Help me plan our day at SeaWorld!

[wildflower]

We have never been to SeaWorld Orlando, and we will be spending one day there followed by a day at Discovery Cove. We plan to skip feeding the dolphins and the ray pool at SW since we will have a more interactive experience at DC. I'm thinking we should start the day out with the most popular rides (Manta, Kraken, Journey to Atlantis?) and then take in the shows and exhibits. Does that seem like a good plan? We want to do some of the Happy Harbor rides. Do they get busy as the day goes on? Should we do them before or after the shows?

I'm not sure what order we should see the shows in. I have looked at the schedule, but it's hard to plan since I'm not sure how long each show is or where they are located in relation to each other. I would appreciate any advice!

Here is the show schedule:

Believe 12:30, 2:30, 4:00, 6:30
Blue Horizons 10:00, 11:30, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30
Clyde & Seamore 10:45, 12:15, 1:45, 3:15, 5:30
A'Lure 1:15, 3:15, 4:45
Pets Ahoy! 10:45, 12:15, 1:45, 3:15, 4:45

We are set on seeing the first three, and would like to see the others if we have time/energy left.

By the way we are a family of six with kids ages 5-14.

TIA! I think this day will be a lot more enjoyable if we go in with a plan!

 

[kathy884]

You initial thoughts about how to plan your day are right on. For those that want to do the thrill rides do these first thing in the morning -- do the newest coaster the Manta first and then the Kracken. After that you are right by the Blue Horizons show, so hit that 10:00 a.m. show first. I think too, your thoughts about your three must see shows are right on too. Seeing Believe is always a top priority. Just to make sure you get that in, even though it's on the other end of the park, I'd probably do that at 12:30. I think the Shamu Happy Harbor would be really fun for your kids too -- incredible play area that even older kids find quite appealing. We always skip the midway rides in this area, though, because we can do things like that anywhere and that gives us more time for the things that makes Sea World so special. The Wild Artic simulaton ride over by Believe that goes into the Artic exibits is really fun too -- do this any time except right after the Believe show when it will be crazy busy and have super long lines.

Each show lasts about a half hour. It's a good idea to get to the shows a half hour to 15 minutes before they start too.

 

[Kirlinale]

We started off rough at Seaworld then it became our favorite of the trip. It started rough, because Seaworld does not do a great job of moving people into the park, or , is it clear how to line up to get into the shows. Once we figured it all out - we loved it.

Plan to arrive early. At opening if possible. Here was our touring plan for the most part.

We then walked over and got on line to feed the dolphins. This was an experience that each one of my kids thought was the highlight of the trip. It was amazing to pet and feed the dolphins. You line up outside the Dolphin Cove gate about 45 minutes prior to the feeding time which will be posted on a sign there - The allow about 150-200 people in but it is so worth the wait. You must pay 7 dollars each who go for the food and if you do not you can not go down there.

We then went to see Blue Horizons at 10:00 which we all loved.

Then we saw the Penguin Exibit and Fed the Sea Lions (another highlight)

We then saw Clyde and Seamore - which is one of all of our favorites - Get there as early as you can so you can enjoy the Mime which was almost better than the show itself.

After Clyde and Seamore we took the long hike over to Shamu Stadium and Grabbed something to eat before waiting on line to see Believe.

After Believe we did the Artic Ride and got some ice cream and my younger daughter and kids played in Happy Harbour for a bit.

We then hiked back over and did the Shark Encounter (we ate at Sharks while there but it was expensive and felt it was overhyped).

We did not plan on seeing anymore shows in the afternoon - so we did some more exhibits. We purchased the Quick Queue for the older kids so they were able to skip the lines and get on the Coasters as many times as they wanted - it was worth the 24.00 as Manta was the highlight of my sons trip and he rode it 7 times that day!!! The quick Queue allows you to maximize your time by getting on each ride in less than 5 minutes. This again, was worth it to us. However, During the early evening after the last believe show, the park thinned out and ride times were shorter. Manta usually had a 45 minute wait, and Kracken the same. Journey to Atlantis was about 50-60 while we were there.

After my son did a few rides - we hiked back over to to Near Shamu Stadium to see Shamu Rocks - There was quite the line so we opted to snack (they have snack shops in the staduim) and eat and watch the night time spectacular when it was over - Shamu Rocks was AWESOME - what an amazing show - when it was over we walked to one of the resteraunts nearby and had some downtime , let the kids play in Happy Harbor and enjoyed resting. We stayed and saw the night time fireworks show and it was good - got our another day FREE passes and didn't plan on going back but the kids wanted too so we blew off our plans and went back - this time doing things more leisurely and seeing our favorite shows again - it was a good visit for us at Sea World.

Some tips -

First , take your time to see the exhibits - there is a great aquarium under Manta - so if your party is split up (some on Manta and some waiting) this is a great place to explore.

People are going to shove and push you to get up close to see things - I kept telling myself to breathe deeply - I have a child in a wheelchair (my youngest) so it was becoming very frustrating but you can and will get to see things if you just use some patience and a lot of tounge biting

Eat near one of the show venues, while a show in in progress - I ate lunch near Shamu Stadium and was the only one in line - When believe let out , the line was 1/2 mile long to eat.

Try to bring as little as you can into the park. The bag check line took over 40 minutes - or leave it in your car and get it later when the bag check line is less.

If your young one likes to get wet, happy harbor has some fountins etc to do that - so bring a bathing suit and change of clothes.

Enjoy!!!!

 

[wwessing]

A plan is always good. . .but SeaWorld doesn't require a whole lot of that. Getting the schedule immediately upon entering and planning from that is the best way to go, imho.

Also, I recommend getting to the park prior to opening and heading directly to feed the dolphins. That always starts our day off beautifully. It is totally worth at least an hour of your day. Then go from there with the rest of your day. Personally, I think that if you try to see all the shows in one day it's too hectic. You will think you're at Magic Kingdom with all the crazy running around as fast as you can.

Here's a link to my trip report. . . SeaWorld days start around post #73 I think. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1790619&page=5

 

[lilys.mom]

We plan on visiting a day in June while we are in Daytona. I have one dd3 and my cousin whom is 18 will be with us also....

My question is do we need to plan a whole day until dark there to see everything because this will probably be the only day we are driving in for SW and one day for Aquatica...we had orginally planned to hit DTD and eat at Trex after SW.....but we may can move this to after Aquatica day....

If we need to spend the whole day at SW anyone have any suggestions for dinner there...had orginally thought about Dine w Shamu until all that happened with Tilly...What about Sharks?

Also tell me more about fireworks?????? Thanks guy....trying to start having somewhat of a plan.