Today was the special "member only" preview day for Bay of Play at Sea World. Despite the T-Storm weather, Sean and I decided we'd take the girls for a bit of fun. I thought that the weather would, if anything, keep the masses away - especially weather that has brought tornadoes to Southern California.
Well, my friends, the masses certainly did not stay away. We didn't arrive right when the park opened (maybe 2 hours later) and by the time we got there the parking lot was fairly packed. Not full. But packed. It was too late to turn around, the girls wanted to see Elmo!
So, out we went - four layers of clothing on each of the girls and one umbrella for all of us. When we entered the member's entrance, we were given a green paper band to wear on our wrist to enter the Bay of Play. For a bonus, we were offered a yummy cookie (either red, yellow or blue) that had eyes like Elmo's. The girls were delighted and so off we went to the new play area.
I knew it wasn't a good sign when there were about 300 strollers parked just outside the entrance to Bay of Play. And, once we made it inside, I have to say I was even more horrified by what I saw. The crowds were unbelievable. The three rides installed had lines that well exceeded their line-capacity with overflow going throughout the play area. And I was actually quite surprised that the area really didn't look THAT much different from it did prior to the shut down more then 6 months ago. I mean, yes, they have painted some great Sesame St. characters throughout and the main boat was decorated adorably. But all of the rest of what we knew from before was still there. I was even surprised to find that the baby crawl mat area hadn't been revamped at all - the mat was still dingy. The climbing structure over head remains the same as does the bounce area, small tunnels to cross through, small stage, etc. The only real big change was near the large boat where they demolished the water play area and smaller climbing structure and replaced it with three small rides.
Sean and I were shocked at the slow speed it took to get riders on and off the rides. Each car requires the attendant to let individual riders both on and off the rides. This alone will only add nightmares to what is already proving to be bad planning on Sea World's part. We attempted to wait in two of the three lines but never made it on one because of the wait.
I mean let's be real, if it was this bad on a "soft opening, member only, T-storm" kind of day, what is tomorrow going to bring with the large grand opening? Or the summer when the weather is warm and tourism is in full-swing?
The only upside of this new Bay of Play addition to Sea World for us is perhaps it will create fewer crowds at the bat ray exhibit.
And we never even saw Elmo (that was an additional minimum $20 at the picture place).
