Dine with Shamu?

[MaryAnnDVC]

Have you done it? Is it worth the price? We are 5 "adults"...DH, me, DD (16), DD (14) and DS (12).

Do I need to reserve ahead of time, or do we have a good chance of getting in making a reservation on arrival that morning?

 

[spiceycat]

if you get front seats you will love it.

if you get back seats you will sometimes hate it.

the food is not that great. the attraction are the whales and the closer you can get to them the better you will enjoy.

so I would wait until you next time. I was told that you need to make your reservation 6 months before arrival to get the good seats.

kept in mind these whales like it cold and I mean cold. so they aren't going to becoming out of the water like they do in the parks.

 

[monarchsfan16]

It's very worth the price. The food is excellent. The "show" is mostly listening to how they train the whales, while one of the whales does tricks litterally 10 feet from you. We really enjoyed being that close. The trainers took a lot of time to answer questions too. The food was way above what you normally find in an amusement parks: good quality and great variety on the buffet. Reserve ahead of time. It does fill up; we went in Feb 04 and that day (a Monday I think) it was completely full, before that morning. Also, the earlier you reserve the better table you get.

 

[monarchsfan16]

if you get front seats you will love it.

if you get back seats you will sometimes hate it.

the food is not that great. the attraction are the whales and the closer you can get to them the better you will enjoy.

so I would wait until you next time. I was told that you need to make your reservation 6 months before arrival to get the good seats.

kept in mind these whales like it cold and I mean cold. so they aren't going to becoming out of the water like they do in the parks.

Wow. We had second row seats (there are only 2 rows). Yes, it could be a bit of a nuisance when we went to take pictures, but I just stood behind the table and got awesome shots. I'm 5'2 and by standing I had no heads in the pics etc. We loved it (as you should see by my post above). I have no doubt that the "good" tables go early, but ours was excellent even though it was second row, reserved just 2 weeks in advance.

 

[spiceycat]

thanks!!! I will definitely try it again...

I cancelled last time because I got told we would have bad seats.

I also got told there were 10 rows????

So thank you for saying the REAL situation!!!!

 

[Arkiegirl]

We were there the summer of 2002--so things might have changed since then but we loved it. I didnt think there were bad seats in the area that they served at that time. We were very close, visited with the trainer who was very friendly at that time, I dont remember the food just being out of this world but on the other hand I think it was pretty good or I would have remembered it since I payed so much for it. I also remember there being a kid buffet with all kids of kid things to eat as well as a huge variety on the "adult" buffet. What I do remember is at the time we went it was SOOOO hot and the all you could drink ice tea, shade, and splashes was worth every dollar we paid. We hung out and talked with more workers. I think we made our reservations a day or two in advance. At that time I think they did several meals. For us, it was a great experience.

 

[monarchsfan16]

thanks!!! I will definitely try it again...

I cancelled last time because I got told we would have bad seats.

I also got told there were 10 rows????

So thank you for saying the REAL situation!!!!

Unless it's changed in the last year and a half, it's only 2 rows. If I remember right they also had the tables arranged so that nobody had poles blocking their view.
As another poster mentioned, there was an endless supply of lemonade and other drinks. They even refilled our "refillable mugs" (you buy them and then only pay $1 or so to have them filled, vs the normal cost for soda), at no charge right before we left.

 

[janethill]

We were there in June. There are only two rows. Actually, it's two rows of tables, so person on end is four back.

If anyone has special dietary needs, they honor special requests. Just make your requests when you make your reservation.

 

[gw_lit]

As another poster mentioned, there was an endless supply of lemonade and other drinks.

Including Anheuser-Busch products!

We did Dine with Shamu in May and echo the good comments. We thought the buffet was great and seeing Shamu up close was a highlight. I think our boys still talk about this more than WDW (although they love all things Disney!)