Sea World San Antonio?

[Donald Duck888]

Does anyone have any info on this? How does it compare to Orlando and San Diego Sea World? Is there much else to do in the area? Is it the same price etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[yesiamcrazy]

I've been to SW San Antonio several times through the years and just recently went to SW San Diego. Most of the park is better in San Diego. There were a couple of things I like better at SA, but most of it can't hold a Candle to SD. The shows are essentially the same. There's a waterpark connected (which I have not been to since they changed) but it costs an extra fee to "upgrade" to be able to go to the waterpark. My sister recently went to SA and said the stingray encounter in the waterpark area was great. There is also Fiesta Texas in the area, as well as the Alamo, the River walk, and a lot of old missions if that interests you.

 

[yesiamcrazy]

if you look at the website for visit san Antonio you can see the rest of the attractions for the area.

 

[shopn24seven]

The River walk area is awesome. TONS of restaurant's and of course the boat ride, one you can dinner one. During the day there are a lot of inexpensive missions, think ALAMO.
I love it there, can you tell?

 

[ekatiel]

San Antonio is where Texans go to vacation locally . It's a great town with a ton to do. You've got the Riverwalk, the Alamo, all the other missions, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and Sea World. Nearby is the Texas Hill Country where you can tube down the Comal or Guadalupe, go to Schlitterbahn (a great water park), antique, or just explore the area. I haven't been to the other Sea Worlds, so I can't comment on how they compare. If you decide to go to Sea World and want to do more than one day there, one tip is to buy one person in your family a full-fledged annual pass (you get free parking and food/merchandise discounts), and buy the rest of the family the "fun card" (admission for the remainder of the year, but no parking or other discounts). We here in Texas love San Antonio . Have fun! --Katie

 

[Planogirl]

I've been to all three Sea World parks even though it has been a while since we visited the Orlando location. I think that the San Diego park is by far the prettiest but otherwise I don't see much difference.

 

[momto2inKC]

We did a 5 day trip to San Antonio a couple of years ago. We really enjoyed Sea World. We haven't been to the other 2, so no comparison for us. We spent a lot of time down at the Riverwalk area. There is so much to do down there. The website previously mentioned is a great resource. We got a ton of coupons for attractions and such from there.

 

[Cdn Gal]

We went to sea world San Antonio two years ago and it was fantastic! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The water park made us laugh though- we are Canadian, and have a lot of lakes and rivers in our backyard and so are used to swimming. At the water park we went into the wave pool and we heard the Big Bang and began waiting for the big wave. A couple passed and that was it...waited again, big band, a couple of waves, still waiting for the 'big' wave. We asked the life guard if the wave pool was down- nope! That's the size of their waves. Needles to say we laughed about it because their 'big' wave is what we get on a calm day in Lake Ontario. Too funny! The other thing we noticed at the wave pool is that all of the kids had life jackets on, and all of the kids parents stood at the edge of the wave pool watching for their kids safety. We also noticed how well behaved the kids were at Sea World too. Parents were always holding their kids hands and making sure that they were behaving.
In San Antonio, there is tons to do! The river walk is beautiful, the Mexican market is phenomenal, and there are all kinds of little Texan towns outside of it to tour around. There is also this big rock that you can climb too that is on the outskirts of San Antonio.
Check out Diners, Dives and drive by with Guy Farrier from the Food Network channel. We went to a few of his restaurants and one just outside of San Antonio had the locals come to it by horse. It was this big BBQ/dance pavilion thing. Again it was awesome, and it was cool because we knew the line dances from teaching them to kids in Canada.
Another day trip we did was to Austin...it was a good place to tour and to check out, but would not stay there for any length of time, its a bit of a strange city.
We really enjoyed Texas and wouldn't hesitate to go back. Hope you have a great time!

 

[Donald Duck888]

I wanted to say thanks to all who have posted info in this thread. It is very helpful and gives me more info on a part of the country I have never really been to (unless you count a 3 hour layover in the Dallas airport).

If we go I am certainly going to check ou the local eateries as I really enjoy mexican style food and I bet they have much better choices down there than up here in NH.

I really think my daughter would get a realy kick out of people showing up to a restraunt via horseback especially since the kick she is on now is that she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.

 

[ValpoCory]

SeaWorld San Antonio is fine. Avoid weekends in the summer. We live in Austin, and we go there because there is no Disney park in Texas. Hence, we'll never spend a day at SeaWorld in Orlando or San Diego at the expense of a day at WDW or the DLR. SeaWorld in Orlando and San Diego have much better rides than SeaWorld in San Antonio. That's because SeaWorld in San Antonio doesn't have to directly compete with Disney. Just check out how boring Journey to Atlantis is in San Antonio compared with Orlando and San Diego:

San Antonio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbkupOfjwjY


Orlando:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMMslhVyF9w

San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA_vuFU5uyk

When you don't need to compete with Disney, you cut corners.

 

[Donald Duck888]

SeaWorld San Antonio is fine. Avoid weekends in the summer. We live in Austin, and we go there because there is no Disney park in Texas. Hence, we'll never spend a day at SeaWorld in Orlando or San Diego at the expense of a day at WDW or the DLR. SeaWorld in Orlando and San Diego have much better rides than SeaWorld in San Antonio. That's because SeaWorld in San Antonio doesn't have to directly compete with Disney. Just check out how boring Journey to Atlantis is in San Antonio compared with Orlando and San Diego:

San Antonio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbkupOfjwjY


Orlando:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMMslhVyF9w

San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA_vuFU5uyk

When you don't need to compete with Disney, you cut corners.

Wow that is amazing how different those are. Not that it makes a difference to me as I am not a "thrill ride" person so I am more interested in the sea life exibits and shows.

Thanks for providing this info. It was really neat to be able to compare the 3.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

We were AP holders at Sea World SA last year, just let it expire and are not sure if we will renew or not. Most trips we only went to the Aquatica park.
On it's own, it's a fine park. But there is no comparison to SW in Orlando. But like a previous poster said, they don't have to compete with anyone else here. It would be nice if they pumped more money into the parks, better attractions and more shows, but the reality is they don't have to here. It's always packed.
We do enjoy the Aquatica park, I understand when they converted the old waterpark over into Aquatica they did add some new attractions, while others just got a facelift.

Avoid weekends if you go.

There are some great places to eat around here. Mi Tierra at Market Square is really popular with visitors. We like Casa Rio on the Riverwalk, that's usually where we take family when they visit. Also The Cove is great, fish tacos. And you have to try Puffy Tacos if they are on the menu wherever you go.

The missions are free to visit, and really interesting. Some of them hold a Mariachi Mass on Sundays.
Browse through the Visit SA website, tons of great info there. We've been here a couple of years now and I use it as a reference frequently.

 

[AnjieNet]

For those of you locals in San Antonio, what are the crowds like around Thanksgiving? We'll be going through on our way to S Padre to visit my MIL and I'd like to take the kids again. Last time we went in early Dec it was practically empty and we had a fabulous time.

 

[hmdavid]

For those of you locals in San Antonio, what are the crowds like around Thanksgiving? We'll be going through on our way to S Padre to visit my MIL and I'd like to take the kids again. Last time we went in early Dec it was practically empty and we had a fabulous time.

We live 10 minutes from SeaWorld and have had season passes for 4 years. Thanksgiving week is unusually quiet considering school is out the entire week, Tuesday and Wednesday are busier than the rest of the week. It's a great time to visit as the park is decorated for Christmas and there are holiday shows. The park is really beautiful decked out for the holidays!

OP, if you have any questions about SeaWorld or SA, I am happy to help!

 

[sonnyjane]

SeaWorld San Antonio is fine. Avoid weekends in the summer. We live in Austin, and we go there because there is no Disney park in Texas. Hence, we'll never spend a day at SeaWorld in Orlando or San Diego at the expense of a day at WDW or the DLR. SeaWorld in Orlando and San Diego have much better rides than SeaWorld in San Antonio. That's because SeaWorld in San Antonio doesn't have to directly compete with Disney. Just check out how boring Journey to Atlantis is in San Antonio compared with Orlando and San Diego:

San Antonio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbkupOfjwjY

Orlando:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMMslhVyF9w

San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA_vuFU5uyk

When you don't need to compete with Disney, you cut corners.

What the heck is going on with SA's version?!?!! How odd!!!

 

[sk!mom]

San Antonio is a great city with lots to do. I don't think Sea World is significantly different. You can only teach whales and dolphins to do so much. We visit San Antonio often but only made Sea World a regular stop when we had young kids. Once they were old enough to want more rides we chose Fiesta Texas. We find Sea World too costly and the shows are the same year after year.

Don't know when you're are thinking of going but I find Sea World San Antonio to be unbearably hot in the Summer. It's hot, humid, nothing but concrete, and very little shade. Honestly too hot to be enjoyable and I'm a Texan who's used to heat.

We went last Thanksgiving though and it was very nice. Great weather and Christmas themed shows. We had a great time but we hadn't visited any Sea World in probably 10 years.

 

[sk!mom]

I wanted to say thanks to all who have posted info in this thread. It is very helpful and gives me more info on a part of the country I have never really been to (unless you count a 3 hour layover in the Dallas airport).

If we go I am certainly going to check ou the local eateries as I really enjoy mexican style food and I bet they have much better choices down there than up here in NH.

I really think my daughter would get a realy kick out of people showing up to a restraunt via horseback especially since the kick she is on now is that she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.

Highly recommend Chuys for great TexMex.

Fredericksburg is worth a day trip. DH and I love it. It's surrounded by Texas wineries.

 

[sk!mom]

For those of you locals in San Antonio, what are the crowds like around Thanksgiving? We'll be going through on our way to S Padre to visit my MIL and I'd like to take the kids again. Last time we went in early Dec it was practically empty and we had a fabulous time.

We went last year on Thanksgiving Day and it wasn't crowded at all. Beautiful weather- didn't even need jackets. Most local restaurants were closed though so we ate turkey legs in the park for Thanksgiving dinner and then had snacks back at the hotel for dinner while we planned our Black Friday shopping.

 

[slamzim]

We are debating San Antonio the week after Christmas. Is the weather warm? How are the crowds? TIA

 

[sonnyjane]

We are debating San Antonio the week after Christmas. Is the weather warm? How are the crowds? TIA

Check the schedule. Unlike the other SW's, San Antonio isn't always open. Looks like they are open some, but not all days in the week after Christmas.