Behind the Scenes Tours/Backstage at Believe Buffet are they worth the time and $$ ?

[mjrich73]

I was considering doing all three tours and also The Backstage at Believe Buffet.

How are the tours?? Are they worth taking the time and $$ to do them?
What about the buffet? How is the food? Are the reserved seats good?


I see they offer 3 behind the scenes tours
1. The Predators Tour
2. Save a Species Tour
3. Polar Expedition Tour - I know for sure we will do this one, my daughter can't wait to pet a penguin!!!!

Thanks in advance for your input!!

 

[mjrich73]

Anyone???

 

[mjrich73]

 

[DixieDolphin]

Never done the Backstage at Believe buffet, but I've heard it's kinda... eh.

The tours are pretty cool and I highly recommend them!

The Predators tour gets you backstage at Shamu Stadium (although very briefly, so don't expect to see a whole lot there) and then at Terrors of the Deep.. er.. Shark Encounter.. whatever they're calling it these days... where you get to see a /lot/ of the backstage area there. They let you pet a small shark in a little aquarium, then take you up to the topside of the main shark tank... it's really an interesting view seeing that tank from above. Very cool.

I haven't done the Saving a Species tour in many years (last time I did it, it was 'To the Rescue').. but when I did last do that one, it was pretty cool! Got backstage to see their holding tanks for rescued animals and such. Not sure if that program is the same these days, but it was pretty neat last time I did it!

The Polar tour is pretty neat, too! One of my favorites! They take you backstage at Wild Arctic, where you get to see the back pools for the belugas and their polar bear observation area... definitely a treat, if ya ask me! Then they take you backstage at Penguin Encounter and do the whole penguin petting thing.

Of course, experiences may vary.. I haven't done a tour in a while, so they might be slightly different now (just a caveat). But I think they're definitely worth trying out! =)

 

[kellymonaghan]

I've done 'em all and here's my take:

The tours you mention are all terrific and well worth it. (There's a new one, quite pricey, that I haven't done yet, but soon).

Backstage at Believe is a bit of a disappointment in that you are not guaranteed to see an orca. They can swim into the pool if they're so in their mind, but none did when I went.

What they do is show a half-hour video on a screen at the back of the pool. The kids aren't much interested, so they chatter away, which means that if you want to follow the video it's kind of hard.

In a way, what you're really paying for is good reserved seats at the Shamu show without having to show up 45 minutes early. Not the best seats IMHO, but pretty good, a little to the left of center in the upper section.

Now, the Dine With Shamu program does guarantee some face time with an orca, so if that's your goal, it's the better choice.

The food at both is so-so, but it's all you can eat, so if you're Homer Simpson . . .

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

I just recently did Backstage @ Believe May 8th- 2:45pm

It was awesome - the highlight of my second honeymoon of course hubby wanted to do something special for me. Dining w/ shamu was sold out till the 15th so if you have a chance book early!! i have the video of Backstage @ believe up on youtube- if you would like to see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77UbhNsKlNk Taima and Takara were in the back with their calves and the trainers had them do a few behaviors, it was worth the money cause the food was incredible- including the build your own sundae bar and other yummy foods.
here are 2 pictures: