SeaWorld San Diego

     On my recent trip to California, I was able to fit in a trip to SeaWorld, San Diego. Despite the fact it was middle of January, the park had a very decent crowd for a summer attraction.  I was quite impressed with the size of the park and how they are able to run it so efficiently even in the middle of winter.  To keep such a massive site that requires 365 days a year of care to every single inhabitant within the park, needs to have the financial background to carry those daily stresses.

     SeaWorld, San Diego does this very well by closing just a few attractions, working at about 80 percent operating capacity. Even with this percentage, I feel, as a paying customer, that I definitely got my money’s worth.  I also got a, AAA discount, which didn’t hurt either.  Though the closing of the main roller coaster attraction, Journey To Atlantis, was mildly disappointing, the rest of the park made up for it.  This is probably due to the high cost in operation and maintenance.  It seems to make sense to close a few attractions a day to keep operating costs down and maintain profit in the off-peak months.  All of the animal displays were open and the animals were out.  The lack of big crowds to scare them and mild weather makes for an ideal environment for the animals and even the park crowds.  I also waited on zero lines for the rides that were open and was able to walk into every show finding a great seat.  The shows were extremely impressive, exciting and colorful.  I saw the Dolphins Show Blue Horizons, The Shamu Show Believe, and Sea Lions Live.  The impressive level of skill in training between the animals and trainers is but a hint of the high quality each aspect of the park is given.  Show schedules change everyday keeping excitement and are a great addition to a park visit.

     Overall, Seaworld, San Diego is a great park that should be visited by all.  It has a little something for everyone and runs a smooth, high quality operation with a smart financial mindset.  Hopefully with all the profits gained, they will be expanding soon.  Check out the park schedule and further information at http://www.seaworld.com. 

Virtusphere

With the onset of 2011 we are starting to see new and exciting technology.  With 3D becoming a forerunner of technology today, there is a one company that is taking it a step further by putting the user in a full virtual environment, which they are calling 6D.  Virtusphere Inc. is doing just that with their cutting edge new product the Virtusphere.

The technology is really the wave of the future for the gaming industry.  You are truly in the game.  For about $10 you get a 4 minute or so level inside what looks like a giant hamster ball.  The game I tried at a mall was an Area 51 type base with aliens coming at you from every angle.  Armed with a gun controller it was my task to shoot as many I could.  What sets this apart from other games is while I was shooting aliens I actually believed I was walking around the base.  This was achieved by wearing a full visor headset in addition to the gun controller.  With it on I had a full panoramic view of the base and heard aliens blasting at me through the headphones.  Whichever direction I looked was whatever I saw in the visor.  So if I turned left I would see what was left and I could freely walk around the game while staying in place inside the ball. This combination of wearing the headset while being inside the ball really gave a sense of full virtual reality, a totally new sensation for me.  As a hardcore gamer this blew my mind and the 4 minutes was not long enough.  Sure the technology is new and little buggy but overall very impressive and a 2.0 version is already in the works.

But gaming is not the only use for such a sphere.  Imagine a trip to the Great Wall of China, where you enter the Virtusphere and are free to walk and explore the wall like you are really there but your still in your local mall! Maybe you are in the sphere, and you see a movie screen in the visor and then all of a sudden the screen shots forward and wraps around your head and you are now truly in the movie.  The possibilities are truly endless.  Look for the Virtusphere coming to a mall near you or buy your own and invest in this amazing new technology on the ground level.