Seaworld Quick Queue help??

foxxxy83

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Am taking my mum and son to Seaworld in Oct and I want to do the big rides esp Manta but know my mum and son won't want to so just wondered if Quick Queue really is quicker or if so many people buy Quick Queue thinking it will be quicker and then find it's no quicker coz everyone had the same idea? I'm doing the Beluga Whale interaction as well so am looking to use our time in the park wisely. I also don't want to seem like am neglecting my mum and son although I know my mum will happily take him for a wander round on her own for a couple of hrs. Anyone got any advice?? Thanks! :)
 
Am taking my mum and son to Seaworld in Oct and I want to do the big rides esp Manta but know my mum and son won't want to so just wondered if Quick Queue really is quicker or if so many people buy Quick Queue thinking it will be quicker and then find it's no quicker coz everyone had the same idea? I'm doing the Beluga Whale interaction as well so am looking to use our time in the park wisely. I also don't want to seem like am neglecting my mum and son although I know my mum will happily take him for a wander round on her own for a couple of hrs. Anyone got any advice?? Thanks! :)

SeaWorld has a single rider line for Manta so if it is just you or if you don't mind being separated I don't think Quick Queue is necessary.
 
We have found that Quick Queue really is quicker :thumbsup2 .

While we get it every time we go (and wonder why others don't do the same), there will be a large portion of guests who don't have it. Those staying at the 7 onsite hotels get a limited version for free, but that really is a small percentage of visitors.
 
Since you're going in October, I'd skip the purchase of the quick queue ticket and just use either the single rider line for Manta or use the regular queue line as the wait in the morning is about 25 minutes and almost non-existent towards the rest of the day. DD9 and I got on Manta 3 times with less than a 5 minute wait time about 2 weeks ago. Even the penguin ride had a wait time of about 25 minutes which turned out to about 10. HTH
 

Thanks for that guys! I had completely forgotten about there being single rider lines! Doh! ;) It's always just been me and my son taking holidays together in the past so never really had any need for single rider line. AWESOME! :) x
 
I'd say the Quick Queue isn't really worth it at Sea World. We just got back last week from a spring break trip, and we never waited more than 5-15 minutes to ride Manta in the regular line. The kids rode it over and over again all day. We also went in mid December, and the waits for rides weren't too bad then either. Manta was 5 minutes middle of the day if I remember right. October will be less crowded then both those times.

I will say I was very glad we had EP at Universal this trip, but we didn't miss not having it at Sea World at all. Maybe if you went peak summer season and all you wanted to do was to ride the two coasters over and over again, it'd be worth it. Otherwise, if it's really crowded you can ride them each a couple times first thing in the morning and be good to go.

I think so many people go to Sea World for the shows and animals or with younger kids that the roller coaster lines just don't see the crowds other parks do. Both trips Empire of the Penguins had a much longer wait. It was really the only bad wait in the parks (40 to 90 minutes, pretty much all day both trips), so we just made sure to do it first thing.

I actually think the reserved seating pass for the shows is a better deal than anything as it allowed us to arrive last minute with great seats. This let us spend more time in other parts of the park. I'd definitely never try to do the Christmas shows without it.
 
That's great thanks! It's only me who's the adrenaline junkie (lol). It was just that when I went last Oct, it was just me and my 6 yr old son so I couldn't do ANY of the coasters so, as you can imagine, am WELL EXCITED! :) Just wanted to make sure there was a way of me getting to do the coasters like I want and my mum not feeling too neglected so thanks for ALL the help guys!! :) :) :) x
 
I'd say the Quick Queue isn't really worth it at Sea World. We just got back last week from a spring break trip, and we never waited more than 5-15 minutes to ride Manta in the regular line. The kids rode it over and over again all day. We also went in mid December, and the waits for rides weren't too bad then either. Manta was 5 minutes middle of the day if I remember right. October will be less crowded then both those times.

I will say I was very glad we had EP at Universal this trip, but we didn't miss not having it at Sea World at all. Maybe if you went peak summer season and all you wanted to do was to ride the two coasters over and over again, it'd be worth it. Otherwise, if it's really crowded you can ride them each a couple times first thing in the morning and be good to go.

I think so many people go to Sea World for the shows and animals or with younger kids that the roller coaster lines just don't see the crowds other parks do. Both trips Empire of the Penguins had a much longer wait. It was really the only bad wait in the parks (40 to 90 minutes, pretty much all day both trips), so we just made sure to do it first thing.

I actually think the reserved seating pass for the shows is a better deal than anything as it allowed us to arrive last minute with great seats. This let us spend more time in other parts of the park. I'd definitely never try to do the Christmas shows without it.

We are going to SeaWorld right before Christmas. We will be in Orlando Dec 21-24. We will arrive around 1pm the first day and leave around dinner time on Christmas Eve.

We will have a Busch Gardens Annual pass, so we can go to Sea World and Aquatica. Our pass is not good at Discovery Cove. I don't want to spend a lot of money at other locations this trip since we have these passes. I may want to visit downtown Disney or the Christmas decorations at one of the resorts.

Other than getting a reserved seating pass, any recommendations on how we use our time? Can you tell me more about the Christmas shows?

Thanks.
 
We are going to SeaWorld right before Christmas. We will be in Orlando Dec 21-24. We will arrive around 1pm the first day and leave around dinner time on Christmas Eve.

We will have a Busch Gardens Annual pass, so we can go to Sea World and Aquatica. Our pass is not good at Discovery Cove. I don't want to spend a lot of money at other locations this trip since we have these passes. I may want to visit downtown Disney or the Christmas decorations at one of the resorts.

Other than getting a reserved seating pass, any recommendations on how we use our time? Can you tell me more about the Christmas shows?

Thanks.

We did a Christmas trip in 2012. My trip report might help you :) . You can find it here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3041415

It includes several of the places you mentioned....SeaWorld (twice), Aquatica, DTD and more.
 
We are going to SeaWorld right before Christmas. We will be in Orlando Dec 21-24. We will arrive around 1pm the first day and leave around dinner time on Christmas Eve. We will have a Busch Gardens Annual pass, so we can go to Sea World and Aquatica. Our pass is not good at Discovery Cove. I don't want to spend a lot of money at other locations this trip since we have these passes. I may want to visit downtown Disney or the Christmas decorations at one of the resorts. Other than getting a reserved seating pass, any recommendations on how we use our time? Can you tell me more about the Christmas shows? Thanks.

Looks like we will be there same time as you this year. Going to Orlando for Christmas as well this year.

Last year we were there before Christmas week, so it wasn't as crowded during the day. It definitely picked up at night for the Christmas parts. We only had a few days last year and just did Sea World, MVMCP, and HS. As far as Sea World goes, I thought the decorations at Sea World were better than those at MK. It felt more like Christmas time to me at Sea World.

There are 4 Christmas shows:
O Wondrous Night - live nativity play, I actually didn't think I'd care for this very much, but ended up really enjoying it.
Shamu - pretty much the whale show put to Christmas music
Clyde & Seamore - similar to the regular show in how it is performed, but with a Christmas theme. I actually liked the Christmas show better than the regular show.
Winter Wonderland / Holiday Reflections fireworks afterwards - an ice skating show with the fireworks and Sea of a Trees in the background as the finale. This was my favorite, and a perfect way to end the night.

There is also the Tree of Lights show which is a TSO type show with Christmas trees placed throughout the lake changing color to music. You can see this show from a number of locations along the water, on the bridge, and from the Bayside Theater.

When we went, the shows were arranged in a back to back schedule. One ending the next starting. The only way to see all 4 Christmas shows was if you had the seating pass because you couldn't walk quickly enough between the theaters to get there before they shut the doors due to capacity. The only way in after the theater is full is if you have purchased the seating pass.

During Christmas, the event area to the right between the entrance and the Bayside Stadium is turned into a Christmas village. There are little kiosks selling Christmas trinkets and hot chocolate and s'mores. There was also a nice outdoor fire pit with seating. This was a nice area to hang out in after the last show ended and let the crowds clear out before heading for the exit.

If you only go to Sea World for the afternoon for the Christmas events, then I would go to the Polar Express ride first. Get it out of the way. You get a quick queue pass for this if you purchase the show seating, so the crowds won't matter. Then if you still have time before the first show starts, I'd go either to check out the Christmas village or Shamu's Harbor if you have kids. If you go earlier in the day and have more time, try to fit in the dolphins, turtles, and penguins, as there are no Christmas equivalents for those animals. If you arrive in the morning, do the Penguins first since this ride has the longest line all day. Really anything that is a must do for your family, I'd try to fit it in by mid afternoon because once the Christmas shows start, you don't really have much time to do anything else.

Last year doing a water park like Aquatica was out of the question, since it was about 45 degrees when we were in Orlando. Warmest day it was about 68 mid afternoon. But last year was an exceptionally cold winter for the south, so who knows this year.

We did go to DTD last year. It was pretty crowded, but still fun to walk around and look at the decorations. We made reservations at the TRex restaurant about two weeks before leaving through the restaurant not through Disney and had no problems getting a seat.

I think touring the Disney resorts would be fun. I wanted to do that last year but ran out of time. I think with your limited time I'd try to just choose a few to tour, maybe same day you do DTD that way you can park at DTD and then just take the Disney transportation around to the hotels. You could either do the Epcot hotels which are grouped together Swan, Dolphin, Yatch, Boardwalk, Beach Club. Hanging out at the boardwalk could be a fun way to end the night. Or do the hotels connected by monorail. Take a DTD bus to one of those, then the monorail to the others. Another option would be to go over to the Wilderness Lodge, see the decorations, the geyser, and the Electrical Water Pagent, maybe have dinner there. Whispering Canyon is supposed to be a lot of fun for kids. You could also go tour the campgrounds. There are tons of decorations up there and lots of activities for kids to do, although not all free.

If you have a Busch Gardens pass, have you thought about just going there one of your days? I know they also have special Christmas activities and shows, a Christmas village I think. The drive really isn't that bad for a day trip. Even if you aren't really into roller coasters, there are plenty of animals to see and other things to do. If you do like coasters, they have some great ones. I really enjoyed our time spent there this spring. We are planning on going back this summer, and I may go again at Christmas as well.
 
Thank you both for the information and pointer to the trip report.

Our "kid" coming with us is 23, but we all enjoy kids type things still.

It is actually a cruise out of Tampa from December 14-21 that is bringing us to FL. Since my son is in Madagascar, and other family members are not coming to Ohio for Christmas, I figured, "Why not stay where it is warm and enjoy the holidays." Other than our 4 days, 3 nights in Orlando, we plan on spending somewhere between 5 and 10 days in Tampa. Maybe we will stay in Orlando another couple of days depending on points and availability, etc.

Christmas Day, I have to have good Internet so that I can Skype with my boy half way around the world.

Even though the cruise was very inexpensive (around $1,000 for all 3 of us combined), and we are using points for most of the hotel stays, I am trying to be careful with money.

Since we are doing a summer vacation at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, we decided to get the annual passes and do the Busch parks in December as our main entertainment. We plan on hitting Busch Gardens during our Tampa part of our stay.

Any additional info would also be appreciated.

By the way, many years ago we went to the place at the Wilderness Lodge to eat. As long as you have a sense of humor, it is fun for all ages and the food was awesome. Thanks for the reminder, we may go there again.
 














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