Did Seaworld and Busch Gardens in December (Seaworld Dec. 16, Busch Gardens Dec. 20). If you love looking at animals, both are good. Can't tell you much about the thrill rides cause we're ride weenies.
We can easily spend 2 half-days or even 2 full days at Seaworld. Hey, we can easily spend an hour just feeding and petting the stingrays! The shows are good but we don't plan our day around them... it becomes too much like work trying to figure out a schedule that gets us to the right part of the park at the right time! Also, two shows a day is kind of my limit... after that I kick into stimulation overload and stop paying attention to anything except the hard stadium seats. Because of the price structure, it's nice to do half-days here... once you've used your ticket to get in, you can come back for the next 6 days without paying extra. Our favorites at Seaworld (2 adults and 1 8-year-old animal lover): stingray and dolphin feeding/petting areas, Blue Horizons dolphin and false killer whale show, Shamu's Happy Harbor play structure and kid coaster (skip this if you don't have kids), Wild Arctic simulator and arctic animals exhibits, penguins, Pacific Northwest sea mammals exhibit and Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island. Our favorite place to eat: Voyager's Pizza.
Our visit to Busch Gardens this year was our first time. Add to the 2 adults and one 8-year-old, one 77-year-old grandmom. We spent about 8 hours there and just scratched the surface of what there is to do. Busch Gardens is just as beautifully landscaped as Seaworld. It seems to be much more of a "local" theme park... not many people make it a destination, so there are not as many tourists from far away. The local visitors weren't a problem at all, but perhaps because so many people are familiar with the park, information about when things would be open was hard to come by. I warn you based on our experience... animal exhibits close down around 5:30 even if the park is open later, but this will not be listed on the daily schedule AND the restaurants' open hours will not coincide with the park hours but will also not be listed. Plan to eat dinner outside the park. Also, the snacks available at refreshment places are not up to the Disney and Seaworld standard... if you don't want popcorn or Dove bars, you're out of luck.
The animal exhibits we saw were awesome. We did the Serengeti Safari tour (for an extra fee, less than it would be at Disney but still a hefty price) and would do it again in a heartbeat... I can now say that I've been licked by a giraffe's long blue tongue!
Also liked Katonga show. The storyline is minimal, but the costumes, staging, and musical performances were great.
Can't give you information about the shuttle from Orlando because we drove but I know the shuttle exists.
I've used that Canadian access pass thing. You print out a pass, just like a boarding pass for an airline, and take it directly to the turnstiles. They are supposed to check your ID and proof of eligibility (Canadian residence) but in my limited experience, they just run a scanner over the bar code printed on the pass and don't ask for ID. The price is a fantastic deal, given that a one-day admission actually turns into a 7-day pass.
Happy vacation!
