kendallt
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2008
- Messages
- 112
Hi everyone! We just got back from a quick trip to Sea World/Aquatica, and I thought I'd share some quick lessons learned. We booked through one of the official partner hotels, which came with the following benefits. I've included my thoughts beneath each one to let you know what did and didn't work quite like we expected.
1) FREE Shuttle
Complimentary transportation to SeaWorld, Aquatica, SeaWorld's Waterpark™ Orlando, and Universal Studios Orlando.
We only used this on our first day because the schedule was a nightmare. If you wanted to attend the last Shamu show of the night, you had to wait almost an hour for the next shuttle to arrive, and then they only sent one bus to pick up guests from about six hotels. Lesson learned; we drove everywhere after that. It would be nice if Sea World offered guests staying at their official hotels complimentary parking like Disney does.
2) FREE Signature Show Seating
Reserved seats at SeaWorld's best shows with each admission, including the Shamu® One Ocean® show.
This worked like a charm at all the shows. You're advised to arrive about 10 minutes before the show starts, but we saw people being let into the reserved seating even after the show had begun. Also, we were told at the concierge desk at our hotel that the VIP seating did not include the night-time Shamu show with the fireworks, but this wasn't true in our experience.
3) FREE Quick Queue®
This is only for Sea World, not Aquatica. You have to get your passes from the concierge desk, and they're given out on a first come, first served basis; therefore, we weren't able to get them on our check-in day since they'd all been distributed. Also, this only allows you one ride on each of the major rides, excluding Mako. It's not unlimited.
4) FREE Behind-the-Scenes Rescue Tour
Out of all the official hotel "perks," this was the biggest disappointment. When we booked the package, we were initially told we'd schedule the tour at the park when we arrived. When I inquired about this at the concierge desk at our hotel, I was told that there were no tours available at all during our stay. Additionally, we were told that it really wasn't a tour at all, rather a 15 minute video that is shown only once a day at 9:15 am. I contacted the travel agent I'd booked the package with, and she spoke to the desk. They told her to have me stop back by the desk, and they'd see what they could do for me. When I did stop by the desk again, I was again told there was nothing they could do, and that there is no video. It's an actual tour where you get to see some of the animals Sea World has rescued. We never did figure out what the actual deal was, but if you're looking forward to this perk, be aware it's not guaranteed.
5) Early Entry
Again, this was somewhat of a debacle. Early entry (one hour before the park opens) is only offered on certain days. When we checked in on Saturday, we were told that Saturday was one of those days, so we obviously couldn't take advantage of it then. The concierge advised me that the next available early entry day was Monday, so we rearranged our planned itinerary and got up super early on Monday to take advantage of that feature. When I again inquired at the desk first thing Monday morning, I was told that the information I'd been given was incorrect and that Tuesdays are actually the other early entry day. Since we were leaving the next day, we never got to take advantage of this feature.
6) FREE Souvenir Cup
You're given a paper ticket to scan, which gives you a card to redeem for the cup. It was really cute. Only one cup per booking; so don't expect everyone in your party to get one.
7) 5th Night FREE
We weren't staying that long, so I can't speak to how/if this feature works.
8) 10% Off Dining
When you book the All-You-Can-Eat dining plan, you're issued a ticket that can be exchanged for a wrist band which allows you to eat at certain restaurants in the park as often as once per hour during one of your park days. You can get 10% off your dining on any other day you're in the park. If you're going to Aquatica, you also get a ticket for the Banana Beach Buffet. The same rules about once per hour are supposed to apply here, but they didn't scan wristbands at Aquatica during our visit, so in theory, you could've eaten and drank as much as you wanted throughout the day. Also, at the candy store at Sea World, they wouldn't honor the 10% off, no matter how much we argued with them. (I can't remember the name of it; it's the one at the front of the park). This was really frustrating because everywhere else, including the bakery directly across from the candy store, honored it with no issues.
9) 10% Off Merchandise
There's a bit of fine print here. You're only able to get 10% off when you spend $50 or more, so this is a bit misleading.
1) FREE Shuttle
Complimentary transportation to SeaWorld, Aquatica, SeaWorld's Waterpark™ Orlando, and Universal Studios Orlando.
We only used this on our first day because the schedule was a nightmare. If you wanted to attend the last Shamu show of the night, you had to wait almost an hour for the next shuttle to arrive, and then they only sent one bus to pick up guests from about six hotels. Lesson learned; we drove everywhere after that. It would be nice if Sea World offered guests staying at their official hotels complimentary parking like Disney does.
2) FREE Signature Show Seating
Reserved seats at SeaWorld's best shows with each admission, including the Shamu® One Ocean® show.
This worked like a charm at all the shows. You're advised to arrive about 10 minutes before the show starts, but we saw people being let into the reserved seating even after the show had begun. Also, we were told at the concierge desk at our hotel that the VIP seating did not include the night-time Shamu show with the fireworks, but this wasn't true in our experience.
3) FREE Quick Queue®
This is only for Sea World, not Aquatica. You have to get your passes from the concierge desk, and they're given out on a first come, first served basis; therefore, we weren't able to get them on our check-in day since they'd all been distributed. Also, this only allows you one ride on each of the major rides, excluding Mako. It's not unlimited.
4) FREE Behind-the-Scenes Rescue Tour
Out of all the official hotel "perks," this was the biggest disappointment. When we booked the package, we were initially told we'd schedule the tour at the park when we arrived. When I inquired about this at the concierge desk at our hotel, I was told that there were no tours available at all during our stay. Additionally, we were told that it really wasn't a tour at all, rather a 15 minute video that is shown only once a day at 9:15 am. I contacted the travel agent I'd booked the package with, and she spoke to the desk. They told her to have me stop back by the desk, and they'd see what they could do for me. When I did stop by the desk again, I was again told there was nothing they could do, and that there is no video. It's an actual tour where you get to see some of the animals Sea World has rescued. We never did figure out what the actual deal was, but if you're looking forward to this perk, be aware it's not guaranteed.
5) Early Entry
Again, this was somewhat of a debacle. Early entry (one hour before the park opens) is only offered on certain days. When we checked in on Saturday, we were told that Saturday was one of those days, so we obviously couldn't take advantage of it then. The concierge advised me that the next available early entry day was Monday, so we rearranged our planned itinerary and got up super early on Monday to take advantage of that feature. When I again inquired at the desk first thing Monday morning, I was told that the information I'd been given was incorrect and that Tuesdays are actually the other early entry day. Since we were leaving the next day, we never got to take advantage of this feature.
6) FREE Souvenir Cup
You're given a paper ticket to scan, which gives you a card to redeem for the cup. It was really cute. Only one cup per booking; so don't expect everyone in your party to get one.
7) 5th Night FREE
We weren't staying that long, so I can't speak to how/if this feature works.
8) 10% Off Dining
When you book the All-You-Can-Eat dining plan, you're issued a ticket that can be exchanged for a wrist band which allows you to eat at certain restaurants in the park as often as once per hour during one of your park days. You can get 10% off your dining on any other day you're in the park. If you're going to Aquatica, you also get a ticket for the Banana Beach Buffet. The same rules about once per hour are supposed to apply here, but they didn't scan wristbands at Aquatica during our visit, so in theory, you could've eaten and drank as much as you wanted throughout the day. Also, at the candy store at Sea World, they wouldn't honor the 10% off, no matter how much we argued with them. (I can't remember the name of it; it's the one at the front of the park). This was really frustrating because everywhere else, including the bakery directly across from the candy store, honored it with no issues.
9) 10% Off Merchandise
There's a bit of fine print here. You're only able to get 10% off when you spend $50 or more, so this is a bit misleading.
