Please tell me about the different Sea World tours

[Jadeey]

Hi all,

DH (well he'll be DH by then!) and I are going to Orlando for our honeymoon. We plan on spending 2-3 days at Sea World since we get the 14 day pass as part of the Discovery Cove package. (And because we love animals - our wedding is at the zoo)

I'm keen on doing some of the tours and would like to hear what people have thought of the ones they've done. At the moment I'm thinking perhaps the Beluga Whales (although it's pretty pricey so I'm undecided) and the Penguins up-close. But then the behind the scenes one looks like maybe it'd be better than the penguin one since you get to have time with a penguin PLUS other animals.

Who has done some of the tours and how were they?

 

[Ogre213]

Hi all,

DH (well he'll be DH by then!) and I are going to Orlando for our honeymoon. We plan on spending 2-3 days at Sea World since we get the 14 day pass as part of the Discovery Cove package. (And because we love animals - our wedding is at the zoo)

I'm keen on doing some of the tours and would like to hear what people have thought of the ones they've done. At the moment I'm thinking perhaps the Beluga Whales (although it's pretty pricey so I'm undecided) and the Penguins up-close. But then the behind the scenes one looks like maybe it'd be better than the penguin one since you get to have time with a penguin PLUS other animals.

Who has done some of the tours and how were they?

My wife and I did a DC/SW/WDW trip for our honeymoon. For our SW day we did the VIP tour; it's expensive, but well worth it. We had a private guide for the entire day (ours was a retired elementary school teacher, and she was amazing). The tour included whatever we wanted-the first thing she asked us was what we wanted to do; we told her shows and animal experiences, and she set up the day so that we saw every show except one (which we were able to get into after the tour ended), fed the rays, dolphins, and sea lions, got to go backstage and meet (and feed) a penguin (under keeper supervision), pet a bamboo shark, and still have time for a meal at Sharks. We never had a line anywhere; our only waiting was a few minutes in the seats at the shows while they were getting ready.
If we'd wanted them, we we would have been able to swap out any of those for front of line passes for any if the attractions, and she gave us a couple pairs afterwards in case we wanted them.
We saw and did everything in the park we wanted to, plus a few things that aren't available to the public, in one day with no waiting. Not a cheap tour, but well worth it-if it's in the budget, do it-you won't regret it!

 

[Jadeey]

My wife and I did a DC/SW/WDW trip for our honeymoon. For our SW day we did the VIP tour; it's expensive, but well worth it. We had a private guide for the entire day (ours was a retired elementary school teacher, and she was amazing). The tour included whatever we wanted-the first thing she asked us was what we wanted to do; we told her shows and animal experiences, and she set up the day so that we saw every show except one (which we were able to get into after the tour ended), fed the rays, dolphins, and sea lions, got to go backstage and meet (and feed) a penguin (under keeper supervision), pet a bamboo shark, and still have time for a meal at Sharks. We never had a line anywhere; our only waiting was a few minutes in the seats at the shows while they were getting ready.
If we'd wanted them, we we would have been able to swap out any of those for front of line passes for any if the attractions, and she gave us a couple pairs afterwards in case we wanted them.
We saw and did everything in the park we wanted to, plus a few things that aren't available to the public, in one day with no waiting. Not a cheap tour, but well worth it-if it's in the budget, do it-you won't regret it!

That does sound good! Was it the Private VIP tour or the one in a group?

I wonder if you still get to feed a penguin, it doesn't mention that in the description so maybe not.

We're going between Christmas and New Years so it will be PACKED, that makes me think maybe the VIP tour would be worth it.

 

[Ogre213]

We did the private one. The penguin piece may have changed with the new Antarctica area, but I'm sure they've put in something else. Really great tour!

 

[Ogre213]

We did the private one. The penguin piece may have changed with the new Antarctica area, but I'm sure they've put in something else. Really great tour!