Anyone do the kids free vacation package at SW lately?

[2Pirates2Princesses]

DH and I looked into this deal a bit more today and are strongly considering shaking up our plans to do Disney again this May and instead booking just this Sea World package and getting MNSSHP tickets for a September or October trip. Reports of heavier crowds and all the construction going on at Disney this year are giving us cold feet about taking this trip and we are thinking this might be the push for us to finally spend some time over at the Sea World parks which we have been wanting to do for quite some time. It looks like with this package we would get unlimited admission to both Sea World and Aquatica for 14 days and we could stay in a 2 bedroom suite at the Residence Inn at Sea World which has a full kitchen in the suite and the hotel offers free daily breakfast and we would get the Quick Que pass too Would it be worth it to purchase the All Day Dining deal since we would get free breakfast at the hotel and plan to do multiple days in the parks? Do they offer a multi day option for the All Day Dining plan? I am also curious how frequently the park shuttle runs to/from the Residence Inn and Sea World and Aquatica? We would most likely rent our own vehicle, but having access to a park shuttle would be nice if we want to split up for naps/breaks (our youngest is 14 months old). We certainly have a lot to think about and I am curious what others think about this kids free package deal.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

As far as I am aware, they don't offer a multi-day all-day dining pass. You would have to buy each day's dining separately...though you should get a 10% discount on it as an onsite guest....check out all the package perks here:

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/benefits/ .

Residence Inn SW is a great hotel. Free breakfast, free internet, free parking, spacious rooms, and outdoor sport court, large hot tub, and zero entry pool. We stayed there over Christmas 2012 and were very satisfied.

You may also want to price out your hotel + the buy one, get one free annual passes that are being offered until the end of February.

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/book-online/tickets/bogopasses/

SW + AQ combo AP's are $180 each, or $90 pp with the BOGO offer. Then you could add on a day at Discovery Cove with the passmember discount (if that's something that appeals to you) and use those passes again in the fall (SW sounds really fun for Halloween!). Your parking would also be free at both parks, so you could drive and not worry about the shuttles. You could still choose to stay at the RI SW in the same size suite, or consider something like the Hilton Grand Vacations at SW (which also offers two bedroom suites, but has the added bonus of a washer/dryer in the unit....though breakfast is not an inclusion).

Your APs would also give you 20% off dining (versus 10%), plus discounts on shopping, tours, etc.

http://seaworldparks.com/seaworld-o...lando- Pass Member Website/swf_benefits2.ashx

Just another idea to price out before committing to the package ... especially when you know you'll be back within the year, and could potentially utilize those AP's again.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Another thought that might be worth tossing out there....

If you decide to purchase the AP's versus the package, Skyauction has some awesome deals on one week stays at Sheraton Vistana Villages and Sheraton Vistana Resort for May. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villas are $450 + $20 processing fee for the Resort, and $499 + $20 processing fee for the Villages. There would be tons of room for your family, and the in-room amenities are fantastic (3 flat screen TV's, king bed in the master, jacuzzi tub, 2 double beds in the second bedroom, queen pull-out sofa in the living room, screened in balcony, washer/dryer, full kitchen with dishwasher, free internet, free parking). The Villages has a pirate ship themed pool which is great for little people, and the Resort has 7 pools with varying features. The Villages is somewhat closer to the SW parks than the Resort, but both are an easy drive.

At any rate, the Resort would be as low as $67 a night, including all fees, for a 2 bedroom villa, while the Villages would only be $78 a night. Combine that with the BOGO AP's (which come with the free parking and 20% off food) and you could have a very, very affordable family vacation! About the only thing you would miss out on versus the package would be the free one-time-per-attraction Quick Queue and the free reserved show seating at SW that are perks for onsite hotel guests.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Here is the link to the Skyauction offer for Sheraton Vistana Villages:

http://www.skyauction.com/anyoffer/140491?adref=EM010515FL

And here is the offer for Sheraton Vistana Resort:

http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/2510000

 

[bcbmommy]

As far as I am aware, they don't offer a multi-day all-day dining pass. You would have to buy each day's dining separately...though you should get a 10% discount on it as an onsite guest....check out all the package perks here:

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/benefits/ .

Residence Inn SW is a great hotel. Free breakfast, free internet, free parking, spacious rooms, and outdoor sport court, large hot tub, and zero entry pool. We stayed there over Christmas 2012 and were very satisfied.

You may also want to price out your hotel + the buy one, get one free annual passes that are being offered until the end of February.

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/book-online/tickets/bogopasses/

SW + AQ combo AP's are $180 each, or $90 pp with the BOGO offer. Then you could add on a day at Discovery Cove with the passmember discount (if that's something that appeals to you) and use those passes again in the fall (SW sounds really fun for Halloween!). Your parking would also be free at both parks, so you could drive and not worry about the shuttles. You could still choose to stay at the RI SW in the same size suite, or consider something like the Hilton Grand Vacations at SW (which also offers two bedroom suites, but has the added bonus of a washer/dryer in the unit....though breakfast is not an inclusion).

Your APs would also give you 20% off dining (versus 10%), plus discounts on shopping, tours, etc.

http://seaworldparks.com/seaworld-orlando/~/media/seaworld_orlando_com_bak/Projects/Pass/SeaWorld Orlando- Pass Member Website/swf_benefits2.ashx

Just another idea to price out before committing to the package ... especially when you know you'll be back within the year, and could potentially utilize those AP's again.

Sorry to jump in on your thread, but I'm curious about the discounted DC tickets once you purchase the AP. We are planning on going to DC next month, and wondering if it would save us money to do it the way you mentioned, instead of full price for DC and free SW and Aquatica.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sorry to jump in on your thread, but I'm curious about the discounted DC tickets once you purchase the AP. We are planning on going to DC next month, and wondering if it would save us money to do it the way you mentioned, instead of full price for DC and free SW and Aquatica.

I believe the passmember rates for DC start at $169 for the dolphin swim, and $99 for the day resort package.

With AP's, your parking at both SW and Aquatica would be free. You would also get 20% off your food purchases at both parks as one of the passmember perks. Two extra costs that could be factored in to any possible savings.

And of course, you would have the flexibility of using the AP's again during the full year after activation.

 

[bcbmommy]

I believe the passmember rates for DC start at $169 for the dolphin swim, and $99 for the day resort package.

With AP's, your parking at both SW and Aquatica would be free. You would also get 20% off your food purchases at both parks as one of the passmember perks. Two extra costs that could be factored in to any possible savings.

And of course, you would have the flexibility of using the AP's again during the full year after activation.

Thank you so much! One more question, though. Do we need AP's for all 6 of us, to get the DC discounted price?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thank you so much! One more question, though. Do we need AP's for all 6 of us, to get the DC discounted price?

You only need one AP to get the discounted DC rate (I believe you can get six admissions with one AP on the same reservation), but the passmember price for DC doesn't allow you admission to both SW & Aquatica. So if the whole family wanted to visit those parks as well, they'd have to either have admission via an AP or individual tickets.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Thank you so much Gina for sharing so much valuable information. There are definitely great deals to be had at Sea World this year. I think that AP deal is a lot more appealing than the kids free vacation package, especially with the free parking and discounts offered with the AP. I can't believe I completely overlooked it The kids free vacation package does offer the free Quick Que and reserved show seating; but we may not really need those benefits considering what we'd be gaining by having the APs. Because of the cost of airline fare for the seven of us, we would only do one trip down to Orlando this year which is why we were going to cancel our May Disney plans and just go down to Orlando in Sept or Oct for Sea World, Aquatica, and MNSSHP. The AP deal SW is offering is such a great deal that I can see us using those both for a fall trip this year, then returning next year before the APs expire to do a combined SW/Universal trip to celebrate my DH's 40th birthday.
The Skyauction deal for the Sheraton Vistana is amazing. I could definitely see us staying there. Do you think that offer will be made available for Sept or Oct?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thank you so much Gina for sharing so much valuable information. There are definitely great deals to be had at Sea World this year. I think that AP deal is a lot more appealing than the kids free vacation package, especially with the free parking and discounts offered with the AP. I can't believe I completely overlooked it The kids free vacation package does offer the free Quick Que and reserved show seating; but we may not really need those benefits considering what we'd be gaining by having the APs. Because of the cost of airline fare for the seven of us, we would only do one trip down to Orlando this year which is why we were going to cancel our May Disney plans and just go down to Orlando in Sept or Oct for Sea World, Aquatica, and MNSSHP. The AP deal SW is offering is such a great deal that I can see us using those both for a fall trip this year, then returning next year before the APs expire to do a combined SW/Universal trip to celebrate my DH's 40th birthday.
The Skyauction deal for the Sheraton Vistana is amazing. I could definitely see us staying there. Do you think that offer will be made available for Sept or Oct?

I am so sorry....I obviously totally misread your OP, and thought you were going in both May and in the autumn (just changing your original plans from Disney to the SeaWorld parks for your May vacation). My bad!!

Skyauction has the Vistana Resort available for a variety of check-in dates in September and October, just at a slightly more expensive price....$595 for the week versus $470. Still an awesome price for a 1200 square foot villa, and well below what owners pay for their yearly maintenance fees for a week. I couldn't find the Villages on Skyauction for that time period just yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if those months show up a little closer to your travel dates.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Is it worth it to purchase the all day dining deal if you have an AP since the AP would give you dining discounts?

 

[kandb]

From everything I see on the SeaWorld Website, it says annual passholders get 10% off on food and beverages, unless that has changed recently to 20%?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

My bad, it is a 10% discount on dining. Definitely refer to the listing I linked to in post 2. Its been a while since I was an AQ passmember, and obviously my memory is fuzzy.

 

[kandb]

I know your such an expert Gina, I thought maybe you had some inside info. The annual pass is still a great deal.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

For various reasons we probably won't be booking this package or buying the APs this year.


All things considered, we'll probably look more into doing Discovery Cove in the future once all of my kids meet the age requirement for the dolphin swim experience there, plus you get Sea World and Aquatica tickets with the Discovery Cove package too.

 

[JenMarie82]

To comment on the all day dining deal, I think it really depends on your family. I know a lot of people who found it to be a good deal for them. However, my children (3 & 9) and I don't eat much, so we decided to track what we ate on day 1 and then consider purchasing it for day 2. What we found was the we would eat a big breakfast, buy (1) refillable drink cup each of the days (so they both had 1 when we left), stop for lunch, and maybe share a small snack in the afternoon. By the time we left in the evening, they were so tired that we either ordered a couple of orders of chicken strips & fries or a pizza from the hotel bar to eat back in our room or poolside while they played in the splash zone. We did, though, purchase the all you can eat buffet package at Aquatica because when we were swimming, we tended to get hungry more and it was nice being able to pop in for drinks whenever we wanted too.