first time at SeaWorld..advice

sherrix3

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Messages
14
This will be our first trip to SeaWorld. Please let me know what there is to do here and what is fun?
Are there rides?
What is the all day food thing I read about?
Anyone been to the penguin exhibit that's new? Suggestions??
Thanks!!!
Sherri
 
This will be our first trip to SeaWorld. Please let me know what there is to do here and what is fun?
Are there rides?
What is the all day food thing I read about?
Anyone been to the penguin exhibit that's new? Suggestions??
Thanks!!!
Sherri

Everything is fun at SeaWorld :) . Its one of my favourite parks in Orlando. Its a really nice mix of rides, shows, exhibits, and marine animals that appeals to every age, from toddlers to grannies.

There are some great rides at SW, my family's two favourites being Manta and Kraken (both coasters). We've been to all 4 Disney parks, both Universal parks, Canada's Wonderland, and more and Manta is their hands-down favourite coaster of all time. There's a water flume ride called Journey to Atlantis that's quite popular, the new Antarctica ride, Turtle Trek, Wild Artic, the Sky Tower, and a themed area for younger kids called Happy Harbour that features everything from a Shamu coaster to a fish-themed carousel.

The shows, though, are my favourite aspects of the park. One Ocean is probably the most popular as it features the famous killer whales. The dolphin show, Blue Horizons, is also excellent and has some very unique aspects to it. Pets Ahoy features a whole host of house pets doing some incredible tricks for guests, and Clyde & Seamore showcases the sea lions at SeaWorld (and an excellent pre-show Mime who is worth going early for just to catch some of his antics). There's also A'Lure of the Ocean, but I haven't seen that one yet.

The aquariums and exhibits are very well done at SW. Our favourite is the Sharks exhibit, where you walk through a glass-topped tunnel and the sharks swim overhead. If animal feedings are more your thing, you can choose to feed the dolphins, sea lions, sharks, stingrays, etc. for a small fee.

The all day dining is a truly unlimited meal plan that you can purchase for your day at SeaWorld. For $29.99 per adult/$14.99 kids, you can get one entrée, one side (does not always have to be dessert) and one drink (or any combination of those three) each time through the line at the participating restaurants. You are issued a wrist band at the time of purchase which identifies you as an all-day dining guest, so when you go through the line, you just show your band to the teller. One restaurant only serves breakfast each day, so if you arrive at park opening you could eat all three meals and all snacks while on the plan. On a hot day, you can almost drink the value of the plan in water bottles alone. The food is excellent quality and offers a nice selection of options. Don't just think burgers and pizza. We've had fish & chips, turkey bread bowls, barbecued chicken, pulled pork, fettuccini alfredo, and more.

I have not yet been to the new Antartica exhibit, but am excited to experience it for the first time this August. :goodvibes
 
Our experience from last summer is that you need to get to Antarctica (penguins) first. They let us in the gate about 15 minutes early, we headed right there and had no wait. The wait later that morning was 100 minutes! After the penguins, we headed to the dolphin feeding, then Manta. Had no other issues that day with lines other than the fact that we never got on the water ride (it was closed for awhile and then the line was 90 minutes long).

Great park!!!
 

Look into the Beluga Interaction program. It is pricey but completely amazing, and it is something you will never forget. You literally get IN the exhibit!
 
Jumping in to ask a question and not have to start a whole new thread...... Is there a height maximum for Happy Harbor? My youngest is a very tall 7 year old, so if he is too tall to ride than I can prep him ahead of time and spare myself the dejected look. I have to remind him that with height comes its advantages... He might be tall enough to ride Kraken (need to measure him). TIA!

Only 2 1/2 more weeks until our first SW, Aquatica, and DC experience!
 
Jumping in to ask a question and not have to start a whole new thread...... Is there a height maximum for Happy Harbor? My youngest is a very tall 7 year old, so if he is too tall to ride than I can prep him ahead of time and spare myself the dejected look. I have to remind him that with height comes its advantages... He might be tall enough to ride Kraken (need to measure him). TIA!

Only 2 1/2 more weeks until our first SW, Aquatica, and DC experience!

There is no height maximum, only a minimum. My family (all adults) rode the Sea Carousel in December 2012 with no issue....and DH is 6' 4" tall.

Here are all the ride height restrictions, just in case anyone else needs 'em too:

Ride Height Requirements

Journey To Atlantis®
42" (107 cm) or taller
Guests between 42" and 48" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).

Kraken®
54" (137 cm) or taller

Wild Arctic/Polar Express®
42" (107 cm) or taller
Guests between 42" and 48" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).

Shamu®'s Happy Harbor

Shamu Express
38" (97 cm) or taller
Guests between 38" and 41" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older.

Sea Carousel - Jazzy Jellies - Swishy Fishies - Ocean Commotion - Flying Fiddler
42" (122 cm) or taller
Guests under 42" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).
Hand held infants may not ride these rides.
Some of the Play Area elements have no height restrictions, but the ones that do vary according to the individual characteristics of that element.

Sky Tower
48" (122 cm) or taller
Guests under 48" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).
Hand held infants are permitted to ride with a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).

Manta®
54" (137 cm) or taller


http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/park-info/know-before-you-go/
 
There is no height maximum, only a minimum. My family (all adults) rode the Sea Carousel in December 2012 with no issue....and DH is 6' 4" tall.

Here are all the ride height restrictions, just in case anyone else needs 'em too:

Ride Height Requirements

Journey To Atlantis®
42" (107 cm) or taller
Guests between 42" and 48" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).

Kraken®
54" (137 cm) or taller

Wild Arctic/Polar Express®
42" (107 cm) or taller
Guests between 42" and 48" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).

Shamu®'s Happy Harbor

Shamu Express
38" (97 cm) or taller
Guests between 38" and 41" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older.

Sea Carousel - Jazzy Jellies - Swishy Fishies - Ocean Commotion - Flying Fiddler
42" (122 cm) or taller
Guests under 42" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).
Hand held infants may not ride these rides.
Some of the Play Area elements have no height restrictions, but the ones that do vary according to the individual characteristics of that element.

Sky Tower
48" (122 cm) or taller
Guests under 48" tall must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).
Hand held infants are permitted to ride with a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person 14 years of age or older).

Manta®
54" (137 cm) or taller


http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/park-info/know-before-you-go/

Thanks so much! I hadn't looked closely at the ride list for Happy Harbor b/c I thought it was more of a under 48" kind of thing. Glad I asked! Sounds like we will enjoy it.
 
My bro and sis-in-law just decided to take advantage of the $50 weekday tix deal and will be joining us on our SW day, which is Tuesday, April 1. Now, I have more questions...

They have a 2 year old and 6 month old. (We have DS7 and DD10.) We will have to use rider swap for some things and we think we have that figured out, b/c for most of the rides in question, there is already one adult who doesn't plan to ride. We will all have QQU passes and ADD, as well.

The thing that I can't figure out is whether you can access the penguins without riding the ride. It says "no hand held infants", so is it safe to say that disqualifies the 6 month old? If so, is there a way for the adult watching the baby to get to the penguin interaction? Or is the only entrance via the ride itself, making it necessary to ride the ride in 2 shifts? And if so, is baby swap faster than the quick queue line or is it the same?

Also, now that we will need to be doing so baby swapping, we will need to be better organized with our time. We will be there on Tuesday, April 1. For a ride like Kraken, how quickly does the Quick Queue line move? Is it necessary to ride all of the longer lines early or will QQ help us enough?

Is there a time of day that Happy Harbor is busiest? How long do the lines get? Wondering when we need to plan to go?

How long are the lines for lunch? Is that something that I need to plan around?

We are great at avoiding crowds at WDW during the busiest times of year (you can see by my signature that we went to WDW on NYE, Easter, and Thanksgiving last year), but I feel totally unprepared for Sea World, having never been before.

Any other advice?

Thanks!
 
My bro and sis-in-law just decided to take advantage of the $50 weekday tix deal and will be joining us on our SW day, which is Tuesday, April 1. Now, I have more questions...

They have a 2 year old and 6 month old. (We have DS7 and DD10.) We will have to use rider swap for some things and we think we have that figured out, b/c for most of the rides in question, there is already one adult who doesn't plan to ride. We will all have QQU passes and ADD, as well.

The thing that I can't figure out is whether you can access the penguins without riding the ride. It says "no hand held infants", so is it safe to say that disqualifies the 6 month old? If so, is there a way for the adult watching the baby to get to the penguin interaction? Or is the only entrance via the ride itself, making it necessary to ride the ride in 2 shifts? And if so, is baby swap faster than the quick queue line or is it the same?

Also, now that we will need to be doing so baby swapping, we will need to be better organized with our time. We will be there on Tuesday, April 1. For a ride like Kraken, how quickly does the Quick Queue line move? Is it necessary to ride all of the longer lines early or will QQ help us enough?

Is there a time of day that Happy Harbor is busiest? How long do the lines get? Wondering when we need to plan to go?

How long are the lines for lunch? Is that something that I need to plan around?

We are great at avoiding crowds at WDW during the busiest times of year (you can see by my signature that we went to WDW on NYE, Easter, and Thanksgiving last year), but I feel totally unprepared for Sea World, having never been before.

Any other advice?

Thanks!

There is no way to see the penguins without taking the ride. Just an FYI Once inside you are in the same temp as the penguins live so it is cold.

A weekday in April-even though it is Spring break should not be too crowded at SW. Some of the rides do have single rider lines so that is sometimes an option, too. We never get the QQ and usually ride Manta in the morning with less than 10 minute wait. Kraken does not have as long lines as it used to so usually no more than 10-15 minutes there either. When we were there 2 weeks ago on a Saturday the QQ lines were almost no wait at all.

When the group rides Journey to Atlantis there is a cool gift shop that someone can take the little ones to. It has aquariums in a back room. Some on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. It is pretty cool to walk or crawl over the aquarium in the floor. Kids love it.

I think SW is just so different than going to disney parks....definitely more laid back and less lines for everything except for something that is new that month or so.

Lines for food are probably the slowest part of the day. Seems like if I am in Voyagers behind one group of 6 or 7, they take forever to figure out what to order and then after server gets it together change their mind and order something else. There usually aren't long lines if you eat when they first open at 11 or 11:30 or if you wait till about 2.
 
Antarctica is really great. The penguins are so close to you. You could literally touch them if you were allowed. It is very cold in there though.

I don't know why you couldn't just enter through the exit instead of riding the ride.
 
There is baby swap for Antarctica and a "mild" mode for those with medical conditions.

The ride gradually moved you into the cold but the penguin exhibit is 32 degrees until you get into the underwater viewing area.
 














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