Sea World Questions

[Terk-1]

I have never been to Sea World in San Diego (went to the on in Florida too many years ago). Am heading to San Diego and wanted to visit. This would be either before or after Thanksgiving. Planning at least one (probably 2) days there. Where is the best place to sit to view/photo/video the Shamu, Otter, etc. shows? Is it better to catch the shows early in the day or late in the day? I saw where you can pay $12 for a box lunch and be seated in a special section for the Shamu show. Is this worth doing? Where is a good, reasonable place to dine there? Can Sea World be done in one day or is it better over two days? How crowded is it on Thursdays or Fridays compared to Mondays or Tuesdays?

 

[Terk-1]

Can anyone help me???

 

[DLR29]

It will be able to be done in a day in the slow season. Personally, I think the best seats for the Shamu, Dolphin, and otter shows are in the Soak Zone. However, in the winter, you might not want to. Higher seats give good views too. Usually we catch the morning shows and tour in the afternoon.

There is a Dine with Shamu program that we did a while ago. When we went, we got a buffet lunch and sat right next to the Shamu training tank and the whales were right in front of us. I can't remember the price and the food was just average, but the experience was fun. One fun place to eat is the Shipwreck Reef Cafe. They have live animals that trainers bring to your table.

Since two of the major rides are involving water, you may want to pass, though they are two of my favorite water rides of all time. Journey to Atlantis is like a water flume/roller coaster. Shipwreck Rapids is a very well themed rapids ride. Wild Arctic is a fun simulator similar to Star Tours with a different theme.

I would guess that any day during the week would be not crowded, but more so on M or T probably.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

I haven't been in many years, so I can't help you with the seating preferences, but the $12 box lunch with preferred seating sounds good to me! I found that you can see very well from any where in the theater though. Its well set up. And you can avoid getting wet also.

As for one day or two, I would do two since its FREE! Until the end of the year, the 2nd day is free for Sea World. Why not take your time and see everything, you know? We will be there that week as well and are going two days. Two days to Legoland as well. My kids are 6, 6, and 2. I think we will have a blast.

DLR29, thanks for the info on the dinner with Shamu. I was wondering if it was worth it for the experience. I think we will make reservations!

Now we just need to decide whether to be at SW or LL on T-giving day...

 

[ScooterL]

If you value your camera do NOT sit in the "Soak Zone" - you WILL get wet, and you might get totally soaked. And that salt water will ruin your camera. If you've got a decent zoom lens, then sitting in the seats above the soak zone should be just fine for photography. The "soak zone" warning is true for any of the shows (Shamu, dolphin, seal and otter) that have soak zones, because the performers do their best to get those areas *wet*. The dolphin and seal and otter shows have far smaller soak zones than the Shamu show, though. If you're going to be there around Thanksgiving, I think you will find lower crowds on the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving than you will over the weekend. If you're talking about the Thursday and Friday the week after Thanksgiving, then crowds should be about the same any day that week, though Friday might be a little bit heavier.

As for show schedules...the show times are not conveniently laid out to make it easy for you to go from one to another - you'll have to look at the show times and decide what works best. ALL of the Shamu shows seem to be packed, whether you go to the first or the last. Though that's such a huge stadium that you have a better chance of getting a decent seat if you only show up 15 minutes before showtime than you do with the other two shows - for those if you want a prime seat, you might want to arrive 20-30 minutes in advance.