Sea World for a 4 and 2 yr old?

[italianlover]

I am debating on taking my 4 and 2 yr old to Sea World. Seems like they would have to be in the stroller a lot? Do you think this would be a good idea? Also, what do you think about Universal? Right now we can get 4 days, even though we'll only stay 3, but I've only heard of Seuss Landing in Universal for kids. All opinions welcomed and any help appreciated! P.S. This is going to be a last minute trip and we live in FL.

 

[gw_lit]

On our last trip to SeaWorld our boys were 5 & 2, and SeaWorld was the highlight of our Orlando trip. Now, both boys are nuts about all kinds of sea creatures, so we knew they'd love it... and we were right. They loved Wild Arctic (skip the motion simulator and just go through the walk-in), penguins and manatees were a huge hit too. And of course they loved the shows -- Shamu and Clyde & Seamore, especially. I've heard Pets Ahoy is great for kids, but we didn't work it into our schedule, and the new dolphin show wasn't open yet when we were there. So, SeaWorld gets my full endorsement, I imagine your kids will love it.

 

[tinkernelllec]

YES, take them!!!! My kids love the animals and the shows are so good. IF your kids are anything like mine, they won't want to ride in the stroller, they will want to SEE everything. Sea World is very appropriate for little ones.

Universal is a different story. I don't know about you, but I don't like to spend my money on a ticket for my little ones that can't ride all the rides or for only one area of a park (unlike disney that only has a few rides with restrictions for little ones). Universal, to me, is for older kids and adults. Although the Suess landing was nice, it was only 1 part of a huge park that my son (at the time was 2) didn't understand or couldn't ride/participate in. IMHO.

 

[robvia]

Agree. There are things for little ones at Universal/IOA like the play grounds, but it's really a big kid park.
Right now your money should be spent at Disney, and SWF. Behind Shamu stadium, they have a huge net crawl. The kids will stay here for a couple hours. And they'll enjoy looking at the animals. Since you'll have a stroller and a bag, bring a change of cloths and let them get soaked in the splash zones. There is also a water area behind Shamu stadium with a boat the kids can play on.
Plan to arrive early each morning at 08:30am. It's not as hot, and the walk ways won't be crowded. Stay until the afternoon, then the kids will be cranky, and probably fall asleep in their strollers. At this time, go back to your hotel room to rest. Then hit a Disney park at night because they stay open late, or go swimming in the hotel pool.
When kids reach the age of about 8 years old, they out grow Disney and move on to the coasters at IOA.

 

[Cam2Mike]

Absolutely take your kids to SW, they will love it and so will you. I would skip IOA and Universal for a few more years. We took out 6 year olds last March and there really wasn't must for them to do at IOA and Universal. We probably spent about 6 hours in each park and did have a good time but we definelty ran out of stuff they could do. Looking back they only talk about their trip to "seaworld" ,the other two places are not even in their memory. We had 5 day passes to IOA/Universal (this was our non-disney trip) and did not return to either park for a second day. We spent two days at Seaworld and they are very ancious to go back.

On a side note, your kids will spend a lot of time in the stoller no matter which park you go to..they are all HUGE!

 

[GEM]

We spent three weeks in Orlando this summer, and our two year old loved Sea World so much that we went ahead and bought a season pass so we could go many times while we we there.

He absolutely adored Shamu! He got a stuffed Shamu doll that he still carries around all the time, even 4 months later!

Highlights for him:
the Shamu shows
Blue Horizons (we all LOVED this one!)
Shamu character breakfast
Dine With Shamu
Pets Ahoy (a total highlight of the whole trip for him)
eating at Shark's Underwater