DH wants to ditch Disney for Sea World!

[2Pirates2Princesses]

My DH grew up going to SW often (when it was in Ohio) so he is a little biased . We are currently booked to do our first family trip to WDW for a week under the free dining promotion in August (only month we can go). I think this would be a great time for our family to do a WDW trip, especially since we would also be celebrating our 10 yr wedding anniversary. DH has always been 'hesitant' about this trip, and feels that after a couple days we would be frustrated and overwhelmed by the pressure to rush around to beat the crowds and the long periods of time spent walking and waiting in lines with our kids (he reminds me of how much of a production it is just getting through a day at the zoo or children's museum ). He thinks that we should wait a couple more years to do the whole big WDW trip and instead go to Sea World and stay at the Nickelodeon resort (he likes the idea of all the 'one stop' entertainment there for the kids). As the power of suggestion would have it, now I am starting to get those anxieties in my head about WDW I know we would have fun either way. SW looks like a great, relaxing park for all of us and a bonus for the kids is that SW has the Sesame Street characters and an expansive kiddie area with rides and play structures; and the Nickelodeon Resort would be fun for the kids and they would see some of their favorite characters there too. ***So I am asking all you SW fans do you think it is worth 'ditching' WDW for SW (also considering the expense of airline fare)? My kids will be 2, 4, 9, and 9 on this trip (DS9 has autism). Neither one of my 9 yr olds like thrill rides at all (My DD9 told me all she wants to do at WDW is meet Minnie Mouse, swim in a 'cool' pool, watch a parade, and go to a tea party ). So I guess if we didn't do the WDW parks they wouldn't miss too much (but I would )

 

[KBF]

My DH grew up going to SW often (when it was in Ohio) so he is a little biased . We are currently booked to do our first family trip to WDW for a week under the free dining promotion in August (only month we can go). I think this would be a great time for our family to do a WDW trip, especially since we would also be celebrating our 10 yr wedding anniversary. DH has always been 'hesitant' about this trip, and feels that after a couple days we would be frustrated and overwhelmed by the pressure to rush around to beat the crowds and the long periods of time spent walking and waiting in lines with our kids (he reminds me of how much of a production it is just getting through a day at the zoo or children's museum ). He thinks that we should wait a couple more years to do the whole big WDW trip and instead go to Sea World and stay at the Nickelodeon resort (he likes the idea of all the 'one stop' entertainment there for the kids). As the power of suggestion would have it, now I am starting to get those anxieties in my head about WDW I know we would have fun either way. SW looks like a great, relaxing park for all of us and a bonus for the kids is that SW has the Sesame Street characters and an expansive kiddie area with rides and play structures; and the Nickelodeon Resort would be fun for the kids and they would see some of their favorite characters there too. ***So I am asking all you SW fans do you think it is worth 'ditching' WDW for SW (also considering the expense of airline fare)? My kids will be 2, 4, 9, and 9 on this trip (DS9 has autism). Neither one of my 9 yr olds like thrill rides at all (My DD9 told me all she wants to do at WDW is meet Minnie Mouse, swim in a 'cool' pool, watch a parade, and go to a tea party ). So I guess if we didn't do the WDW parks they wouldn't miss too much (but I would )

Im not familiar with Disney pormotions, but why dont you split your time between both? Spending a full week at any Theme park is exhausting. Especially in August. Seaworld has plenty of promotions and deals too where you could save if you choose to do both Disney and Seaworld.

From my experience at Disney, I would say the Must do is Magic Kingdom. I think its the kid friendliest Disney park. I think EPCOT tends to be more for older kids and adults. Same with Hollywood Studios. Both EPCOT and Hollywood studios have some more intense rides than Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom could be cool for the kids. You can experience the animals of the land at Animal Kingdom and the Animals of the Sea at Seaworld.

Seaworld isnt like a Disney park. Like you said, Seaworld is a much more relaxed and layed back park. There are multiple areas to sit and relax, like during shows, or inside some exhibits. Its not rush rush rush like Disney can be. Also Seaworld traditionally gets smaller crowds than Disney parks do. So you wont have to put up with a massive amount of people like at Disney. There are so many interactions with animals that are truly great moments for young kids. Seeing your kids pet a dolphin, and a sting ray or seeing their reaction as Shamu leaps out of the water or splashes them. Not to mention the giant play area that can keep the kids occupied while mom and dad relax for a bit.

If your daughter wants to swim in a "cool pool" how about Seaworlds water park "Aquatica"? You can slide down a slide with dolphins swimming along side. There are lazy rivers and so much to enjoy. I would say Aquatica is a place where she can find a "Cool Pool"

Here are some deals for the Seaworld parks you may find useful....
http://www.seaworld.com/Tickets/Visitors.aspx

Here is the Seaworld site, where you can read up on Shows and exhibits....
http://www.seaworld.com/orlando/default.aspx

If I were you (Assuming your staying for 7 days), I would stay at Nick Hotel (I think thats a great idea for the kids) Do two days at Magic Kingdom, Two days at Seaworld and a day at Aquatica. The other two days are free to do whatever. Shopping around Orlando or relaxing at the Nick Hotel.

Any other questions about Seaworld, feel free to ask! Hope you have a great trip no matter what you choose!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Im not familiar with Disney pormotions, but why dont you split your time between both? Spending a full week at any Theme park is exhausting. Especially in August. Seaworld has plenty of promotions and deals too where you could save if you choose to do both Disney and Seaworld.

From my experience at Disney, I would say the Must do is Magic Kingdom. I think its the kid friendliest Disney park. I think EPCOT tends to be more for older kids and adults. Same with Hollywood Studios. Both EPCOT and Hollywood studios have some more intense rides than Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom could be cool for the kids. You can experience the animals of the land at Animal Kingdom and the Animals of the Sea at Seaworld.

Seaworld isnt like a Disney park. Like you said, Seaworld is a much more relaxed and layed back park. There are multiple areas to sit and relax, like during shows, or inside some exhibits. Its not rush rush rush like Disney can be. Also Seaworld traditionally gets smaller crowds than Disney parks do. So you wont have to put up with a massive amount of people like at Disney. There are so many interactions with animals that are truly great moments for young kids. Seeing your kids pet a dolphin, and a sting ray or seeing their reaction as Shamu leaps out of the water or splashes them. Not to mention the giant play area that can keep the kids occupied while mom and dad relax for a bit.

If your daughter wants to swim in a "cool pool" how about Seaworlds water park "Aquatica"? You can slide down a slide with dolphins swimming along side. There are lazy rivers and so much to enjoy. I would say Aquatica is a place where she can find a "Cool Pool"

Here are some deals for the Seaworld parks you may find useful....
http://www.seaworld.com/Tickets/Visitors.aspx

Here is the Seaworld site, where you can read up on Shows and exhibits....
http://www.seaworld.com/orlando/default.aspx

If I were you (Assuming your staying for 7 days), I would stay at Nick Hotel (I think thats a great idea for the kids) Do two days at Magic Kingdom, Two days at Seaworld and a day at Aquatica. The other two days are free to do whatever. Shopping around Orlando or relaxing at the Nick Hotel.

Any other questions about Seaworld, feel free to ask! Hope you have a great trip no matter what you choose!

Thank you for your feedback

 

[mom of2]

we live about an hour away from where sea world was in ohio. At thanksgiving we drove down to orlando to go to sea world and did DTD and mini golf. (couldn't afford a disney trip) We had a blast. The kids loved sea world, but I think they would have loved disney more/differently.

When we went to disney on our honeymoon we went to sea world for a day-it was a needed break. I recommend going for 2 days as we went for 2 days over thanksgiving and still didn't see/do everything-4 kids 2, 5, 11, 14.

Sea World Orlando is much better than sea world ohio was so your dh might not want to leave!!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I like seaworld but to me it's only worth going when we get in free. I would never give up a disney trip to go to seaworld for a week. Maybe take a day off and go for one day but not skip disney all together.

 

[donaldduck352]

I would never give up a disney trip to go to seaworld for a week. Maybe take a day off and go for one day but not skip disney all together.

I gotta agree with this also.But like another poster stated,SW is,at most,a 2day park.Watch for promos that give ya the 2'nd day free.

 

[crazelion]

How about doing day at Sea World too please your DH. You both get want. You get wDW and gets a day at Sea World.

 

[Way2Goofy]

My family enjoys Seaworld, but by 6pm we have seen it all and are ready to head out. We have stayed at the Nick Hotel and we enjoyed the waterpark area. The hotel itself tends to get mixed reviews. I was a little nervous when I read some of them, but we ended up having a great time. We went with 2 other families and the kids were 10,8,6,5,3 and 1. If you can, I would find a way to work in both Disney and a day at SW. You could stay at Nick Hotel and when the days start to get to hot, go back for a swim.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

thank you all for your feedback. My DH wants to do SW as an alternative to WDW as he thinks a WDW trip will be too overwhelming for our family right now. I can't see doing both SW and WDW as the tickets for both are expensive. SW ticket price is pretty much the same as a one day base ticket to WDW. We could do one or two WDW parks and SW, but that would essentially be as much "work" as doing a full week of all four WDW parks. Even with a booked trip we continue to go back and forth about what is right for us . I guess with thousands of dollars at stake we don't want to feel like we've "wasted" time and money with any decision. But there is no real way to prevent that if it ends up being the case.

 

[formill]

My kids at the time ages of 5,5,12 and 15 preferred Sea World to Disney- they spent a long time in the ride/play area- loved it and we all really enjoyed the shows- we went back for the second day to do the shows we missed and back on all the rides. It was nice to have the second day so we could take as long as we wanted at everything not trying to fit them all in that day. We stay at villas with our own pool and hot tub and kids are more than happy to spend lots of time there. So are we.

 

[palmtreegirl]

We love Sea World, it's a great park!! Definitely worth doing and you could easily spend 2 days there. There's also so much to do on I-drive too and the Nick Hotel is a ton of fun. Check out Fun Spot too, they have free admission and then pay as go go-karts, games and rides, they also offer wristbands deals. The go kart tracks are awesome, they even have double cars so smaller kids can ride with adults.

Will you have a rental car? if so, you could also go to Downtown Disney and even explore the resorts one day. Also Cocoa beach is only a 45 minute drive away, easy day trip.

There's so much more to the area then just Disney and you could easily have a great vacation without stepping foot in a Disney park!

 

[RabFlmom]

You could have a blast on vacation even if you don't do Disney.

SW has a lot to offer and during the summer they have the summer night shows. You could get a combo ticket for SW and Aquatica
that will get you admission to either park for length of stay(up to 14 days) . On days you want to relax there are plenty of things to do to have fun in the area. Are you driving or flying down?

BTW if you plan to go to SW multiple days-one of you might want to get a 1 year AP so that you get free parking and 10 % off food and souveniers etc in the parks.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Surprised that SW Orlando tickets (with tax) are $85(adult)/$76 (child)! I guess the fact that you can go for two days makes it a good value . My children are too young to do the three roller coaster rides and they aren't good with sitting for live shows; so I guess we would primarily do the animal exhibits, Shamu's Happy Harbor play area, and maybe a couple shows. However, if they released the buy an adult ticket get a child ticket for $5 deal, a SW trip would definitely be a strong contender as an alternative to a WDW trip!

 

[shalom]

My hubby and kids all voted for SeaWorld last year. , I did get one day at Disney through the Give a Day deal, though. We're going to Orlando again this year, but if I go to a Disney park it'll be by myself. Everyone else wants to do SeaWorld again.

SeaWorld is a nice park and I enjoyed it, however it's a very different experience from Disney. It is a more low-key experience than Disney, for sure. Since it's a lot easier to find deals, SeaWorld is definitely cheaper than Disney, especially if you're going for more than one day, but OTOH I dunno that there's enough there to keep you busy for a week. SeaWorld is smaller than any of the Disney parks, and of course there's only the one park.

One thing you might consider -- or that might make things even worse -- is going to SeaWorld but doing something small at Disney. Take DD9 to tea at the Grand Floridian; take some of the kids on the Pirates fireworks cruise; do a character meal at one of the resorts; see Yee-Ha Bob Jackson's sing-along at Riverside. My middle daughter is the only one who even wants to go to a Disney park; the two of us going to tour some resorts together and probably hit the Boardwalk one night, and we'll probably drag the entire family to Downtown Disney at least once, to do the dance party and the Lego store and the Magic store and whatnot.

Daughter and I are viewing it as a "taste and a promise" trip -- we're promising each other that next time we go to Orlando, we're doing Disney.

Surprised that SW Orlando tickets (with tax) are $85(adult)/$76 (child)! I guess the fact that you can go for two days makes it a good value

SeaWorld runs a lot of promotions that can bring the price down. When we went, if you bought the tickets online you could get adult tickets for the same price as kid tickets; we could also get a discount through hubby's work that kicked it down almost as much, which we used for the one child ticket we got. That one is available to anybody, hubby says -- do a search for "Corporate Perks."

We also thought it worth the extra to get one yearly pass; the yearly pass includes paid parking, and, at least when we were looking into it, two days parking with a regular ticket cost more than the yearly pass. You can also get a Sea World combined ticket with Aquatica -- $122.46 per adult or $113.94 per child (ages 3-9), including tax -- with unlimited admission to both for 14 days, if your family likes waterparks.

 

[RabFlmom]

I gotta agree with this also.But like another poster stated,SW is,at most,a 2day park.Watch for promos that give ya the 2'nd day free.

LOL For us we pay to go to SW and would never pay to go to WDW .....but then we don't have to anyway. LOL Even though we go free to Disney we rarely go more than 2 or 3 times a year for a full day. We might head out to Epcot or AK for lunch or go to MK or Epcot for the fireworks more often though. I would never pay to go to the MK--well maybe if I had to if I had some grandkids to go with. <g> Still waiting for that day.

We manage to get to SW about once a month if not more most years. Wish we from Florida could use the Sesame APfor SW like people from the NE can. That seems to be the best deal.

 

[scottmel]

This is my first time every going to orlando WITHOUT DISNEY! We opted for a Discovery Cove day and that gets you free SEa World for like a week or something crazy...So I plan a Discovery Cove Day, Sea World Day and I have free universal passes for 2 days...so no disney parks for me but we WILL still stay on disney property!!!!! Consider the Discovery Cove deal

 

[ccgirl]

I agree with your husband. We were fortunate enough (or crazy enough) to do WDW, SW, and Discovery Cove last month. We have a DD8 and DS3. Our favorite part was Discovery Cove. There was so much to do. Even my DS3 had a blast there. My DD and DH swam with the dolphins. The price includes all your food and beverages for the day. The package we had also includes a 14 day admission to either Sea World, Busch Gardens, or Aquatica. I got an unbelievable deal thru American Express. It was $49 for me and my DH and DD were $129. My DS was just 2 weeks shy of his 3rd bday so he was still free. There was so much to do. They also have a pass with Busch Gardens, Sea World etc. Then again, we have been to WDW multiple times over the past few years and are just getting burned out.

 

[eagle29]

My 2 cents...

Seaworld and Aquatica (Waterpark) are alot of fun and a good alternative to Disney, however, I don't think you can fill a week with just those parks. When I go to Orlando and don't visit Disney, I combine Seaworld with Universal Studios as I believe they have a combined ticket package. If you are spending the $ on airfare to get there, you will want to find enough to do while you are there and I don't think you will spend more than a couple of days at Seaworld...

Good luck and enjoy whatever you decide!

 

[tfoster]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I wouldn't recommend skipping WDW for SW. I've been to both with kids of all ages - from baby to teen and everything in between. I think you're kids are at perfect ages for WDW. And I personally don't find SW to be much less work to plan than WDW because it's largely show-based and those shows all run on schedules that you need to plan for. There won't be rides for your children to enjoy at SW, but there are (of course!) lots for them to enjoy at WDW. Yes, the play area is fun and kids love it, but why spend that much money for your kids to spend hours on play equipment?

Having stayed at the Nick hotel, I wouldn't recommend that either. The suites are okay but much smaller than we expected. I really just didn't find the place very nice and we won't go back there. (The pool area is nice though.)

Best of luck with whatever you decide. Either way, I'm sure you'll have fun!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I wouldn't recommend skipping WDW for SW.* I've been to both with kids of all ages - from baby to teen and everything in between.* I think you're kids are at perfect ages for WDW.* And I personally don't find SW to be much less work to plan than WDW because it's largely show-based and those shows all run on schedules that you need to plan for.* There won't be rides for your children to enjoy at SW, but there are (of course!) lots for them to enjoy at WDW.* Yes, the play area is fun and kids love it, but why spend that much money for your kids to spend hours on play equipment?Having stayed at the Nick hotel, I wouldn't recommend that either.* The suites are okay but much smaller than we expected.* I really just didn't find the place very nice and we won't go back there.* (The pool area is nice though.)Best of luck with whatever you decide.* Either way, I'm sure you'll have fun!

Thank you and I appreciate everyone's input. My DH is up for whatever he thinks is the least stressful with our four kids When he thinks of SW, he thinks of the Ohio SW which was a lot smaller than the Orlando SW. I also try to remind him that our kids and live shows don't mix well Live shows don't keep their attention well (even our oldest two), we have done Sesame Street live and Nick Jr live at home with good seats and after about ten minutes they are walking around ready to leave (and those are some of their favorite characters too). I don't see SW, which is primarily show based, being a favorable alternative to WDW in their eyes (even with the cool Shamu's Happy Harbor area). The Nick Hotel looks really fun in spite of the 50/50 reviews, but considering how pricey it is, it is hard to pass up the promotions WDW offers to stay onsite with them. I think if we go forward with our original plans to do the full WDW trip, in order to make it a pleasant experience with minimal stress and frustration we will have to accept the fact that we may only be able to do a few things at each park (even after spending all that $$$ for the trip) and look to experiences that don't involve too much waiting and walking around like resort activities, character meals, Bippity Boppity Boutique,and the Pirates League, etc. as being just as memorable and enjoyable as the rides. I still would like to go to SW Orlando though, maybe the kids will appreciate that park more when they get a little older and are more attentive to live shows