What to do on arrival day - Seaworld?

[minnieears]

I just found out that Seaworld offers free 2nd-day passes. This is great news to me because my husband, two daughters (ages 7 and 5), and I will be going to Seaworld (and MK and AK) this March for spring break.

We will fly into Orlando on a Sunday afternoon and after checking into the hotel, we don't really know what to do with the rest of the time, from about 4:30 PM on. The park hours will be 9 AM - 10 PM.

I'm thinking perhaps we can go to Seaworld, catch whatever shows we can, then use the free 2nd-day pass to come back for a full day at the park.

Can the free pass be used this way? Any suggestions as to what to do/see at Seaworld during the half-day that we'd be there? Are the shows scheduled throughout the day, or they end after a certain time like at Magic Kingdom?

Also, does anyone have information on what the Mystify show is like?

Thanks.

 

[jlaspoq]

We love Sea World, and have done it on the opposite end as our last day park before. If I have two days for a park (WDW or SW), I like to do the evening first. That way, I do whatever has reasonable lines, see what shows I can, get the lay of the land, and knock out a few of my "Must-see" attractions. Then, I plan my second day for park opening and follow whatever plan I must to see the rest. Since I already know my way around, and have already knocked a few things of the list, we can see the rest with minimal lines.

Not sure what Mystify is..... is it the circus type show toward the back of the park? If so, we didn't love it. Ok the first time, but never made time to go back to it.

Pick up a show schedule right away. That's key to knowing what you can do the first day. If you're too late for the shows you want, then do the walk through type attractions - penguins, manatees, etc. Absolutely see Shamu on your half day if you can - then if you want to see it again you can. (And yes, you will get wet in the seats that say you will get wet. Believe them.) Each show seems different to me.

Also see Clyde & Seamore if it's still there - your kids will love it. Visit the dolphins, and feed them if your kids will hold the slimy fish. There's a show in Key West with kind of a Jimmy Buffet flair that's good (can't remember the name of it, sorry.) When we were last there, they had a pet show that our girls loved..... I couldn't believe I was at Sea World watching silly pet tricks, but oh well. (Now I try not to walk by it and just claim we couldn't find it......) And absolutely find Shamu's playground - our kids loved it, and it's a great way to run off steam - no lines, just a fun place.

Have fun! It's a great place!

 

[minnieears]

Thanks for the information. We're looking forward to our trip.

 

[vernon]

If you do the one full day one half day idea (which is VERY workable IMHO) then definately make sure you take in the Shamu night show ( I think it's called Shamu rocks America) this is a very upbeat show and usually quite different from the "regular" day time shows. They also used to have a pretty good fireworks show to close the day.

I would also try to take in at least one of the other shows. IMHO it's almost impossible to cover all the shows at SW in one day. This is more to do with the timing of the shows than strictly the number of show minutes in an open day. You should find that at least one of the Whale and Dolphin show, Clyde and Seamore or the Pets Ahoy shows are on in the late afternoon early evening. You should be able to get through a few of the walk throughs at least. I would agree let the kids blow off some steam in Shamu's happy harbour, if it's your arrival day they are likely to be pretty stoked, so 30-40 minutes charging about is probably going to be time well spent. I think you'll miss all the feeding times at sealions, dolphins and stingrays ( they all get a lot less interested later in the day) so I would make this activity a priority for your full day.

 

[Immelman]

when you redeem your 2nd day free pass it must be used in 7 days. mistify is ok, it's a show like fantasmic, with the water screens. we ran over yesterday and it was as fun as always. if you want to take part in a dolphin feeding, the first one at 9:15 is best, they're ready to ineract. after the 12:45 one, they get more cloying, in for the fish, and then they back off. also, check out the underwater viewing area for the killer whales, they come right up to the glass and interact with you. I'll put some pics up and link them in a bit.