We live near Gulf World but never go. We never go because well it’s very rare that you get to pay anything other than a tourist price of $24 per adult and $15 per child ages 5 – 11.
We were trying to go all summer but never seemed to have the extra $63 to go. Well I was looking around on their web site not too long ago and noticed that October and November is locals month, which they were offering at 50% off. This is pricing that us locals can afford!
So we made it a day, because when you go to Gulf World you better plan on staying a while. The kids didn’t want to leave!
We got there at 11am and watched the Dolphin Show…There were 4 dolphins performing and they even gave 4 lucky audience members a chance to do a little training. Kayla was lucky enough to get chosen to go up. Then, I don’t know if this is a regular thing or not but Kayla was then ask to join them up on stage. {she was EXCITED!} So she went up and had a little fun, including getting to shake fins with one of the dolphins. They offered at this show a chance to meet and greet with a dolphin after the show for $10. {cash only} Over all the show was entertaining and educational. There is also a splash zone for this show. However, it was cold today and they didn’t do very much splashing. I am sure that during the warmer days they really make sure to get ya wet!
Up next was the The Magic of Noah Wells. None of us had ever been to a magic show, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It was a load of fun. Noah Wells and his assistant did a great job performing all sorts of illusions. They also chose 4 adult members of the audience to help with the “sawing in half” portion of the show. {very cool trick} He also asks for a little helper from the audience for a kid friendly magic trick The Magic of Noah Wells was definitely a great addition to Gulf World! There is even a magic shop that he and his assistant have after the show where if you purchase a magic trick, Noah Wells himself will show you how to do it!
After that we saw the Shark and Turtle Feeding. This was sorta neat…if you like this sorta thing. They have a really neat set up and the trainer fed the turtles and sharks while he was telling us about the different species and their names and how they were chosen. I found it hard to understand what the trainer was saying, this could have been all the kids around watching with excitement. I’d love to go back to have a chance to hear what he is saying so I can learn about the turtles and the sharks and how they got their names. The kids got a kick out of watching them feed!
The Underwater Scuba show was up next. We got to see a trainer scuba dive into a tank complete with an eel! The eels name is Fluffy! {yea, strange name for an eel} but it loves to be petted. Haha. We learned quiet a bit about the different fish and coral species that were in this tank.
The next to last show we saw was by far I think the best, the California Sea Lion Show. Sure most people would think, no way, the dolphins, but I’ll tell you, Auto {the Sea Lion} was very entertaining. He even talked to the audience. The kids really loved watching him perform. With this show you can pay $10 {cash only} after the show to get a kiss from the Sea Lion. This show was a lot of fun and educational as well. We learned how to tell the difference between a Sea Lion and a Seal as well as a dolphin. During this show they also ask for an audience member to come up and they got a kiss as well. {Kayla was hoping for another chance!}
The last show of the day that we saw was the Exotic Bird Show. There were some beautiful birds that did all sorts of neat things. One rode a unicycle on a high wire, another could add and subtract and there was even one driving a little car! This show was very cute. There was a lot of oooohs and aaaahs throughout the audience. This show also had a helper from the audience. With this show you can pay $10 {cash only} to get your picture taken while holding one of the birds.
There was also a reptile show but it was a lot later in the day then we could stay. We had not eaten anything since before we came. And unfortunately everything is cash only. They do have an ATM, but they wouldn’t let you take any less than $20 and we only needed $10.
There are a lot of other exhibits that you can walk around and see from Flamingos to other birds and turtles to penguins and alligators. We loved the Sting Ray petting area. I think we spent the most time outside of the shows petting the sting rays. They feel totally different than what you’d think.
The only thing that I could complain about is that all the photo ops are cash only. I would have loved to have had the option when we bought our tickets to have purchased these photo opportunities. I think that a lot more people would pay for photos this way.
There are a lot of other neat things that you can experience with Gulf World from being trainer for a day to swimming with the dolphins. We hope to be able to experience swimming with the dolphins when Kelsie gets old enough. You have to be 5 in order to be able to do this and 12 and up for trainer for a day. You can check out the other programs, here.
Overall we had a fabulous time and plan on purchasing season passes when we get our tax return so that we can enjoy Gulf World any time we’d like.
**This was just a family outing that we paid for ourselves. I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is our opinion and you may or may not feel the same way.
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