Feeding the animals at Seaworld

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Planning our first trip to SeaWorld in January 2012 .

I read somewhere that the park offers visitors the ability to feed some of their animals. Besides the dolphins, which other animals offer feeding opportunities, and would anyone have any idea what the cost per person would be?

For those who have done so, are the lines generally quite manageable or do we need to plan for lengthy waits? Our proposed dates to visit (if it helps) would be January 2nd and 5th.

 

[hncg57c]

The only line you have to wait in is to feed the dolphins; they are only fed at certain times and costs $7 per person. In addition, you could also feed the sea lions and stingrays. I am not sure if there are specific times for feeding the sea lions and stingrays or not, but whenever we have been there, you could purchase food. For the sea lions, I think we paid $20 for either four or five trays of food. Sorry, I don't know the cost for feeding the stingrays.

 

[KBF]

To add to what the previous poster said: You can also feed small sharks. I am also not sure what the exact price is. But I would imagine its no more than feeding the dolphins. Also a heads up: When feeding the Sealions, watch out for the birds that like to fly around and steal your fish out of your tray, hand, or when you throw it to a Sealion. When feeding the stingrays, you also have the opportunity to pet them.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thank you both for the fabulous information!

We have booked a day at Discovery Cove for January 1st (including the dolphin swim) so we'll probably skip the dolphin and stingray feeding at SeaWorld, but feeding the sea lions and the sharks will definitely be must-do's!!! What can I say, we really are big kids at heart .

 

[floridianer]

Correct...

Sealions 20$
Dolphins 7$
Sharks and Stingrays 5$ (you get a try with 3 or 4 pieces of shrimp or octopuss

No specific time for feeding the Stingrays and I´m not sure if there is one for the sharks...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Correct...

Sealions 20$
Dolphins 7$
Sharks and Stingrays 5$ (you get a try with 3 or 4 pieces of shrimp or octopuss

No specific time for feeding the Stingrays and I´m not sure if there is one for the sharks...

Thank you!

 

[Tramp68]

Sea Lions and Sting Rays are actually the same price. It is $5 per tray and it drops to $4 if you buy a certain amount (3 I think)

I have never seen it not be open but the signs do say that times may be limited...

Some kids are shy about feeding the sting rays. Some kids do not like the feeling of the sting rays sucking the food out of their hand. I have also seen many kids afraid to put their hands in deep enough and end up teasing the Rays. It is very frustrating to see parents either not supervise their kids or allow them to treat the rays in this manner.

Be prepared for a wait for the dolphins. The line forms 30-40 minutes before feeding times and often not all get in.

I would HIGHLY reccomend paying the extra for the dolphin encounter. They really do a nice job at education and experience.

 

[AJA]

When we were there last week, you could buy a punch ticket for $10 and feed all three: stingrays, sea lions/seals, small sharks.

-the stingrays were the most fun (IMO!).

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

When we were there last week, you could buy a punch ticket for $10 and feed all three: stingrays, sea lions/seals, small sharks.

That sounds FABULOUS! I so hope that they have this when we visit!

 

[bas71873]

When we were there last week, you could buy a punch ticket for $10 and feed all three: stingrays, sea lions/seals, small sharks.

-the stingrays were the most fun (IMO!).

Where did your purchase the punch card?

And OP, when we did SW two years ago, I remember all the animal feedings being CASH only. That may have changed, but go prepared. AND, we had to pay for all 3 of us to feed the dolphins. In other words, you can't just pay for your kid and go in with him or her. You will have to pay and be given a tray of fish food as well.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

And OP, when we did SW two years ago, I remember all the animal feedings being CASH only. That may have changed, but go prepared. AND, we had to pay for all 3 of us to feed the dolphins. In other words, you can't just pay for your kid and go in with him or her. You will have to pay and be given a tray of fish food as well.

Thanks for the great information . We will be travelling with as little cash as possible, so those kind of details are MUCH appreciated to ensure we're not caught short.

As the unofficial family photographer, I was totally expecting to just pay for my DS (who will be celebrating his 16th birthday on our trip, so definitely not needing parental assistance ) and have the opportunity to take some pics of him feeding the animals. Thanks for the heads up while we're still in the budgeting stage!!!

 

[bas71873]

Thanks for the great information . We will be travelling with as little cash as possible, so those kind of details are MUCH appreciated to ensure we're not caught short.

As the unofficial family photographer, I was totally expecting to just pay for my DS (who will be celebrating his 16th birthday on our trip, so definitely not needing parental assistance ) and have the opportunity to take some pics of him feeding the animals. Thanks for the heads up while we're still in the budgeting stage!!!

They will have photogs across the "pool"" taking photos and they will bring your ticket to you and you can buy them. I saw people over there taking their own pics, but it's pretty far away. If you have a good camera it will work, otherwise, go in with him, feed some dophins and take some close ups (I did that with DD, she got 2 trays) and then I did buy one of the SW pics because they got a great close up of a dolphin jumping up and taking the fish out of her hand

 

[CameronCanDo]

I would budget in about $50 for feeding animals but I would not commit to which ones you want to feed till you get there.

We just got back form Seaworld yesterday and it we have been 5 times and it is still amazing every time.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I would budget in about $50 for feeding animals

Just to clarify.....that's per family?

If so, that's definitely do-able!

I am getting sooooo excited.......less than three months to go!

 

[buckbart]

We did the VIP tour this past January - 1 tourguide for our family of 4. We did the whole park, including feeding all the sea life. The most disappointing feeding was the Sea lions cause they basked in the sun the whole time. For the few that were interested in being in the water and eating, the birds swooped down as we threw them towards the Sea lions, so very few actually got fed. With our pass we also got back stage entry and were much lower levels than the general public. the guide told us the best way to feed these Sea Lions is to sign up for the Sea lion encounter - Clyde and Seymore show. After the last show the left over fish is hauled to the sea lion tank where those in the encounter get to feed all that fish - there was a whole cart full of fish with 10 or 15 pails.

We also did the Stingray feeding. BRING YOUR PONCHOS! or you will be soaked. Most people don't realize that their mouth are on their underside so you have to actually put your arm in the water to about your elbow. They splash the sides as they wait to be fed so you literally get soaked. i also had soap in my purse cause there's something about the stinky smell of fish on your hands that just didn't seem to come off with what they provided.

Honestly, this was one of our best days in Orlando - the tour was amazing and was well worth the money for what we got to see! We had front of the line access to everything and reserved seating to the shows. there was no planning or running trying to figure out what to do - they had it all coordinated for us. with the VIP tour you also got vouchers for each person to eat - let me tell you the amount of food we were able to get with these vouchers was shocking! there are several different restaurants that were all very good! If you have any other questions, please ask - i'd love to revisit those wonderful memories!

*** I forgot to mention that January is their slowest month - we had the whole kids side to ourselves till 10:30, with only a few others wondering through. We rode those rides over and over. At one point we wondered if they'd shut down the park just for us Besides a few tour groups going through it was very mild.