My family(3 adults and 4 kids ages 10-14) will be going to Seaworld for one day in 2 weeks on a Tuesday. We need help with a 1 day touring plan-must do's feeding the dolphins, rides, and shows. Do you have any sugestions for a touring plan for us? Thanks, teach2visdis
Someone had a similar question the other day that I responded to. Here is my response to them. Ive switched it up some since your kids are older than hers were. If your planning to do the day by yourself and no tour group, this is my suggestion.......
If shows are the most important to you during the day, I suggest you plan your day around the shows. Plan to visit attractions near show locations so your not running all over the park. It will make it alot easier if you do this. July is pretty crowded. The stadiums can fill to capacity rather quickly. Tonight for example, the 1st Shamu Rocks show was completely full 30 minutes before show time. Ofcourse, the 4th of July is one of the busiest days of the year, but in July, you never know how quick a stadium will fill up. Sometimes you may want to be there an hour before the show if you want to get a good seat.
The beginning of your plan looks great. Feeding the Dolphins and then going over to a 10:00 Blue Horizons show sounds perfect. However, I would disagree with the next part of your plan. The Blue Horizons show is about 30 minutes. That means you will be getting out at 10:30. The Shamu show is on the completely opposite side of the park. So you would be running to the show and I guarantee you wont get a good seat.
Following the Blue Horizons show, I would suggest heading over to Key West at Seaworld located near the Blue Horizons show. There you can see Turtles and Pet Sting Rays. I would then suggest heading over to Manta which is also near Blue Horizons. There is a beautiful aquarium located at Manta that anyone who doesnt want to ride could visit. It would be a good idea to do Manta before the large afternoon crowds come. This is a very popular ride. After Manta if there is time before the 12:45 Clyde and Seamore, I would suggest breaking for Lunch. There are several good places to eat in the park. Voyagers smokehouse and Seaport Pizza are located near Manta. Voyagers serves bbq chicken and ribs and Seaport pizza offers Pizza obviously. If there isnt time, I would suggest bringing a small snack and eating lunch later in the day.
Next, head on over to see the 12:45 Clyde and Seamore. Following the Show, you can visit the Sealion Exhibit located right outside the Stadium. Take some time to also view the Penguin Encounter located next to the Sealion exhibit. Following the Penguins, I would suggest you shoot over to the other side of the park to catch the 2:30 Believe. The reason for this is because chances are, its going to Thunderstorm at some point that afternoon. Florida is notorious for our daily summer afternoon thunderstorms. All shows have covered seating, however the show may be delayed or canceled if there is lightning. Rain is ok. The show will continue if it is just raining but lightning is not good, the show will probably be canceled. Florida summer storms usually roll in around 4:00. So if you get the 3 outdoor shows, Blue Horizons, Clyde and Seamore and Shamu Believe out of the way before 4:00, you should be good. Pets Ahoy and Alure will not be affected by weather because they are indoor theaters. You may get really lucky and it may not rain at all! But its better to plan to be safe than sorry!
After Believe, there is another great restaurant called Mango Joes outside of Shamu Stadium. They serve chicken wraps, chicken sandwiches, Steak sandwiches, great deserts and salads. Also outside of Shamu Stadium is Wild Arctic. Wild Arctic is a motion simulator ride that makes you feel as if your in a helicopter on your way to the arctic. Following the ride, there is a Beluga Whale, Walrus and Polar Bear exhibit. You can also view this exhibit if you choose not to ride. There is a non motion Wild Arctic movie that can be viewed before the exhibit instead. Next to Wild Arctic, is Shamu's Happy Harbor. This is a giant play area designed for young kids. Your kids, since their older, probably wont want to do some of the little kid stuff that Happy Harbor has to offer, however there is a games and arcade area that they may enjoy. If they dont want to do Happy Harbor, I would suggest heading back towards the Clyde and Seamore show to ride the bigger rides, Kraken and Journey to Atlantis.
One area of interest on your way back would be the new "Sea Garden." This is a garden that will feature animal trainers offering interactions and photo ops with some unique animals from around the world. Another exhibit is the shark encounter. The shark encounter is a big exhibit that may take sometime. And its indoors, so if it starts to rain, this would be a great place to hang out until the storm passes or calms down. From there, I would head over to do Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. The Manatees and Aligators are locted near those rides as well.
The Sealions tonight show is located near the Rides. So if you decide to stay late, it will be worth it! The shows are at 6:45 and 8:15. Sealions tonight is a funny spoof of the Seaworld day shows. I suggest seeing all the day shows before seeing sealions tonight. Because it will be hard to understand if you havent seen all the shows. However, it will be hilarious if you have seen all the day shows.
If your up for it, head back to Shamu Stadium for the 9:15 Shamu Rocks show. This is a high energy rock and roll type show. Its very popular and in my opinion, alot better than Shamu Believe. The 9:15 show will not fill up the stadium so you will probably get a good seat.
The fireworks are immediately following the Shamu Rocks show. You have about 5-10 minutes to get to Bayside stadium for the best viewing. Bayside stadium is located right next to Shamu Stadium so its a short walk. You can also view them as you exit the park. They are pretty much viewable from most locations.
Just some quick points. The meal plan is a great idea especially if your planning to stay all day. A'lure and Pets Ahoy are shows that I didnt cover in my suggestion. A'lure is an acrobatics show. Its not a "Must See" however, its indoors and can be a nice relief from the Florida sun or Florida thunderstorms. Pets Ahoy is a show featuring animals that Seaworld has rescued from local animal shelters. This is also indoors so it could also offer you a relief from the heat or rain. Every show is atleast 15 minutes long with no show being longer than 30 minutes. Blue Horizons is probably the longest at about 30 minutes and Pets Ahoy is the shortest at around 15-20 minutes.
If you are looking to do a tour group for the day instead, this may be a great idea too. You will get reserved seating at some shows and front of the line access to the rides. It is a great idea especially since your going in July when the park tends to be on the crowded side. Keep in mind that Seaworld admission is not included with these tour groups, and is still required. Here is the site information on tour groups.....
http://commerce.4adventure.com/EStore/Scripts/Skins/SWF/Tours.aspx
I hope you and your family have a great time. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask, I would be happy to help!
I'm glad all your hard work will help someone else out too! 
