7 seas food included in dining plan?

[fdecker]

I called the help line and the person I spoke with asked someone and they said yes. It didn't make sense with the lanyard equivalent they sell. But maybe you are "wasting" a meal on a tapas and having to wait 90 mins between tastes. We plant on one big meal and then trying 3 or for booths. Are the sesame street food trucks included in the plan?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Per SeaWorld:
Valid locations include Voyager's Smokehouse, Expedition Café, Captain Pete's Island Eats, Seafire Grill, Lakeside Grill, Altitude Burger, Panini Bistro and Waterway Grill.

I'm fairly confident it is not valid at the Seven Seas food booths; that would be an awesome deal though!

 

[jsmla]

All Day Dining has never included the festival kiosks when I’ve been.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Any special event food kiosks (Seven Seas Food Festival, Craft Beer Festival, holiday kitchens at the Christmas Celebration, etc.) are excluded from the All Day Dining Plan.

The food which you receive as part of the dining plan is a full-sized entree, a side (small salad, cup of fruit, slice of cake, large pickle, cup of cookies, etc.) and a beverage once every 90 minutes from one of the participating restaurants, which CAPSLOCK has listed above.

The food portions from the festival kiosks are much smaller than a full entree. Their price point matches their much small sizing (usually between $6-8 each, as opposed to the restaurant entrees on the all day dining which generally run between the $13 and $18 range). There's no option for a "side" from those kiosks, just the special themed items for the specific event. If you've been to Epcot during one of their festivals, it follows the same format and portion sizing is very similar.

We *much* prefer the food at the festival kiosks to the food on the all day dining plans. Lanyards are available for purchase for the festival booths, which make it more cost effective and very simple.....pay one price, and just have your lanyard punched as you go. The variety of offerings is really great, and the food has always been delicious. The kiosk lines generally seem to move much more efficiently than the all day dining lines as well. If you are trying to choose between the two, I would definitely recommend dining around the Seven Seas Festival!

 

[fdecker]

I figured it is a copy of the food festival at Epcot, so I guess we know what to expect since we've done that. Just disconcerting that calling Seaworld, the customer service rep didn't know, went to ask a supervisor, and they said it WAS included. Of course I expected it not to be since it isn't at Disney, but it IS included at Universal (like for their current Mardis Gras event). You pay $120 and get $150 in food on a card. That covers all of us as a group! There is a less expensive option maybe it was $60 and get $80 worth for singles? I didn't know if because of Covid, they were doing something different this year at Seaworld.

Neither Epcot nor Seaworld food festivals are a good value to our family. Neither is the Disney Dining plan. But $42.95 including tax from a site you can't mention here vs. $44.95 plus tax from Seaworld gets you basically all you can eat at the other Seaworld restaurants. I agree some of the "tapas type" food at the booths looks better (certainly better than a burger or hot dog), but the cheapest lanyard is $65 for 10 "items". $80 for 15. Maybe people who drink alcohol could think it is a better deal than us, but the bottom line is it is much more expensive. I don't know if tea and soda or juice is included, but those are much less expensive than alcohol, so that would waste a punch. Maybe those who drink would have wine and a 2 plates, 3 times and then do one more item, like a dessert? I guess for an adult couple, that is $130 for 3 meals each, which comes to $21-$22 per meal.

Thanks for the detailed help!

 

[moesy4]

I figured it is a copy of the food festival at Epcot, so I guess we know what to expect since we've done that. Just disconcerting that calling Seaworld, the customer service rep didn't know, went to ask a supervisor, and they said it WAS included. Of course I expected it not to be since it isn't at Disney, but it IS included at Universal (like for their current Mardis Gras event). You pay $120 and get $150 in food on a card. That covers all of us as a group! There is a less expensive option maybe it was $60 and get $80 worth for singles? I didn't know if because of Covid, they were doing something different this year at Seaworld.

Neither Epcot nor Seaworld food festivals are a good value to our family. Neither is the Disney Dining plan. But $42.95 including tax from a site you can't mention here vs. $44.95 plus tax from Seaworld gets you basically all you can eat at the other Seaworld restaurants. I agree some of the "tapas type" food at the booths looks better (certainly better than a burger or hot dog), but the cheapest lanyard is $65 for 10 "items". $80 for 15. Maybe people who drink alcohol could think it is a better deal than us, but the bottom line is it is much more expensive. I don't know if tea and soda or juice is included, but those are much less expensive than alcohol, so that would waste a punch. Maybe those who drink would have wine and a 2 plates, 3 times and then do one more item, like a dessert? I guess for an adult couple, that is $130 for 3 meals each, which comes to $21-$22 per meal.

Thanks for the detailed help!

Things may have changed since we went last year, but the lines were AWFUL at quick service…everyone trying to get their money’s worth I guess. I think we averaged a 40 minute wait anytime we tried past the first couple of hours.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You can share the lanyards, it doesn't have to be used by the same person. So 2 people getting 5 little plates each throughout the day is reasonable. And very tasty! Of course, drinks aren't included that way - however you can get a refillable SeaWorld cup and the first day of refills are included, then just $1 & change for refills after that (non booze obviously).

We did 1 day of dining plan, 1 day Dine w/ Orcas plus lanyard snacks, and 1 day using the rest of our lanyard punches. And refilled our one SW cup many, many times - they are sharable too.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

"Good value" will mean different things to different folks. For us, it's not just the quantity of food, but also about the quality, the amount of time it takes to access it, and the variety available to us. That's where the festivals win out for my husband and I........we spend less time in line, have so many unique items to pick from, and those foods generally seem to be of higher quality than most of the quick service entrees.

I'm not knocking the SeaWorld dining plan, but some of the changes they have made recently have definitely affected the value (increasing the time between entitlements from one hour to 90 minutes, removing the Pretzel Kitchen from the list of participating restaurants, and the frustratingly slow service at the remaining locations meaning less time enjoying the park if we want to maximize the all day dining).

We also definitely enjoy the cocktails and wines available from the festival booths.....especially the smaller sizes available with the lanyards. For those who don't plan to use the entitlements only for food, CAPSLOCK has the best advice: share a lanyard and get yourself a refillable cup. Those cups are good for indefinite refills, too........bring 'em on your next vacation and only pay the refill price.

Also, just a heads up about the customer service department that you reach by phone: those employees do not work in the parks themselves (and most have not even visited them), are often not based in North America, and quite regularly give out misinformation. It's frustrating and maddening, but that's the reality. You are far better off to message SeaWorld Orlando on Facebook in an effort to secure an answer to a question than you are to call the toll free line. Just something to know going forward.......don't stake the farm on anything the customer service tells you on the phone.

 

[Joanna71985]

I personally would do Seven Seas over All-Day Dining

 

[jkeilty]

Did you get SW tickets that are good for more than one day? We got the free all day dining vacation package for SW, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens. The tickets are length of stay (up to 14 days) we're there on March 6-11 so we're going to hit up the food festival on Sunday night when we arrive and then use the all-day dining on the next full day that we do SW. It seemed like a great package because it gave us the 5th night of a Staybridge Suites 2-bedroom suite for free as well.

 

[fdecker]

For me personally, I am sort of "been there done that" with Seaworld in Orlando and San Diego. I'm going to see Galaxy's Edge and the new sections in Universal. Both those were added since my last trips to those parks. So one day only in SW. My wife, however, is excited to see SW for the first time and that is why we are going. Just to make sure I understand you:

1. Lanyards are $80 for 15 meals and it is the same price in advance as at the booths?
2. We can use 15 credits any way we like at any time, so all 3 of us can eat at one place for 3 punches?
3. Would 2 meals equal 1 CS meal?
4. We will most likely be served faster on Friday than going to the CS pretty much all day after 12?
5. There is apparently no information on the website about the drink cups. I also don't think I still have a Busch Gardens cup. How much is the refillable cup, still $15?

Thanks for all the info. You guys are great! You should have your own blogs

 

[Joanna71985]

For me personally, I am sort of "been there done that" with Seaworld in Orlando and San Diego. I'm going to see Galaxy's Edge and the new sections in Universal. Both those were added since my last trips to those parks. So one day only in SW. My wife, however, is excited to see SW for the first time and that is why we are going. Just to make sure I understand you:

1. Lanyards are $80 for 15 meals and it is the same price in advance as at the booths?
2. We can use 15 credits any way we like at any time, so all 3 of us can eat at one place for 3 punches?
3. Would 2 meals equal 1 CS meal?
4. We will most likely be served faster on Friday than going to the CS pretty much all day after 12?
5. There is apparently no information on the website about the drink cups. I also don't think I still have a Busch Gardens cup. How much is the refillable cup, still $15?

Thanks for all the info. You guys are great! You should have your own blogs

1. Yes (I bought mine in the park)
2. Yes. There is no limit of how many punches you can use at one time (you could use all 15 at one booth if you wanted to)
3. probably depends on the sample (some are bigger than others)

 

[fdecker]

I just want to thank everyone for their advice. We wound up doing a lanyard for SW and Universal for their Mardis Gras (which was great!). We enjoyed the food and did think it was a better deal overall than the dining plan, especially considering the lines and the restaurant closures. Friday (opening day for Ice Breaker) was busy in the afternoon and then dwindled. I was really surprised by the lack of crowds as the afternoon wore on, (as were the employees who were expecting much bigger crowds. We could walk on to anything we wanted by 4 pm or so. We got to do everything we wanted, even though we go to the park late because of our flight. We went right from MCO to the park and put our 3 backbacks in a large locker.