seaworld all day dining plan or dining with Shamu?

[ptmmg]

Spending a day a SeaWorld next week really was leaning toward dining with Shamu, but was wondering if the all day dining would be better. Is there a restaurant that allows you to sit next to a tank and get the experience? What are your thoughts?

 

[JaxDad]

I've never done the all-day dining, but I definitely recommend Dine with Shamu. It is a fun and informative experience, plus the food is very good. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet, and it's usually relatively early, so you can make it your main meal. And, it includes alcohol...

 

[ajbtv2]

I've done both. I'd have to say that I felt Dining with Shamu was a better value. There are several restrictions on all day dining, and the only "perk" you get out of it is a continental breakfast.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Add me to the Dine with Shamu option, it is one of our favorite meals in Orlando! There is a restaurant with a tank, it is not part of the all day dining, and a little pricier. For us, we look into tanks all day long, but we don't have an Orca jump ten feet from us. And I agree with JaxDad - the food is quite good!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Dine with Shamu is more "an experience" in my book than a meal. I didn't do it in Orlando (and it was 15 years ago give or take) but my parents took us to dine with Shamu in San Diego and it is one of the few things I remember from that age. I truly made lasting memories. I've been to a few restaurants since where you sit by tanks and see fish or sharks but in my book they don't hold a candle to the dine with shamu memories.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

If you are going to be in the park from open until close, and want the biggest bang-for-your-buck as far as meals go, then the all day dining would probably be your best option. We enjoy the food that's offered on the plan, and if you have big eaters in your family (who will have rumbly tummies quite regularly throughout the day) then the all-day dining can be an incredible value.

Dine with Shamu, though, is a whole different beast. Like most have said above, its an 'experience' that comes with a meal (and a darn good one at that). You are super close to the dolphins, the trainers deliver a great little poolside session to guests, and the buffet offerings are plentiful, fresh, diverse, and tasty.

We enjoy both options for different reasons, so will do one on one day, and one on the other of our two SeaWorld park days later this month.

 

[theme_park_mom]

Gina Gina Bo-Bina - thank you so much for your info on the SeaWorld dining plan!! I never would have known! looking forward to a great day at SeaWorld!

 

[ptmmg]

we did dining with Shamu Can not say enough about this experience it was awesome great food, great view lots to learn, and beer & wine well worth the money!

 

[newestkg06]

We did all day dining, and because of the shorter hours (Sept) it was hard to get the value from it. If the park will be open later, I think it could be a good deal. Plus it had a lot of restrictions, and we were too busy having fun to want to stop and eat! We LOVED Seaworld, and plan to go back, but I think we'll be paying out of pocket next time so we have more freedom. I'm definitely going to look into Dining with Shamu. Hope you have a wonderful time there!

 

[theme_park_mom]

We did all day dining, and because of the shorter hours (Sept) it was hard to get the value from it. If the park will be open later, I think it could be a good deal. Plus it had a lot of restrictions, and we were too busy having fun to want to stop and eat! We LOVED Seaworld, and plan to go back, but I think we'll be paying out of pocket next time so we have more freedom. I'm definitely going to look into Dining with Shamu. Hope you have a wonderful time there!

Thank you so much for that perspective! We are also going in September, so I need to look at the hours and see if this is really beneficial for us. Many thanks for your info!

 

[newestkg06]

Thank you so much for that perspective! We are also going in September, so I need to look at the hours and see if this is really beneficial for us. Many thanks for your info!

We went on a Monday in Sept, and I think it closed at 6pm. The restaurants stopped serving at 5:30. We just snuck in to grab dinner, and there wasn't much choice as they were closing. Also, most snacks weren't included (just fruit and desserts) but those chips and salsa and pretzels looked really good! We tend to be more snack oriented than big meals (I have Crohn's disease, so big meals are not so great for me). So, I think the short time and the lack of snack inclusion were the downers for me. The food was good, and it was nice to not look at prices. Also, if you haven't already, don't buy tickets yet. There were some great deals on tickets over the summer. We got free all day dining with regular price tickets. So, at least we didn't pay out of pocket for it.

 

[peg110]

I haven't done the Dine with Shamu so I cannot speak to it.

However, our first trip to Seaworld We did not do the all-day dining. What a mistake, if only for the drinks. For us, it was a hot day, and drinks at $2 (or $3 I really don't remember) each times 4 (Me, DW, and 2 DDs) got expensive very quickly. Then throw in the meals... at least 2 (each) and snacks.... we spend well over the $35 for each of us. When we go, we spend the entire day there. We arrive early and leave late. There is enough diversity in menus and locations, that we were satisfied with the choices. So now we don't go to Seaworld without the All day dining.

The restrictions were not really an issue for us. Probably the biggest issue of concern was that you are technically only allowed to go through the line ONCE an hour. We would typically go through the line, get our Drink, Entree, and side. Sit down and eat, then go back through the line and get another drink (to go) and a desert (if we were so inclined). Never had an issue.

Additionally, now for me, I can get the all-day dining for about $20.00 through corporate work website. (currently the offer is $94.50 for a 1 day visit plus the all-day dining). Compared to the current gate price of $79 Then add All-day dining at $35, for us it's a no brainer.

(Just for curiosity, I put a 1 day ticket in the cart and went all the way to check out. Total cost (Taxes/fees included) was $90.33, so going through our corporate website doing the 1 day with dining total cost was $105.14 (taxes/fees included) so that is all day dining for just about $15)

We like the All-day dining and have found it to be of value. It may not work for everyone, and there can be a lot of factors. Again, just the drinks a lone on a hot day can be enough to make it of value. Of course what works for us may not work for you. Either way, I hope you have an awesome time whatever you do.

 

[JenMarie82]

We did not do all day dining, but I think it really depends on your family's eating habits. We saved our receipts and it would not have been worth the cost for us because we often split a meal either me and our youngest or the two kids and we don't walk away hungry. Also, we bought a refillable cup and all shared it to save on drinks and they were happy to fill it with water for us when we asked. Dine with Shamu was an awesome experience and we highly recommend it!

 

[peg110]

I think it really depends on your family's eating habits.

I think this is the most important thing. Some people are "Nibblers" while others are "Gorgers" then the rest of us fall somewhere in the middle. When we go to Sea World, we plan on the entire day there and as such 3 meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner), plus the inevitable snacks along the way. With the plan, we can pop into the restaurant and grab a snack and a drink easily enough.

Also if the weather is HOT we tend to drink more, so going in for drink is great too. In fact every time we go through the line we always grab a drink even if it's only a snack that we want, because eventually the drink will be wanted. Typically if we don't want a drink at that time, then the bottle of water is the choice. Who likes paying upwards of $3 for a bottle of water anyway.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Also if the weather is HOT we tend to drink more, so going in for drink is great too. In fact every time we go through the line we always grab a drink even if it's only a snack that we want, because eventually the drink will be wanted. Typically if we don't want a drink at that time, then the bottle of water is the choice. Who likes paying upwards of $3 for a bottle of water anyway.

That's a huge one in the summer months. We went in August 2014, and the amount of bottled water we drank over the course of the day was almost the value of the plan all by itself. The food was just a "bonus" .

 

[peg110]

@Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina EXACTLY! I drink a lot of water. I mean A LOT of water. On a normal day I drink to close to a gallon of water (normal being that I have a desk job and not very active). When I am out and about walking or working, particularly when it's warm.... I will drink a LOT more. Doing a bit of math (on the cheap side) a gallon of water (128 ounces) is approximately 7 -20 ounce bottles (okay, it's 6.4 but you can't buy .4 of a bottle). 7 Bottles at $2.79 (price last I knew) is $19.53. Now add meals.... Soda is even more.

So for us... It definitely works.

 

[squirrel]

Can you get free ice water at Sea World? Does it taste good like Universal or is it more like WDW?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Can you get free ice water at Sea World? Does it taste good like Universal or is it more like WDW?

We filled our refillable cup with ice water from various dispensers throughout the park, and the water tasted fine to us. Of course, it was crazy hot and we were dying of thirst so we would have drank water from a puddle and thought it was delicious .

In all seriousness, we did not notice a foul taste in the water at all, nor did it have that icky "aroma" that Florida tap water tends to have.

 

[ptmmg]

we did dining with Shamu and it was very well worth it awesome food and drinks!! and a great up close show . The only improvement I would suggest is the check in process. it seemed very confusing all guest got different times to be there to line up and the line kept getting moved but after we were finally in and seated no complaints at all!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

we did dining with Shamu and it was very well worth it awesome food and drinks!! and a great up close show . The only improvement I would suggest is the check in process. it seemed very confusing all guest got different times to be there to line up and the line kept getting moved but after we were finally in and seated no complaints at all!!

Glad to hear you enjoyed the experience! Check in and entry was pretty smooth for us on May 2nd, but it was also nowhere near sold out (which meant less people to usher in). Sold out dates are definitely more chaotic.