Seaworld San Diego questions + Dine with Shamu?

[disneyberry]

first, just a question about Dine with Shamu or Breakfast with Shamu.

is having the trainers around for the $30 Dine with Shamu really worth the extra cost over Breakfast with Shamu (only $15 but no trainers)?

also, if you make advanced reservations for the Dine with Shamu, is it like a prepaid thing?
or can you cancel your reservation and get your money back?
we're not 100% sure if we want to go to Seaworld or not.

my other questions:
how long does it take to do Seaworld?
we'll be there in Sept when the hours are very short (9am - 6pm weekdays, 9am - 7:30pm weekends).
does this mean no fireworks either?

can we see all the best attractions at Seaworld if we went from say 9am - 2pm?
any itinerary suggestions if we did that?

TIA for your help!

 

[Sherlee]

I can't speak from experience, we don't leave until October, but have gone through the same debate. In the end, our daughter won out, she really wants to go to Sea World. I made our Dine with Shamu reservations on Monday. I did have to prepay, but it is refundable up to 24 hours in advance. They also told me there would not be fireworks at the time of the year. If you decide to go, please report back. Have Fun!

 

[year2late]

We were disappointed with the breakfast. The upside was that we got into the park early.


We had the dinner with Shamu and sat very near the splash zone last year and we still are talking about it!

 

[ilovemky]

it was worth every penny--the trainers were awesome and the whales come right up to your table if you sit down front!

we got ressies when we entered the park that morning

 

[jlima]

Our family did Breakfast with Shamu. Didn't make reservation; got to the park at 8:30, saw the sign at the reservation desk near the park entrance, bought the tix and hustled over. Made it to the stadium at about 8:40. Our table was near the entrance, at the end of the pool where the "deck" is; this is where the whales "leap" onto a platform in the pool that is only a few inches deep. We were only a few feet from them and it was a neat experience for DS3 & DS9. Food was decent; 2 kinds of eggs, bacon, sausage, fr toast, muffins & biscuts, fruit cocktail, bagels, danishes, 3 kinds of juice, milk, coffee, tea + waitstaff brought soda & iced tea if you asked.

I would try to see the Haunted Lighthouse movie first, and also the raft ride. Those lines were long by 3p & were nonexistent early in the day.

If you only go for 5 hrs you can probably fit in several shows (dolphins, sea lions, pets, Shamu), the lighthouse movie & the raft ride.

Hope this helps!!

 

[Carmanp]

Hi, we just went in June and didn't do everything. That is because they run several shows at the same time and you have to pick which show you would like to see. We never did see the Sea lions, which we now wish we would have. Of course, maybe the times for shows could be different depending on the time of year you go.

We did see Shamu, dolphins (which was one of our favorites), Pets Rule, and Cirque de la Mer, which was excellent.

 

[ahutton]

We haven't tried the meals, but I've been there a few times. You can see and do a few favorite shows if you go from 9-2 but I would suggest checking for showtimes right when you arrive and decide then what you want to see. We were there for a little longer than that, but saw Shamu, Dolphins, Penguins, Sharks and walked around some and had lunch. The only thing I would have really wanted to add was the show with the otter, Clyde and Seymore? I've heard that is a really cute one.