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OK, my wife and I are platinum pass members for SeaWorld (in a nutshell, full access to all Anhueiser-Bush parks for two years, plus my "home" park (SeaWorld) kisses my ass (no wait at rides, preferred seating at shows, 20% off food etc..) all for $300 (plus tax). So, we go there often (we're on a first name basis with half of the crew there, the other half knows us, my wife has even had dinner w/ Jack Hannah and his wife once.
Now, "Shamu" is a title they give to their killer whales, usualy the alpha male. Killer whales are big. 8000 to 12000 pounds, so yes, 4 to 6 TONS. When they jump up 10-20 feet in the air and splash down, they make one big splash. A very big splash. Imagine the splash your car would make dropped from 20 feet, that's only 1-2 tones, we're talking 3-4 times that. Plus, the killer whales can use their extremely powerful tails (that can propel them up to 30 miles per hour) to target splashes into the audiences.
It is because of this, the first 20 or so rows of the stadium is designated the "splash zone". In other words, if you're on the walkway or below it, there's a good chance that you're going to get wet, very wet with salt water kept at about 50 degrees F, I don't know the exact C, but probabaly somewhere near 15 degrees C (for all you metric junkies out there). They also give warnings, signs, the trainers tell you this and so on. YOU WILL GET WET, VERY WET.
The people who sit in these seats usually expect to get wet, and want to get wet (heck, it's a nice way to cool off when the temperatures are over 90 degrees, then you can go to the wild arctic exhibit and REALLY cool off (when you're wet). It's fun. It's exciting, and when you have the right equipment, mainly a waterproof camera (note: WATERPROOF, not weatherproof), you can get some incredible pictures.
Of course, after the big first splash, you see a mass exodus of people with expensive (non-waterproof) cameras, small children (infants mainly) and so on of people who didn't take the warnings seriously. This is called a reality check. There are some who still believe that it will not happen to them. Of course not, they think they have some magical anti-water spell on them. They line up the great shot of the 12,000 pound killer whale about 10 feet on front of them and 20 feet in the air.
It is the last picture that camera will ever take. See, cameras (and other non-waterPROOF electronics) tend not to like getting wet, especially with SALT water.
Sure enough, I see people complain and threaten to sue because of this. And of course, thank god, Sea World usually doesn't budge to these idiots who think they're immune to water. The most I've ever seen was a free disposable camera (again, not waterproof).
I've also seen people try to protect their equipment (and infants) with a map to the park (usualy a 11X17 piece of paper, nothing special). Sure enough, one minute they're enjoying the show the next we have a screaming kid behind us for the next 20 minutes.
So, if anyone wants to sit in the splash zone, expect to get wet. Very wet. You might as well go jump in a pool, that is how wet you can get. And if you just HAVE to get that picture, buy one of the $20 (overpriced, but worth it) displosable cameras that are waterproof, they take pretty good pictures for a disposable camera (even though you can get them for $7 at WalMart and Target).
Now, "Shamu" is a title they give to their killer whales, usualy the alpha male. Killer whales are big. 8000 to 12000 pounds, so yes, 4 to 6 TONS. When they jump up 10-20 feet in the air and splash down, they make one big splash. A very big splash. Imagine the splash your car would make dropped from 20 feet, that's only 1-2 tones, we're talking 3-4 times that. Plus, the killer whales can use their extremely powerful tails (that can propel them up to 30 miles per hour) to target splashes into the audiences.
It is because of this, the first 20 or so rows of the stadium is designated the "splash zone". In other words, if you're on the walkway or below it, there's a good chance that you're going to get wet, very wet with salt water kept at about 50 degrees F, I don't know the exact C, but probabaly somewhere near 15 degrees C (for all you metric junkies out there). They also give warnings, signs, the trainers tell you this and so on. YOU WILL GET WET, VERY WET.
The people who sit in these seats usually expect to get wet, and want to get wet (heck, it's a nice way to cool off when the temperatures are over 90 degrees, then you can go to the wild arctic exhibit and REALLY cool off (when you're wet). It's fun. It's exciting, and when you have the right equipment, mainly a waterproof camera (note: WATERPROOF, not weatherproof), you can get some incredible pictures.
Of course, after the big first splash, you see a mass exodus of people with expensive (non-waterproof) cameras, small children (infants mainly) and so on of people who didn't take the warnings seriously. This is called a reality check. There are some who still believe that it will not happen to them. Of course not, they think they have some magical anti-water spell on them. They line up the great shot of the 12,000 pound killer whale about 10 feet on front of them and 20 feet in the air.
It is the last picture that camera will ever take. See, cameras (and other non-waterPROOF electronics) tend not to like getting wet, especially with SALT water.
Sure enough, I see people complain and threaten to sue because of this. And of course, thank god, Sea World usually doesn't budge to these idiots who think they're immune to water. The most I've ever seen was a free disposable camera (again, not waterproof).
I've also seen people try to protect their equipment (and infants) with a map to the park (usualy a 11X17 piece of paper, nothing special). Sure enough, one minute they're enjoying the show the next we have a screaming kid behind us for the next 20 minutes.
So, if anyone wants to sit in the splash zone, expect to get wet. Very wet. You might as well go jump in a pool, that is how wet you can get. And if you just HAVE to get that picture, buy one of the $20 (overpriced, but worth it) displosable cameras that are waterproof, they take pretty good pictures for a disposable camera (even though you can get them for $7 at WalMart and Target).
Last time I went to Marineland, I left all my stuff with my aunt and uncle in the back row and I went and sat RIGHT up front 
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