What are the secrets of Sea World -Give me your best tips

[MelanieC]

Hi everyone,

Background:
We are going to Sea World of Orlando in July. We haven't been to Sea World in Orlando since 1995 when my DD was 4 years old (she will now be 15)! I have been to Sea World probably 2 time in San Diego when I was a kid and we have been to Sea World of Ohio (the good old days -Sad it's gone) at least 3 times before it closed. DS doesn't even remember Sea World in Ohio (he will be 9 when we travel).

We are planning a 1 day trip on a Monday in July - Is this a good day of the week to go?

I know it's hot, this will be our 3rd trip to WDW in July and or August (with two others in early Sept). We did Busch Gardens Tampa 2 summers ago and it was horrible because there was nothing except for one show indoors. Disney is definately great for getting you indoors more and out of the heat. I've read there are a few shows at SW that are indoors and there are a couple of indoor animal exhibits.

We would like to eat at Sharks for lunch (dinner if we can't get reservations for lunch), and then sit down fast food - but more decent food (would love recommendations). I would prefer airconditioning for the fast food so we can at least get out of the heat.

All of us LOVE rollercoasters, so we are excited to ride Kraken. Journey to Atlantis looks sort of like the Busch Garden version in Williamsburg Va, but with a small variation at the end where your on a rollercoaster type track.

So - seeing our background above, what tips can you give us. Any tips on what to see first, general touring tips, dining tips, staying cool at SW tips, tips on seeing shows and which ones to see first, any must do's, secrets to SW............just a general please tell all!!

Thanks in advance. I think this post can help many.

 

[RabFlmom]

Sea World has had a lot of changes since 1995 so it will be like visiting a new park.
I'll start with saying Eat at Voyagers. You stand in line indoors, you eat indoors in the air conditioning. We love the food there and go back at least once each time we are there.

Things to do between 11AM and 5PM the hottest part of a July day and most likely time for it to shower(3-5) . It is really cool in Arctic Adventure, there is air in the Manatee, Penquin, and Shark exhibits. Odyssey is in an air conditioned theater as is Pets Ahoy.

Go to see the first show of Blue Horizon (probably have time to feed the dolphins before the show). Follow BH with the Clyde and Seamore Show. Get there 15 minutes early so you get to see the mime.
Then go back again to see the summer night time Clyde and Seamore SHOW. It is a satire on the park. Pokes a lot of fun and you'll get a kick out of it. Park will be open later so schedule in Believe for last show. Then try to get over to the other side of the lake as soon as you can for the fireworks show( not sure but rumor is it won't be Mystify but a new show)

Get to the park when it opens and stay till it closes You should have a great time. It will be very busy even on a Monday in July so allow plenty of time to get to shows early to get seats.

 

[MelanieC]

Oh by the way, we are in Orlando for 17 days so our day of the week is totally flexible if anyone has any suggestions. I picked Monday because if most people are just getting to Orlando for a week, they would be more inclinded to do Disney first (not sure if that thinking is correct or not).

We did well with that thinking when we went to Universal studios over Thanksgiving back in 2004. We went on a Monday and Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving and again the Monday the week afte Thanksgiving and Universal was practically empty. We finished IOA on the Monday of Thanksgiving without waits (except for that Taradactal type ride) and we had seen the entire park by 1pm - GO FIGURE!

So basically if you have any tips or hints for the best/slowest day of the week let me know. I can EASILY move my dates around to accomodate. The only day written in stone is the one Tuesday (still have one Tuesday I could play with) because we are seeing La Nouba that night.

 

[robvia]

Some of the ticket deals allow you to buy a ticket, and come back the next day for free. It won't matter which day you go during the week.
You could visit one day, then come back another in the evening.
The parking lot opens at 08:30am, be there when it does.
JTA and Kracken are in the back of the park to the left, go there first and ride a bunch of times. Then it's shows, all you have to do is arrive 20-30 minutes before each.
Go to lunch at 11:30am to beat the crowds. It will be burning hot from noon to 4pm, that's when you want to eat the 2 hour lunch at Sharks, then go thru the penguin exhibit and see an indoor show. There's a pets show near the sky tower, and a penguin walk thru near by.

 

[matsterrocks]

How many day do you need to "see" SW?

 

[DisneyFan06]

I am going July 4th! We need tons of advice. The last time I been to see world was when I was in first grade - on a field trip. that has been 16 yrs ago!

 

[RabFlmom]

It will be very busy on the 4th with stadiums closing an hour before shows begin, so you will have to plan on being in line very early for most shows-especially Pets Ahoy , Believe, and Blue Horizons. I would get the 2nd day free pass at the booth and plan another day in the park to see what you didn't get to see on the 4th.
We were there during Christmas week (12/28/2006)and did not even get to park in the main SW parking lot. They had us drive through it and then out a gate into a lot across the street. The traffic was backed up and it took us over an hour to get from the beeline(528) to the parking booths. We ended up spending the day not getting into any shows and spent time just watching the various animals around the park. Lines were long for food and tables were scarce.
Did we have fun? Yes. We spent a lot of time in the Seal lion area watching their behavior and getting pictures.

 

[DisneyFan06]

Wow, this means planning is going to be important. Is there a way to order park maps online before hand, so I can begin?

 

[RabFlmom]

I think you can copy the one on their site. Basically you need to know the times that they will have shows. There will be extra shows at night and one to not miss at night is the Clyde and Seamore show(the last show they do for the day). It is funnier if you have seen most of the other shows in the park since it is a spoof on the park. As you get closer to July 4th go to the website and the show times for that day will be listed.

 

[DisneyFan06]

I think you can copy the one on their site. Basically you need to know the times that they will have shows. There will be extra shows at night and one to not miss at night is the Clyde and Seamore show(the last show they do for the day). It is funnier if you have seen most of the other shows in the park since it is a spoof on the park. As you get closer to July 4th go to the website and the show times for that day will be listed.

Thanks............ You been a big help!

 

[KayR]

If you want a nice sit down lunch or dinner - get reservations for Sharks. Similar to Disney's Coral Reef - where you get to see the aqaurium full of sharks. You should reserve it as soon as you can because it is popular. (Not sure if you can do advance reservations before the day) but may be worth asking.

Watch out for the street entertainers in the village area (sorry - can't remember what it is called) they are usually fun.

If you have younger kids there are places where they can get wet - very wet!

If you really want to do everything and have the time, I would recommend taking 2 days, that way you don't have to rush to cram everything in.

They do have a luau - I have never been, so don't know what it is like, but have heard it is good. There is also a Dine with Shamu which is popular. Again I haven't done that and I have heard mixed reviews about whether it is worth it.

There is a huge water area in the park with a walkway - that is where they do the evening fireworks, so the walkway is closed off in the hour leading up to the fireworks show.

Do take the time to see Mystere - it is a cirque du soleil -esque show. Amazing.

Shamu's Happy Harbour is a great place for the youngsters to let of steam. They have a few rides there now as well as one of the places for the kids to get soaked.

Last time we were there, they had an area separated off for those that wanted to feed the dolphins. If you want to get a bit more of an interaction with the dolphins than most people, see if they are still doing that.

Enjoy it. As mentioned, if you can, take two days to do it. It makes it more enjoyable.

Watch out for 2008 when Seaworld will have a new water park (there is an announcement coming on March 5th about that!) it sounds very interesting from what I have seen.

-Kay

 

[DTop]

Do take the time to see Mystere - it is a cirque du soleil -esque show. Amazing.

This sounds like what SW Orlando calls Odyssea(sp). It's a good show, I enjoy it.

 

[KayR]

I probably got the name wrong. The show is still amazing...

-Kay

 

[Soupermom]

I'm going to sneak in here and ask a few related questions, too! What days of the week are best to visit SW during the end of July or early August? I'm thinking with our SW cards we'll have two days, so which two days should we go? We'll be coming from Tampa and spending the night somewhere...any suggestions on that? How bad would weekends be? TIA

 

[robvia]

July and the first 3 weeks of August are the most busy time of the year. It may help to go during the week since the locals have to work, but it's not going to matter that much.

The park will be hot and packed in the afternoon.

The keys to an enjoyable visit at SWF are to arrive at 08:30am, go on Kracken and JTA first, eat lunch at 11:30am, then arrive each show 30 minutes before it starts. For the polar bear exhibit which is on the other side of the park from Kracken, do the walk thru and not the ride because it can make people sick. The walk thru has a shorter line anyway.

A good place to eat lunch besides Sharks is Voyagers next to the sky tower, or the Deli next to the Clydesdale Hamlet (free beer samples here). You want to go to lunch at 11:30am even if you are not hungry because the lines get huge at noon. You basically have to stay one step ahead of the crowd.

 

[Soupermom]

Bumping!

Well, a year later and we are booked for SW/DC this July. I'd love to have suggestions on our itinerary...when to ride the rides, what shows to see when, where to eat (on a budget), how to stay cool in the July heat...

Cast includes DH, DD14, DS11 and me. We will be driving over from Tampa on Wednesday, July 9th...I hope to get there around opening at 9am. I plan to visit SW all of that day. On Thursday we'll be at DC; I'm guess we'll be finished there around late afternoon, so any suggestions for SW in the evening would be great. We will have to head back to Tampa on Friday, but we can spend the morning at SW...

What are the must-sees and what can we skip? Which rides are motion-simulated? We cannot do those...no Mission Space or teacups for this family! We love roller coasters though. Kids have never been to SW and at this point don't even know they are going!

Any suggestions for a nice, clean hotel? We'll have a car...

TIA for any help you can give!

 

[DizzyErin]

We've been a few times ... Kraken is great i highly recommend if you like roller coasters .. Voyagers restaurant was nice food and pretty reasonable money wise ... Journey to Atlantis is a fab water ride too ...The Wild Arctic is a simulator type ride so maybe you'll need to give that 1 a miss ... My DD8 likes to feed the sea lions when we go ... Sorry don't know about hotel's or DC