Going to Sea World..help

[pinkerbell]

It's been many years and 2 kids (5 & 7) since dh and I went to Sea World, but think it's time to go back. Now that we have kids, we want to plan. Can we do all the shows and be done in a day? any advice is welcome and appreciated, tips, etc

 

[KittenLittle]

OK-we just got back,and I will be doing detailed reports of HGVC,SW,AND DC,but it will probably take me a few days.
My DD is an extreme animal lover,so we went to SW twice during our short trip. For us,it was best to chill out by the hotel pool in the mornings,then grab the free shuttle to SeaWorld in the afternoons. I would not like to have crammed in all of SW in one day-we do not do commando-we mosey!
On the day SW closed at 7:00,we took the 1:10 shuttle.We leisurely saw 3 shows(Clyde and Seamore,Pets Ahoy,and One Ocean-loved them all!),many exhibits,and my daughter rode Manta.Atlantis was broken that day.
We just ate snacks and drank a lot of water. We left at closing.
Our second SW day,we slept in,went swimming,ate lunch at our hotel,and took the 2:40 shuttle to SW. My DD rode Manta and Kraken,and I rode Atlantis with her. With the Quick Queue wristband,it was pretty easy. We saw the sting rays,manatees,alligators,and penguins.We ate dinner early at Spice Mill cafe-it was ok for us.Again,just took our time at a leisurely pace. We caught the SeaLions Tonight show,and ended the night at Bayside Stadium for the great Reflections fireworks show!We left SW about 10:15 and took the free shuttle back to HGVC. I am very glad we broke SW up into 2 days.

 

[Metro West]

It's been many years and 2 kids (5 & 7) since dh and I went to Sea World, but think it's time to go back. Now that we have kids, we want to plan. Can we do all the shows and be done in a day? any advice is welcome and appreciated, tips, etc

The biggest problem with the shows is figuring out when to do them. The schedules make it hard to do all of them and the attractions in a single day. If the kids enjoy shows more than rides, concentrate on the shows.

 

[sharona]

It's been many years and 2 kids (5 & 7) since dh and I went to Sea World, but think it's time to go back. Now that we have kids, we want to plan. Can we do all the shows and be done in a day? any advice is welcome and appreciated, tips, etc

We did most of it in one day. We fed the dolpins, rays, sharks and sea lions, we took the Dolphins Up Close Tour, we saw 90% of the exhibits and 3 of the shows (One Ocean, Blue Horizons, Clyde & Seymour). We don't do big coasters so we did not do Manta or the other one. Atlantis was on our wish list but the wait was too long when we got over there so we decided to skip it. DD8 spent some time in the kids section of the park in the sprinklers and riding the Shamu coaster. We stopped for breakfast at the bakery and lunch at Spice Mill.

We arrived at opening (9am) and stayed until the 6:30pm One Ocean show was over. It was a great day but very long and exhausting because it was hot hot hot!!! We didn't feel rushed but it took some planning to fit it all in and some herding to keep everyone on track. I would have preferred to see it all over 2 days but we only had the one so we did our best to make it work.

Tip - Got this one from one of the SW workers and it was great - the late show for One Ocean will be less crowded and you can see it without having to get there an hour early. Also, you can have lunch while everyone else is at the earlier show so you won't have to deal w/ a big crowd at the restaurant either. zig when everyone else zags!

 

[SnowWhite09]

Thanks for the tip about the One Ocean show Sharona!

 

[chiamarie]

We did most of it in one day. We fed the dolpins, rays, sharks and sea lions, we took the Dolphins Up Close Tour, we saw 90% of the exhibits and 3 of the shows (One Ocean, Blue Horizons, Clyde & Seymour). We don't do big coasters so we did not do Manta or the other one. Atlantis was on our wish list but the wait was too long when we got over there so we decided to skip it. DD8 spent some time in the kids section of the park in the sprinklers and riding the Shamu coaster. We stopped for breakfast at the bakery and lunch at Spice Mill.

We arrived at opening (9am) and stayed until the 6:30pm One Ocean show was over. It was a great day but very long and exhausting because it was hot hot hot!!! We didn't feel rushed but it took some planning to fit it all in and some herding to keep everyone on track. I would have preferred to see it all over 2 days but we only had the one so we did our best to make it work.

Tip - Got this one from one of the SW workers and it was great - the late show for One Ocean will be less crowded and you can see it without having to get there an hour early. Also, you can have lunch while everyone else is at the earlier show so you won't have to deal w/ a big crowd at the restaurant either. zig when everyone else zags!

That is only if the park is on the early closes (earlier than 7pm). Right now SW is on 10pm closes. So the last shamu show is Shamu Rocks...which will fill to capacity becasue it's only offered once a day, and is different from One Ocean. If you are planning on seeing Shamu Rocks, you do want to arrive early for a seat.

 

[budget mom]

How long is the wait for Manta usually?

 

[Metro West]

How long is the wait for Manta usually?

In the summer it can reach 120 minutes. Try to ride it either first thing or wait until the end of the day...crowds aren't as bad.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Does the front of One Ocean fill up fast? If I want to sit way up front, should I get there super early?

 

[KBF]

Does the front of One Ocean fill up fast? If I want to sit way up front, should I get there super early?

It depends on the time of day and how many shows there are during the day. If there are only 2 or 3 shows, then yes, the front fills up fast. If there are 4 One Ocean shows, like there has been during the summer season so far, I have noticed that the first and last shows of the day fill up fast (45-40 minutes before posted show time). The middle two shows don't get majorly crowded until 20 minutes before show time because there are so many other shows going on in the park around that time.