Sea World Trip report

[dillon24]

We went to Sea World on this past Friday Dec 10,2010 and all I can say is BRAVO SEA WORLD!!! Their Christmas celebration is second to none including Disney's. The park is well decorated with christmas music piped through all day long. The park was open from 9am-11pm and the crowd was very light,Definitely picked the right day to go, we were worried a little because the extra hours usually means a heavier crowd but not on this day. Only 5 minute waits on both coasters and no waits after dark. The holiday trees in the lake are so awesome. The computerized lights and fountains were so beautiful. As usual Clyde and Seamore(sea lion show) was awesome. The mime never dissapoints and its almost worth it to come late so he messed with you. My kids loved the baby killer whale.. It was so priceless to see the mother push the baby whale with her nose up on the platform. They even had an ice skating show at the end of the night.. Then the fireworks and trees again.. Totally awesome.. We paid about 160bucks for all 4 of us to go to Sea World,plus about an extra 50 to feed the dolphins and sea lions but it was well worth every penny. I know I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff but I'm so happy we waited until friday to go(we originally planned on thurs)Oh and we got every pennys worth out of the all you can dine package because with light crowds there was hardly ever a wait. you can eat up until 10:30 so no need to stop anywhere after the park closes like we usually do

Sea World A+

 

[aandjmama]

So glad to hear it! We'll be there next week and we were hoping to have Sea World as a break from the hustle and bustle of the other parks. Can't wait!

 

[kathy884]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your time at SeaWorld. This is my family's favorite theme park. We love SeaWorld at Christmas too. We spent Christmas Day there in 2008, and it was perfert for a multigenerational group.

This has been a tough year for SeaWorld (attendance down with the opening of WWHP). I hope they continue to do well and get the attendance that I think they deserve. I know for us no trip to Orlando would be complete for my family without spending at least one day here. And I think most people would find it a really fun day and a great change of pace from the other Orlando theme parks that are wonderful too.

 

[greenclan67]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your time at SeaWorld. This is my family's favorite theme park. We love SeaWorld at Christmas too. We spent Christmas Day there in 2008, and it was perfert for a multigenerational group.

This has been a tough year for SeaWorld (attendance down with the opening of WWHP). I hope they continue to do well and get the attendance that I think they deserve. I know for us no trip to Orlando would be complete for my family without spending at least one day here. And I think most people would find it a really fun day and a great change of pace from the other Orlando theme parks that are wonderful too.

I totally agree with your comments! We have been to Orlando the last 4 years, and SeaWorld is by far our families favourite park. When we walk up to the gates we feel like we are home. We ended up buying season passes last year, and we are from Canada, and only go once a year, but probably go to the park 3 to 4 times while we are there for our 2 or 3 week visit, my kids love it!

 

[buckbart]

I am desperately seeking reviews on the tours, specifically the VIP one. I've posted a seperate thread asking for input but haven't had many responses. The tour we've booked is 7 hours (11-6). It includes VIP seating to 3 shows, front of the line access to the coasters (which we can't ride cause of height restrictions) a buffet lunch, interaction and feeding the dolphins, stingrays, sealions and otters. Our children are 7 & 4. The cost is $375 on top of park entry. Would we get the same experience if we just did the planning on our own? Anyone out there have any recommendations regarding the tours? Do you get any special interaction during the shows or photo ops that the general public doesn't? Is the buffet lunch good?

 

[livndisney]

I am desperately seeking reviews on the tours, specifically the VIP one. I've posted a seperate thread asking for input but haven't had many responses. The tour we've booked is 7 hours (11-6). It includes VIP seating to 3 shows, front of the line access to the coasters (which we can't ride cause of height restrictions) a buffet lunch, interaction and feeding the dolphins, stingrays, sealions and otters. Our children are 7 & 4. The cost is $375 on top of park entry. Would we get the same experience if we just did the planning on our own? Anyone out there have any recommendations regarding the tours? Do you get any special interaction during the shows or photo ops that the general public doesn't? Is the buffet lunch good?

You might get some replies if you start a thread asking about the the VIP tours (did a search and did not find a recent one). It looks like you are going in the middle of January. That would be a low season, I would not expect the park to be very crowded. You can get good seats for most shows about 30 minutes before. And there are much cheaper interactions you can book.

 

[buckbart]

You might get some replies if you start a thread asking about the the VIP tours (did a search and did not find a recent one). It looks like you are going in the middle of January. That would be a low season, I would not expect the park to be very crowded. You can get good seats for most shows about 30 minutes before. And there are much cheaper interactions you can book.

Thanks. I am surfing these forums and TGM's forums but posted the new thread there. I will now post a new thread here to see if I can find the answers to my questions.

 

[dillon24]

In my opinion there really isn't a bad seat in the house at most of these shows. Most of the shows have seats up front available because they are in the splash zone. Dolphin feeding costs 7 dollar for a tray of about 5 fish.. they do it at certain times of the day. The fast pass option can be purchased for something like 15 or 20 bucks extra. If its low season I'm not sure its worth the 375 extra. also with the fast pass i noticed they reserved a line of seat on the roller coasters for this exclusively.. so if you wanted to sit say.. in the very front of the coaster it doesnt apply as far as i could tell. I've never done this VIP tour and really don't know everything thats included so you shouldn't take my word for it but hopefully somebody will have answers for you

 

[inkkognito]

We did the Christmas VIP tour and it was worth every penny so I'm sure the regular one would be too. We're even doing it again on Christmas day. We loved the animal feedings, and the show seats were great. Some people in our group didn't go on Manta, which is no problem...the non-riders just wait, and the wait it quick since you go to the front of the line.

 

[buckbart]

We did the Christmas VIP tour and it was worth every penny so I'm sure the regular one would be too. We're even doing it again on Christmas day. We loved the animal feedings, and the show seats were great. Some people in our group didn't go on Manta, which is no problem...the non-riders just wait, and the wait it quick since you go to the front of the line.

Thanks for the feedback. So many more questions: How much food and time did you spend feeding the the animals? Is there reserved seats that you just walk right in and sit down? Did you wait for the show or was it timed perfectly? How was the lunch vouchers? Nobody in our group can do the rides, so this part of the tour is. How long did they allot for the rides? did you have any special interaction or photo ops with the animals?

 

[serene56]

I gave my 5 year old grand daughter the choice of either rides or feeding of the dolphins.
Could you tell me how crowded it was when you went to feed the dolphins?
and what time feeding did you do?

I did not know there were other feeding times-- i thought at opening was the only time.

 

[livndisney]

I gave my 5 year old grand daughter the choice of either rides or feeding of the dolphins.
Could you tell me how crowded it was when you went to feed the dolphins?
and what time feeding did you do?

I did not know there were other feeding times-- i thought at opening was the only time.

There are several dolphin feeding times during the day. They limit the people in the feeding area, no fish no entry- so it is not terribly crowded.

The rides are on the other side of the park, but are included in admission (so your GD can do both )

 

[serene56]

We are going to Sea World via a cruise ship that goes to Port Canveral. We will be in Sea World only until 3pm.