1 Day Visit over the summer and boy do I need help!

[diskids2]

Hi Everyone!

Any tips, suggestions, plans for tours would be really appreciated!

Specifics:

Family of five DH, me, DD (age 21), DD's BF (25), DS (17).
All love rollercoasters (one ride each would be ok...but would love to get more than one in)
Really want to see two (or more) shows
Really want to feed Dolphins
Really want to see the penguins, and the new turtle exhibit.

Basically we want to do everything, but those are the must do's above.

We will spend the whole day...have no trouble being at RD and would purchase a quick queue (not sure of the name, but you get the idea).

We will probably purchase an AP to get the discount on the all day dining. I would also do a tour if it was feasible or fit in.

No one has any walking or moving quickly issues.

TIA!

 

[Lynne G]

Alot of what you can do will depend on the hours Sea World is open and how crowded it is. If you have only 1 day, I don't think the tours would be the best for a first visit. Since you have a teen and young adult, I would definitely buy the unlimited fast pass (or get it free if you stay 1 night at a Sea World friend hotel). They will love the coasters. The big 2 shows are at Shamu Stadium (One Ocean) and Blue Horizons at another theater. Both are longer shows and you should be able to get to both if you check the daily guide. Pick up a map when you first get there. It has all the times and happenings that day. If you want to feed the dolphins, I'd go there when it first opens. It is very popular.

As in most amusement parks, rope drop is a good time to start and Sea World is no exception. The first hour or two is not as busy as later in the day.

 

[Thumper_Man]

ITA with Lynne. It all depends on the hours of operation and the show times for the animal performances. I see you've done some of your homework and know more or less what you want to do. I would also look at the calendar and see the hours for the day you want to go. You can also look at the show times for this day and then make a general plan. Unlike WDW and US/IoA, they only post a schedule a month out (for show times) at the most. So keep checking back if the times aren't posted yet for the day you want to go.

A tour would not be wise if you're only going one day. We did a tour the first time we went to SW. Good thing we had 2 days planned, because the tour consumed half our day.

Quick queue tickets are great to have. We had those and we rode each ride at least twice (4 on Manta). They've gotten a little pricier since we were last there. Looking recently, I noticed they offer 2 types now. I would have no problem buying the all day ticket again.

If you want to feed the dolphins, I would go there first thing. From there you can hop on over to see Blue Horizons. Of course that is if you do make it to rope drop. Hope this helps.

 

[diskids2]

Yes, it helps and thank you both! We plan on being there for Rope Drop. When my kids were little, they got up no problem. Then we went through the teenage era when they couldn't/wouldn't get up and we did late nights all the time. Now I am finally back to rope drop! Even the 17 year old, gets up.