My kids had a odd day off of school so we took a long weekend trip last weekend (OCT 19-22). We arrived about 1:30 on Friday and spent the afternoon at Aquatica. My son is 41.75 inches tall and easily makes 42 inches in shoes, however he was not allowed to measure in is water shoes so he missed it yet again. We had a nice afternoon and we were able to find one slide on the climber that DS could do. That was enough to make him happy.
We stayed at the Residence Inn Sea World. It was fine, but not what we have come to expect from the RI. Had to pay for toothpaste and dishsoap (which at less touristy places is free)
Saturday we drove to BG. We got there right at 9am and had the place to ourselves until about 12. Kids played in seseme place for about 3 hours. We had a nice day would put the crowd level at about 6 out of 10. Left the park @ 4. Kids slept in the car and then were able to swim in the hotel pool after dinner.
On Sunday, we went to SW. Again arrived at 9am, we went over to see Turtle trek and saw Blue Horizon. At 10:30 we had Happy Harbor to ourselves. By noon, that changed. We saw the 12:30 "one ocean" and then walked through the Holloween stuff. Kids had fun collecting candy and the lines moved fast enough. At 1:30 we walked though the sharks and it took about 35 minutes because there were soooooo many people. The afternoon was crowded by sea world standards. I'd say 7.5-8 out of 10.
At 5:00 we headed over to do dine with shamu. I have done other "busch" meals and this was not the best one. Check in did not start until 5:20 so we were not seated until 5:40. Since everyone arrives at the same time the line for food was long and took about 12 minutes to get through. It is also in a closed room away from the table. I was luck that our table was close to the food. It is a long narrow room and had we been at the far end, managing my 3 and 6 year old alone would have been nearly impossible. The food was adverage to poor. One of my kids ate mac and cheese and one ate hotdogs. The salads were good but the other meat options were not good at all. The pool is on the other side of suspended glass. The whale that was nearest us was feeling frisky and with one swipe of her tail, we were drenched and chocolate cake with salt water isn't real tasty.
My overall impression is that there is NO way the expience was worth a dime more than the $30 with a kids free and honestly it was a lot of work for me. Maybe if DH had been along it would have been better. We would not do it again. One thought is that if you have the option, it might be better at lunch because everyone would less tired and cranky and less hungry too. After a long day, the waiting and then getting soaked was a little harder to "roll" with than it might have been earlier in the day.
After our long SW day, the kids slept in the car and I drove us the 6 hours home. We had a nice weekend and I'm now considering a simular trip to see the christmas decorations the first week in December.
We stayed at the Residence Inn Sea World. It was fine, but not what we have come to expect from the RI. Had to pay for toothpaste and dishsoap (which at less touristy places is free)
Saturday we drove to BG. We got there right at 9am and had the place to ourselves until about 12. Kids played in seseme place for about 3 hours. We had a nice day would put the crowd level at about 6 out of 10. Left the park @ 4. Kids slept in the car and then were able to swim in the hotel pool after dinner.
On Sunday, we went to SW. Again arrived at 9am, we went over to see Turtle trek and saw Blue Horizon. At 10:30 we had Happy Harbor to ourselves. By noon, that changed. We saw the 12:30 "one ocean" and then walked through the Holloween stuff. Kids had fun collecting candy and the lines moved fast enough. At 1:30 we walked though the sharks and it took about 35 minutes because there were soooooo many people. The afternoon was crowded by sea world standards. I'd say 7.5-8 out of 10.
At 5:00 we headed over to do dine with shamu. I have done other "busch" meals and this was not the best one. Check in did not start until 5:20 so we were not seated until 5:40. Since everyone arrives at the same time the line for food was long and took about 12 minutes to get through. It is also in a closed room away from the table. I was luck that our table was close to the food. It is a long narrow room and had we been at the far end, managing my 3 and 6 year old alone would have been nearly impossible. The food was adverage to poor. One of my kids ate mac and cheese and one ate hotdogs. The salads were good but the other meat options were not good at all. The pool is on the other side of suspended glass. The whale that was nearest us was feeling frisky and with one swipe of her tail, we were drenched and chocolate cake with salt water isn't real tasty.
My overall impression is that there is NO way the expience was worth a dime more than the $30 with a kids free and honestly it was a lot of work for me. Maybe if DH had been along it would have been better. We would not do it again. One thought is that if you have the option, it might be better at lunch because everyone would less tired and cranky and less hungry too. After a long day, the waiting and then getting soaked was a little harder to "roll" with than it might have been earlier in the day.
After our long SW day, the kids slept in the car and I drove us the 6 hours home. We had a nice weekend and I'm now considering a simular trip to see the christmas decorations the first week in December.
. We have reservations for Christmas week and are starting to get very excited.
....I am not ashamed to admit that I'm totally excited about that!! 
). Polar Express, Journey to Atlantis, and Turtle Trek are all new experiences for us this trip as well. PE had just closed (as had all holiday attractions in the park) when we arrived on Jan. 2 last year, Atlantis was closed for a refurb and TT is brand new in 2012. So pumped!
. That said, it would be the PERFECT backdrop for the time of year we will be doing Dine with Shamu.....our date is December 27th!
