Sea World San Antonio On a Budget-- Any tips??

[ekatiel]

So, we're not doing a "big" vacation this summer, but we do want to take a long weekend and head to San Antonio (we're a family of four, Me, DH, and our boys DS4 and DSalmost6-- he'll be six before we go). We'd like to do Sea World (they've been before, but they were too little to remember). Here's what I'm thinking for money saving tips:

We'll buy 3 "fun cards" (for free admission until Jan 1, 2011) and 1 season pass. The season pass gets us free parking and discounts at the gift shop/restaurants. (Thanks to someone on here who mentioned this idea to me !) We'll probably spend 2 full days there-- one day for Sea World and one day for the Water Park.

I'm thinking of pricelining a hotel. I'm a little nervous about this one-- DH and I have used priceline for just the two of us numerous times, but I know we're only guaranteed a king bed with priceline. The boys can sleep on sleeping bags in the hotel if we need them to. Should I be concerned about priceline for any other reason? It looks like we should be able to get the Hilton Hill Country Resort for about $50/night (excluding taxes and fees) through priceline.

Any other money saving tips you can think of? Thanks in advance! --Katie

 

[carj]

We just went to San Antonio during spring break in March! We also bought 3 Fun Cards and 1 AP. (I am sure that you have figured out that the best way is to buy an adult AP and buy Fun Cards for the kids.)

We stayed at the Drury Inn. There are several in the San Antonio area. The one we stayed at was about 15 minutes from Sea World. They have a great free breakfast with a waffle station and lots of hot items. They also do something called "Kickback". From 5:30-7:00 they have free snacks in the lobby. The snacks are things like chicken strips, salads, hot wings, eggrolls and other bar food type things. You probably wouldn't want to eat there every night, but it did make for a couple of nice "filler" meals. I think that we spent $89 a night.

If you are going for Priceline, I would do 3 stars or higher. I would also avoid staying on the Riverwalk because of the parking fees associated with most of those hotels.

The Alamo is free of course. I think that doing the boat tour of the Riverwalk is a must-do every time, but that is just me!

There are coupons for most attractions in those little flyers in most hotels. I think that you can have 3 fun, relaxing days at Sea World and see everything and do the waterpark.

I would love to stay at the Hilton Hill Country but by the time you add in taxes and fees it was out of our budget. If you don't mind me asking, how are you figuring out which hotel it is on Priceline?

 

[ekatiel]

I've been looking at http://www.biddingfortravel.com and http://www.betterbidding.com. It seems that if you bid for a "resort" in the West section of San Antonio, you almost always end up with this one. The only other "resort" in that section is the Hyatt Hill Country, which is SUPER nice, and I would LOVE to get, but it seems like on Priceline, you usually end up with the Hilton Hill Country, which is also ok, just not as nice as the Hyatt. People seem to be getting it for bids between $50 and $55 per night, so I'm hoping we can do the same. Thanks for the tip on the Druary Inn. My oldest DS has food allergies (to eggs and nuts), so a lot of the "free breakfast" choices are out for us (stinkin' food allergies!!!). But, that does sound like a really good deal, especially with the appetizer type stuff in the evening. --Katie

 

[Mad4Mickey]

We are going to be there this Monday-Thurs.
Please post back on what you are able to get the Hilton for . I drove myself crazy trying for 4 days to priceline it I went all the way up to 100 and never could get it . It said that people had gotten it for 75 on the sight but it never came out that way for me : (
I did get the Hyatt for 50 bucks for the 1st night since we are coming in from Dallas about 8 pm I didnt want to "waste" a day .
That is the only "resort" they deal with as of right now , we have stayed there before and it is ok . I was able to get it from the Hilton site with free breakfast for $126.75 . They have a shuttle that runs every hour and so we wont pay for parking . We have used the shuttle many times and if you call they will even come back for you before the hour

The Hyatt resort offered me a 1 bedroom for $233.00 but since we are renting one of those stinking Sea World cabanas the Dh said not only no but heck no if you get what I am saying LOL
Needless to say he cant understand why we need that cabana for my sisters kids to rest . I tried to explain it came with free water and soda , he explained that for that price it WAS NOT free bawwhwhahahhaha

 

[ekatiel]

We are going to be there this Monday-Thurs.
Please post back on what you are able to get the Hilton for . I drove myself crazy trying for 4 days to priceline it I went all the way up to 100 and never could get it . It said that people had gotten it for 75 on the sight but it never came out that way for me : (
I did get the Hyatt for 50 bucks for the 1st night since we are coming in from Dallas about 8 pm I didnt want to "waste" a day .
That is the only "resort" they deal with as of right now , we have stayed there before and it is ok . I was able to get it from the Hilton site with free breakfast for $126.75 . They have a shuttle that runs every hour and so we wont pay for parking . We have used the shuttle many times and if you call they will even come back for you before the hour

The Hyatt resort offered me a 1 bedroom for $233.00 but since we are renting one of those stinking Sea World cabanas the Dh said not only no but heck no if you get what I am saying LOL
Needless to say he cant understand why we need that cabana for my sisters kids to rest . I tried to explain it came with free water and soda , he explained that for that price it WAS NOT free bawwhwhahahhaha

I'm confused-- did you get the Hyatt for $50 or the Hilton for $50?? I'm thinking you meant the Hilton (it's the one that's not quite as nice, but is still a good place to stay). Did you get that deal off of Priceline or somewhere else? The $126 room including breakfast is not bad. If it's a refundable room, you might want to try priceline one more time this weekend-- sometimes Priceline won't give you a good deal until just before your dates. We aren't traveling until the end of July, but I might hop on Priceline today and try a couple of bids. I'll post back about what I try (I'll probably start with a $50 bid). --Katie

 

[tchrrx]

One money saving tip for Sea World is that you should not take any type of bag if you plan on riding any roller coasters. They will not allow bags on these rides and you have to rent a locker at each coaster.

 

[southernbohemian]

I don't know if it applies if you buy an AP or not, but right now they're doing a special where if you buy an adult ticket, you get a child's ticket for $5 (which goes to Wildlife Conservation). I don't know if this would work in your favor since you're doing 2 days, but just to let you know...

 

[sk!mom]

I've been looking at http://www.biddingfortravel.com and http://www.betterbidding.com. It seems that if you bid for a "resort" in the West section of San Antonio, you almost always end up with this one. The only other "resort" in that section is the Hyatt Hill Country, which is SUPER nice, and I would LOVE to get, but it seems like on Priceline, you usually end up with the Hilton Hill Country, which is also ok, just not as nice as the Hyatt. People seem to be getting it for bids between $50 and $55 per night, so I'm hoping we can do the same. Thanks for the tip on the Druary Inn. My oldest DS has food allergies (to eggs and nuts), so a lot of the "free breakfast" choices are out for us (stinkin' food allergies!!!). But, that does sound like a really good deal, especially with the appetizer type stuff in the evening. --Katie

SAn Antonio is one of the few cities that I use Priceline for our family of 4. I've had excellent luck and only once (out of probably 20 stays) did we end up with only one bed. I never bid lower than 4* and normally pay $50 - $70.

San Antonio is one of the easiest cities to bid and win just what you want at an awesome price.

Your bidding strategy sounds great. Also remember to use your free rebids. San Antonio is a great town for that, as well. When bidding resort or 4*, you have numerous free rebid opportunities. You can set a maximum but are still able to start bidding really low and then use your rebids up to your max.

Good Luck! I love San Antonio. It can be unbearably hot this time of year but if you're from Houston it probably feels great

 

[treeface]

Just left San Antonio on Thursday after a 2 night stay. I used Priceline and bid $75 for a 4* Riverwalk, ended up being the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk. We did have a king bed, but only three of us and worked out great. Thought about Sea World, but it was just too hot Wednesday, took the city bus to the zoo instead. We did pay $30/day for valet parking at check-in, but was still under the $125/night budget we had set for this trip.

Have a great trip.

 

[HaleyB]

Right off the freeway near the entrance to Sea World there is a McD's. I am very unimpressed with the food inside the park and the prices are crazy.

If you go in the back way you will miss the McD's- if you are coming in from most places in the area it is the 2nd Sea World exit.

Budget $$ for feeding the animals, it is a little expensive but we really enjoy feeding the dolphins and the birds (the sea lion feeding is kind of a waste of $ though). Bring cash, I think it is cash only.

Best place to relax and cool off is the building near the dolphin tanks that also has the bar in it. There are also good clean bathrooms and a water fountain in there.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I'm confused-- did you get the Hyatt for $50 or the Hilton for $50?? I'm thinking you meant the Hilton (it's the one that's not quite as nice, but is still a good place to stay). Did you get that deal off of Priceline or somewhere else? The $126 room including breakfast is not bad. If it's a refundable room, you might want to try priceline one more time this weekend-- sometimes Priceline won't give you a good deal until just before your dates. We aren't traveling until the end of July, but I might hop on Priceline today and try a couple of bids. I'll post back about what I try (I'll probably start with a $50 bid). --Katie

I am sorry that was not clear at all when I go back to read it LOL
We did not get the HYATT RESORT just the regular Hyatt out on the loop.We will move to the Hilton Resort out by Sea World the next day . My Dh just said last night that he wished I had booked the new JW Marriot Resort because someone told him it had its own waterpark and is less then a year old . When I looked up it up and had him look at the price of a room there He was very happy I did the Hilton LOLOLOLOL

I have stayed at this Hilton Resort before but it was when it had 1st opened and was a Marriot . I will let you know how the rooms are and report back any money saving things we find

 

[ekatiel]

Thanks for all the tips, guys! Mad4Mickey-- Have a fun trip-- Let us know how it goes! I tried bidding on priceline today and was unsuccessful. I went up to $53/night for a resort in the SA West area. I think I need to try back closer to our dates (which aren't until the end of July). I'll keep everyone posted on how the bidding goes ! --Katie

 

[sk!mom]

With only 1 area of San Antonio listing Resorts, you will have 14 bids at each trial. This far out, I'd start at $50 and bid up as far as I was comfortable. If it was me, I'd consider $75 still a great deal so I would probably go that high closer to the dates.

San Antonio is so easy to bid!

 

[Belle5]

I am very unimpressed with the food inside the park and the prices are crazy.

I

This is the truest thing I've ever read! We were shocked and appalled by what we spent to eat there in late December and we left soooo hungry. We kept saying, "This sure isn't Disney..."

 

[Mad4Mickey]

Just back today and I wanted to make sure to tell you that we did not do the " all you can eat band" there but we did ask people that had it and they thought it was not worth it .

I also would not do the Hilton resort , it is in need of a facelift to say the least. The staff was very nice but seemed like they had no idea what each department was doing .

It was nice to have a ride back and forth to the park but it looked like all the hotels did.

My big money saving tip would be to make sure you do not need a locker at the waterpark. It was 14.00 bucks glad we didnt have to pay for one . We did not eat in the park we only had snacks . We did see a ton of people with soft sided coolers eating lunch and walking around the park .
We bought 2 of the refillable cups and when I made a joke about how we should have just brought the ones from last year , the guy said we should have . Although they change colors from time to time they are all still .99 cents to fill . They let you bring them back year after year. I told him I was kidding and he said "nope we are not Disney " LOLOLOLOL
I did ask at the service desk up front about it before I left and they confirmed it , you can bring it back as long as it has the Sea World logo on it and then she said they would like you to buy a new cup .
We were able to get ice water for free in those and I think the frozen lemonade was 2 bucks .