First Time at Seaworld - Could you Please Advise with Planning?

[tamaraten]

Hi there. I'm coming with DH and four kids, ages 6,8,10 & 12 for four days to Orlando. Three days will be at Universal and the fourth at SW. This is our very first time!! We're coming from overseas, and because we have so little time, and we won't be able to come back again soon, I'm hoping to maximize the time we have at SW.

We'll be coming to SW on December 7th (or possibly the 8th, but probably the 7th).

Could someone please advise for some kind of plan? My three older kids LOVE coasters, and they all love shows which I understand are amazing and not to be missed. I also want to make sure my little guy (age 6) doesn't feel left out!

Please help with how to do this?! I would so appreciate it.

Thanks a million.

 

[bleeps]

We love SeaWorld, and were just there on 11/10.

For the older kids who will be riding the coasters, I highly recommend buying them Quick Queue wristbands. You can learn more about those on SeaWorld's website (although I see the page isn't loading this morning) -- you pay about $15 each and can go through a separate queue and get right to the front of the line. SeaWorld doesn't have many rides, so the queues do tend to get long. Although these are expensive, we found them very worthwhile. If your whole group is going to want to do rides, you might want to get them for everyone....

When you arrive (at opening time, I recommend), pick up the Quick Queue bands for those who will be doing the coasters and then head straight to the dolphin feeding area. They only let a certain number of people in at a time, and they only open it a few times during the day. You have to pay an additional fee -- I believe it is $7 per person -- and it is totally worth it. It is a wonderful experience.

Check the show times, which are also listed on SeaWorld's site. The two best are Believe (the Shamu show) and the otter/seal show (which is called something like Clyde and Seymore Take Pirate Cove). Arrive 15 to 20 minutes early for this one -- the pre-show is hysterical.

The next thing to know is that if you want to eat at the only sit-down restaurant, Sharks Underwater Grill, you can only reserve in-person, same day, and they open the reservations desk at 10 a.m. We enjoy eating there -- it is expensive, but the food is good and the view of the huge shark tank is outstanding.

The other queue that gets long (and the attraction you might all want to see) is the special Polar Express motion-simulator ride that's at the front of the polar bear/beluga whale exhibits. If you decide not to get quick queue wristbands, you'll want to do this right after feeding the dolphins (and depending on the show schedule).

You can also feed manta rays which is fun and doesn't require the purchase of more than one tray of food. Feeding the sea lions works the same way and is also really fun. The penguin exhibit is great, as is the manatee one.

SeaWorld is a jewel box. The park is well laid out, beautifully landscaped, and full of up-close encounters with marine life. It isn't possible to do everything in a day, but I've shared our family's favorites.

Enjoy!

 

[tamaraten]

We love SeaWorld, and were just there on 11/10.

For the older kids who will be riding the coasters, I highly recommend buying them Quick Queue wristbands. You can learn more about those on SeaWorld's website (although I see the page isn't loading this morning) -- you pay about $15 each and can go through a separate queue and get right to the front of the line. SeaWorld doesn't have many rides, so the queues do tend to get long. Although these are expensive, we found them very worthwhile. If your whole group is going to want to do rides, you might want to get them for everyone....

When you arrive (at opening time, I recommend), pick up the Quick Queue bands for those who will be doing the coasters and then head straight to the dolphin feeding area. They only let a certain number of people in at a time, and they only open it a few times during the day. You have to pay an additional fee -- I believe it is $7 per person -- and it is totally worth it. It is a wonderful experience.

Check the show times, which are also listed on SeaWorld's site. The two best are Believe (the Shamu show) and the otter/seal show (which is called something like Clyde and Seymore Take Pirate Cove). Arrive 15 to 20 minutes early for this one -- the pre-show is hysterical.

The next thing to know is that if you want to eat at the only sit-down restaurant, Sharks Underwater Grill, you can only reserve in-person, same day, and they open the reservations desk at 10 a.m. We enjoy eating there -- it is expensive, but the food is good and the view of the huge shark tank is outstanding.

The other queue that gets long (and the attraction you might all want to see) is the special Polar Express motion-simulator ride that's at the front of the polar bear/beluga whale exhibits. If you decide not to get quick queue wristbands, you'll want to do this right after feeding the dolphins (and depending on the show schedule).

You can also feed manta rays which is fun and doesn't require the purchase of more than one tray of food. Feeding the sea lions works the same way and is also really fun. The penguin exhibit is great, as is the manatee one.

SeaWorld is a jewel box. The park is well laid out, beautifully landscaped, and full of up-close encounters with marine life. It isn't possible to do everything in a day, but I've shared our family's favorites.

Enjoy!

Bleeps, thank you so so much for your time and generosity in showing me the ropes! I'm a little stressed out knowing there is so much to do there and wanting to see as much as possible in one day, again, since we live abroad and won't be back soon.

A coupe of questions: first of all, I wasn't aware of the quick queue bands even though I've read (I thought) the SW website - I guess I missed it. Where does one pick these up, at the entrance to the park? Re the dolphins, that sounds AMAZING and something my kids would love - how long does that take approximately? In other words, is it a set time, or could one spend hours just feeding the dolphins if one wishes? And do you pay for the dolphin feeding at the dolphin-feeding place, or is it also a separate ticket that you get at the front of the park?

Are there any other must-sees, just in case we do have some extra time after all that you have suggested?

I so appreciate your help, thank you thank you thank you!!

 

[My3SonsandMaya]

We have four kids also and were just there in October. We did not do the quick queau wristbands and rode the coasters several times without any problem s or long waits. Go straight to Manta when the park opens. Take the little one to feed the dolphins while the older ones ride manta. Do the all day dining plan, totally worth it for large families. Our favorite shows were the dolphin show (blue horizons) and the clyde and seamore show. Have fun, great park, we loved it. Also do the face painting for the younger one, $12 very elaborate face paint. My five year old is still talking about it.

 

[bleeps]

A coupe of questions: first of all, I wasn't aware of the quick queue bands even though I've read (I thought) the SW website - I guess I missed it. Where does one pick these up, at the entrance to the park? Re the dolphins, that sounds AMAZING and something my kids would love - how long does that take approximately? In other words, is it a set time, or could one spend hours just feeding the dolphins if one wishes? And do you pay for the dolphin feeding at the dolphin-feeding place, or is it also a separate ticket that you get at the front of the park?

Are there any other must-sees, just in case we do have some extra time after all that you have suggested?

I'm sorry -- life got a little hectic!

To answer your questions:

If you still can't turn up quick queue wristbands on the SW web site, go directly to the customer service/reservations desk which is right at the front of the park (even if you pre-purchase them online, you still have to go to the same place to physically get them).

The actual time to feed the dolphins is relatively short -- maybe 10 minutes tops? There are very specific, set times to do it, and you have to line up to pay (right there at the entrance area to the enclosure, separate from the entrance ticket area) and then to get admitted to the tank area. Only a certain number of people are allowed in at a time, and again it's only at very set times. I'm at work now so I can't check, but I'm *pretty* sure that the map and times guide they give you at the entrance will have the times on it. If not, just head straight there after sorting out the quick queue bands if you decide to do them. They allow you into the enclosure, they give you directions, and then they allow everyone to feed all the fish in each dish (maybe 5 to 7 fish?). Here's my tip: feed slowly, and hold back two or three fish until everyone else in the group has finished. You and your family will then get a LOT of attentions from all the dolphins! We learned by watching and will know this for next time.

For all the other feeding opportunities, they just sell as many trays of fish as are available at a given time, and you can take as much time as you wish with the feeding. With the seals/sea lions, you just need to take care that the birds don't steal your fish!

We love using our *extra* time by going slowly through the exhibits. There's a small aquarium area near Atlantis that's lovely. The park is a manageable size -- you can pretty much see everything in a day, you just can't watch every show OR spend time both doing the coasters repeatedly (esp. w/o the quick queue option) AND see all the exhibits.

 

[serene56]

if I get to the first feeding of the dolphins as soon as they open--can I make it to the Clyde and Seymore 10am showing????