dprincessmom
dprincessmom
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,342
We just returned from a quick weekend trip to Sea World and Aquatica.
Sea World - Discovered a few things about Sea World while we were there, thought I would pass along.
Antartica was fun for what it was - a vessel into the Pengiun compound. We went there on an early entry morning and walked right on. By the time we had done the ride, it was feeding time so we got to see the penguins in action. This is NOT part of the QQ passes that are available from the official hotels.
Much like Epcot, Sea World seems to open in stages and maps/showtimes are only available at the front of the park. Learned this the hard way and had to back track. The dolphin area opens at 9 and the Shamu Stadium/Happy Harbor open at 10:15. Not knowing this could cause some frustrations.
Some of the QQ entrances are not well marked. We ended up asking on the 3 that we used it on.
We had a great time at Sea World and even made someone's day when we handed him and his girlfriend our unused QQ passes with Manta and Kraken still on there. He was stunned to say the least.
Aquatica - another great day. We went at opening and my daughter was 1st in line for Dolphin Plunge. She did it twice at opening (line was outrageous when we left).
Roa's Rapids was a great attraction. I am typically not a water shoe kind of girl but thought probably should this time and especially on the rapids. They worked two ways - they gave me traction for exiting (not really certain how we would have gotten out of there without the ability to put on the brakes) but also skimmed along the rapid bottoms and made us go faster if we held our feet like surfers or ice skaters.
DoubleTree @ Sea World - The hotel was great, however the rooms did not have any kitchen type area so not certain how appealing that would be to some of you. For a quick weekend, it was perfect.
Several pools on property and a great entertainment area near the kid's pool (giant checkers, mini golf, pool table, fuzball, movies in the evening). Soft drinks in bottles ranged from $2-$3 20 oz bottle.
If you stay here one word of caution on the buses - The buses are not marked like Disney buses. Make certain to ask where the bus is going before you get on. The generic looking buses will probably be headed to Disney. The ones with Sea World/ Aquatica art work will get you there but headed back on these can be an adventure because the bus looks the same for the Hilton properties as well as the Marriott properties. Also, make certain to note the return times (these buses don't run every 20ish minutes like WDW).
We had a great time and I am glad we went. We saw what we wanted to see/do both days and were back at the resort by mid afternoon. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will be glad to answer.
Sea World - Discovered a few things about Sea World while we were there, thought I would pass along.
Antartica was fun for what it was - a vessel into the Pengiun compound. We went there on an early entry morning and walked right on. By the time we had done the ride, it was feeding time so we got to see the penguins in action. This is NOT part of the QQ passes that are available from the official hotels.
Much like Epcot, Sea World seems to open in stages and maps/showtimes are only available at the front of the park. Learned this the hard way and had to back track. The dolphin area opens at 9 and the Shamu Stadium/Happy Harbor open at 10:15. Not knowing this could cause some frustrations.
Some of the QQ entrances are not well marked. We ended up asking on the 3 that we used it on.
We had a great time at Sea World and even made someone's day when we handed him and his girlfriend our unused QQ passes with Manta and Kraken still on there. He was stunned to say the least.
Aquatica - another great day. We went at opening and my daughter was 1st in line for Dolphin Plunge. She did it twice at opening (line was outrageous when we left).
Roa's Rapids was a great attraction. I am typically not a water shoe kind of girl but thought probably should this time and especially on the rapids. They worked two ways - they gave me traction for exiting (not really certain how we would have gotten out of there without the ability to put on the brakes) but also skimmed along the rapid bottoms and made us go faster if we held our feet like surfers or ice skaters.
DoubleTree @ Sea World - The hotel was great, however the rooms did not have any kitchen type area so not certain how appealing that would be to some of you. For a quick weekend, it was perfect.
Several pools on property and a great entertainment area near the kid's pool (giant checkers, mini golf, pool table, fuzball, movies in the evening). Soft drinks in bottles ranged from $2-$3 20 oz bottle.
If you stay here one word of caution on the buses - The buses are not marked like Disney buses. Make certain to ask where the bus is going before you get on. The generic looking buses will probably be headed to Disney. The ones with Sea World/ Aquatica art work will get you there but headed back on these can be an adventure because the bus looks the same for the Hilton properties as well as the Marriott properties. Also, make certain to note the return times (these buses don't run every 20ish minutes like WDW).
We had a great time and I am glad we went. We saw what we wanted to see/do both days and were back at the resort by mid afternoon. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will be glad to answer.
