Part 15: Sea World & Wet'n'Wild - November 13-14, 2016

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For the third day of our visit to the Gold Coast area of Australia, we would visit the two other parks that were part of the Village Theme Parks pass we had purchased, which was Sea World in Surfer's Paradise, and Wet n' Wild, which is next door to Warner Bros. Movie World. So we spent the first half of the day at Sea World, which is not of the same company as the Sea World parks in the US. This park, much like the other Australian parks, is on the smaller side when compared to the American Parks. They do, however, have some really fun rides and neat things to see. 

​Upon entering the park, one of the first things we saw was a special walk-though area called "Creatures of the Deep", which has several large statues and figures of legendary sea creatures, both real and imaginary, from the megalodon to the kraken.​​

You can even see one of the more legendary sea creatures, the Loch Ness Monster. This particular statue is different because of the interactive aspect of it. You can press the buttons of the podium that correspond with different parts of Nessie.

As previously mentioned, this Sea World is not associated with the United States Sea World chain of parks, but much like those parks, they also put forth a lot of effort in the rehabilitation and care of several species of animals and birds. Phillip and I were able to see penguins, pelicans and dolphins, which are the feature animal of the park.

The park features a Nickelodeon themed section of the park where you can see themeing and rides based off of popular cartoons such as the new version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob Square Pants, Dora the Explorer, and others.

Speaking of SpongeBob, he provides the theme and namesake of the first coaster we rode at Sea World, SpongeBob's Boating School Blast. This is a fairly standard Zamperla family coaster with trains made to look like the boats that the characters from the show drive. The ride is a great starter coaster for the little guys, and another shameless credit for myself. Phillip on the other hand took the more dignified route and sat this one out.

The next coaster we rode was Jet Rescue, an Intamin launch coaster with a jet ski theme. The coaster is not an airtime producing ride, but the launch is pretty quick and gets the ride going at a quick pace. That, along with the quick changes in direction with the zig-zagging turns makes this a really fun ride, and easily my favorite coaster in the park.

The last coaster to ride in the park is Storm, a Mack water coaster.​ Its themeing includes a lot of wreckage laid out all around the ride, with the idea being that you are on a rescue mission as a storm is going on. I thought it was a really cool use of props to give the impression that the place was hit hard by this storm.​

The layout of the ride is fairly basic as you go from the station through a small flume section right to the lift. From there, you go into a banked turn following an angled helix, and then the big drop that leads to a small hill followed by the big splash which is back inside of the building.

Sea World also offered one of the more unique dessert items I have had a chance to try. This was a churro ice cream sandwich. It was a delightful diabetic-coma inducing treat, although quite messy as the churro ends are served warm, melting the ice cream in the middle. Although you can then dip the remaining churro into the melted ice cream.

We also checked out the splash battle ride called Battle Boats. This ride gives people on the boats and on the side water cannons to try and spray each other. To say that you get soaked on this ride is an understatement. I would better describe it as a sort of waterboarding. Phillip and I were drenched! But at least the weather was warm in Southern Queensland that day.

Our last ride at Sea World for this visit was on the Sea World Monorail. This ride goes around the entire park, and offers a nice leisurely ride with multiple stations to hop on and off of.

The monorail gives you an opportunity to get more angles and views of their various rides, some of the different facilities and decor of the park, and the surrounding area of Surfer's Paradise.

After Sea World, we made our way back to the area near Warner Bros. Movie World to stop by Wet n' Wild next door. I did not bring the camera in with me as water parks are a bit harder to carry a camera around with you, but some of the highlights of the park include a wide selection of water slides, including what was my first experience on an aqua-loop (which was also the first water slide I have experienced with a trapdoor to start the slide and a half-pipe water slide. They also have an Intamin Half-Pipe roller coaster, which was a bit bizarre to see a roller coaster in a water park, but it's at least a fun ride.

​The next day, Phillip and I made our way to the Brisbane Airport as he had to make his way back home, but since I still had the rest of the day to play before my flight the next day, I went back to Sea World for a little bit of re-riding on Storm and Jet Rescue, and I also took some time to watch the Jet Ski show which was actually pretty fun to see as these guys were pulling off some pretty neat stunts.

So as this update comes to an end, this would be the point in which we bid Phillip farewell as he had to return home for work. I would like to thank Phillip for being a part of this adventure, and for the companionship during my first visit down under.

Next, its's time to hop back on a plane to head to the nearly dead-center of the Australian continent, and visit the Outback!

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