Great Christmas/New Year's trip! mini review

[Jenny-momof3]

We've returned from our very first trip to SeaWorld. Thought I would do a quick little review. But it won't be near as detailed or nice as Gina's.

A little background: We've been annual passholders to Disney for several years now. We typically do 4 10-12 day trips a year. But with all the changes to fastpasses,etc. we thought we would take a little break and try something new.

We arrived Dec. 26. We drive straight through from Ohio. We left in a snowstorm so it was nice to get away!

We stayed at the Renaissance. We typically stay DVC at Disney so we're used to deluxe hotels. I was very impressed with Renaissance...and VERY impressed with the rate! The rooms are very big compared to Disney! We really enjoyed the pools and slides...great for the all the ages of my kids!
Also, South Carolina was staying at our hotel that week prepping for the bowl game they were in. DH is a football coach and DS plays. So they were loving running into them all week long!

We loved SeaWorld!

We're coaster junkies and really liked Manta and Kracken. My boys aren't tall enough to ride yet so we used their quick que's for extra rides! Also loved Atlantis, Polar Express and all the kiddie rides. Only one we didn't ride again even though we had qq was the penguin ride...major dud in our opinion.

The shows were all amazing! We watched them all numerous times and loved how each time they were a little different due to how the animals were acting,etc. DS3 begged to see the dolphins multiple times everyday so we know that one by heart now. With the exception of Lion King, I think SeaWorld has Disney beat in terms of shows!

The park is beautiful and well maintained. And we had no issues with crowds at all! But keep in mind we only travel at peak times to Disney so we're used to BIG park capacity crowds! I did hear others saying they thought it was packed, but felt great to us!

New Years Eve at SeaWorld didn't disappoint! We watched Shamu Rocks then went over to get a good seat for the ice show, then fireworks. We loved the pre new years eve show, then countdown and awesome fireworks! We've done NYE at MK, Epcot and DHS. My kids said they liked Seaworlds NYE better than both Epcot and DHS! Sorry...nothing beats MK though.
Crowds getting out were no issue....because all we had to do was walk across the street to our hotel. Parking lots were very packed so I imagine that took quite some time. We actually stayed to party a bit and made it back to our room around 1:30am.

Food in the parks leaves much to be desired unfortunately. Really my only complaint. We did the all day dining several days and none of us overly cared for much of anything. And DH is a garbage disposal and will eat anything!

We bought Super Grover passes and had intended on going to Aquatica this trip as well. But just wasn't quite warm enough. So we'll hit it when we come back in the summer. Along with Busch Gardens.

We went to Downtown Disney one day and spent some time at the resorts too. Was nice to get a little Disney fix.

Was surprised though that we spent 6 days at SeaWorld. Really had a lot more to do than I thought. Granted we rode the rides multiple times and saw the shows multiple times too...but we really enjoyed them. Can't wait to go back!

A big thanks to Gina for all the detailed info and pictures! You really helped me plan this trip and we had a great time!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

An awesome report, Jenny!!! I am so glad you had a good time!!!

So sorry you didn't find the food to your family's liking. I sure hope it hasn't declined in quality since our last visit . I was looking forward to our all-day dining again in August!

Your report makes me desperately want to book a December 2014 Christmas trip on DS's holiday break from college. I am tempted. Soooooo tempted....... .

Time to buy a lottery ticket. This Orlando addition is gettin' expensive .

 

[andrews_dad]

We've done Orlando every Xmas to New Years for past 5 years, but skipped this year due to $$. : (

Anyhow, we have found that SeaWorld handles the crowds WAY better than Disney. Lots of shows that will handle the crowds. Get there early (opening) and you can hit Manta and Kraken in the first hour wih littl elines without a Quick Que if you'd like. Ride Polar Express during the Shamu Show or before the firt Shamu Show and you can get 15 min lines. Kiddie rides are great for kids (and some for kids at heart) and the nets/slides can be a all-day deal for my 5 year old boy.

Feed dolphins and sting rays and sea lions (all extra charge, discount with Super Grover pass). We LOVE the Pets Ahoy show and the Elmo Xmas show in the same theatre. They did a nativity show in past (not sure this year) that is incredible with live singing, puppetry, live animals like camels on stage ... just a top notch production.

They decorate so well for the holiday. At night the whole place sorta glows and just has that Xmas spirit. Weird to say but the setting makes the crowds more kind.. Christmas-like. At Disney all of the people seem to be pushy, rushing, and not very Xmas-like. Everyone on a mission.. seek and destroy. At SeaWold it is... refreshing?

I know this is a Dis board, but for my $ Magic King is #1 park in town, SeaWorld #2 above Epcot and Studios and Animal K. And Aquatica, IMO, best water park of the bunch.

 

[RabFlmom]

Planned on purchasing the all-you can eat this weekend. Can I ask where you ate that the food was not so hot? There was always a variety and we all could find something we really liked. At Christmas I could live on their Christmas cookies alone. just wondering if they have mellowed out like Disney sort of has since free dining or if the food was just not the type your family eats. Decisions to make ....we are actually planning a meet up dinner with people not able to be there all day with us. Wondering if we should meet them elsewhere and leave SW after we see Jack Hanna.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I'm sorry that I didn't pay attention to the names of the restaurants. But the food that was really really bad were the pizzas. Got them multiple times and not once were they fully cooked. Dough was almost mushy they were that undercooked. The buffet that's included in the plan also was a big miss. Also got chicken at another place and it was very pink on the inside!

Now to be fair I did like the ribs at one place and pasta at another. But overall, none of what we ate was all that good. And we aren't fine dining type of people. Golden Corral or McDonald's makes us happy.

Maybe it was because of it being a peak week that the food just wasn't up to par? Regardless, we will do the plan again just for the convenience of it. Nothing made us sick ( I didn't eat the uncooked chicken) But all you can eat usually means my kids have free reign to stuff themselves and they were done with the food pretty quickly.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I have to agree with you fully on that one. We tried the Terrace Garden Buffet on our first visit to SW back in January 2012, and have avoided it since. Is has definitely been our least favourite of all dining establishments in the park. While we didn't find the pizza "bad", per se, it just didn't measure up to the options at Voyageurs or Seafire Inn.