies elsewhere. No matter how well imagined and perfectly realized the attractions at Universal or Disney might be, the wonders on display at SeaWorld were produced by a creative intelligence of an altogether higher order. The animated robotics guys can tinker all they want and the bean-counters in Hollywood can give them ever higher budgets and they still will never produce anything that can match the awe generated by a killer whale soaring 30 feet in the air. No matter how much we are entertained by Universal and Disney, at SeaWorld we cannot help but be reminded, however subliminally, that there are wonders in our world that humankind simply cannot duplicate, let alone surpass. It’s a feeling of which many visitors probably aren’t consciously aware. Even if they are, they’d probably feel a little awkward trying to express it. But I am convinced it is there for everyone — believer, agnostic, or atheist. It’s the core experience that makes SeaWorld so popular; it’s the reason people will tell you they liked SeaWorld best of all. To paraphrase Joyce Kilmer’s magnificent cliché about human inadequacy, I think that Walt will never do A wonder greater than Shamu. Before You Come Dive Right In! Before we wade into SeaWorld and its sister parks, let’s get our toes wet with some Orlando theme park history: Orlando’s transformation into a tourist mecca began with the arrival of Walt Disney World, which opened near Orlando in 1971 as a new, improved version of California’s Disneyland. With