20th Anniversary Trip Sept 14-20 -- Help with Itinerary Please!

[rowan555]

My husband and I are taking a much needed kid-free trip to Orlando for our 20th wedding anniversary. Flying in at 10:40 AM on Sept 14, leaving 6:40 PM Sept 20th. I've been to Sea World and Aquatica, but he hasn't. This will be our first trip to Discovery Cove. I have a few random questions...

1. Is the Seatrek Dive worth $148 for 2? I'm not a fan of being underwater, but my husband has always gone diving and never had the chance to get certified, so I think he would enjoy this. Just not sure if it's worth the price and if it would add that much to our day. We booked the dolphin swim already.

2. Is Sea World very crowded on weekends? It was to expensive to fly on the weekend, so our trip includes Saturday and Sunday and it seems everything is packed on the weekends. I'm thinking perhaps we could head to Sea World on our arrival day to hit some of the rides and then go back on the weekend to do the shows and walk around. Is that realistic? We will have one quick queue pass each as well so we could also do the rides at least once without long, long lines.

3. I usually just get to Aquatica early, grab a lounge chair close to the buffet area, and leave my things there all day. We'll shuttle there and back and pre-buy our buffet tickets, so we won't have any valuables with us. That being said, is it worth the $59.99 for a Roa's Rapids cabana? I'm normally very budget minded but also want to make this trip special and stress-free. Just not sure if we should splurge on that, or save the sixty bucks to splurge on dinner that night.

4. Any other entertainment options pretty close to Sea World? We're renting a car but prefer to do as little driving as possible, and to avoid shopping. We'd like some fun things to do in the evening since the parks all close early.

Thank you for any advice and recommendations you can offer!

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

I saw you were staying at a partner hotel, so a weekend at Sea World will be fine. As you mentioned, you get the one time per ride QQ, and you get preferred seating at the shows, so it will be a very nice, manageable day. Plus, October will work well. We did something similar in mid-September and it was so fun.

We have always rented a Roa's Rapid Cabana and love them. The offseason price that you have is a steal in my opinion. Take a beach bag - they strongly encourage you to take the waters you don't drink, they are nice to have other days.

We have always done WonderWorks as a family, prob not something for a wedding anniversary...but we have also done Capone's theatre, and without a lot of expectation, we loved it!

I have not the dive at DC, but personally, I would save the $148, spend the $60 on a cabana, and put the $90 savings to something else. That is a great start to a really nice anniversary dinner.

Enjoy!

 

[rowan555]

I love that advice! Thank you so much. I have been to Aquatica twice with my son and it's just the most relaxing, amazing day ever. I'm not a water park person but Roa's Rapids, and the convenience of the buffet restaurant, just make it a no brainer. I cannot wait for my husband to get to experience it too!