SAN DIEGO -- Stormy weather prompted SeaWorld San Diego and Legoland California in Carlsbad to close to the public Thursday, though the Sea Life Aquarium at Legoland remained open.

SeaWorld and Legoland will also remain closed on Friday, park officials said. The last time SeaWorld was closed due to bad weather was in 1998.

SeaWorld officials made the decision to close after the National Weather Service forecast severe weather throughout the San Diego area, including heavy rain, high winds and the possibility of flash flooding.

Essential personnel, those who take care of the animals, maintain water quality and other essential functions of the park, were working normal schedules during the closure, according to SeaWorld.

Legoland plans to reopen Saturday at 10am. The Sea Life Aquarium at Legoland has remained open during the rest of the park's closure because it is indoors.

The San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park were open Thursday, spokeswoman Christina Simmons said.

With ponchos and umbrellas in hand, visitors to the San Diego Zoo had it virtually to themselves, mostly because it was the only one of San Diego's three major attractions that was open.

"The weather is bad, but what can we do? We're already here, you know?" said one visitor from Miami.

Even in the rain, one couple from Colombia lined up for the Old Town trolley tour.

"Rain or shine, you're gonna take a tour?" asked 10News' Bob Lawrence.

"Yeah, we have to do it anyway," the couple said.

A group of tourists from Montana took the closures of SeaWorld and Legoland in stride, with one member of the group telling 10News, "We always heard about sunny California. It's a myth; it's a myth, at least for these three days. We'll have to come back when it's nice."