The new owners of Sea Life Park have made mostly behind-the-scenes changes in the first months of ownership but took time last week to celebrate the birth of a new sea lion pup.

In March, the longtime visitor attraction at Makapu'u was sold to Parques Reunidos Group, one of the world's largest amusement park companies.

One of the more visible changes is an expansion of the dolphin interaction program.

The previous program consisted of a dockside encounter in which parkgoers were allowed to touch the dolphins and give them commands at a price of $69 for adults. The new program allows for much closer and wetter encounters, including "the Royal Swim," where two dolphins give visitors a dorsal fin ride at a cost of $199.

Parques Reunidos, which is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, purchased Sea Life Park from Dolphin Discovery, the Mexico-based company that had owned the 22-acre attraction since January 2005.

General manager Jesus Bravo worked for the previous owner, Cancun-based Dolphin Discovery, and was on hand for the multimillion dollar upgrade of the park by Dolphin Discovery, which included the addition of the dolphin interaction feature.

Bravo said the new company will continue to showcase the encounter programs and strengthen educational programs for school groups and visitors.

The encounter programs help support the for-profit corporation, but he said they also encourage respect for the animals. "You see that it's a delicate creature that needs to be taken care of," he said.

The dolphins featured at the park were either born there or at another accredited zoo or aquarium, he said. As part of the education, the park staff teach visitors about the effects of marine litter on the ocean's inhabitants.

The next change that visitors may see later this year will be more shade, he said. The company is seeking permits to put up about $400,000 worth of sun shades over the bleachers at the Dolphin Cove.

Since the show along the scenic shoreline is performed at 12:30 p.m. daily, visitors had asked about sun protection. "That was a huge concern for the people," he said.

Bravo admits that the previous owners had to make one change that wasn't popular. They removed the dilapidated rigging on the "pirate ship" that had graced the cove for decades. "It was not in a position to be replaced," he said.

The stripped-down ship shape remains as a part of the Dolphin Cove show but lacks the masts and rigging that helped create a seafaring ambiance.

Bravo said the company will be looking to add kid-friendly attractions to the park but declined to provide details yet.

Regina Salis, 26, visited the park last week as she helped care for 23 kindergarten students from Aliamanu Military Reservation on a summer field trip.

Salis, who lives in Kane'ohe, said she remembers first visiting the park when she was in elementary school. She said the park still has the essentials: the animals, the shows and the scenic fun, although she did miss the pirate ship.

She realized her adult-sized perspective had shrunk the park over time: "I thought it was lots bigger."

Still, her students had a good time, and so did she. "They all said they like it," she said. "And I still had fun."

Ina Mohr, a visitor from Surfside Beach, Texas, made her first trip to the park last week.

She's come to Hawai'i before with her daughter, who is very fond of the Islands and even got married here. Mohr had done some Web research on activities in Hawai'i and wasn't expecting too much after seeing some online reviews that had complained the park was small.

"It's not large," Mohr said. "But it's really well done." She'd seen a dolphin show in Las Vegas at The Mirage Hotel and was more impressed by the Sea Life Park version.

"This was a much better show," she said.