Just Back~Residence Inn at Seaworld

[toystory1130]

We were one of those family's who never strayed from Disney until we decided to give the rest of Orlando a try. Seaworld lived up to my expectations. The park was very clean, the food was just as good as Disney and the people who worked there just as nice. We decided to stay with a package at Residence Inn at Seaworld. Included tickets unlimited use for 14 days. We did have unlimited dining one of those days. We ate at a few different places. Seafire Inn had some great choices. They did offer a breakfast buffet, the info desk had told me they did not offer breakfast at Seaworld. We ate at Mango Joes. Make your own burritos here, everything was good except the salsa which was gross. Spice Mill had burgers, salads and veggie burgers. Most everyplace had strawberry's offered. Here's some pics of the room. We had a 2 bedroom suite that had 2 queens in one room, one queen in the other and a pull out couch. The place was something like 900 sq ft, a monster compared to Disney rooms.


















We also did the dolphin feeding which I recommend! We did the first feeding and they were very hungry. Tip~Bring cash, that's all they take for buying the fish.







Dine with Shamu was also great, we got right by the glass wall. The food was all wonderful. They had chicken, pork, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, speghetti, macaroni and cheese, pasta primavera, salad, rolls, many options for desert including chololate cake, key lime pie and cookies. The only thing I didn't like here was it was soo HOT! The room where you get your food was in the air but that's it. It was kinda hard to enjoy the great food when it's 95 with 100% humidity.



We did go to MK and did have our best meal here. I definitely recommend Be Our Guest! From the time we walked over the bridge into the restaurant it was magical. We got seated directly by a window which was snowing, it really is a lovely effect. Our server was spectacular, the inside was so beautiful, all the dishes were perfect. We ordered the strip steak, which came with a black truffel mayo with the fries which was outstanding. DD ordered the chicken which reminded her of my chicken cacciatore, I ordered the pork and my son ordered the ratatouille.



We were celebrating his graduation and he got the grey stuff and it was delicious!



Sorry but it was so dark in here, beautiful but dark.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Great review! So glad you had a great time . I have to say, I love all the space in that two bedroom suite. I'm really thinking that's where I want to be on our next SW parks vacation.

 

[kirstenb1]

We're DVCr's so we stay there, but I love the amenities of the Residence Inn!!! I'm a big fan of the "home away from home" type vacation. We went to Sea World and Aquatica 2 wks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Looks like you had a great trip!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We stayed at the same Residence Inn on June 8 and 9. We had the 1 bedroom suite since all of the 2 bedrooms were booked up.

We liked it mostly. I didn't like the little store downstairs so we drove to the nearby CVS for some things. We tried to eat at the breakfast buffet one morning but it was a bit late in the morning and the selection wasn't good at that time. I'm not a fan of that type of stuff anyway.

I will say we really needed 3 beds. The pullout was so uncomfortable, my teenage son folded it back up and slept on the couch itself. We also had to call for bedding for it because there was none in the room.

I'm glad to hear someone liked Dine with Shamu. We didn't.
I need to find out how long the show was supposed to be. For what we paid, the 15 minutes they did the trainer show was not worth it. I'm thinking the show was shortened because of the horrible weather (lots of thunder and rain).

We also thought the food was horrible at the show not to mention the people who grossed me out acting like they hadn't eaten in days.

I have asked for a partial refund because the show was so short but was turned down. So how long is the actual trainer portion of Dine with Shamu?

I'm glad you had a great trip.

 

[jml06fsu]

We stayed at the same Residence Inn on June 8 and 9. We had the 1 bedroom suite since all of the 2 bedrooms were booked up.

We liked it mostly. I didn't like the little store downstairs so we drove to the nearby CVS for some things. We tried to eat at the breakfast buffet one morning but it was a bit late in the morning and the selection wasn't good at that time. I'm not a fan of that type of stuff anyway.

I will say we really needed 3 beds. The pullout was so uncomfortable, my teenage son folded it back up and slept on the couch itself. We also had to call for bedding for it because there was none in the room.

I'm glad to hear someone liked Dine with Shamu. We didn't.
I need to find out how long the show was supposed to be. For what we paid, the 15 minutes they did the trainer show was not worth it. I'm thinking the show was shortened because of the horrible weather (lots of thunder and rain).

We also thought the food was horrible at the show not to mention the people who grossed me out acting like they hadn't eaten in days.

I have asked for a partial refund because the show was so short but was turned down. So how long is the actual trainer portion of Dine with Shamu?

I'm glad you had a great trip.

Isn't dine with shamu $30 for adults $20 for kids? You get a show, unlimited food, drinks, beer and wine and you think $30 is too expensive? It's a steal compared to any disney buffet...

 

[PatMcDuck]

Thanks for this post, OP. i booked Residence inn for late Sept, the one bedroom suite.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Isn't dine with shamu $30 for adults $20 for kids? You get a show, unlimited food, drinks, beer and wine and you think $30 is too expensive? It's a steal compared to any disney buffet...

It wasn't unlimited for us. I think we might have just hit it on a bad day. Or so I hope.

By the time we finished eating our first courses (which wasn't much because we didn't like most of the food - overcooked, horribly seasoned), I went back for more chicken which was the only thing I liked, and they had already cleared out the food area except for the desserts.
That's not unlimited to me - they shouldn't have cleared anything out until the dinner was completely finished and people were leaving.

The kids said the kids food was nasty - the mac n cheese was dried out, the chicken nuggets were cold.

The kids and I drank Diet coke and I had to chase someone down to get us refills. My husband was drinking beer and it was the same problem - no one ever came back to refill his beer. I had to repeatedly ask the servers around us just for him to get one refill.

I would have rather paid Disney buffet prices and gotten truly unlimited food and drink.

And the show - well, it was not much. It seemed shortened which was due to the weather I'm sure. I'd rather they'd informed people that that could happen and give us the option of not going and getting a refund rather than paying for something that was only done halfway. Unless the normal show is only 15 minutes long.

I've already emailed SeaWorld about the experience (and I did include a couple of good things we liked from our day so it wasn't a completely complaining email).

We ended up stopping at the Voyager Smokehouse and getting dinner there because we left Dine with Shamu hungry.

I'd eat at Voyager Smokehouse again - that place was delicious!

 

[wiigirl]

Awesome pics!

 

[GAGirlInVA]

We are big fans of Residence Inn. Glad to hear that the Seaworld one wasn't a disappointment!

 

[familyatdisney]

We also want to do the Dolphin feeding first thing. What time was the first Dolphin feeding? I have read different times for the first dolphin feeding.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

The first dolphin feeding is 9:30 although the park opens at 9. As soon as you get in the gate, head straight for the feeding and stand in line. That's the only way to guarantee you'll get food for the first feeding.

 

[clickrs]

Thanks for sharing, great pictures. We will be staying there in August did you get Quick Passes from the Hotel? Did you have to ask for them or do they give them to you at check in?
Thanks.

 

[toystory1130]

They said you could get the QQ up to 24 hrs in advance. We just picked them up after breakfast for the following day at the info desk directly across from the front desk. Have fun!

 

[clickrs]

Sorry to bother you with another question. Just curious is SeaWorld n Aquatica close enough to walk to from the Residence or did you drive and pay to park?
Thanks.

 

[toystory1130]

We just took the bus, you can also get the bus schedule when you pick up your QQ. Unlike Disney resorts where it is free to park in the parks when you stay onsite, not so here at Residence Inn. So save $15 and take the bus, it's is a fully wrapped Seaworld/Aquatica bus, you can't miss it. Just be early with your return times back, often times I did see them leave right on the dot, so don't be late you'll have to catch a cab.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sorry to bother you with another question. Just curious is SeaWorld n Aquatica close enough to walk to from the Residence or did you drive and pay to park?
Thanks.

The RI is not far at all from the SW parks, but I would still recommend you drive or take the shuttle. After a long day at the parks, the walk will seem very long (while the drive will be under 5 minutes). And its not hugely pedestrian friendly, IMHO....so its much safer to drive or shuttle. The shuttles run quite often so they are really very convenient .

We paid for parking at SW but had free parking as AQ as DH is a passmember.