Tips for a first timer.

[belle1986]

I'm not sure what happened to my post??

Anyhow, dh wants to add a seaworld day onto our WDW trip. We will be at pop from 9/28-10/1 so we will need to find a hotel near seaworld, any recommendations? Is there any preplanning to be done other than buying tickets? Also what are some must dos? It will be dh, me, dd(4), and ds(1). Thank you!

 

[WDWNerd]

We were there this week. I haven't been in 15 years or so, & it was my first time with my kids!

We stayed at Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista. It took us a/b 10 mins to get to Sea World. (I think the hotel is a/b 3 miles away). The price was very reasonable & it has a nice pool & splash pad area that my kids (6 & 4) loved! However, we did pay for parking at Sea World (the hotel had a shuttle, but we chose to drive). There are Sea World hotels that are within walking distance of the park, but we were very happy with where we stayed. It's also right near DTD, so we liked that as well.

My girls enjoyed the dolphin show & really liked feeding the sea lions. We did the penguin ride, but it wasn't one of their favorites. At their age, they didn't want to stay long to see the penguins b/c it was SO COLD & they didn't want to hang around. They loved the Atlantis ride & did it twice.

We didn't get the Quick Pass. We just got there early & had no trouble w/ lines b/c we did the more "popular attractions" first thing. My girls really loved seeing all the animals. They spent a long time at the sting ray pool touching them.

We found Sea World to be very laid back. We didn't rush around. Crowds weren't crazy. I felt like it was a lot of walking for my 4 year old. She wouldn't have made it through the whole day w/out a stroller.

Hope this helps! Have fun!

 

[disneyfab]

There was a hotel right across the street. I think a Holiday Inn and a few more around it. We stayed near Universal and it took us less than 10 minutes to get there and park. Some of there partner hotels offer perks if you haven't gotten your tickets yet.

Download the app and look at the map so you can have an idea of where you want to go and which side of the park to start on.

You can purchase QuickQue and All Day Dining either beforehand or when you arrive. My kids enjoyed the exhibits, especially the shark on and the kiddie ride area, and the shows. The big kid and dh thought the coasters were okay. The all day dining was a hit with everyone.