a couple ???'s about sea world....

[ShellyMouse]

hi, i tried to do a search but it keeps coming up "503 service not available", so i'm sorry if my questions have been asked a hundred times!

we will be going to wdw over x-mas. we will arrive in orlando sunday dec. 17th....do you think sea world is a 1/2 day, whole day, or 2 day park to see it all? i think we will be arriving on the auto train, and might have delays. would it be a waste of time to go 1/2 day?

or should we wait and do sea world after wdw? we will de in wdw for 10 days then have 4 days to play with before heading home. i've read that when you go to sea world, they will let you use your pass to come back again for free within 7 days?!, anyone done this?

also, what is a nice/clean/kid friendly/moderate price hotel between wdw and sea world? i think they are less than 15 miles apart, right?

thanks for your help!!

 

[powellrj]

we love sea world. When we were there last year, they still had the second day free promo, all you needed to do was go to the booth as you leave and have your picture taken and you will be given another ticket that is good for one more day.

For rooms, we like cypress point which is close to DTD. You can book it at a great price at www.hotelkingdom.com Lots of Dis people stay there and really enjoy it. They aren't hotel rooms, they are 1,2 or 3 bedroom condos.

 

[Local_Girl]

Hi Neighbor! We're in Holland too!

Well, we haven't actually been to Sea World (because I can't seem to drag DH away from WDW, LOL! )...but we did stay very close to SW in '02 at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club so I know about the proximity to WDW from that area. IMHO, you should check out hotels in the Lake Buena Vista area as they are close to WDW and not too far from SW (compared to 192, for instance). You mentioned a hotel, but for a similar price you could get a 2bdrm unit in Cypress Point with a full kitchen, 2 baths, and a washer/dryer. We rented through Hotelkingdom.com and now the units are going for under $100 night (not sure about Christmas though). You might also check out the Sheraton Safari, in the same area.

As for Sea World, I would plan to spend a full day there if it's your first visit. Personally, I'd hate to be rushed thinking we only had 1/2 day. And if you bought the tickets for the first 1/2 day you're there, they would "expire" within 7 days, so you wouldn't be able to use them again after your 10 days at WDW. BTW, I've read that you can get a 20% discount on tickets through the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program...don't know if that's still in effect, but it used to be the best deal out there. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Sylvester McBean]

seaworld needs about a day and 1/2 to appreciate it. there are a lot of shows at different times, and a lot of different animal encounters, plus kraken and journey to atlantis. it's also a good sized-park and pretty spread out. you do a lot of walking. they still have the deal where you come back any or as many times as you want for 7 consecutive days, but parking each day isn't included. where else in orlando can you feed and pet dolphins?

 

[ShellyMouse]

hey! thank you all for your replies!

ok, will go to SW after wdw so we can take advantage of the multi day deal!

those condos sound great, will check them out!

local girl~ hi yourself neighbor! i know people shouldn't give out out too much info on the web.....so don't answer if you don't feel comfortable....i'm on the northside. dd goes to west ottawa schools. where abouts are you? how cool to "meet" someone from my town on the dis! are you planning a trip to wdw anytime soon?


again, thank you all!

 

[Sylvester McBean]

you won't be sorry, it's a beautiful park. if you can swing it, I suggest dining with Shamu for a dinner.

 

[Robinrs]

We also love SeaWorld. I had an annual pass and even though we're BIG Universal fans we always found time for SeaWorld. I love the shows! My son loves the rides!

There are LOTS of nice hotels nearby and the HGVC is one of the nicest. Most of the International Blvd hotels are easily accessible to it, the closest and the biggest is the Renaissance Orlando Resort. I've never stayed there but would LOVE to one day!

 

[ShellyMouse]

thanks all!

we will for sure have dinner with shamu!! my dh has been to SW, but me and dd have never been.

those condos are awesome! they are $90something each night for dec 27-30. i thought thats a great price for right at x-mas....thanks for that web site!


thanks again!!

 

[Local_Girl]

ShellyMouse...

I PM'd you!!

 

[gjw007]

I would treat SW as a full day event, especially if you have never been there before. I have an annual pass as I like the relaxing pace. There are various shows spaced throughout the day that are fun to see. The latest dolphin show doesn't excite me as much as the older show but they do try to make some changes over time to the shows. I think that you would enjoy a day there especially around Xmas time as the Disney theme parks start to get very busy. I am going from December 9 to the 23 and I will take a trip to SeaWorld. I haven't seen the evening Shamu presentation yet; it should be good.

 

[kid@heart25]

We really like sea world. It is not as exciting as Disney but still a great park. I would suggest to go when you have time to spend. I would spend the day there. It takes about a day to see all of the shows and really look around and enoy yourself. Even if you did a half day and then got the pass to come back for free to do another half day and see all of the stuff that you missed before. I love the shark exhabit and the seals are great...you can actually feed the seals.