Should we do Sea World?

[bschiffler]

We love the DW parks and my kids DS6 and DD3 have been every year of their lives. We will be at Disney for 5 park days following our cruise. Do I give up a Disney park day for Sea World? Is it worth it?? Thanks for any advice!
It will be the last week in November.

 

[mommyintn]

This is my struggle too!! We will be going for the 4th time the end of January-beginning of February and I know the kids would love Sea World (ds 8 & ds 4) but I don't know that I can give up a day of Disney! So I am no help but would love to see what others say.

 

[Janet Hill]

IMO (my kids too) Sea World is worth it.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

We were just there in February and thoroughly enjoyed SeaWorld (for 2 days.) Since you go to Disney every year, I would advise you to go to SW for one day too. I would have a hard time giving up a Disney day to do SW. So we didn't! We had one trip (in February) for Universal and Sea World only, and have one trip coming up for Disney only.

 

[tracipierce]

Well sorry to be negative, I had heard great things about sea world, but we absolutely hated it. The show seemed so false, and I just kept thinking about the poor whales being captive. We were so bored that we left really early and went shopping instead at the outlet mall. My kids were 16, 14 and 4, so a good range of ages.
Another thing that I found quite worrying (please no flames for this) was the part of the show where American Servicemen were asked to stand up so they could be honoured. Normally this would seem like a wonderful way of showing appreciation, but with the security threat being what it is, I thought it made the servicemen vulnerable.
I apologise if this statement has offended anyone with family in the services, it wasn't meant to upset anyone.

 

[bschiffler]

I am worried that I am going to feel the same way regarding the animals in captivity. I couldn't even swim with the dolphins in Mexico this year because I felty so sorry for them. I think that may have answered my question?

 

[KidAtHeart1]

To me, SW is well worth it. Beautiful park, great shows, neat exhibits and a few cool rides. It is a great alternative to Disney!

On a side note (and dont take this as an attack): if you are offended that SW has animals in captivity dont go to Animal Kingdom either.

 

[Kat1981]

On a side note (and dont take this as an attack): if you are offended that SW has animals in captivity dont go to Animal Kingdom either.

I would give Busch Gardens a miss as well (just in case you ever think of visiting)

 

[queenarmadillo]

I really enjoy Seaworld. I am vegetarian and fairly animal rights-ey, but to me, the whales have been bred in captivity and aren't aware that there is any more world out there than they experience. I believe they are well treated, and so don't feel sad for the animals at Seaworld, but grateful for what they are doing to raise awareness of animals as sentient beings. I think whether concern for the animals will ruin it for you is a fairly personal thing though--if you are offended by the idea of animals being treated as performers even if happy and not mistreated, then Seaworld is probably not for you.

Animal Kingdom made me feel a bit uncomfortable when it first opened, but I think it has improved slightly since then.

To the OP: if you think you can fit in everything you want to do at Disney in 4 days, then Seaworld is well worth it. If not, worrying about missing old favourites may overshadow the fun of the new experience and mean it isnt a good idea this time, particularly if your 5 day passes are already paid for. Maybe skip it this time and build it into the schedule for your next trip.

 

[MEM]

Another animal-lover here as well as a Seaworld lover! I think SW is worth a day and that November would be an excellent time to spend a day there - my only objection to Seaworld has been that we always visited in August and sitting in the open stadiums can be quite uncomfortable.

FWIW, the animals seem "happy" as far as one can tell that and seem to like having a "job" to do. Any animal that intelligent is likely to melt down if they are not challenged and not "happy" The trainers will tell you that if the animal doesn't want to do something then the trainer changes the script. The animals are extremely well-cared for and as someone said, captive-born. These are only my opinions and observations - not meant to start an argument.

The story-lines for most of the shows seem very lame but I go to the shows to see the animals, not the humans. The Clyde and Seamore show with the California sea lions never fails to entertain.

SW has something for everyone and the price can't be beat.

 

[hfalk]

I would highly recommend spending a day at Sea World. In May we did our first trip to Disney and Sea World and my DD (age 5) actually liked Sea World more than Disney...

 

[Lou256]

I would also recommend a day at SW, My family and I were in WDW for 8 days near the end of June, and the one day we spent in SW was a nice break from the crowds. It's mostly shows, which are wonderful, and there is interaction venues w/Dolphins and Stingrays where you get a chance to feed them.

 

[VacationFanatic]

The show seemed so false, and I just kept thinking about the poor whales being captive. What is more false that fake everything Disney??
Another thing that I found quite worrying (please no flames for this) was the part of the show where American Servicemen were asked to stand up so they could be honoured. Normally this would seem like a wonderful way of showing appreciation, but with the security threat being what it is, I thought it made the servicemen vulnerable. What???

Seaworld is definitely worth a visit. My family and I love the Disney and Universal parks, but nobody can deny that if you love animals, you will love Seaworld.

 

[scammermom]

Yes!!

 

[Cindy B]

To me, SW is well worth it. Beautiful park, great shows, neat exhibits and a few cool rides. It is a great alternative to Disney!

On a side note (and dont take this as an attack): if you are offended that SW has animals in captivity dont go to Animal Kingdom either.

Also don't go to any zoos, animal parks, or petting zoos. If you really think about it farms have fences and these farm animals are in captivity as well.

As for servicepeople, that threat is just as immense in any other places. Think about military bases, parades, military funerals, even places like military schools have an amount of service people in large concentrations. That PP is from the UK, so perhaps they have different traditions/conceptions about military service people.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Our 8 year old DS likes Sea World more than Disney. We do both.

 

[endy]

We have been to Sea World in San Diego for the past 7 years. We buy annual passes and can spend 5 out of 10 days there. My DS10 loves Sea World. We are leaving on Friday for DL for the first time. When I asked if we needed to go to Sea World this year he replied yes it's my absolutely most favorite place in the world.
Next year we're hoping to go to Florida to Discovery Cove.

 

[dvcbnd]

My kids DS12, DD8, DS5 have also been to Disney every year of their lives (sometimes 2x a year) and we still make time for SW. WE LOVE IT! LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!!!
Give it a shot - (if your disney tkt for the day won't expire) - if it will, then maybe you should save SW for the next trip.

 

[Jaime]

We love the DW parks and my kids DS6 and DD3 have been every year of their lives. We will be at Disney for 5 park days following our cruise. Do I give up a Disney park day for Sea World? Is it worth it?? Thanks for any advice!
It will be the last week in November.

If they have never been I would take them! We love SeaWorld and have been all three times we went to WDW...I feel it is a nice change of pace and now there is a new section to SeaWorld that has 6 rides designed for children... We are actually in the exact same situation as you...we are getting of a cruise late November and are trying to decide if we want to go to SeaWorld...the only reason we can't decide is we already have Disney passes and are not sure if we want to spend the extra$$$ for SeaWorld passes.

Have a great trip!