Our 1st Family Trip To Sea World}Need Advice

[aanthony03]

Hi! Everyone I was wondering how many days would it take to see Sea World? We are 2 adults and 3 children ages 3 and up. Also, which activities and dining would you make reservations for? As for accommodations, does anyone have a preference, and do they have transportation to and from Sea World? I might use our AAA to get as many discounts as possible. Should I just call AAA and have them do it all or should I it myself?

Thank You!

 

[highlander447]

Hi u can see SW over 2 days, as for dining the only place that u would reserve would be sharks for a proper sit down meal, mango joes and smoky creek are my two fave counter service places, your kids will love to spend some time in the happy harbour play area

 

[SheriN]

Hi just wanted to add that we did SW in one day. Got there when they opened and stayed til about an hour before closing. We are a family of 5 with 3 kids ages at the time of 3, 6, 11.

We could have gone back the next day but we all wanted to go back to the Magic Kingdom one last time.

We didn't get to see all the shows, totally missed the Pet's Ahoy one, but could have with better timing.

Can't remember much about the resturants, did get the BBQ one, that was real good and would have done the shark one but no one seemed to be in the mood for seafood that day.

 

[123SA]

In December, we did Sea World in one day -- 2 kids ages 4 & 6. We saw all of the shows except for Odessa ? I can't quite remember the name. We fed the dolphins, stingrays and sea lions. We did not ride Kraken or Journey to Atlantis -- height restrictions prevented it. I also kept the kids away from the happy harbor. (I knew that they would want to spend the whole day there. We live 1/2 hour from Sesame Place and it is the same playground. ) We were tired of sit down meals so we opted for the counter service BBQ meal which ended up being the best meal we had our entire trip (1 day at Seaworld, 10 days at Disney with the dining plan).

We took a taxi to and from the Polynesian. I think it was under $30 each way including tip. There is a bus that you can catch from the TTC -- do a search on the Lynx bus. I haven't taken the bus and would not want to misinform you.

I really enjoyed our day at Seaworld. We intend to goagain on our next trip in October. We will do just 1 day again. I don't think 2 is necessary for us.

 

[robvia]

Right, the kids can live in the happy harbour play ground behind Shamu Stadium. It's a huge net crawl, 5 stories tall. The biggest net crawl you'll ever see. Below it is more play ground activities for smaller kids, plus there's the new kiddie coaster. If you plan on letting your kids go here, bring a good book to read. They have tables where you can sit. Or you can be a kid and go thru the tunnels with them.

SWF takes 1.5 days. A good idea would be to visit one day, then come back in the evening another to see the final Shamu show and things you missed.

A good place to eat with kids is Voyagers. It's cafeteria style where you slide a tray and there's all kinds of yummy stuff being glass displays. At the end is wood oven pizza. A slice comes with a bunch of fries that can feed two kids.

 

[wercruzin]

My experience was from 2004.. So some of my experiences may be outdated.. We went for 2 days. DW(expecting DD), me and DS 6. We stayed at the Radisson.. Just a short drive to the park.

The first night we did the Laui dinner.. which was good. But the second night is when DS got his fire really set on high!! We did dinner with Shamu. I thought it was great!

We have plans of heading back this spring. I hope we can do the Shamu dinner again!!

 

[RabFlmom]

How many days? I think it depends on what you want to do and what you want to spend. If you just want to go to SW and see a few shows, pet the dolphins, ride the rides, it can be done in a day. And it will be a fun day!
If you want to do special dinners or tours and still do all the rest of the park, taking time to actually read, listen, and learn while you are there it can take 2 days or more. This of course also depends on the days you go. Is it during winter when park closes early or during the summer when the park is open till 9 or 10? Is it a holiday, a weekend, or a day when something special is bringing in the crowds? At times you can walk onto a ride or into any show without a long wait, but at times the waits may be 45 minutes to an hour or longer. Finding a place to eat on busy days may make lunch take a couple hours rather than less than an hour etc.

With kids I would plan at least a couple hours for playing in the kids area. My sons loved what they had there when they were kids, still loved it on field trips through 6th or 7th grade, and would have thought what they have there now was one of the best play areas in the state.

Only you will know how much time you will want to spend in the shark encounter acquarium areas before you get to the tube, or down in the Wild Arctic area watching the animals. Sometimes in Wild Arctic we spend an hour or 2 if the bears are playing or swimming etc, if the walrus is coming up to the window and watching people, or if there is someone doing The Beluga adventure where they are in the water with the belugas. Sometimes we are in and out cause the crowds are big or the animals are not doing anything we want to keep watching. Sometimes we spend 5 minutes in underwater viewing areas and sometimes we spend hours. Depends on if the dolphin is making rings or they are playing with toys. Last time we were there (Christmas week) we ended up spending about an hour watching the sea lions. First time we ever saw one pick up a stone from the bottom and play catch with it. Then about 4 others started interracting with him and they sort of had a keep away game going. Fascinating . I would plan a couple days but be open to change plans if you think 1 day is all you really want to do after being there.