A few Sea World Questions for a 1st timer

[nesser1981]

I grew up 3 hours from Sea World, but never went. LOL!

But now we're going in March with my 6 year old and 4 year old. Here are the questions I have.

1. How long do you think it'll take us to get in & out of the park? We're planning on skipping the rides since we're also doing all 4 Disney Parks & IOA. We want to see the 3 big shows.

2. Where is the best place to have lunch? I have Island Pete's Eats written down. I've heard the food there isn't great.

I think those are the only big questions I have.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

We are spending 2 days at Sea World. Our first day we are going to focus on the rides and the second day we are going to try to see all 5 main shows.

If you time the shows just right, when one ends you have 30 minutes to get to the next one, which is about how early you should get to the show anyway. And then the show might be up to 30 minutes long. SO you could spend 5 or 6 hours just seeing the 5 main shows.

I might skip the Pets Ahoy and the Sea Lion show and just go see Blue Horizons, A'Lure and One Ocean. If I don't see the other two it will be OK.

I have read a trip report that told where they have little kid play areas so there may be some stuff for your age kids to do but of course all the rides (almost all) are for bigger kids. They have the little tea cup type ride for little kids.

IOA is going to be another park where there is not much to do for your age kids. Seuss land has a few little ride things. But the Cat in the Hat spins, A LOT and kind of fast. Not sure how little kids would do on that one. It made me squeal more than once out loud.

 

[DOOM1001]

Sea World is a full day park even if you skip the rides.The shows are at different times throughout the day and you should grab a park map at the front of the park to see the hours and plan out your day.The restaurants I usually eat at are the Voyagers smokehouse,Seafire Inn,Spice Mill and Mango Joe's,they each have different offerings and are all good you just have to figure out what to get.

 

[nesser1981]

Thanks you.

 

[RabFlmom]

I grew up 3 hours from Sea World, but never went. LOL!

But now we're going in March with my 6 year old and 4 year old. Here are the questions I have.

1. How long do you think it'll take us to get in & out of the park? We're planning on skipping the rides since we're also doing all 4 Disney Parks & IOA. We want to see the 3 big shows.

2. Where is the best place to have lunch? I have Island Pete's Eats written down. I've heard the food there isn't great.

I think those are the only big questions I have.

1. I think you have a misconception of the park.........plan to spend from open to close there and you still won't see and do everything. It is not a get into and out of fast type of park. You will find it to be a lot less hustle bustle with families just enjoying the parks together-feeding the dolphins, sea lions, and sting rays, watching the shark, manatees, and spending time with CMs getting to touch skunks or other type animals they have meet and greets with basically.
Also the rides are nothing like Disney rides so you may want to rethink that. Their coasters are some of the best in the state.
It is easy to plan your day around the shows. Look at the schedule of shows and pick which ones you want to see and when is good time for you to go. Don't rule out Wild Arctic and go see the walrus and polar bears. Also with little ones you might want to plan in the Sesame Street things and the Pets Ahoy show which is really cute. They also have a great play area for the kids that you won't want to miss.

2. Best place to have lunch depends on whether you want a hot dog or a meal. Island Petes is probably the last choice I would choose. Our favorite in door spot to eat is Voyagers because it has big platters of BBQ brisket, ribs, or chicken or you can get all 3 in a combo platter.( Platter includes fries and roll. Desserts of chocolate cake or cheese cake are really good, but they also have fruit choices. It is indoor seating so you get into the air on hot days or out of the cold if it is chilly out.
2nd favorite place to eat is Mango Joes for the Fajitas.
3rd favorite is Sea Fire Inn for the Stirfry
4th favorite -the Spice Mill for their huge deli sandwiches and salads
5th favorite - Terrace Garden for pizza and pasta

We never eat sandwiches like burgers or hot dogs at SW because the other choices are so much better and we think better than most of the CS places in the Disney parks.

If you do decide to spend an entire day and eat 3 meals, snacks, and get drinks in the park all day you might consider the All Day Plan for $29 which is really a good deal.

 

[nesser1981]

Thanks!

 

[CountyMounty]

We just returned and spent 1 and 1 1/2 days there and still didn't get to do everything, the shows themselves will take up the whole day and depending on crowd level when you are there the big 3 shows may fill to capacity early, when we were there the second day the Shamu show and the Dolphin show both filled to capacity 10 to 15 minutes before start, luckily we had seen them the 1st day. There is a whole kids land "Happy Harbor" now that is very appropriate for your kids age with several cute rides and a large nets and slids play area. Also make sure to let the kids touch the sting rays at the touch tank and maybe even spend the extra $7 to let them feed and touch the dolphins. Our DS 5 loved seeing the sharks as well. SW just like most of the parks has plenty to do if you are interested.