Should we squeeze in Seaworld on a first trip to WDW

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Hi everyone! This is my first posting!! This board has been SO helpful to me as a first timer. My family is going to WDW for the first time in November and we are debating whether or not we should try to do Seaworld as well. It will be myself, DH and DD4 and none of us have ever been to Florida. We will be staying onsite for 8 nights. We have decided to spend 6 days in the parks.....2 at MK, 2 at EP, and 1 each at AK and HS. What we cannot decide on is if we should take our extra day as a mid-week break and hang out at the hotel pool to rest or go to Seaworld. We have never taken a trip this long or this active (we usually just head to the beach for a few days and become beach bums). So, I'm wondering what you Disney pros do. Do you allow a rest day or can you plow right through hitting the parks everyday (with a 4 year old, mind you) without being absolutely drained by the end of vacation. I would like to buy the Seaworld tickets in advance for the discount, if that's what we decide to do, so your advice is most appreciated!!

 

[tipsytrtle]

welcome!!!
IMHO i'd have a rest day or two especially with a little one... do sea world the next time you come to the world

 

[5 for WDW]

Rest is not an option with my kids. They exhaust us in WDW.

So, we always spend a day in Sea World. They love it and so do we. My kids are 10,8 and 4. SW always seems much more laid back so, we don't feel as tired when we leave there as we do in WDW.

I say go for it!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

My first trip we squeezed in Sea World and Universal IoA and i regret it. 7 trips later exclusively to disney and i still feel 'cheated' on our first trip by cutting our days at disney short. Sea World is definitely different and better than anything Universal offers but to me WDW has everything I need. If it were me I'd rather do SW on a 2nd or 3rd trip to Orlando

BTW welcome!

 

[HappyDisneyMemories]

I vote for a rest day. If you decide you have your heart set on Sea World then add it in but I'd still add a rest day (or a couple of half days). Its so hard to fit everything in you'd like to do whether its your first trip or 20th. Personally I like to get on Disney property and not leave until time to head to the airport but I realize there are *cough* other nice places "out there"! Have a great time!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

I would definitely skip Sea World and relax by the pool!

 

[Cool-Beans]

I never take a whole day to rest. I've never needed a whole day to rest.

I do take a couple mornings and afternoons off. I take off the mornings after I stayed late to watch Wishes or Illuminations. I take an afternoon off wherever I can work one in.

I adore Sea World and can't say enough good things about it! If you think you might like it, you'll probably love it. Sea World isn't about rushing and rushing to get everything done. Take your time. Stop and watch things. It's wonderful and beautiful and amazing.

 

[DiznEeyore]

On our first trip (ds was 5), we took a day off from WDW and went to Sea World. We did have "down time" built into our schedule each day, though.

 

[sherreis]

I agree with skipping Seaworld on this trip and save it for another time. There's so much to do at WDW and a down day at the resort or going to play mini-golf is worth it.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Nope, there is no way I'd include Sea World. If you're going to go anywhere on that extra day, I'd highly recommend Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. Our family LOVES them. At the kiddie area at TL, our little girls really enjoyed playing in the sand near the "creek" while we sat on the lounge chairs right next to them. Sooo relaxing and just what the doctor ordered for a fun, relaxing family time together.

And, if you decide to stay at your resort one day and not go anywhere, trust me when I say you will NEVER regret it. Never! Staying there is such a treat and very, very fun for everyone. This is your vacation, too, and I think you'll be very happy you spent some time at your resort. We always do, but it is never enough. When we are there in October, we are definitely going to spend more "downtime".

I am SO excited for you!! There is nothing like WDW -- you can't even believe how magical of a time you are going to have with your little princess!

 

[ChrisFL]

I'd rather go to the Universal parks than Sea World but it depends on your family.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I'd rather go to the Universal parks than Sea World but it depends on your family.

Okay, I was going to say that, but I didn't because that wasn't the question. I'm glad you said it.

OP, I think that once you're there you will probably decide that if you want to add a park, you'll want to add a Disney park.

But if it were me, I'd be heading over to Uni.

 

[magicalfoursome]

Since it is your first time in WDW and your DD is only four I would take the day to enjoy the pool and go in the evening to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping, or maybe check out another resort for dinner. WDW is HUGE and there is so much to do! Sea World and Universal Studios are also great places to visit but maybe better left for next time. Whatever you decide have a magical trip!!

 

[annacali]

I will take the opposite point of view and say YES! Go to Sea World. My DD's are ages 3 and 5 and have been to Sea World 3 times-twice in San Diego, and it was a must do for us in Orlando early this month too. We were there for a week, spent 5 days at Disney and one day at Sea World. Our Sea World day we slept in, swam, napped and headed there about 2 pm and stayed until 10. They saw the Dolphin show, the Sea Lion show, Pet show, toured the Arctic, Penguin and Manatee exhibits, saw the Clydesdales, played in the Happy harbor, did the Shamu dinner buffet and the nighttime Shamu show. They LOVE Sea World, and talk about it all the time. My three year old can tell you anything and everything there is to know about a manatee---and she sleeps with a 3 foot long stuffed animal version on her bed every night!

It was our first trip to Disney and yes, it is huge and yes we probably barely saw a quarter of it if that. My kids are little-we will go back. We wouldn't have seen that much more if we had spent another day at Disney because they loved certain areas and wanted to go back to them again and again. We planned rest times into our days with swimming and had a downtown Disney break on another day so Sea World fit perfectly and they loved it!

 

[FairyDust2008]

I would suggest a down day with your resort and Downtown Disney That is what we did on our recent May 08 1st trip to WDW with our kids Since we were staying onsite, I just wanted to keep everything TOTALLY DISNEY for this trip and will most likely always do this. It is just the whole feeling of being totally immersed in the Disneyworld when staying at a resort. You get to your hotel and then you truly feel that you are in a MAGICAL place We used Disney transportation, monorail staying at the GF and so we basically valet parked our car for our week and that was great not having to drive anywhere. I would like to do Sea World but I think we'll save Sea World for San Antonio as we are closer to TX and leave our FL trips, STRICTLY DISNEY We are already anticipating our return trip next year 2009!!!!!!!!! Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save Sea World for another year and ENJOY DISNEY! Downtown Disney is a fun way to spend a little time out of the parks & eat and do some shopping without amusement parks and beating the pavement. We enjoyed the pool & resort and had several things planned at our resort such as the 1900 Park Fare for breakfast and dinner. My dd and I did the My Disney Princess Tea Wishing you as much fun as we had on our 1st trip to WDW! WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST AND IT WAS EVEN MORE MAGICAL THAN WE HAD EVER DREAMT OF

 

[d1gitman]

i highly recommend a down day, sleep in, rest, hit the pool, maybe go to downtown disney. if you want something specific to do that day that isn't exhausting like a park, i suggest Cirque Du Soleil La Nouba at Downtown disney. It isn't cheap but well worth the admission. when our DS was 4, we saw the show and he was mezmorized by it. Downtown Disney is a fun place to mosey around, shop, eat. LaNouba is the perfect way to cap off a trip to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is free and open to the public.

fyi - we had also tried to squeeze a Sea World day in on that trip. basically we wasted $300 as we were all too exhausted to continue our day at Sea World. we were back in our room by 2 pm and slept the rest of the day.

 

[brenda1966]

I've only been to Sea World in San Diego, but it was a hit with DD when she was 4. She really liked feeding the dolphins and touching the sting rays. However, she did ask "where are the rides??" And I assured her we'd be back at Disneyland the next day.

As for DTD, I don't think it has much at all to offer a 4 year old. I would not put it on my must see list. Of course I would fit in a lot of pool time.

We are also debating on whether to hit Sea World in Orlando this time. I'd be happiest just staying at WDW, but GRandma wants to go to Sea World, so we may try it.

 

[Turtle31]

Four years ago we set out to The World for our first trip as a family. My DH thought he would hate disney - I do not even know why in the heck he thought this and to this date neither does he... so he wanted me to plan all kinds of "non-disney" stuff. And just so that he would agree to the trip- I did it. To this day I regret it. We had two days at MK, one at Epcot, and one at Hollywood Studios. We then did Sea World and the Kennedy Space Center plus the Astronaut Hall of fame.

So we had a blast at M.K. and I was happy with what we saw in two days. Covered most of it that we could do and see and the time with a 5 year old and my six month old DD - (yeah we were crazy!!)

One day wasn't enough for Epcot in my mind. We didn't even really spend time in The World Showcase other than to eat burgers at America

On our day to Hollywood Studios (now Disney Studios) it started out a great day and then at about 6:00 the sky opened up and poured so hard we were soaked to our underclothes in two seconds flat. So needless to say we left immediatly. We ate dinner that night at Outback Steakhouse. I was so pissed because we didn't even get to make it far enough into the park to see Rock n Roll Roller Coaster, and I still to this day haven't seen fantasmic.

On our day to Kennedy Space Center my DH surprised me with a 3- hour bus tour. While I got to hold my six month old daughter in my arms in the hot bus... but this is a memory I will not re-live at this moment

And then we come upon our Sea World Day .... we were hot, and tired. It's alot of sitting in the sun and watching... I LOVE Sea World.. let me say that right off. We even went there in San Diego on Honeymoon. But my husband and I noticed right off a huge difference in the people who worked here to the quality of the service at disney. My brother in law even said he thought Shamu had got a lawyer .. (because he didn't do as many big flips) !!!

So anyway one thing we learned is not to combine non-disney with disney. We felt we were comparing the whole time and you just can't compare. Also it only cost a few extra dollars to add a disney day and it cost a lot more to add Sea World.
My suggestion would be to either add the more option and go to Typhoon Lagoon as suggested. Or you could add a day to your ticket and go to one park in the morning and go back and swim at the resort. Then the next day take an easy morning and go back to that same park for the Night event. (fireworks and the such).

And remember that if you are used to a beach bum type vacation that you don't want to get home and feel like you need a vacation after your vacation !! My husband had said we could rest when we got home... and I was ready to lose it by the night of day two... in all the excitement it is so easy to over do it.

 

[squirrel]

I would also skip it this time.

Spend the day at the resort, DTD (there are things there for little ones-Lego, shopping).

My first trip we split our vaccation into two parts-non Disney (Universal, SW and Wet n Wild) and WDW. We did WDW last on a 10 day trip.

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

Skip Sea World.
Visit Down Town Disney and your resort pool instead.