Never been to Seaworld. How will my 3yr and 6yr like it?

momof3disneyholics

<font color=royalblue>Maternal Unit Extraordinaire
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Jul 13, 2003
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I am one of the rare few that has never been to Seaworld even though we only live about 3 hours away. We are planning an overnight trip there in August and wondering about what there is to do with a 6 year old and 3 year old twins. They love animals, but I know it is going to be sooooo hot too, so we will need to stay cool. Can anyone suggest things to do while there?
 
Leave plenty of time (20-30 minutes) before the shows so you can get places in the shade and enjoy a drink or ice cream while you wait for the show. Let the kids go in the splash zones if they want to get wet. Go into Wild Arctic, manatees, sharks and the penguin enclosures at the hottest part of the day ( make sure the kids aren't too wet, particularly in Wild Arctic and the penguins as it is cold in there). There is a nice play area for the kids with water attractions, take swimsuits or a change of clothes and let them run around cooling off.

They will love feeding the dolphins and sealions, the 3 y olds will be too small to feed the stingrays but the 6 yr old might have a try. There are a lot of indoor activities/attractions at SW so you should be able to manage the heat OK. The most important is the shows, if you don't allow enough time you risk having to sit 30 minutes in the baking sun, it's worth the effort to get their in enough time to secure a shady spot.
 
We went for the first time last month. This was our 12th trip to WDW since 1997. Our son, 9 yrs old, really enjoyed it. He loved the Shamu show. The dolphin show and Clyde and Seymour shows were also pretty good. He really loved touching the stingrays and porpoises. We did the dine with Shamu (food only so so, but the show was really fun). Either let your kids wear swim suits or bring a change of clothes because they will get wet. There is one area where the kids can run around and climb and get really, really wet. And make sure you cover them with sunscreen because you can get very hot standing in the sun.
 

The place where they'll get wet is the playground behind Shamu stadium. There is a tube crawl, in a pool of water. It's not that big, kinda like the ones you find at McDonalds or BurgerKing, but this one is wet. There is also a ship in the middle of a pool with water blasters.
The cargo net crawl will keep them busy. This is the one where you climb up cargo nets, crawl thru tubes, and sit on tire swings. You're 3 stories in the air, really amazing. For the 3 year old, there is a rope climb at the bottom where they grab a rope, climb up a padded pyramid, and slide back down.
There are tables under the cargo net crawl. The parents hang out while the kids play. Bring a good book to read, because the kids will want to stay here for hours. Take turns with your spouse getting food/drinks/beers. Or one of you could go on the thrill rides (JTA/Kraken) while one stays and watches the kids. Only thing is, these rides are on the other side of the park, so it's a long walk, but it can be done.
 
That play area sounds like alot of fun, but I am wondering, is it so big that it will be hard to keep up with all 3 children? I'm always worried about losing one of my kids. Thanks so much for the help!
 
No, they won't get lost. You can see thru the cargo nets, and look at the people crawling around.
The entire play area has a fence around it. There's only a couple entrances in and out. When you go into the playground, sit down at a table so they know where you are, and tell them not to go out of the fenced area.
 
I'm going to print out this thread because we're planning one day with a 3 yo and a 6 yo in September.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

Thanks, Renee
 
I, for one, think it is very hard to keep an eye on the kids in that play area. I mean, it is huge. Now, I still have all my kids and everything, so they won't get permanently lost, but you will probably be more comfortable shadowing those 3 year olds, so be ready to climb.

Another suggestion I have is to do the indoor pet show. I can't remember what it is called and we skipped it the first few times. We went in once during a rainstorm and it was so fun. The kids will love it. They rescue animals from shelters and teach them to do all these cute tricks and make a show of it.

At 6 - 3, my kids liked Seaworld at least as well as the MK, and perhaps even better. Remember to budget for buying stinky fish for the dolphins and sea lions, pet the stingrays, etc... All that hands on stuff makes Seaworld a real winner with kids.
 
Pets Ahoy is the show you're think of that stars the animals rescued from shelters. It is very cute and the younger kids love it.
I would agree with the huge climbing frame being a touch fraught if you allow a three year old access to it alone, but there are a lot of activities that are just for the little one. Bouncey castles, climbing up pyramids, ball pits etc. I'd estimate there are 7 or 8 different types of activities that are limited to allow just smaller children.
 
We were there in May, and by the time we got to the dolphin pool in late afternoon, it was too late to feed them. Because no one was feeding them, they weren't interacting with the people.
So, make sure you go earlier in the day if feeding the dolphins is something you want to do!
We did get to feed the sealions and the kids loved it!
 













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