Hi everyone!
With summer season here, I thought I would help anyone planning a trip to SeaWorld this summer by giving tips and hints to make the hot summer day at the park more enjoyable.
For anyone that's ever been to Florida in the summer, you know that it's HOT. If you think you know hot, and you have never been to Florida in the summer, then you don't truly know what hot is. Summer in Florida doesn't only bring heat, but rain. Thunderstorms are common in the summer in Florida, and Lightning is a big part of those storms. Lightning causes delays in normal shows and attractions in all central Florida theme parks. Luckily, thunderstorms start mid to late afternoon and may only last an hour.
Summer also brings crowds. But the advantage of visiting SeaWorld, is that it's nowhere near as crowded as a Disney or Universal/IOA so it's a much easier pace to your day.
With that said, here are some tips to make the most of a summer day at SeaWorld.
1) Plan Ahead. Decide what is most important to your family during your visit. Are you more interested in Rides? Maybe shows? Or just exhibits? Maybe you want to do EVERYTHING. Planning your day out will help avoid unnecessary cross park trips from one attraction to another. Familiarize yourself with indoor and outdoor venues and exhibits in the park. This will help you later on in the afternoon when it gets really hot and rainy.
2) Arrive at Rope drop. Seaworld opens at 9:00am daily. It would be wise to get to SeaWorld as close to 9:00am as possible. Once there, do the most important OUTDOOR attractions first. Whether that be shows, rides or exhibits. This will allow you to enjoy the most important attractions when its not as hot outside, and not as crowded and you won't risk your must do attractions being closed when the thunderstorm comes.
3) Quick Queue and all day dining are your best friends. For and additional cost, SeaWorld offers quick queue and all day dining. These are essential in the summer time. Quick queue will allow you to skip long lines on rides. This is helpful if you want to do all the rides. It will definitely save you a ton of time when the crowds come. All day dining will allow you to get as much food or drinks as you want throughout the day. Unlimited drinks are a great way to cool off when you're in the heat of the afternoon. For more information, here are some links:
http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/dine-and-shop/dining/all-day-dining-deal/?from=Top_Nav
http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/attractions/rides/quick-queue-unlimited/?from=Top_Nav
4) What do you do when the heat and rain comes? Indoor attractions. Plan to visit indoor shows and attractions between 2pm and 5pm. This is not only the hottest part of the day, but the most common time for thunderstorms to occur. The best part is, indoor shows and attractions will never be affected by weather and they're AIR CONDITIONED! The indoor show in the park is Pets Ahoy. It features adopted animals like dogs and cats performing cool tricks. This is a great show especially for younger kids. Indoor exhibits and attractions include:
- Turtle Trek: A 3D adventure featuring Sea Turtles and Manatees.
- Antarctica Empire of the Penguin: A calm family ride following the life of a young penguin. A "cool" penguin exhibit is at the end of the ride.
- Shark Encounter: View sharks from underwater.
- Wild Arctic: Motion simulator ride or movie that leads to the beluga whale, walrus and harbor seal exhibit.
- Manta Aquarium: Manta is the outdoor rollercoaster, but a hidden gem is the aquarium next to the manta queue line.
- Most restaurants are indoors. This would be a great time period to grab lunch.
5) Kids can bring their swimsuits. There are places to cool down for kids in the park. There is a fountain pad located in the waterfront area. It's hidden down near the lake outside the Seafire INN. Kids will enjoy cooling down in the jumping fountains. Also, there are places in the happy harbor play area where kids can play in water buckets. Or if you really want to cool down, sit in the soak zone at Shamu stadium. The 52 degree salt water will probably do the trick.
6) If you can, plan for 2 days. There is so much to see and do that 2 days at SeaWorld would be a great way to take it slow. Being at the park from park open until park close (9AM-9PM) is a long day. You don't want to miss the night time Shamu show "Shamu Celebration: Light Up The Night". It includes a fireworks finale. If you want to skip the heat and rain in the middle of the day, doing 2 days at SeaWorld is a great idea. 9:00am-2:00pm on the first day to see all the must dos on your list. And then 5pm-9pm on the 2nd day to see any extras or things you may have missed on day 1 including Shamu Celebration: Light Up the night.
Hopefully these tips can help make the most of your SeaWorld day during the summer. If any posters have any extra tips, please feel free to share. Remember that summer nights is every night from now until Sunday, August 9th. And the park is open until 9pm each night with the exception of the 3rd and 4th of July when the park is open until 11pm each night.
Enjoy your trip!
With summer season here, I thought I would help anyone planning a trip to SeaWorld this summer by giving tips and hints to make the hot summer day at the park more enjoyable.
For anyone that's ever been to Florida in the summer, you know that it's HOT. If you think you know hot, and you have never been to Florida in the summer, then you don't truly know what hot is. Summer in Florida doesn't only bring heat, but rain. Thunderstorms are common in the summer in Florida, and Lightning is a big part of those storms. Lightning causes delays in normal shows and attractions in all central Florida theme parks. Luckily, thunderstorms start mid to late afternoon and may only last an hour.
Summer also brings crowds. But the advantage of visiting SeaWorld, is that it's nowhere near as crowded as a Disney or Universal/IOA so it's a much easier pace to your day.
With that said, here are some tips to make the most of a summer day at SeaWorld.
1) Plan Ahead. Decide what is most important to your family during your visit. Are you more interested in Rides? Maybe shows? Or just exhibits? Maybe you want to do EVERYTHING. Planning your day out will help avoid unnecessary cross park trips from one attraction to another. Familiarize yourself with indoor and outdoor venues and exhibits in the park. This will help you later on in the afternoon when it gets really hot and rainy.
2) Arrive at Rope drop. Seaworld opens at 9:00am daily. It would be wise to get to SeaWorld as close to 9:00am as possible. Once there, do the most important OUTDOOR attractions first. Whether that be shows, rides or exhibits. This will allow you to enjoy the most important attractions when its not as hot outside, and not as crowded and you won't risk your must do attractions being closed when the thunderstorm comes.
3) Quick Queue and all day dining are your best friends. For and additional cost, SeaWorld offers quick queue and all day dining. These are essential in the summer time. Quick queue will allow you to skip long lines on rides. This is helpful if you want to do all the rides. It will definitely save you a ton of time when the crowds come. All day dining will allow you to get as much food or drinks as you want throughout the day. Unlimited drinks are a great way to cool off when you're in the heat of the afternoon. For more information, here are some links:
http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/dine-and-shop/dining/all-day-dining-deal/?from=Top_Nav
http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/attractions/rides/quick-queue-unlimited/?from=Top_Nav
4) What do you do when the heat and rain comes? Indoor attractions. Plan to visit indoor shows and attractions between 2pm and 5pm. This is not only the hottest part of the day, but the most common time for thunderstorms to occur. The best part is, indoor shows and attractions will never be affected by weather and they're AIR CONDITIONED! The indoor show in the park is Pets Ahoy. It features adopted animals like dogs and cats performing cool tricks. This is a great show especially for younger kids. Indoor exhibits and attractions include:
- Turtle Trek: A 3D adventure featuring Sea Turtles and Manatees.
- Antarctica Empire of the Penguin: A calm family ride following the life of a young penguin. A "cool" penguin exhibit is at the end of the ride.
- Shark Encounter: View sharks from underwater.
- Wild Arctic: Motion simulator ride or movie that leads to the beluga whale, walrus and harbor seal exhibit.
- Manta Aquarium: Manta is the outdoor rollercoaster, but a hidden gem is the aquarium next to the manta queue line.
- Most restaurants are indoors. This would be a great time period to grab lunch.
5) Kids can bring their swimsuits. There are places to cool down for kids in the park. There is a fountain pad located in the waterfront area. It's hidden down near the lake outside the Seafire INN. Kids will enjoy cooling down in the jumping fountains. Also, there are places in the happy harbor play area where kids can play in water buckets. Or if you really want to cool down, sit in the soak zone at Shamu stadium. The 52 degree salt water will probably do the trick.
6) If you can, plan for 2 days. There is so much to see and do that 2 days at SeaWorld would be a great way to take it slow. Being at the park from park open until park close (9AM-9PM) is a long day. You don't want to miss the night time Shamu show "Shamu Celebration: Light Up The Night". It includes a fireworks finale. If you want to skip the heat and rain in the middle of the day, doing 2 days at SeaWorld is a great idea. 9:00am-2:00pm on the first day to see all the must dos on your list. And then 5pm-9pm on the 2nd day to see any extras or things you may have missed on day 1 including Shamu Celebration: Light Up the night.
Hopefully these tips can help make the most of your SeaWorld day during the summer. If any posters have any extra tips, please feel free to share. Remember that summer nights is every night from now until Sunday, August 9th. And the park is open until 9pm each night with the exception of the 3rd and 4th of July when the park is open until 11pm each night.
Enjoy your trip!
