Height requirement for Manta and a few other questions.

[becca-becca]

What is the height requirement for Manta?

Is 11:30 too late to get to SW and still get to do most everything if park closes at 10 PM? We might go the day we arrive in Orlando and we are spending the night in Valdosta, GA the night before.

If you don't like their CS, what do you do? Is their CS expensive like Disney's?

 

[inkkognito]

I'm not sure about the Manta height but I definitely think you'll be fine arriving late if you stay till closing. DH and I like to go there late, and much of the crowd clears out. At that point, Manta and Kraken usually have no wait. There are really cute night shows too (be sure to catch the sea lion night show).

 

[LEANNE1302]

52" for manta. We did this when we were there at the end of May and son was measuring himself until practically the day before we went, thankfully he got on!!!

 

[becca-becca]

Is there any sort of child swap system like they have at Disney when you have a child that is too short?

 

[lilheathen]

Actually, I think it's 54" for Manta. My 8-year-old was just tall enough. Double-check their Web site, but I'm pretty sure (we just got home from our trip on Saturday, still tired, so my memory could be hazy). It was definitely 54" for Kraken, which he was thrilled to ride.

The Manta is AWESOME. Try to get in the front row if you can for an unfettered view. It's fast but so graceful...you soar and flip! And while you're in line, you're viewing a great manta ray aquarium in a nice, cool cave.

You can definitely do a lot if you get there at 11:30. We LOVED Blue Horizons, the dolphin show, and of course Shamu. We saw both Believe and Shamu Rocks. The stunts are similar, but Shamu Rocks is done at night to rock music. If you want to take pics, be sure to go during the day, because the night show is too dark for good pics (and I was using a high-end Canon digital camera, albeit not with a super-fast lens). If you have a video camera, you can shoot the shows as well; they don't have a problem with it.

Shamu Rocks is a great way to end the day; get there at 8:30 if you want to be assured of a good seat, earlier if you want to be in the soak zone. If you are in the upper part of the soak zone, you really won't get wet, but if you are in the lower half, you will TRULY be soaked to the underwear. My boys insisted on the soak zone and we ended up in the front row near the center at 8:30! That water is salty and 52 degrees and not particularly pleasant when the sun's gone down! Bring towels and a change of clothes, and either put them in a locker or secure them in waterproof bags if you go for it. Don't miss the fireworks, either. The viewing spot for them is near Shamu Stadium, and it's a better show than most communities' 4th of July fireworks.

You likely won't be able to catch all of the shows. Check the schedule on their Web site and then see how far apart the show venues are. Shamu Stadium is across the park from Kraken and a good 10-15 minutes. We also sure A'Lure, an indoor show, which had great acrobatics from the Chinese acrobats. The only shows you really need to get there 30 minutes beforehand are Shamu shows.

I have no idea what CS is.

 

[RabFlmom]

52" for manta. We did this when we were there at the end of May and son was measuring himself until practically the day before we went, thankfully he got on!!!

Nope it is 54 inches cause my nephew was a hair short yesterday. Considered having him stand with his shoulders back and leaning forward a hair to try to get the OK height; but then watched them taking people off when it broke down and decided for someone a little leery anyway it might not be a good idea. Guess he will have to wait till next year. Same height requirement on Kraken, too.

 

[RabFlmom]

Actually, I think it's 54" for Manta. My 8-year-old was just tall enough. Double-check their Web site, but I'm pretty sure (we just got home from our trip on Saturday, still tired, so my memory could be hazy). It was definitely 54" for Kraken, which he was thrilled to ride.

The Manta is AWESOME. Try to get in the front row if you can for an unfettered view. It's fast but so graceful...you soar and flip! And while you're in line, you're viewing a great manta ray aquarium in a nice, cool cave.

You can definitely do a lot if you get there at 11:30. We LOVED Blue Horizons, the dolphin show, and of course Shamu. We saw both Believe and Shamu Rocks. The stunts are similar, but Shamu Rocks is done at night to rock music. If you want to take pics, be sure to go during the day, because the night show is too dark for good pics (and I was using a high-end Canon digital camera, albeit not with a super-fast lens). If you have a video camera, you can shoot the shows as well; they don't have a problem with it.

Shamu Rocks is a great way to end the day; get there at 8:30 if you want to be assured of a good seat, earlier if you want to be in the soak zone. If you are in the upper part of the soak zone, you really won't get wet, but if you are in the lower half, you will TRULY be soaked to the underwear. My boys insisted on the soak zone and we ended up in the front row near the center at 8:30! That water is salty and 52 degrees and not particularly pleasant when the sun's gone down! Bring towels and a change of clothes, and either put them in a locker or secure them in waterproof bags if you go for it. Don't miss the fireworks, either. The viewing spot for them is near Shamu Stadium, and it's a better show than most communities' 4th of July fireworks.

You likely won't be able to catch all of the shows. Check the schedule on their Web site and then see how far apart the show venues are. Shamu Stadium is across the park from Kraken and a good 10-15 minutes. We also sure A'Lure, an indoor show, which had great acrobatics from the Chinese acrobats. The only shows you really need to get there 30 minutes beforehand are Shamu shows.

I have no idea what CS is.

Good advice. Was there yesterday. We were able to see the major 3 shows-Clyde, Believe, and Blue Horizons. Yesterday was one of the days the animals were not always cooperating. Even BH had an interuption and seemed to be running differently than any show I had ever seen. One of the sea lions had a mind of his own at C&S ( always kind of funny though) and they had to pause Shamu Rocks because the whales decided just going for a swim was the thing to do. Stadiums yesterday filled to capacity 15 to 20 minutes before show time and we were not able to go to some shows when we planned to see them.

If you plan on feeding the dolphins plan an hour for that. If you plan on riding Manta-75 minute waits if it is running. Lots of down time yesterday with people having to be taken off the ride. One thing not to miss and we probably spent way too much time there was the new Manta aquarium. Just really cool. We watched the octopus for a good long time.

Fastest way to get on a ride is the single rider line if you don't mind riding with other people and if your children are old enough and brave enough to ride on different cars.
Wait for Atlantis was 45 minutes and about 20 for single rider at Kraken.
We did not get to spend time with the manatees, feed the dolphins, rays, or the sea lions, or see Pet's Ahoy which was on our agenda too. I'm not an a'lure fan so don't go there unless I just want out of the heat for awhile.


CS= Counter Servise

We bought the all you can eat meal plan which was really good way to do it. There are certain places where you can use it. Voyagers, Spice Mill, Pizza place, Mango Joes, and Sea Fire Inn( I think) . You get 1 entre, 1 drink. and 1 dessert as many times as you want to eat all day.
You can go in and get just snacks and water anytime, but no fast line for that so it takes time to get a drink for free. We ate lunch at Voyagers(love the BBQ), dinner at Mango Joes where the fajitas are really, really good! Our company ate at the Spice Mill and everything they got they loved. We stopped several times during the day and picked up watermelon, strawberries and water. The chocolate cake and cheese cake are really good at all the restaurants.(about $4) One of my sons seemed to always have fruit or cookies in his hand when we ran in to him. Jokingly said he gained 10 pounds yesterday because to cool off as they went from ride to ride they ducked in a CS place for some airconditioning and picked up a snack and water to eat and drink in line.

Counter service meals are a little on the high side, but comparable to most theme parks. Plan $9 per child meal (saw nuggets and fries-not sure if drink and dessert included) Kids meals come in a Shamu lunch box. Plan $12 per adult not including drink or dessert. At Mango Joes the fajitas were just $8.99 for the combo which had 4 small tortillas that you filled with the chicken, steak, and all the usuals. There was plenty enough for a couple kids to share if they weren't big eaters.

There are some places that serve hamburgers and hot dogs but have never eaten either at SW. The other meals are just too good. Even the turkey, ham , and roast beef sandwiches are really good. (about $9 for them I think)
I am always in amazement when people post there is nowhere good to eat at SW because we often just go in to eat and then leave. It is a great place for us to meet up with our son who lives in Kissimmee and make sure he is eating well. <g>

 

[MinnieGi]

We just got back from SW and Manta is a 54 inch height requirment. My 8 yo was not tall enough and she was glad - although the ride completely mesmerized her and we kept stopping under it so she could watch it!!!!!

If you don't like cs - maybe trip a reservation for a Dine with SHamu? We did this one day for lunch and enjoyed the food and loved the private show!! It filled us up for a long time too. We were drinking lots b/c of the heat but really didn't want anything else to eat for the rest of the afternoon into evening.