Sea World.....Oh dear where do I begin?

[KatiebugsMom]

Well I am a WDW planner and have been to US/IOA before so no worries there. But SW, I have not been there since...wellll.....1978 and I was 7. I believe things have changed a little and I have questions, lots of questions.



Background: Going in January to WDW and planning for the Sunday of MLK weekend. This time is a bit different since we will have several other friends and family with us.

1.) How is Sea World in January? Or during MLK weekend especially?
2.) Transportation options from WDW to SW?
3.) I am a sucker for VIP experiences. Has anyone done the VIP tour with Sea World and how was it? Does it really include the Dine w. Shamu experience? Would be it worth it especially with 3 kids under 6 and 4-5 big kids who want to ride the thrill rides? And is the extra money worth it in January.
4.) In general, what shows, attractions, feedings, etc should not be missed. We will have the 3 under 6 kids who are coming into their own love for animals and the big kids who want thrills/fun and try to eliminate as many meltdowns for the little ones.
5.) And is Shamu still the cutest killer whale on the planet!

Thanks for listening.....and I look forward to your replies.

 

[Tinks1984]

I'll try answer a couple of your questions, but as I've not been to SeaWorld in January, I'll have to leave those ones out. Hope that's okay.

Alternatives to get to SeaWorld, if you don't have a car, are: Taxi, bus or shuttle. Now, last year we didn't have a car and we found that the easiest way to get around was using the Mears shuttle. It cost $16 each for a round trip from your chosen resort to the destination given at the time of booking. That's $16 per adult/per trip. I am unsure how much it would cost for the children.

Mears was simple to use. We called up on the evening before we wanted to head to SW and arranged a time for them to collect us. We waited in the lobby that morning and boarded the shuttle once it arrived. The driver gives out a green pass, which is for the return journey (not to be mis-placed, or you'd have to pay again!) and off we went. We spent our day in the park and then around an hour out from wanting to return to the resort, we called Mears up from a payphone and they told us we'd be picked up on the next shuttle available, which is usually around 1 hr. We then waited in the car park (at the place we were dropped off) and the shuttle got us and returned us to our resort. Simple! May get costly though if there's a large party of you, you'd have to check if they offered a group discount or anything?

Things to do:

*Check out the Shamu show - but maybe try the showtime later in the day. The first couple of shows are PACKED out, sometimes a little quieter in the afternoons.
* The Whale and Dolphin show - as with Shamu, very popular show, but the kids will love it. Tons of colour and animals to be seen and the acrobats are brilliant!
* The Wild Arctic - even if you don't do the simulator (which is the ride part), be sure to check out the attraction. The polar bears are worth queuing for!
* The kiddies will love Shamu's Happy Harbour - massive kids play area with tons of slides, nets and toys to play about with. I'd possibly recommend a change of clothes too, I think sometimes they can end up a little wet!
*Feeding the sharks and rays - at certain times of day you can buy the fish which can be fed to the stingrays and sharks. Great to watch even if you're not feeding.
* Dolphin feeding/petting - This has just changed. And apparently to even go down to their area and chance a meeting with them now costs money! A wonderful experience though, but could be costly for you all!
* Clyde & Seymour Show - fantastic fun, really good laugh! One not to be missed!
*Kraken and Manta - not rode Manta yet, but Kraken is one for the big kids in your group! Fantastic rollercoaster!

That's just some of the things we got up too whilst there There's lots more! Oh another thing to watch out for is meeting Shamu towards the front of the park, he usually hangs out there for photo op's with the kids!

Sorry I couldn't answer everything for you!

 

[GorshGoofy]

I share your questions. We are planning a WDW trip in late January and are considering a day at SW. I'd like to know what the park is like in January too. Thanks for asking the question.

 

[T16GEM]

Hi
We were there this past January and will be going again 2010. I can answer some of your questions.....


We found the parks to be ok, they were less crowded after the Christmas / New Year crowds had all gone home obviously. We found it frustrating that they didn't open the board walk over to the Shamu area until 10 (or was it 10.30?) so we were hanging around gift shops etc waiting to be allowed over to that side of the park.

The Shamu kiddie areas were fantastic, they were quiet and ours particularly enjoyed the water floor on the days where it was nice and warm for it, our kids were 3 and nearly 2 at the time of our last visit.

A handy thing to know about Sea World is that if any of your kids are using a stroller and they are asleep then you can take the stroller up to the disabled viewing area in most of the shows. Get there early to make sure they will let you in though. We found this invaluable when we were going with DS2, as he was asleep for quite a few of the shows.

I think the longest we waited for a thrill ride was about 15 minutes for Atlantis, and that was only because a Brazillian Tour Group took it upon themselves to push in front of the line and it took the CMs ages to figure out who has puched through etc.

Overall I would say that January is a great time to go, what dates are you thinking of?

Gems

 

[GorshGoofy]

Hi
We were there this past January and will be going again 2010. I can answer some of your questions.....


We found the parks to be ok, they were less crowded after the Christmas / New Year crowds had all gone home obviously. We found it frustrating that they didn't open the board walk over to the Shamu area until 10 (or was it 10.30?) so we were hanging around gift shops etc waiting to be allowed over to that side of the park.

The Shamu kiddie areas were fantastic, they were quiet and ours particularly enjoyed the water floor on the days where it was nice and warm for it, our kids were 3 and nearly 2 at the time of our last visit.

A handy thing to know about Sea World is that if any of your kids are using a stroller and they are asleep then you can take the stroller up to the disabled viewing area in most of the shows. Get there early to make sure they will let you in though. We found this invaluable when we were going with DS2, as he was asleep for quite a few of the shows.

I think the longest we waited for a thrill ride was about 15 minutes for Atlantis, and that was only because a Brazillian Tour Group took it upon themselves to push in front of the line and it took the CMs ages to figure out who has puched through etc.

Overall I would say that January is a great time to go, what dates are you thinking of?

Gems

Thanks! We are looking at end of January and first week of February.

 

[T16GEM]

Thanks! We are looking at end of January and first week of February.

Great! You should have no problems with the crowds those weeks. We are there till the 25th so May see you about!

Enjoy!

 

[KatiebugsMom]

We are there mid to end of January. Thank you for the information. This may certainly be something to really consider.