Seaworld.. should we bother?

[chrisann]

Our boys will be 7 and 3 1/2. My older son has mentioned that he'd like to go to Marineland which I'm assuming is similiar to Seaworld, is it worth it? We're a little squeezed for time, but if I knew the kids would really enjoy it then I'd rearrange our schedule. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[PA DISNEYLOVER]

We went 2 weeks ago. I was not a huge fan of it but I am not an animal person in any way shape or form. My 3 kids LOVED it. My 4 year is still talking about Shamu.

 

[gjw007]

I like SeaWorld. I've never heard of MarineLand. I don't think that you have to be an animal lover to enjoy SeaWorld as it is a nice relaxing park. It is a nice way to spend an afternoon and I think the kids would love the shows and watching the dolphins. I like SeaWorld that I've bought annual passes, so perhaps I'm a bit biased toward SeaWorld but I think that it is worth a trip.

 

[penguin087]

We took a day out of our trip last year to go to Seaworld. 2 adults 2 11yo boys and a 5 yo girl. I can't say any of us really enjoyed it. We all felt that we wasted the day. I didn't feel there was enough to do and wasted a lot of time waiting for shows. The shows were great but I felt the scheduling stunk (too much down time) and the options while waiting were not enough to occupy the kids. If you are really pressed for time I would feel safe skipping it. My son is a huge animal lover and really wanted to see Shamu. That was the high point of our day.

 

[mousefamily3]

We are going on Friday. I'll let you know how it goes. We love animals and dh is an avid scuba diver so I'm pretty sure it will be a big hit.

 

[beachgrl001]

We love seaworld, but thats just us If i were pressed for time then I would cut it...Of course I'd rather be at disney. But We really did love the shows and my ds (then 8y/o)enjoyed touching the dolphins, stingrays and feeding the sealions and it was one of the few days that was easy(we swam and relaxed for the rest of the day.)

 

[isla bonita]

We loved it and are going back in Sept.- Oct. We also have year passes. I think you just have to try it.

 

[disneyscuba]

We love Seaworld. My 4.5 your old son loves it there. We see the show and feed the sealions, sting rays, and Dolpins. There are lots of little hands on stuff for the kids to do.

We are going to FL and Disney in Nov and my son is already talking about going to seaworld.

The schudleing isn't the best but we do with it.

Later,

DisneyScuba

 

[jme829]

We added SW on our last trip and now its a must do. The kids love it all. My 13 yr old even enjoys Shamu's Happy Harbor with the climbing nets and the water play area.

I like that it is a more relaxed place than the Disney parks its a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Disney.

I think if you are in the least bit interested , that you should at least give it chance. You may like it, you may not but at least you can say you tried it.

 

[djm99]

Its a different kind of theme park. Like so many, I really wasn't interested in Sea World and skipped it while visiting Florida many times - I always rested when my family visited. Last year I took a chance while in California and went to Sea World - it was really nice. I feed a Dolphin - which was huge for me!! Watched Shamu's show, touched a Sting Ray, and that fish that releases "ink" (the name escapes me) - they were really slimey. I'm really kind of wierd about fish so that whole day was a blast for me. I was a melt down day actually. It was much more Mellow than Disney could ever be for my family. Sea World does have a few rides, but its usually so empty (compared to other parks) you can ride the good ones over and over again. Here a couple pictures:

Me & a dolphin

Me feeding a Sea Lion

 

[ClanHarrison]

We visited SeaWorld during our Orlando trip last August. We also did the Predators Tour and enjoyed it very much. My 10 y/o nephew was a Shark groupy last year and could care less about them this year though . We even had our ticket stamped to visit a 2nd time, for free, during our trip, but no one in our group of 8 was interested. I'm glad we had the experience but I think our next couple of trips will not include SeaWorld. However, I would like to go back, maybe year 3 or so to see what we missed before-or see what they might have new.

The day we visited was a down day for us too (see the villa we stayed in-link below-and you'll see why we wanted to go "home"), but husband and (grown) nephew ended up going back to Universal that evening and the rest of us stayed "home" and made daquiries (for the adults) and smoothies (for the kids) and chilled in the pool.

If you're pressed for time I wouldn't go. Save it for when you have more time so you won't feel cheated out of time.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

WE had gone years ago when it was good. Then we went again 10 years ago and we hated it. Two years ago we happened to get free tickets so we went again and it was much better. Very enjoyalbe really. We are going again this year but we have freee tickets again. I am looking foward to the new waterfront they have created. I found the food not really all that great and not a value so you may want to plan on eating at least one meal outside the park.

 

[kylara]

When I lived in Kissimmee, I had an AP to Seaworld. I really like it but then again, I was never trying to see all the shows in one day.

My Sister brought my nieces a couple of years ago and they loved it. They spent the whole day there and went back for a second day (it was free). They kids liked Sea World more than they like AK and the Studios....mostly because they get to feed and pet some of the animals at SW and both are animal lovers. They really enjoyed the Pet show that SW has...and both want to go back to see it again next year when they go to FL.

I agree with Belle in that the food isn't that great, but I did get a decent meal at one of the new places on the waterfront. Also had a good meal at the only sit down service resturant there but I hear it is real hit or miss.

 

[G8RFAN]

We went on our last trip in what was probably a 6 year hiatus. They've added a new play section for younger kids with climbing nets and chutes, kiddie coaster, and kiddie rides that is very reminiscent of a play area in Sesame Place. Maybe all Bush parks now have them. My 5yo DS loved it. Feeding the rays was very enjoyable as they are very interactive with you, almost like puppies. They have some pretty good rides for the older kids. We didn't plan well to make any of the shows, so next week we are splitting a little time to go back to SeaWorld and take in a couple of the shows. Fortunately, they had a special for fun passes which allows us to return unlimited times for the remainder of the year. As far as food, I forgot the name of the pizza place there, but it wasn't much worse than some of the counter service options at WDW.

 

[Zim]

Our past two visits to Orlando had to include Seaworld - not because of Seaworld, but because my folks LOVE Discovery Cove and you get a 5-day pass to Seaworld with the cost of a day at Discovery Cove. Both are great parks for a break from the larger parks. There isn't so much running around, Sea World is smaller, half of your time is spent sitting at shows, not standing in line for rides or walking large parks. If you find the time to do it, and you've never been, I'd say it's worth it and you should choose the day you think you'll be most tired and wanting a break from all the running around.

We are going down in November, but skipping SW this time... it's enjoyable, but because so much is show-based, it doesn't change and it's too old hat - there's just not the repeat thrill in canned shows as there is in rides! I will say the shows are very well done - especially, and surprisingly, the Pet Show (cats, dogs and such - you HAVE to see that one to believe it...) If I'm recalling the right park they also added a kind of Circ de Soleil performance last time that was very entertaining (and air conditioned!). What wasn't impressive was the Dinner with Shamu, for us at least... it's dark and basically you're just eating a very expensive dinner while a whale swims by the restaurant area.

The animal exhibits are enjoyable... it's kind of a pain to do the dolphin feedings because you have to stand in a very long line to buy like 4 mackerel to feed the dolphins, and it's at set time (obviously they can't feed them continuously). So plan on one of you standing in a long line for fish while the other entertains the troops (and there may be a purchase limit per person in line, so check that too).

That's about all I can recall. I always thought you were paying for a show or two and that's all SW was about, but they've definitely realized that they needed to have a lot more to entertain people when they're situated right next to DW and US...

Oh! I forgot about the kid play area, that's real nice too... and well monitored by the staff, so the parents can rest up!