Sea world first timer...some questions About This Page:

[NYKELLY]

any advice for a sea world first timer?? We are going in august and are planning on 2 days. Do we need 2 full days? It will be DH and myself, DS 5, DD 5 and DS almost 3. (the rest of our vacation will be spent at WDW). Is it better to do 2 days in a row or split up the days? What about dining in the park...any recommendations? the dining with shamu seems so expensive. how is the restaurant with the shark tanks? do you need to make reservations far in advance like you do for disney? being that it seems like its a lot of shows at seaworld it doens't seem like we would need to take a break midday like at WDW and then go back at night, or do we? Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks a bunch!

[wdwlovers]

Having not done a restaurant meal at SW myself, not much help with that. WIth your kids ages, both dining experiences would be fun if they are into that type of thing. I would think that you should be able to get most of the park done in one day. If your kids love the animals, then by all means go for two days and break it up a bit. I think it depends on how many ride attractions vs shows you'll want to see and do. We are planning one day for SW on our trip and we'll have two small children with us.

Have fun!

[snoozin]

I would probably only do one day (although we usually do 2), since you've got the 3 yo, and they'd probably would be bored day 2? The 5's might like a second half day to go do some things again (feed the rays, see Shamu, etc). So... 1-1/2 days would probably be perfect.

Dining -- I wouldn't pay for Shamu for so many of you... it is expensive, and not terribly interactive, and the little ones might be a bit disappointed at not being able to touch, even though they're that close.

[BarryH]

As for meals at Sea World, I didn't really like Dine with Shamu. The food was good, but the interaction consisted of Shamu just doing some basic tricks. You can see the same tricks during the Believe show. Sharks Underwater Grill (the restaurant with sharks) is very good. Save room for the brownie desert because it is delicious! You can make reservations for Sharks, but I don't have the phone number.

If you want to do a dinner show, I'd recommend the Luau. It's fun and the food is good.

[modisney]

Sea World is a great park. We go every year. It's very different from Disney, a little more laid back. I never feel as though I have to have a touring plan. It is a bit much to try to see all the shows/exhibits in one day. If I could only see one show it would be Blue Horizons. Shamu though is the big draw, get there early to get seats. Right by Shamu Stadium is an area called Shamu's Happy Harbor and there's a wet play area (water fountains etc.) as well as arcade style games, a large climbing structure and now some smaller "kiddie rides". There's a shamu themed, very mild roller coaster and another ride which is Dumb meets the tea cups. It's mild or wild depending if your kids spin it or not. I also like that several of the walkways are shaded and there's nice music playing. My only complaint with Sea World is the dolphin feeding at Dolphin Cove. It's always packed and it's never been a good experience for my kids. We don't go there but do stop by the dolpin nursery. While there's no feeding involved there, they do get see the dolphins. My kids also like the Wild Artic. Once inside the exhibit you see Beluga whales, polar bears and walruses. It's all inside (a great place to cool off) and set up to look like the interior of an Artic base station. My kids play more in those areas than looking at the animals. You can choose the mild or wild ride in. It's set up that you're coming into an Artic base station via helicopter. You can chose to sit and watch the movie and proceed into the exhibit or do something that's more motion simulated (we've not chosen this one). This is a popular exhibit but most of the waiting areas are covered. don't forget the free beer at the A.B. Hositality Center. Refreshing on hot day. Enjoy your visit!