SEA WORLD Is it worth it?????

[marciagms]

Is it worth it to pay $240 for a family of 4 to spend one day at Sea World? We are DVC members and we have our 8th trip planned for June. We have 9 year old twin girls and they saw the Sea World commercial and asked if we could go. We always go to Disney and we have never been to Sea World or anything else in Orlando. WE are just so happy with Disney we never really thought about anything else. I just don't know if it is worth the extra $240 for one day at this park? Do they ever offer any discounts? Thanks

 

[sunshine43]

Don't know if they are still doing it, but when we were there in January you paid for the day and could go again anytime for the rest of the year free. As many times as you want. Worked out for us to go back a second day and see the show we didn't get to see the first day and see another one that we really liked.

robin

 

[TupperMom7]

If you go to the service desk upon entering the park, you can get a pass to return another day for free. So that's two days for the price of one. I think Sea World is totally worth the price of admission!

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

I guess I'll be the one to disagree. We were totally dissappointed in the Sea World in Orlando. Now, the one in San Antonio is awesome!!!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Go to the website and look at the rides and check youtube too for coaster videos and see if it's something you will really like.

Busch Gardens is not worth it for my family but we are going to try Sea World this year and hope it's better!

 

[luvtogo12]

I think it is worth it, my kids loved it.

 

[tasha99]

I was unimpressed by Seaworld. We went to Discovery Cove the day before, and loved it. If someone likes Seaworld, that was a great value--Discovery Cove and a day's worth of drinks/meals (only bought the dolphin swim for DS). Then a week at Seaworld, which we used just one day of. Kraken was great, but I'm not into sitting around and waiting for shows.

 

[Dancemom03]

They do have discounts at certain times of the year. In addition to the second day free, you can usually use AAA if you have that. Also, you can pre-purchase tickets at a discount from many ticket brokers to bring the cost down.

DH dislikes SW (says you pay to get in, then they make you pay again to feed the fish that they charged you to see in the first place) but the DD's and DS really enjoy it so we happily go without him now. Some of my favorite pictures have been taken at SW. It's a fabulous place to use the zoom lens on your camera.

They also do meals with the animals now, in addition to reasonably priced backstage tours which are very nice. They have occassional sleep-overs for families which is a super idea for magical memories that are sure to last forever.
If you're going in summer and have a vehicle available, look into their camps - I hear they are awesome and know people who plan entire vacations around SW camps for their kids.

I wouldn't call SW a "must-do" but we enjoy it when we go.

 

[Sam's_Mom]

There is a sub board here that has information about discounts for Sea World, we got greatly discounted tickets last year using this information.

My children loved the shows as well as the rides and we felt it was a good value. It is a totally different experience from Disney and worth doing.

 

[MrsPete]

We loved Sea World; it's more show-oriented rather than ride-oriented -- not that there aren't some rides -- and that means fewer lines. When we went (two years ago?) all their tickets were buy one day / get a second day free. We found it was about a 1.5 day park. We had a great time.

 

[Kathi OD]

Count us as another family who were not impressed with Sea World. The best part for us was "beer school." It didn't take us a full day to see everything.

 

[ShiPooOwner]

We love SeaWorld and think the shows and displays are worth the money.

 

[TENIA66]

I would think if you are not crunched for time, it's a slower paced, relaxing show type park compared with universal and disney. if you are crunched for money or time though, probably save the time and cash forthe mouse!

 

[dclfun]

I loved it too- esp the show with the rescued dogs and other animals. Definitely search for deals and discounts though- $240 for a family of four is pretty steep. For DVC members though who likely go often, it's nice to do something different once in awhile.---Kathy

 

[Cheerdisney]

My family loves Sea World. Are kids are older we just take are time going thru the park.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

If your kids show a strong interest in whales, dolphins, seals, otters, and an assortment of rides--then they will probably enjoy it. If you get there at rope drop and go straight to the dolphin feeding area, you can feed the dolphins with food from a small bag for a modest fee.

 

[Tiger926]

We are DVC members as well - we used to have annual passports to Sea World, but let them lapse last year. We found Sea World to not have as many helpful employees (sometimes you can't find anyone), too many waits for shows, people smoke and throw garbage around and hard to navigate the park (especially in hot summer months).

Despite this, we love seeing the animals (the dine with Shamu is a big rip off - very expensive for horrible food and a rushed experience) in a more relaxed atmosphere like in the dolphin pools or watching the penguins. We have taken all of the backstage tours, and liked those very much.

We find that it just can't compare to Disney in terms of friendly and efficient personnel and kind guests. We've seen so many guests feed animals when they aren't supposed to, smoke everywhere and throw garbage around. We care about animals, so this really bothered us.

We are taking a break for awhile as it is expensive and it is a long, hot day with young kids.

Good luck, Tiger

 

[rdevine10]

We did Seaworld last May for the 1st time. We really enjoyed it. However, my kids are VERY into animals, and feeding a dolphin was easily one of thier highlights of the year (yes they still talk about it!). We got discounted tickets via my DHs employer, but like mentioned before check out the SeaWorld board.... they have lots of tips, etc.

I know last year we paid for one day and got in for 2. It was a nice way to do it more slow.... break the shows up (which we loved).... and the kids loved Shamus happy harbor. Well worth it IMO. (keep in mind my kids were 5 and 3 when we went). The rides were good... loved Kraken.... rode it like 5 times (DH and I are roller coaster junkies).

I should mention though, that we went to Orlando that trip specifically for Sea World.... and then did only 2 days at disney (really only one park night-Pirate and Princess PArty). So, it didnt add of $ onto expensive disney tickets. We also did one day at Clearwater Beach (totally awesome as well).

Anyways.... we loved it.

 

[mlynn]

I guess I'll be the one to disagree. We were totally dissappointed in the Sea World in Orlando. Now, the one in San Antonio is awesome!!!

No the only one. I was so UNHAPPY there in Sept!!! It was so expensive.I went back in the 90's and loved it. But it seemed like every show we wanted to see was either closed or going on the same time as each other.It cost over $60 for lunch.Pizza Sodas and a salads. They offered us the free day.But we didn't have time to get back there(or want to go back) and we live NJ and couldn't go back any time soon.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I'm going to move this over to the Sea World forum. I'm sure that you'll get some help on ways to make the visit more affordable. But just like anything else, the value to the individual will differ depending on what you expect in return for your dollar.