When would you go to SeaWorld?

[geetey]

We are trying to plan our days in San Diego and have Sea World slated for 1 full day. We have never been to this park and the hours flucuate a great deal during our stay. We were planning on going on Friday (hours: 10 am - 6 pm), but Saturday it is open 9 am - 11 pm! Sunday is 9 am - 10 pm.

We were thinking of avoiding the weekend and its crowds, but with the longer hours, we are rethinking things.... Do you think the crowds are *that* much heavier from a Friday to Saturday that they have added 6 additional hours?!?

What to do? What to do? Any SeaWorld experts out there??

 

[Monkey Monkey]

I go to SeaWorld quite often during the week and pretty much will not go on weekends (or during the summer) because of the crowds.

There are a couple of shows that are only on weekends in the off-season, and the fireworks are only on weekends too. Check the show schedule for when you will be there to see what you might miss if you went on Friday.

Fridays aren't really empty there, but they are significantly less crowded than Saturdays and Sundays. As with DL, there are a LOT of locals that go to SeaWorld on the weekends.

With the shorter hours of a weekday, you really have to plan your day ahead of time if you want to hit all the shows. If you don't mind missing a show or two, you will have more time to see things like the shark encounter, Wild Arctic (with polar bears, beluga whales, walruses), penguin exhibit, etc.

Another option is to get a Fun Card if they are still selling them - buy one day, get the rest of the year free - and go on Friday, hit all the shows, then go back Sat. or Sun. night for the nighttime shows and fireworks, after you've done something else during the day.

HTH!

 

[geetey]

Thanks for the tips! We are getting free tickets (AB employee) so a return trip during our vacation is out. I will definitely check out the schedules and see if something significant is missing. The fireworks aren't a big deal for the kids.