SeaWorld First Timer :) Few questions

[DisneyDreamer2325]

Hi!
I'm taking my family to Orlando in May, and am planning to spend 2 days at SeaWorld. My kids are beyond thrilled (6 y.o. boy and 4 y.o. girl). We are big animal fans
I have a few specific questions but any advice you have is greatly appreciated.

-Can we bring our own lunch?

-I booked the behind the scenes with dolphins tour for 9:30 AM. They say we have to check in half an hour before (so pretty much at opening). Does this still give us the time / opportunity to feed the dolphins before the tour?

-What other animals can you feed or have interaction with?

-How much in advance do we need to arrive for the shows?

-Is there any characters meets? like Shamu? Where are they located?

-I'm definitely buying the photo CD for the dolphin tour, do they also take other photos throughout the park? Can I have all of them put on the same CD?

-I'm planning to start day 1 with the dolphin tour, and day 2 with Antarctica. Other than that, should I figure out some kind of touring plan, or go with the flow? My husband wants to ride Manta but other than that we are going for the shows, animals and kiddie rides.

Thanks for your help!

 

[KBF]

Hi!
I'm taking my family to Orlando in May, and am planning to spend 2 days at SeaWorld. My kids are beyond thrilled (6 y.o. boy and 4 y.o. girl). We are big animal fans
I have a few specific questions but any advice you have is greatly appreciated.

-Can we bring our own lunch?

-I booked the behind the scenes with dolphins tour for 9:30 AM. They say we have to check in half an hour before (so pretty much at opening). Does this still give us the time / opportunity to feed the dolphins before the tour?

-What other animals can you feed or have interaction with?

-How much in advance do we need to arrive for the shows?

-Is there any characters meets? like Shamu? Where are they located?

-I'm definitely buying the photo CD for the dolphin tour, do they also take other photos throughout the park? Can I have all of them put on the same CD?

-I'm planning to start day 1 with the dolphin tour, and day 2 with Antarctica. Other than that, should I figure out some kind of touring plan, or go with the flow? My husband wants to ride Manta but other than that we are going for the shows, animals and kiddie rides.

Thanks for your help!

1) From the Seaworld Website:

SeaWorld has a strict food and beverage policy as to what may or may not enter the park. Below is a list of what is, or is not allowed under the food and beverage policy. If at any time you have a question about items, please speak to a supervisor or Guest Services.

IS ALLOWED:

Small ice chests of six-pack size or smaller (one per family)
Special dietary food, diabetic, health related or dietary needs. These types of specialty foods may enter the park with park management approval
Baby food, bottles, jars and other baby items
Fountain drinks, single serve drinks, refillable mugs (if opened prior to turnstile)
Reasonable quantity of bottled drinking water. Juice boxes (straws must be disposed of)
Single servings of snacks

IS NOT ALLOWED:

Alcohol is never permitted in through or out of the turnstiles. Any alcohol from outside of SeaWorld must be disposed of prior to entry. Any alcoholic beverage purchased at SeaWorld must be disposed of prior to exiting through the gates.
Ice chests larger than six-pack size
Styrofoam ice chests
Straws and lids
Bags of fast food items, picnic baskets, sandwiches or loaves of bread (meals)
Soda, sports drinks or energy drinks (single serving is allowed if open)
Large servings of snacks

2) Probably not. The first dolphin feeding starts at 9:30am. I would imagine you will be feeding the dolphins anyway on your dolphin tour.

3) In addition to feeding the dolphins, you can also feed sting rays, Sealions and small sharks.

4) It depends when in May you're visiting. If you are visiting memorial day weekend at the end of May, then 45 Minutes early for the best seat. If its any other day in May, 30 minutes for the best seat.

5) There are usually meet and greets with some of the Seaworld characters especially Shamu. This usually takes place in the front of the park when you first come in the gate. There are also opportunities with the character Franklin the turtle from the children's television show. His meet and greet times vary from day to day and he is located next to the pelican exhibit.

6) There are also photo ops around the park. You will see photographers around the park offering pictures for guests. Not sure if they will put all your photos on the same CD.

7) A touring plan is best if you don't want to be running back and forth around the park. Some of the more popular attractions and shows are located in opposite ends of the park. So it's important to know where everything is so you're not going back and forth wasting time. I would plan your day around the show times. Figure out which shows you want to see and what time those shows are. Then plan to visit attractions around those show stadiums before and after that particular show. The show times for May 2014 will probably be released the last week of April 2014. So you still have some time before the show schedule comes out.

Any other questions feel free to ask! Hope you have a great time!

 

[DisneyDreamer2325]

Thanks for all the answers!

 

[razzery]

Sorry I'm late to this -

You will not have time to feed the dolphins before the 9:30 tour but there will be a 10:30 feed beginning immediately after your tour. Your tour will end in the same place the feed starts so you'll be in perfect position to hop in line. There are also other feed times throughout the day if you can't make that one.

In regards to the cd, you can get all your photos from the day onto one cd. I believe it is around $25 more to upgrade from your just your tour photos on cd to all your photos from the day. I'd ask the photo team at dolphin cove just to be sure.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

In regards to the cd, you can get all your photos from the day onto one cd. I believe it is around $25 more to upgrade from your just your tour photos on cd to all your photos from the day. I'd ask the photo team at dolphin cove just to be sure.

Updated photo pricing information can be found here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3232581