Stick with Disney Parks or add SeaWorld

[Dis703]

I say drop a MK day to go to SeaWorld, 3 days @ MK is probably too many, on the 3rd you'd be primarily repeating stuff from before

As someone who does 4 MK days I'd have to disagree with this. While we do repeat some of our favorites there is still plenty to do and we'd happily add a 5th or 6th day if we could.

I agree with others that said Sea World is just not up to par with what Disney offers. It's been a few years since I've gone, but I have been several times. I enjoyed it, but it's just not at the same level of a Disney park. So I wouldn't give up a Disney park day to do it.

 

[loves to dive]

I would do the split two and two idea. We haven't been to the Orlando Sea World in years but went to the one in San Antonio a couple of years ago when my son was stationed there. He and his wife got in free on military tickets and got a discount for me with them so it was worth it. We are scuba divers so any chance we get to see fish we are there. We used to go to the one in Orlando about every other time we went to WDW and there used to be a Marine Land somewhere close by (can't remember where maybe near Daytona) that we also used to hop over to.

 

[amylevan]

As someone who does 4 MK days I'd have to disagree with this. While we do repeat some of our favorites there is still plenty to do and we'd happily add a 5th or 6th day if we could.

Meh. To each their own. We never need more than 2 days at MK, and by the end of the second day we are starting to lose interest. We just aren't interested in every single attraction, and we don't need to repeat things endlessly.

 

[Dis703]

I'm trying to make the same decision for my family trip this January. We last went to Orlando in January 2012 and we didn't do Sea World then. There's 5 in my family with kids ages 13, 9, and 7.

We're arriving on the evening of 1/19 and my schedule currently looks like this:

• Wednesday 1/20: Epcot
• Thursday 1/21: MK
• Friday 1/22: AK (need to leave park by around 3:30 since we're Sabbath observers)
• Saturday night 1/23: Epcot to see Illuminations
• Sunday 1/24: Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure
• Monday 1/25: Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure
• Tuesday 1/26: Possibly Sea World or repeat Disney park like MK
• Wednesday 1/27: HS
• Thursday 1/28: Repeat of park(s) that we really liked (leave to airport at about 5:45)

On the one hand, I think we might be a little bored doing another day at MK and can see stuff there again on 1/28 if we want. On the other hand I'd love to save the approximately $300 price difference between 5 weekday sea world tickets and one more WDW day. I'm really not expecting to need 2 days in MK as we have a touring plan set up and it seems extremely doable to hit everything we want in one day. There's plenty of room for breaks built in we still should be fine doing MK in one day.

Any thoughts?

Is this your first time to Disney? I ask because there is so much to see an do at MK I can't imagine doing everything we want in just one day. We've gone at least once a year for the past 5 years and still do 4 days at MK and never get bored with it.

As another family of 5 we've opted to save the difference for now. $50 more for another Disney day vs. $350-$450 for a day at Sea World. Every time we look at it I just can't justify it. We'll go eventually but we'll have to give up something else to make it fit with our budget.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I would not ever drop a WDW park day for SW. If you want to go, I'd do it on your resort day. For us, the quality of the park does not beat MK in any way and our family would just wish we were at MK that day.

I say send the two to SW who want to go, because either way someone will be disappointed if you choose one or the other.

 

[momof2n2]

For us, the quality of the park does not beat MK in any way and our family would just wish we were at MK that day.

And this is what makes it hard to advise the OP. For us SW was superior in many ways.

 

[Planogirl]

And this is what makes it hard to advise the OP. For us SW was superior in many ways.

I agree. It's really a matter of individual taste. I think that SeaWorld is in many ways just as good as any other themepark.

I also think that we would go nuts after a few days at MK but I know that some people enjoy going there for several days. It's hard to judge what people would like.

 

[kj2mom]

The way I decided to work the finances was we skipped the park hoppers and used that money to pay a large portion of our Sea World tickets. I knew we could always add on park hopping while we were there if for some reason we absolutely needed it but the topic didn't even come up while we were there so it worked out perfectly.

 

[NYHeel]

Is this your first time to Disney? I ask because there is so much to see an do at MK I can't imagine doing everything we want in just one day. We've gone at least once a year for the past 5 years and still do 4 days at MK and never get bored with it.

As another family of 5 we've opted to save the difference for now. $50 more for another Disney day vs. $350-$450 for a day at Sea World. Every time we look at it I just can't justify it. We'll go eventually but we'll have to give up something else to make it fit with our budget.

Not our first in Disney. The second for my family (last time was 4 years ago) though my wife and I were also there for one day on 10/26 which we split between MK and Epcot. I really do think we can do everything we want at MK in one day (we basically did that last time) but having two days lets us relax more and do some of the better rides multiple times.

I guess I cab even try and fit in the afternoon parade even though I hate parades.

 

[NYHeel]

I would not ever drop a WDW park day for SW. If you want to go, I'd do it on your resort day. For us, the quality of the park does not beat MK in any way and our family would just wish we were at MK that day.

I say send the two to SW who want to go, because either way someone will be disappointed if you choose one or the other.

The big draw for us are the two really great roller coasters. You don't have anything like those at WDW (RnR is the closest). And with the Hulk closed at Universal, I'm afraid we're going to be really lacking in our coaster fix. But my 7 year old daughter is only about 50" in shoes so she's short of the 54" height requirement. That might be the deciding factor to keep us out of Sea World.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Not our first in Disney. The second for my family (last time was 4 years ago) though my wife and I were also there for one day on 10/26 which we split between MK and Epcot. I really do think we can do everything we want at MK in one day (we basically did that last time) but having two days lets us relax more and do some of the better rides multiple times.

I guess I cab even try and fit in the afternoon parade even though I hate parades.

If it was pre-FP+, you may be in for a different experience than your prior visit.

I'm not sure how to answer the original question. SW doesn't hold much appeal for us, but we've done all kinds of trips to FL. Sometimes we decided to stay at WDW for a week, sometimes we split between WDW and US, and many trips we spent a few days doing something OTHER than theme parks.

In the last few years, we decided we really like Tampa. The Tampa are has some amazing beaches and opportunities to see wild dolphins! We've also come to appreciate the lower cost and better food we get on our non-theme park days. as much as I love the them parks, it is also nice to escape the crowds part of our vacation.

 

[kathy884]

Everyone likes different things. I've been to all the world class theme parks in Orlando and last trip when I was doing four theme park days (lol I could pick anything I want, I've done it all before) I did the first and last day at SeaWorld (my favorite), one day at the MK (I only need one day to do what I like to do there. I do love the park though), and a one day park to park pass at Universal (that got me to the handful of things I like to do and time to see the HP areas).

Obviously different people like different things and others would allocate things differently. SeaWorld is such a beautiful park. I really like the vibe there. It's more relaxing to me than the other theme parks. Summer nights and Christmas theming are really well done.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I really enjoyed Sea World and we get one day admission for free through the waves of honor program. I was pregnant so did not get to do the roller coasters, but grew up near BG Williamsburg and I LOVE the coasters there. If your kids like roller coasters, they will probably love the coasters at Sea World.

I will also mention that I can't get my husband to go back even though it's free.

Also, if you decide to splurge on Discovery Cove, you get 14 days unlimited admission to Sea World, Aquatica and Busch Gardens Tampa. You have to be 10 for the dolphin encounter but anyone can go to the park.

 

[DOOM1001]

The big draw for us are the two really great roller coasters. You don't have anything like those at WDW (RnR is the closest). And with the Hulk closed at Universal, I'm afraid we're going to be really lacking in our coaster fix. But my 7 year old daughter is only about 50" in shoes so she's short of the 54" height requirement. That might be the deciding factor to keep us out of Sea World.

Next year Sea World will also open Mako,Orlando's only hypercoaster at 200 feet.This coaster is almost guaranteed to be popular as its tall and fast but without loops or inversions,when you survey general park guests its amazing how many people have issues with loops.I've been in enough of these kind of coasters to know they're some of my favorites,especially if it has tons of airtime.The coaster went vertical about 2 weeks ago,hopefully they can get it open by May.

 

[NYHeel]

Next year Sea World will also open Mako,Orlando's only hypercoaster at 200 feet.This coaster is almost guaranteed to be popular as its tall and fast but without loops or inversions,when you survey general park guests its amazing how many people have issues with loops.I've been in enough of these kind of coasters to know they're some of my favorites,especially if it has tons of airtime.The coaster went vertical about 2 weeks ago,hopefully they can get it open by May.

Yeah, if Mako were open already in January we'd definitely be there. But with the cost for a one day ticket vs. an extra day at WDW or even Universal and that my youngest is still a few inches too short for the 54" rides, I'm leaning towards passing for now. Maybe in our next trip, whenever that will be. Probably another five years or so.

 

[HeidiGW]

We LOVE Sea World, too! I'd try to work it in. Plus the crowds are always less than Disney; it is a nice break!