Yesterday, we actually started at Dolphin Cove where Cutie fed the Dolphins and named one Mr Piggy. He got lots of special animal connection and interaction time as well as some sensory input from splashing around and petting the dolphins. He was super brave though when he had to touch the icky fish! The dolphins have a new enrichment toy and they were swimming around it all excited and a little confused.
We then made our way over to the aquarium and watched the sharks and fish for a while while cutie actually asked questions.... Not just any questions though. He acutally asked "why do sharks have those bumpy things on the ends of their tails?" If you have a child with autism- you know what a big deal a why question like that is, especially when it is actually being asked (as opposed to parroted) and the child really expects an answer! So, in our visit with the sharks Cutie actually met 2 of his speech goals that he has been struggling with for years!!!
Then we visited the Sea lions- there were a few adorable babies there but we had to leave rather quickly as a stranger took it upon herself to try teaching my son about God and the Birds and bees- neither the time nor the place to introduce these subjects to him.
We did some wandering around, Rio Loco had an insanely long line so we skipped it. We got a few snacks and checked out the penguins although since this is their winter time and the lights must stay off, we did not stick around for too long.
Then we headed to the NEW Shamu show! We have been to the Shamu show "Believe" for years, it was great, but it got a bit old seeing the same show every week. Now there is a sparkly new show- yes it really is sparkly! They added a backdrop with twinkly blue lights! The new show "One Ocean" was good. There did seem to be more waiting around in between tricks BUT the tricks were more impressive than before- so it balanced out quite well! I LOVE the baby Shamu!!!!
We spent most of the remainder of the visit at the Lost Lagoon playing in the water and having LOTS of Sensory input! We stayed until the Lost Lagoon closed, but then we had to go... Cutie did not have a tantrum or attitude when we told him it was time to go this time! He finally understands that because we live right down the street and we have season passes, it is OK to leave because we will be back in a few days!
Currently, he is writing a few pages in his journal about his fantastic adventures at Sea World and is practicing his speech! He will soon have a few more visual cues on his ring that I am making from our visit yesterday!
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