Need advice on Sea World

[alisen96]

Hi,

I've posted on the Sea World board but didn't get any feedback. I know this board is for Disneyland but thought maybe some of you would have some knowledge of Sea World We will be heading there one of our disney trip days in a couple of weeks. We will have our under 40" 3 year old and 9 month son with us.

So far our plan is to go to Dolphin Point first thing and feed the dolphins. We're wanting to go to the 1pm One Ocean show and the 3:30pm Blue Horizons show.

Here are my questions:

1) Best place for lunch
2) How far ahead should we be lining up before the shows? My son will be crushed if he doesn't get to see One Ocean. Best place to sit so we're no soaked but still have a good view? I'm planning on bringing ponchos for everyone just in case.
3) Any other "must do's" that may not be obvious to a newbie?
4) My husband wants to have dinner on the water in San Diego that night. Any places nearby you would recommend? I think the park closes at 6pm this night.
5) Do they do stroller parking at Sea World the same as they do at the disney parks?

Any and all advice appreciated Thanks in advance!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

1. Best place for lunch IMO is Shipwreck Reef Cafe, or Calypso Bay Smokehouse. Shipwreck has plenty of seating outside and a wide variety. Calypso, last time I was there, had amazing coconut shrimp. There's also Dining with Shamu. Very expensive, but you get to eat very close-up to the orca.

2. Whatever you do, go the the first Shamu show. It will be less crowded. I think we lined up 30 minutes before the show when we went in September and got a seat in the upper part of the soak zone, exactly where we wanted. Add 15 minutes of waiting if you're going in the peak of summer. Depending on how picky you are about seating though, you can come 15 or even 5 minutes before the show depending on the day.

3. If you like roller coasters, ride the Manta. I found it to be quite fun. Can't remember height requirements, but awesome ride. Feed the dolphins right away like you said is in your plan. It's amazing to be able to touch them but gets very crowded. Also, if you can afford it, do the penguin encounter or the beluga whale encounter. I can't remember the cost, but I've always wanted to save money and do it.

4. The Hyatt Regency has a pretty good restuarant for waterfront dining. Can't remember the menu, but I thought it was good.

5. Stroller parking is very clearly marked though a lot of people leave their strollers wherever they want.

 

[dtnrhi]

The dining with Shamu is one of the coolest experiences you can ever have. You are literally feet from a giant whale. Its incredible.

 

[christinaspring]

I agree...Dine With Shamu! Amazing experience, best food I found in the park by far, and I personally didn't think it was TOO expensive. They do breakfast and dinner, and it should be booked ahead of time. We do it every summer.

 

[disneydreamer74]

We did the Dining with Shamu experience last summer and I have to say that my family had a different experience. We were completely underwhelmed. We got in a long line for the buffet food. By the time we were almost in the door to get food they brought Shamu out to swim around the tank. We had no idea we should jump out of line and go back to our seat to catch a glimpse. By the time we made it through the line and to our seats We were able to snap one shot of Shamu before she went to her tank. We could not believe that was it....we were waiting for another killer whale to appear or something. The food we had was really awful. Half of the food items were not replenished or just cold. My DD had 2 kid options, mac and cheese (which she does not eat) or chicken nuggets (which she loves). She refused to eat the nuggets. I tried one myself and they really were inedible. It was July and the park was crowded so maybe they had an off day. The best food we ate was at Shipwreck Cafe..it was fantastic.
I would suggest doing some of the following shows for the little ones: Elmo's 4d show, Pets Rule (very cute), and either of the Sea lion shows. We love Sea World as a whole! Have a great time!

 

[Baliezer]

We did the Dining with Shamu experience last summer and I have to say that my family had a different experience. We were completely underwhelmed. We got in a long line for the buffet food. By the time we were almost in the door to get food they brought Shamu out to swim around the tank. We had no idea we should jump out of line and go back to our seat to catch a glimpse. By the time we made it through the line and to our seats We were able to snap one shot of Shamu before she went to her tank. We could not believe that was it....we were waiting for another killer whale to appear or something. The food we had was really awful. Half of the food items were not replenished or just cold. My DD had 2 kid options, mac and cheese (which she does not eat) or chicken nuggets (which she loves). She refused to eat the nuggets. I tried one myself and they really were inedible. It was July and the park was crowded so maybe they had an off day. The best food we ate was at Shipwreck Cafe..it was fantastic.
I would suggest doing some of the following shows for the little ones: Elmo's 4d show, Pets Rule (very cute), and either of the Sea lion shows. We love Sea World as a whole! Have a great time!

This was our experience as well. They brought Shamu out once and the food was not so good. The lines were very long and a lot of our time was spent waiting in line. I recommend the Shipwreck cafe. They have pretty good food and you can get a table watching the people go by on the river rapids.

My girls love the Pet's Rule show. The Shamu show is ok, but a lot has changed since the trainers are not allowed to touch and swim with the whales. I will just say, the show used to be much better.

The other attraction that we really like is the hands on with the manta rays. It is a great experience for the children to get to touch and feed them. We do this almost every time we visit Sea World.

Sea World's churrros are the best. The beat any other theme parks churros hands down. (Sorry Disney) If you are a big churro fan then you have to try the churros!

For dinner, I would try the Corvette Diner. It is very family friendly and aimed at kids. If you have never been there, you will never experience anything like it.
Website
http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/menu-restaurants/corvette-diner/

 

[dtnrhi]

This was our experience as well. They brought Shamu out once and the food was not so good. The lines were very long and a lot of our time was spent waiting in line. I recommend the Shipwreck cafe. They have pretty good food and you can get a table watching the people go by on the river rapids.

My girls love the Pet's Rule show. The Shamu show is ok, but a lot has changed since the trainers are not allowed to touch and swim with the whales. I will just say, the show used to be much better.

The other attraction that we really like is the hands on with the manta rays. It is a great experience for the children to get to touch and feed them. We do this almost every time we visit Sea World.

Sea World's churrros are the best. The beat any other theme parks churros hands down. (Sorry Disney) If you are a big churro fan then you have to try the churros!

For dinner, I would try the Corvette Diner. It is very family friendly and aimed at kids. If you have never been there, you will never experience anything like it.
Website
http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/menu-restaurants/corvette-diner/

Hmm.. It was a few years ago when I went. But they had shamu out most of the time and put on a mini show. It was really awesome. However, this may have been changed due to the attack a few years back..

 

[pharmama]

I've done the Dine with Shamu thing 3 times (I have a family member who really loves it...and its not one of my kids! It's one of the grandparents!). We had one mediocre experience (but still better than the ones above-would have been not happy with those for sure!) but the others were great. And the kids loved it. The most recent time we did it was a little over a year ago. All 3 times there has been a 'mini show' like described above and the trainers were also accessible for questions from the audience even after that. It also was not peak of summer on any of those visits (though all of them were over spring break).

The Elmo 4D show is gone. The theatre is currently down and being refitted for a Madagascar 4D show. I can't remember when it was set to re-open...maybe by summer? Also the whole front of the park is walled off (where the entrance/exit used to be) because they are putting in something new. Made the entrance area (now slightly off to the side) very congested. I do remember this construction was supposed to continue into 2014.

As far as the shows, I've been at Spring Break and not summer but we've never shown up for a show more than 20min early and still get more than adequate seats without issue....perhaps we've been lucky? The Shamu stadium in particular is VERY exposed so if its a hot, sunny day you're going to want to balance the desire for perfect seats with how long you want to bake in the sun.

The Shipwreck Reef Cafe mentioned above is definitely the biggest restaurant in Sea World with the most options. But its also a mad house. Try to go slightly off peak lunch time if you can-especially since about half of the seating area is unshaded-from sun or annoying birds! You'll want to try to sit in one of the shaded 'palapa' areas if you can. I will say that they did a FANTASTIC job with the special diet (gluten free, corn free) people in our group. They had a personal host who helped them through their options and had a binder with all the necessary details (and double checked on things with the kitchen when necessary too).

I hate to say it but I've really become disillusioned with Sea World. They have removed ALL educational content from both the Shamu and Dolphin shows now which I find really disappointing. Kids still love it but it bums me out....

 

[alisen96]

Thanks so much everyone! I wish we could do the Shamu dining experience but something's gotta' give on this trip and I think that may be one of the things. It sounds like Shipwreck Cafe will be our best bet. I'm hoping we can catch Pet's Rule or the Sea Lion show in addition to the other two. I'll check out the dining recommendations as well. I can't believe we'll be in Anaheim two weeks from today. So excited!!!!

 

[pharmama]

You should easily be able to catch three of the four shows. All four is tougher unless you're really committed and make a firm plan at the start of the day. But 3 is easy. (I vote sea lion over pets rule )

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[bjscheel]

What are the One Ocean and Blue Horizons shows like? We want to see Pets Rule and Sea Lions, so if we can only catch one of the others, which one would you recommend?

 

[Sherry E]

alisen96 -

Now that you've gotten some replies to your Sea World questions and people have joined the thread, I've moved it back to the Southern California Theme Parks forum.

 

[alisen96]

alisen96 -

Now that you've gotten some replies to your Sea World questions and people have joined the thread, I've moved it back to the Southern California Theme Parks forum.

Thanks Sherry! I originally posted in the Sea World Orlando because I didn't realize this was the right place. I appreciate you letting me get some responses on the Disneyland board before moving it. Everyone is so helpful on here.

 

[Purrkins]

Hi,



Here are my questions:

1) Best place for lunch
2) How far ahead should we be lining up before the shows? My son will be crushed if he doesn't get to see One Ocean. Best place to sit so we're no soaked but still have a good view? I'm planning on bringing ponchos for everyone just in case.
3) Any other "must do's" that may not be obvious to a newbie?
4) My husband wants to have dinner on the water in San Diego that night. Any places nearby you would recommend? I think the park closes at 6pm this night.
5) Do they do stroller parking at Sea World the same as they do at the disney parks?

1.) Oddly, the BBQ place in Seaworld is quite good and one of the betters places for BBQ in town
2.) About 30 minutes before hand in my experience
3.) Bring a change of clothes and let them play in Splash Bay (or whatever it is called). There are some nice aquariums in the back of the park as well.
4.) Pt. Loma Seafood is fun with kids and moderate. Order at counter and go upstairs with a view of the Harbor. Protip - be pushy and just walk up to the counter when ordering. Pizza Port in Ocean Beach has lovely beer and great for kids (a bit off the water). Fish Market sushi bar is excellent. C-Level if you want to splurge. Otherwise head into Mission Beach park and walk the boardwalk until you find something that looks nice.

 

[Apps]

Hi,

I've posted on the Sea World board but didn't get any feedback. I know this board is for Disneyland but thought maybe some of you would have some knowledge of Sea World We will be heading there one of our disney trip days in a couple of weeks. We will have our under 40" 3 year old and 9 month son with us.

So far our plan is to go to Dolphin Point first thing and feed the dolphins. We're wanting to go to the 1pm One Ocean show and the 3:30pm Blue Horizons show.

Here are my questions:

1) Best place for lunch
2) How far ahead should we be lining up before the shows? My son will be crushed if he doesn't get to see One Ocean. Best place to sit so we're no soaked but still have a good view? I'm planning on bringing ponchos for everyone just in case.
3) Any other "must do's" that may not be obvious to a newbie?
4) My husband wants to have dinner on the water in San Diego that night. Any places nearby you would recommend? I think the park closes at 6pm this night.
5) Do they do stroller parking at Sea World the same as they do at the disney parks?

Any and all advice appreciated Thanks in advance!

A lot of others have already commented on the best place for lunch but for #2, the best seats for One Ocean are the last 3 rows in the splash zone (lower areas). BTW, avoid the middle row...the one with the whale stage right in front...the huge Orca tends to do the big splash on that row and no seat is safe...they all get soaked. haha

#3, Manta is a pretty fun roller coaster...also the Artic wild virtual ride can be fun...but since you have a stroller, little one would be too young for Manta (48 inches i believe)

#5, stroller parking is similar to Disneyland

One Ocean and Blue Horizons are the most popular...the older show Believe was MUCH MUCH better though. One Ocean does more splashes though which is really pretty funny. My favorite part is everybody bolting up the stairs as the Orca goes to town on getting everyone wet.

 

[Huff]

Sea Lions show is by far a favorite. Make sure to note the show actually begins 15 minutes before posted time. This is because they do a hilarious preshow and the stadium will be filled before it begins. There are two versions of this sow both worth seeing...the day time and the night show.

We usually enter a show area about 30 minutes prior to show time if its a very busy day. Thats about the time they open the show area for seating. Rarely would you have to arrive any earlier than that.

The Dolphin show is often filled the earliest on a busy day.

Shamu shows are in a huge stadium. Very rarely completely filled but if you arrive too late you'll set way up high and to the side. Still a good view.

On a very busy day its very common for them to add shows so check while walking around during the day.