Any done the VIP Tour and the dolphin and penguin encounter

[eeyorefanuk]

Would you do the VIP Tour which does not include dine with shamu

Or

Would you do, the dolphin spotlight tour, penguin up close, quick queue and all day dining??

We are going in August.

Thanks

 

[AlbertZeroK]

Would you do the VIP Tour which does not include dine with shamu

Or

Would you do, the dolphin spotlight tour, penguin up close, quick queue and all day dining??

We are going in August.

Thanks

We just decided on the VIP tour for our Dec trip. Never been to sea world, but the VIP tour includes Lunch and we plan on staying for dinner in the underwater cafe, which is not included in the all day dining. Plus VIP gets up front ride access to the majority of the rides and priority seating at the shows. And a tour guide.

I love disney, and absolutely want to go back, but the VIP tour is the reason we are so excited about SeaWorld!

 

[wbarkhur]

What part of the VIP tour were you excited about? If it was just the Shamu lunch, then I would say cancle it and go with the other stuff. We are doing the VIP over thanksgiving, even without the Shamu lunch which I am sad about, it is worth it to me for the special seating at the shows. I am figuring that we will save time not having to stand in lines that we can see more of other things. Good luck with your choice I am sure you will have a great time no matter what you chose.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

can anyone tell me, do you just feed the dolphins, or do you get some form of interaction/talk etc with them?

 

[KBF]

can anyone tell me, do you just feed the dolphins, or do you get some form of interaction/talk etc with them?

Here is a picture of some random people at the Dolphin Area at Seaworld.

http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/photo/2008/10/16/PH2008101602307.jpg

As you can see, you can pet and play with the dolphins. Sometimes, they have basketballs or other toys that the dolphins will actually bring to you to throw back into the pool. Kind of like a game of fetch. And there will be a person from seaworlds education department giving information and answering questions about the dolphins as you interact with them.

I should make you aware though, that the exhibit is divided into two sections. Half is for people with fish to feed dolphins, the other half is for people without fish. Naturally, the dolphins tend to hang out in the area where the guests have fish. So it may be wise to buy a tray to get the maximum interaction.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

slightly changed the heading to see if anyone has done all of the below :-

vip tour and the dolphin encounter/penguin encounter

if so would you go for the vip tour or the dolphin and penguin

 

[finucane]

We did a combo of Dolphins Up Close and Behind the Scenes tours on our trip last month. We had weighed those against the VIP tour, but decided against it mainly since that tour was mostly made up of things we had already done the day before.

Sounds like dolphin interaction may be important to you so I can tell you the main differences between the dolphin VIP portion, and the Dolphins Up Close tour, since this is what our decision mainly came down to.

For the VIP Tour what your get is to feed the Dolphins which you can do on your own for $7 a person. At Dolphin Cove during feeding time they come up to the wall looking for fish from the guests and you can get in some pets while they are near you. From what I saw the VIP Tour got a premium spot on the wall, and it was timed so they got there right on time for feeding and didn't have to wait in line, but they were still in there with the other regular paying folks.

For the Dolphin Up Close Tour your interaction time with the dolphins takes place in this same feeding area, but this time it is closed off to just your group (ours was 12 people.) You then break up in to smaller groups (by family/friends) and each gets a trainer to work with. The trainer then goes through what they do with the dolphins and you then get some up close time with two dolphins. The trainer does all the feeding here to make sure they are rewarded for the proper behavior, but you get plenty of chances to touch and pet them. Plus you also get to go behind the scenes at Blue Horizons and also to see the care area for new dolphins as well.

We didn't do the penguins tour, but our behind the scenes tour did include some penguin interaction. It wasn't in the Penguin Encounter exhibit it was another area (since we came in the back, I'm not sure where it was, but I assume it was in the same building) where you can get right up to the wall for some good pictures. A trainer then brought one out for us all to get a chance to pet. I know you get to see a lot more on the Up Close tour, but if what we saw was any indication, I think you'd be happy with what that tour offers as well.

What I think it might depend on for you is what you want to get from your day. If you want to make sure your get around the park and hit all the highlights in a more efficient way, then the VIP may be better. If you've already done many of those things before and are looking to interact more with the animals and to see more of the park then you can normally, then your other plan sounds better.

Me personally, I'd skip the VIP tour, your other plan sounds fantastic!

 

[AlbertZeroK]

Here's what we are doing. If tickets are available, you can goto Discovery Cove and you get free 14 day sea world tickets. Here is a discount code for Discovery Cove for $50 off each person: AMXDM10 (it's a promo for amex card holders, but you can pay with any credit card.)

We're doing discovery cove, then the sea world vip tour this december when we go. It's a bit more money, but when you save $70 each for not having to pay for sea world, discovery cove's fee is more palietable.

Don't forget to budget for pictures at discovery cove, I think the photo cd is $125. Also, for $20, they'll see you a parking pass which is good for 14 days at sea world!

 

[blueiis99]

Hi EEyorefanuk,

We actually booked the after dark vip... I had DH call this past week end (sorry i didn't post sooner.....very busy here) I made a list of questions, so that there was no confusion, and I let DH make the final decision (since he is the one that wines the most, andaskes questions like...why did you do that instead of this..lol) So this time i had him call, and get all the details. The day on is just as they describe on the web, lunch is a voucher...etc. the Night tour goes like this...check in at 2pm at the CS near the entrance, and the tour starts at 3pm... you get dinner at the shark grill (it is a pre-fix menu, but not cheaped out..you can have the filet mignon, etc (can't read DH's notes, lol) and you get reserved seats for all 3 night shows, and of course the rides, and feedings.

So since, I'm a nut for going to the parks (open to close) I figured, we could go at the opening, and ride the rides, and not be concerned with the feedings, jaunt around to the various day shows, and then let the tour guide do the rest....

I hope this helps.... oh yeah we booked for the 14th...as the TM said that was the better of the 2 days we will be at sea world (13th and 14th...he said traffic will be killer on both of those days..so I hope this helps you too)

have a wonderful time!!!

 

[eeyorefanuk]

We did a combo of Dolphins Up Close and Behind the Scenes tours on our trip last month. We had weighed those against the VIP tour, but decided against it mainly since that tour was mostly made up of things we had already done the day before.

Sounds like dolphin interaction may be important to you so I can tell you the main differences between the dolphin VIP portion, and the Dolphins Up Close tour, since this is what our decision mainly came down to.

For the VIP Tour what your get is to feed the Dolphins which you can do on your own for $7 a person. At Dolphin Cove during feeding time they come up to the wall looking for fish from the guests and you can get in some pets while they are near you. From what I saw the VIP Tour got a premium spot on the wall, and it was timed so they got there right on time for feeding and didn't have to wait in line, but they were still in there with the other regular paying folks.

For the Dolphin Up Close Tour your interaction time with the dolphins takes place in this same feeding area, but this time it is closed off to just your group (ours was 12 people.) You then break up in to smaller groups (by family/friends) and each gets a trainer to work with. The trainer then goes through what they do with the dolphins and you then get some up close time with two dolphins. The trainer does all the feeding here to make sure they are rewarded for the proper behavior, but you get plenty of chances to touch and pet them. Plus you also get to go behind the scenes at Blue Horizons and also to see the care area for new dolphins as well.

We didn't do the penguins tour, but our behind the scenes tour did include some penguin interaction. It wasn't in the Penguin Encounter exhibit it was another area (since we came in the back, I'm not sure where it was, but I assume it was in the same building) where you can get right up to the wall for some good pictures. A trainer then brought one out for us all to get a chance to pet. I know you get to see a lot more on the Up Close tour, but if what we saw was any indication, I think you'd be happy with what that tour offers as well.

What I think it might depend on for you is what you want to get from your day. If you want to make sure your get around the park and hit all the highlights in a more efficient way, then the VIP may be better. If you've already done many of those things before and are looking to interact more with the animals and to see more of the park then you can normally, then your other plan sounds better.

Me personally, I'd skip the VIP tour, your other plan sounds fantastic!

Here's what we are doing. If tickets are available, you can goto Discovery Cove and you get free 14 day sea world tickets. Here is a discount code for Discovery Cove for $50 off each person: AMXDM10 (it's a promo for amex card holders, but you can pay with any credit card.)

We're doing discovery cove, then the sea world vip tour this december when we go. It's a bit more money, but when you save $70 each for not having to pay for sea world, discovery cove's fee is more palietable.

Don't forget to budget for pictures at discovery cove, I think the photo cd is $125. Also, for $20, they'll see you a parking pass which is good for 14 days at sea world!

Hi EEyorefanuk,

We actually booked the after dark vip... I had DH call this past week end (sorry i didn't post sooner.....very busy here) I made a list of questions, so that there was no confusion, and I let DH make the final decision (since he is the one that wines the most, andaskes questions like...why did you do that instead of this..lol) So this time i had him call, and get all the details. The day on is just as they describe on the web, lunch is a voucher...etc. the Night tour goes like this...check in at 2pm at the CS near the entrance, and the tour starts at 3pm... you get dinner at the shark grill (it is a pre-fix menu, but not cheaped out..you can have the filet mignon, etc (can't read DH's notes, lol) and you get reserved seats for all 3 night shows, and of course the rides, and feedings.

So since, I'm a nut for going to the parks (open to close) I figured, we could go at the opening, and ride the rides, and not be concerned with the feedings, jaunt around to the various day shows, and then let the tour guide do the rest....

I hope this helps.... oh yeah we booked for the 14th...as the TM said that was the better of the 2 days we will be at sea world (13th and 14th...he said traffic will be killer on both of those days..so I hope this helps you too)

have a wonderful time!!!

Thank you all for your response.

I cannot believe I cannot make up my mind.

What I did do, was price up the dolphin encounter, penguin encounter, fast passes for the day and all day dining and it did not come out much difference to the VIP Tour.

We are going to discovery cove, but hey can you ever get too much of being close to dolphins Also thought the penguin encounter would be cute.

Discussed it with the family tonight and still not decided. I think I am more swinging towards the dolphin encounter, penguin encounter, all day dining and fast passes. I will let you know and thank you all again

PS Did he say why he thought the 14th/15th would be a killer???

PPS I have just seen the beluga encounter now that looks lovely

 

[blueiis99]

the gentleman said that the traffic would be killer, because they are week-end days. We asked the guy who booked the VIP for us, which would be the better of the 13th or 14th for sea world, and aquatica.... he said that either day would be a zoo, but he gave us the saturday as the better of the 2 for the tour, and we will do aquatica on the friday (13th). He said to make sure we got there early....

Remember these are the last days before the Floridians' go back t school too... So I figure that we are just going to do stuff early, and tr ad sit back and enjoy what we will get out of this trip. I know you are coming from afar, and want it all to go smoothly wit as little fuss as possible....but just enjoy all that you've planned.....it will go much smoother!

I'm sure you will make the best choices possible....best of luck to you!

 

[Dizney_Mike]

Thank you all for your response.

I cannot believe I cannot make up my mind.

What I did do, was price up the dolphin encounter, penguin encounter, fast passes for the day and all day dining and it did not come out much difference to the VIP Tour.

We are going to discovery cove, but hey can you ever get too much of being close to dolphins Also thought the penguin encounter would be cute.

Discussed it with the family tonight and still not decided. I think I am more swinging towards the dolphin encounter, penguin encounter, all day dining and fast passes. I will let you know and thank you all again

PS Did he say why he thought the 14th/15th would be a killer???

PPS I have just seen the beluga encounter now that looks lovely

I went with my neice (19 yo) to Discovery Cove and to Sea World. She loves penguins and I didn't tell her that I scheduled the Penguin tour. She loved it. She got to pet a penguin.

The penguin tour is a nice tour especially in the heat of summer. We went in June so the temps were in the 90's most of the week we were there.

First you meet in a gift shop and the guide gets you all together. From there we walked to the penguin center where she took us in the penguin building and we looked from the outside into the penguins. She talked about the different penguins and she pointed out some of the babies they had. The king penguin baby with the fur around his neck was cute.

From there we went around back where she showed us three rooms through the windows. One of the rooms had a baby puffin in it. It was being isolated for some reason I forget. After that we went into the back of the building where the trainers were. She split us into two groups. I was in the second so we went into the room with the trainer that had the puffin. This was a different puffin. We weren't allowed to touch him. The poor guy was without an eye because the other penguins (a puffin is another breed of penguin we found out) pulled him out of the nest when he was a baby. The trainer was very informative within the short time we had. He also held up the puffin so we could get a photo with it. I took one of my neice who was smiling brightly. Then it was time to switch places with the other group. This part of the building was a little cold. It felt refreshing from being out in the summer heat.

We switched places with the other group this time we stood in front of a hallway with a freezer like door. There was a black and white penguin standing in front of the door. The trainer there talked to us and after the talk gave us some time to pet the penguin. He then took us inside the peguin enclosure. We were still on a concrete patio but we could see the penguins from inside. The penguins stood on snow. The penguin outside came inside with us. The penguin enclosure is about 30 degrees farenheit so it was a tad bit cold but a welcome respite from the heat of the day. Did I mention this was the second tour of the day.

While we were inside the trainer warned us of a penguin who came to the gate (the gate was about to feet high just high enough for a penguin to pop his head over). The penguin was a bad penguin and he liked to peck at people with his beak so the trainer warned us to stay back. My neice continued to pet the penguin that was on our side of the gate. We stayed back from the gate a little while the other penguin was there. We saw all sorts of penguins that they had and sea gulls that were on the rocks.

That was it of the tour. We stayed inside the enclosure for about five minutes because it was so cold. We were led back outside of the building and told thanks for coming and enjoy the rest of the day at Sea World.

Hope this helps. I have photos but I left the SD card in NC with my mom. So I would have to scan them. Not sure as a newbie around here if I can post pictures.

The penguin tour was like 40 bucks for each of us. My 19 year old neice loves penguins so it was well worth the money. After we got there and went into the cold out of the heat for a little bit it was well worth the money to get out of the heat. I would probably do it again with other people if I went again.

One other thing we bought fast passes and the dining plan for the Sea World day. If you are going to ride the coasters and the water ride I would say yeah buy the fast passes. The dining plan not so much as there were only certain places we could go to get free water. We used it for free water but we just went back to the same restaurant to get the water. The food was blah where we ate.

We also went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure that trip and we bought the fast passes. My neice said we spent five hours at Universal Studios Florida and rode I think five rides without fast passes. Then the next day we went to Islands of Adventure and bought the fast passes. She said we rode 11 rides in three hours or so. We were done with IOA by 2 PM went back to the hotel and chilled. The only thing was the fast pass was not accepted at Harry Potter's ride in the castle. The moral of the story: buy the fast passes they are well worth the price when its hot and you don't want to wait in lines.

 

[Dizney_Mike]

As I thought I can't post pictures yet until I get over 10 posts. Maybe later.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

One other thing, there are a couple of us who are total wimps and do not like the big upside rides etc. If you do not go on these what are you offered instead on the VIP tour

 

[blueiis99]

ohhhh................ that we did not ask, we are big coaster fans, so that wasn't even thought of here! Sorry. You can call and ask, I actually loved talking to the CS people,,,, they were very nice, in formative,patient, and actually had a sense of humor.

 

[tink too]

One other thing, there are a couple of us who are total wimps and do not like the big upside rides etc. If you do not go on these what are you offered instead on the VIP tour

I wouldn't think they will offer you another option as it would be your choice not to ride. SeaWorld isn't like WDW - there are only a handful of rides.