Plan of action?

[spottycotty]

Hi, do we need a 'plan of action' to visit seaworld as you do for Disney parks?
If so, any suggestions ??
Thanks x

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi, do we need a 'plan of action' to visit seaworld as you do for Disney parks?
If so, any suggestions ??
Thanks x

What time of year are you going?

How many SeaWorld days do you have at your disposal?

Are you staying at one of the official hotels of SeaWorld (which provides free Quick Queue for all guests)?

What ages are the people in your party?

SeaWorld, on the whole, is MUCH less regimented than the Disney parks.....you absolutely do NOT need a minute-by-minute itinerary to enjoy the park (one of the reasons I love it so!). There are ways to maximize your time to make the most of your visit, though. If you give us some more details about when you are travelling and the ages of those in your family, we can all offer up much more helpful suggestions .

 

[spottycotty]

Oops, sorry
We are going to be visiting seaworld for one day Nov 10th, 2 adults, 2 children aged 8.
Adults (well, me) will be riding the coasters too. We are staying at Disney so we won't have any quick queues X

 

[JaxDad]

I can provide some initial recommendations before Gina returns with the truly professional advice...

You should take a look at the park map and at the show schedule on the website. Pick the shows you really want to see. You can see all four, but it may be a challenge since the park closes at 5:30. Definitely arrive at park opening, then generally work clockwise. You can see Blue Horizon at 1000, then Clyde & Seamore and Pets Ahoy in the afternoon in whatever order works for you, while squeezing in the major rides such as Manta and Kraken roller coasters, Turtle Trek, Empire of the Penguin, and Journey to Atlantis. If only one of you rides the coasters, you can split for part of this time. You will also want to see the dolphin area and pet the rays and other various exhibits. You can then work around the back of the park, which will include the shark tunnel, the kids area (Shamu's Happy harbor), then Wild Arctic. Finally, go to the One Ocean show at the end of the day.

We bought Quick Queues for our last trip and made good use of them. Depending on your schedule and your tolerance for lines, you may want to look into that. You can wait until you arrive at the park to make the decision.

I hope that helps!

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Couldn't agree more, the walk from the Dolphin Show to Shamu would be very similar of Splash Mountain to Buzz Lightyear, not insurmountable, but not something you want to do too often and unnecessarily. The website does not do a great job of show times well in advance, but they may be up or should be soon. Know the park map and show times - about 10-15 minutes of planning and you will be ready.

On a shorter off season day, the crowds will be very manageable, but just not enough time to do "everything," so prioritize. I have an 8 year old (they are not all alike), and she loves Shamu's Happy Harbor for some play time, but only when we have 2 days to visit. It is either a blessed rest for parents as the children play, or a time waste if you are missing other more worthwhile attractions. My family loves the whole park, but I would put the Sharks, Turtle Trek, and Kraken on that list as well. We have seen similar shark tunnels at zoos and aquariums and we are an hour or so from a major roller coaster theme park, so that is what works for us. For some reason, I am the only one who likes Turtle Trek in my family...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Excellent advice already from JaxDad and VacaPlanner2012 .

I will also add.....plan to arrive 30 minutes before park opening to ensure you're in the park as soon as they open. Those first couple of hours are golden.

Dining at off times will also help you avoid any unnecessary delays or lines when its meal time.

Reserved show seating might be worth considering since you're trying to maximize your day.

Be sure to make time for some animal feedings, too. Your kids will love it (heck, I'm a big kid and I love it!).

Definitely decide in advance what your must-do's are, and make those your priority. You won't be able to see it all and do it all on a day when hours are shortened. SeaWorld is a beautiful and awesome park, and its so freeing to have no ADR's or Fastpasses to work around. I hope you love it!

 

[newestkg06]

Definitely consider doing the animal feedings (especially the sealions and sting rays). These were super fun!
Antarctica seems to get a long line, so you may want to make that a first priority. We were able to ride Manta and Kraken with little wait in the off season (sept), if those are important for you. Also, if you aren't too picky about seating and views, you may not need to arrive at shows 30 minutes ahead as they recommend. 15 minutes worked fine for us (but we were not in the center if that's important for you).

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

As a follow up to newestkg06's post, if long lines are plaguing Antarctica every time you try to ride it, consider going back right before park close. When we were there in August 2014, lines were ridiculous all day long. Right after the final showing of One Ocean, it was a five minute wait as the masses were exiting the park.

 

[spottycotty]

Wow, brilliant advice everyone, thankyou so much!!!
Think we'll head to antarctica first and see how we get on then, feeding times sound great too!
Oooo, excited now!

 

[ready123go]

I subbed to this thread because we are also going to SeaWorld for first time this January. Thank you to everyone here for their advice!!

 

[kj2mom]

I didn't have the knowledge of Sea World to plan it as much as I did Disney but we did make an ADR (dinner with Shamu) and we did get there prior to opening like we would the Disney parks. From there we did the major attractions (Manta, Antarctica, Kraken, Journey, Wild Arctic) then we stopped for lunch and planned out what show times we wanted. We were able to fit everything in except for Pets Ahoy, which I heard is adorable but wasn't as high on our list as say One Ocean. I think it definitely helps to have a bit of a strategy just because of the show times. We would have been sad if we discovered we had missed a show we really wanted to see because we were doing something we could have done at any other time (feeding the rays or walking through the shark tank for example).

Hope you have a great time!