First Hour at Sea World

[Tinker_Belle]

Hi everyone! I have been reading through a lot of these posts, and I appreciate all of the info on here. I am starting to rethink my plan...

Originally, I had planned for us to head to the first dolphin feeding, then see the dolphin show, then head to Antarctica. Now, it sounds like Antarctica will be mobbed by then. Should we go there first? Are the other dolphin feedings that crowded? We did the first dolphin feeding (really more or less by accident...just followed the crowd) when we went to SW in San Antonio, and it was perfect! DH wasn't there though, so we really want to share that with him. Did anyone find a way to do both the dolphin feeding and Antarctica without waiting in a line for more than an hour?

 

[FLOIR]

Honestly - I would do the dolphin feeding first. They are limited throughout the day and they generally will get "sold out". It is also what I consider to be a better experience.

If you check on Antarctica later and it isn't too busy, you can jump in line. Especially later in the day the crowds die down, if you are going to be in the park all day. There have been mixed reviews, at best, for it as an attraction. And since you know you enjoy the dolphin feeding, I think you should definitely make sure you do that.

 

[Tinker_Belle]

Honestly - I would do the dolphin feeding first. They are limited throughout the day and they generally will get "sold out". It is also what I consider to be a better experience.

If you check on Antarctica later and it isn't too busy, you can jump in line. Especially later in the day the crowds die down, if you are going to be in the park all day. There have been mixed reviews, at best, for it as an attraction. And since you know you enjoy the dolphin feeding, I think you should definitely make sure you do that.

Thank you! That is good advice. We are doing Dine with Shamu, so maybe we'll head over to Antarctica after dinner. I really hate waiting in line during the first few hours a park is open too. I get anxiety that lines are building up while we're standing there!

 

[rowan555]

Is the dolphin feeding an extra charge?

 

[RabFlmom]

Is the dolphin feeding an extra charge?

Yes. Each person going in that area must buy a tray of fish.

 

[MondaysChild]

Hi. I am not sure if this would work or you, but we stayed at a partner hotel and went to early park hours one day. We had time to enter, do the Antarctica space and return for the line for the first feed. I am not sure if that's an option.

 

[conniehar90]

Actually, we were at SeaWorld today and were able to do just what you are asking. We arrived in the parking lot at 8:25 and were in the first row of cars. They opened the main gate at 8:45. I don't know if they normally open early but there was a large group of Brazilians there so the gate area was very crowded. We headed right to Antarctica and walked right on the ride. We then headed to the dolphin feeding - we got there around 9:15 and there was a line but it was not very long. It is $7 per person and you get about 5 fish to feed.

We walked back by Antarctica around noon and the wait was 90 minutes! I wouldn't wait more than 10-15 for this! The ride part was horrible but it was really cool to see the penguins.

I don't know if our strategy would have worked had they opened the gate at 9am though. Good Luck!

 

[toystorymom]

We were there last week at opening, let everyone in sbout 8:45. My boys #1 priority was Manta so they went directly there. They didn't actually start the rides until 9 am open time. We were there all day and the kids rode Manta, Kraken, and Atantis many many times. We saw most of the shows and walked through most of the exhibits. The shark area was closed, which was disappointing. Anyway, one thing we never did was Antartica, the shortest wait we saw all day was 50 minutes, the longest was 120! Who gets in a line that long?! Also, you can't see the penguins unless you go on the ride. I heard several people complaining about ths, not the best set up. So if you are ok with missing it then definitely go to the dolphin feeding first, hopefully you'll get lucky and find a short wait at some point during the day. If its a must do, I'd say go to Antartica at opening, beat the craziness.

 

[Tinker_Belle]

Thank you so much for the advice. I think we're going to go straight to the dolphin feeding, since that's most important to us. I'd be disappointed to miss the penguins, but I would never wait in a 2-hour line. We'll head over after dinner and hope for the best!

 

[vacation_junkie]

Actually, we were at SeaWorld today and were able to do just what you are asking. We arrived in the parking lot at 8:25 and were in the first row of cars. They opened the main gate at 8:45. I don't know if they normally open early but there was a large group of Brazilians there so the gate area was very crowded. We headed right to Antarctica and walked right on the ride. We then headed to the dolphin feeding - we got there around 9:15 and there was a line but it was not very long. It is $7 per person and you get about 5 fish to feed.

We walked back by Antarctica around noon and the wait was 90 minutes! I wouldn't wait more than 10-15 for this! The ride part was horrible but it was really cool to see the penguins.

I don't know if our strategy would have worked had they opened the gate at 9am though. Good Luck!

Can you take pictures of the dolphin feeding. If i buy 2 trays of fish one for me and one for my son and take pics of him feeding the dolphins? Or is it like other parks where they take your picture and you have to buy it if you want it?

 

[conniehar90]

Yes, you can take pictures. They have photographers there who will also take shots of you. I just took a bunch of pictures of my daughter before I fed my fish. They only give you so much time as they send different groups in at a time but we had plenty of time for the two trays. Funny, but when we went to view our pictures that the photographer took, there were only pictures of me - none of my daughter! So, I am glad I got some good shots of her!

 

[vacation_junkie]

Yes, you can take pictures. They have photographers there who will also take shots of you. I just took a bunch of pictures of my daughter before I fed my fish. They only give you so much time as they send different groups in at a time but we had plenty of time for the two trays. Funny, but when we went to view our pictures that the photographer took, there were only pictures of me - none of my daughter! So, I am glad I got some good shots of her!

Awesome..great to read!

 

[sara7823]

Actually, we were at SeaWorld today and were able to do just what you are asking. We arrived in the parking lot at 8:25 and were in the first row of cars. They opened the main gate at 8:45. I don't know if they normally open early but there was a large group of Brazilians there so the gate area was very crowded. We headed right to Antarctica and walked right on the ride. We then headed to the dolphin feeding - we got there around 9:15 and there was a line but it was not very long. It is $7 per person and you get about 5 fish to feed.

We walked back by Antarctica around noon and the wait was 90 minutes! I wouldn't wait more than 10-15 for this! The ride part was horrible but it was really cool to see the penguins.

I don't know if our strategy would have worked had they opened the gate at 9am though. Good Luck!

Thank you for this information. We are planning our first visit to Sea World and have been looking for more information on the dolphin feeding.