Help with Seaworld

[momof3+twins]

I haven't been in 13 years and the kids have never been. I need ideas, line tips, can't be missed attractions, special shops, where to eat, and anything else you can think of.
I wish there was a Sea World site like intercot just for Sea World!

[disneytime]

We just went in April. My kids love the park they love all the shows the make sure you do's are Shamu Rocks (if they have it) Believe is nice but its kinda boring. also the Dolphin feeding make sure to get in line for that. The kids will love it and the Dolphins come right up to you and kind of leap out at you its awesome. The Sea Lion show is funny , The Dolphin show is great too. there are alot of things for them to do all day and its a great park just walk slowly through and enjoy every minute of it. The huge play ground area is great too. I hope this helps oh as for the lines they arent that bad either.

have a great time !!

[Disneymom4ever]

I agree with disneytime, we were there in March for the first time. What a nice day we had! We got everything done, it actually wasn't crowded at all compared to Disney. There are a lot of shows, so just grab a guide at the entrance, and plan accordingly. A worker there said make sure you get to the theaters at least 30-45min. before showtime, so that's what we did. We headed for the coaster first, thinking the lines would get really long for that. That was really fun if you like thrill rides. Also, there's a water ride Journey to Atlantis, that was a lot of fun! My highlight of the day was petting the dolphins. What a treat! The kids really loved to feed the seals, also. You can buy trays of fish right there. They are really noisy! The one thing we weren't planning on but did was the lunch with Shamu. That was my Dh's favorite part of the day. We actually just made reservations when we entered at the entrance that morning. We had a buffet lunch (really good!) right by the water, and while we ate they had a big screen showing how they made the show, facts about whales, etc. Then we were escorted to the 1:30 Shamu show, with our own roped off section. That was a nice treat.

[momof3+twins]

The special section for the Shamu show, was it in the "wet" section? I hate being wet. How wet do you get on Atlantis?

[thrillme]

I'm guessing you're talking about SeaWorld Orlando.

I don't recall getting that wet on the Atlantis anymore than you do on Splash Mountian. The shows are fantastic...I didn't know they put Believe in at Orlando. Bummer that thing is rather boring. Shamu Rocks is cool as is the Halloween show. Dolphins and seals are great. Pet Show is good too.

Foodwise my DS and I really enjoyed going to the Shark resturant for dinner. It's a bit of a wait but that's fine. Get your reservations and go through the aquarium. If you choose you don't want to eat there at the VERY least do go and have some drinks at the bar. Even the kids will enjoy a Shirly Temple while watching the fish.

[Disneymom4ever]

The special section for the Shamu show, was it in the "wet" section? I hate being wet. How wet do you get on Atlantis?

No, it wasn't in the "wet" section, it was above it. A nice spot towards the center. My boys wanted to sit in the "wet" section, so they just went down and sat there. They're nuts!

I thought we'd get really wet on Atlantis, so we got a locker, but no, not any worse than Splash Mountain as thrillme said. I didn't see the shark restaurant, I'll have to remember that for next time.

[TwoTinyWings]

Since you haven't been in 13 years, the park will look quite different to you (in a good way). The park has been expanded considerably in the past few years - quite a few new attractions and restaurants have been added. (You'll even find that the entrance to the park is in a new location.)

There are several new places to eat - in general, the food at SeaWorld is very good, but the prices can be high (even for those used to WDW prices!). We like to eat at the Voyagers pizza restaurant in the new Waterfront area of the park. The restaurant is spacious, with plenty of seating, the food is good, and they have the largest selection of kids' meals there of any of the eateries (they also have baby food items, if you need those).

In terms of animal shows, our "must-do" is the show at Sea Lion & Otter Stadium, which is currently "Clyde & Seamore Take Pirate Island". The cool thing is that Clyde and Seamore are the same sea lions who have been performing there for years, so your kids will now get to enjoy seeing these guys the same way you did years ago. The show is always hilarious, especially when things don't go as planned (which is most of the time), and the pre-show SeaWorld Mime is a classic. As others have said, be sure to get there early to guarantee a seat. We've caught the new Shamu show, which is pretty good, and also Blue Horizons, which is sort of a SeaWorld-meets-Cirque-du-Soleil type show. The shows can take up a large portion of your day, between getting there early for seats and then the actual hour-ish-long shows, so you might want to select two right when you get to the park and then plan your day around these showtimes.

As for other attractions, we always enjoy the Shark Encounter (if you have a stroller, you'll have to park it outside), killer whale viewing area (adjacent to Shamu Stadium - be sure to get there when a show is NOT running), Penguin Encounter (short but fun), and the new Dolphin Cove area, located in the new Key West section, where you can feed the dolphins, ask trainers questions, and view the dolphins underwater (one of my daughter's favorites). The old dolphin feeding area is now the Dolphin Nursery, where you can watch some new dolphin moms and their calves cavorting in the water. (We usually start our day here, since it's near the entrance.)

If you have a stroller, it's worth noting that, while you must normally park strollers outside the show theaters, at least one of them has a section for children sleeping in strollers. This was such a great surprise on our first trip with my son, who was 7 mos. at the time. He'd fallen asleep in the stroller and, rather than having to take him out, we were able to leave him in the stroller, which we parked in the special "sleeping kid" section at the back. (I think this was for Blue Horizons, but I'm not sure.)

Good luck with your visit - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by all of the additions and changes to the park since your last visit. I know we were!

[momof3+twins]

Two Tiny Wings,
Thank you for the long explanation. I am having a hard time finding out anything about Sea World. My kids are going to flip when I tell them there is a dolphin nursery. They love dolphins and ANY baby animal. Thanks for all the stroller info also. I have twins in stroller and a crazy five year old that will be in a stroller as well. So, it is good to be prepared for taking them out of the strollers. Maybe a harness will help to keep from losing them. The twins go in separate directions at all times.
Thanks to everyone who has left the great advice!!

[Altair]

Don't miss the mime before the Clyde and Seymore Show. Arrive 15 minutes early.

Some big shows are only held once or twice a day, so plan accordingly.

[Mulan]

The Shamu show was great! The kids loved it. We where there this past December and my DD5 is still chanting the Shamu call. Also, it is not the "wet" area...it's the SOAK ZONE. If you don't want to get wet, stay away! You have to get there 30-40 mintues early. They will close this about 10 minutes before show if it's packed. The DH's got snacks to bring back as we got our seats. I had to walk to the enterance to get them because the closed the show and wouldn't let them in.

The dolphin show was good, but don't sit up high. You won't be able to see the birds very well. I did notice that the works don't make the audience move together to make room for people. There was many isles where people were all spread out "waiting for relatives".

It's a park of mostly shows, so we spent alot of time waiting for them. At the end of the day, we were like we have to go back so we can see it all. (of course we waited in line for 2 hours for the Atlantis ride...it kept breaking down.)

Over all, to us this is the best non-Disney park in Orlando.

[dfamasb]

I LOVE Seaworld!! Everyone has had great suggestions. My best tip is if you have time, try to go two days, that gives you time to see the shows and attractions without sprinting from one end of the park to the other. I have twins as well (plus 1) and fortunately they are still small enough to be confined to a stroller, but I do use the wristband type tethers to keep track of them when standing in lines etc.

[chrisb26]

I haven't been in 13 years and the kids have never been. I need ideas, line tips, can't be missed attractions, special shops, where to eat, and anything else you can think of.
I wish there was a Sea World site like intercot just for Sea World!

Thanks for posting this it has been about the same amount of time for me since we were last at SeaWorld so I had the same questions.

Thanks for your input everybody!

[Hull-onian]

Seaworld is my favorite park. We really enjoyed the no-lines,no-waiting. We did go to the Nautilus Theater for the first time. It was fun. The acrobats are really great athletes. They put on a great show. It was so much fun. No wait for Kraken. Got right on. No wait for Atlantis. They also have street performers. The Skytower is a $3.00 admission and reservations are recomended. We didn't do it because of a time constraint. The park itself, is shady. Lots of trees and misters. It smells clean. If you go over there by bus or by taxi, use the first entrance that you see. You will get right in. The gift shops are grand. The best part, the choices of restaurants and food to eat. The food is very good and very little wait time. Make sure you get a map, a schedule, and get your pre-paid tickets through Triple AAA. You will save some money. Have a ball.

[momof3+twins]

Thanks. Sounds like alot of fun.