Anyone done a SeaWorld Vacation Christmas Week?

[claire_ont]

We did Sea World and Discovery Cove for Christmas two years ago and loved it so much, we are doing it again this year. We are staying at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld. We stayed there last time and loved being able to walk back and forth to the park.

We have Discovery Cove booked for Christmas Day and then will do SeaWorld for a few days on either side. Then it is off to Universal for two days followed by a week at AKV. A lot of moving around but we really wanted to see the WWHP this time.

I cannot wait!

Claire

 

[jeffn5631]

FYI...this year Busch Gardens is offering a separate admission ticket for their "Christmas Town" presentation with special decorations, shows and Christmas experiences which will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights between Nov. 30th and Dec 23rd. I bought my ticket this past weekend at the preview center in Timbuktu at Busch Gardens and their was a lot of people getting their tickets from the mailer that went out to passholders. I don't think SeaWorld is doing anything like this for their upcoming Christmas season but between the 2 parks I think they offer the best live entertainment of any parks in Florida. The price on the ticket is about half what Disney charges for their Christmas party and you can save money if you buy advance tickets online. Passholders got a great deal for tickets costing only 10.00.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We did Sea World and Discovery Cove for Christmas two years ago and loved it so much, we are doing it again this year. We are staying at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld. We stayed there last time and loved being able to walk back and forth to the park.

Hello, fellow Ontarian! We are not far from Ottawa (about 3 hours west). Fingers crossed we get some warm and sunny weather for our Christmas holidays, and no snow to cause flight delays. I love leaving the cold Canadian winter behind!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

FYI...this year Busch Gardens is offering a separate admission ticket for their "Christmas Town" presentation with special decorations, shows and Christmas experiences which will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights between Nov. 30th and Dec 23rd. I bought my ticket this past weekend at the preview center in Timbuktu at Busch Gardens and their was a lot of people getting their tickets from the mailer that went out to passholders. I don't think SeaWorld is doing anything like this for their upcoming Christmas season but between the 2 parks I think they offer the best live entertainment of any parks in Florida. The price on the ticket is about half what Disney charges for their Christmas party and you can save money if you buy advance tickets online. Passholders got a great deal for tickets costing only 10.00.

Drat!

We don't arrive until the 23rd, so we will miss Christmas Town at Busch Gardens. We are flying out of Buffalo, NY (known for snow ) so I wouldn't want to book tickets for something that evening in the event that our flight is delayed. Plus, we have a 7:55 a.m. flight......so we might be asleep by the time all the fun gets started!!

Wish the special events ran one night longer.

 

[andrews_dad]

We do Diz and SeaWorld every Xmas week, as we travel to FLA to attend college bowl games on Jan 1, etc. SeaWorld absorbs the HUGE crowds this time of the year the best of all parks. All shows will fill to capacity in teh peak mid AM and mid afternoon hours, but you can get a seat if you dont wait too late to get into theater. If you are a thrill rider, you must be there before opening to rush to the coaster you want, pay for Quick Que, or wait until very late in teh day to ride. I've seen wait times listed for 180 min for Manta, literally lines up out of the que and down the walkpaths, but that same day at 9:45 PM the wait time is listed as 30 min.

They have cool shows and decorations just for Xmas. My kids adore the elmo Xmas show.... adore it. It "snows" with soap bubbles. Just a great time. Disboarders will hate me for posting this but SeaWorld at Xmas comes in a close 2nd to Magic King as my fav park in FLA.... beats out Animal, HS, and Epcot in my book.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Disboarders will hate me for posting this but SeaWorld at Xmas comes in a close 2nd to Magic King as my fav park in FLA.... beats out Animal, HS, and Epcot in my book.

No hate from this Disboarder .

SeaWorld and Discovery Cove are my favourite parks in Orlando, even over all the Disney and both Universal parks (and not just during the holidays......at all times of the year). All the parks awesome (and we have thoroughly enjoyed each one), but SW and DC just take top honours in my book.

 

[Priorityonecb]

We are having a Sea World Christmas too!! We are all booked December 22-29. We have the Super Grover passes, so we get fantastic reserved seating for all shows! That is the BEST perk! We have gotten our monies worth from those passes several times over! Parks and parking free, reserved seating for shows, % off food and shopping. So nice! I made an ADR for Kona at the Poly for Christmas night, and we are looking forward to watching Holiday Wishes on the beach afterwards! We will also go to DTD several times for a Disney fix. We can't wait!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We are having a Sea World Christmas too!! We are all booked December 22-29. We have the Super Grover passes, so we get fantastic reserved seating for all shows! That is the BEST perk! We have gotten our monies worth from those passes several times over! Parks and parking free, reserved seating for shows, % off food and shopping. So nice! I made an ADR for Kona at the Poly for Christmas night, and we are looking forward to watching Holiday Wishes on the beach afterwards! We will also go to DTD several times for a Disney fix. We can't wait!!

Very cool! Where are you staying?

We have an ADR for Ohana's for breakfast on Boxing Day, then we are going to ride the monorail and tour the Deluxe resorts to see the holiday decorations.

 

[Priorityonecb]

We are staying at Homewood Suites by Hilton on International Drive. I too have a snoring husband, so we need a suite when we travel so we can all sleep! I got a great rate, less than $100 a night!

 

[Mariellen102]

Does anyone know if u need a seperate ticket for sea worlds christmas events?? Or it is just all part of regular admission price?

Also, if you are military are you allowed to use ur free admission on christmas eve or christmas day??

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Does anyone know if u need a seperate ticket for sea worlds christmas events?? Or it is just all part of regular admission price?

Also, if you are military are you allowed to use ur free admission on christmas eve or christmas day??

The Christmas events are all included in the regular ticket.

Unfortunately, though, I have no idea about the military free admission. I would call and ask.

 

[Mariellen102]

Thank you very much!

 

[Princess Sleepy]

We are considering doing Discovery Cove on December 27 this year before we go on our Disney cruise. The dolphin swim would be a Christmas present for our DDs (10 and 7 at the time). I am worried about 1) temperature and 2) crowds. Is it worth the risk, or should we save this for another warmer weather trip?

 

[KBF]

We are considering doing Discovery Cove on December 27 this year before we go on our Disney cruise. The dolphin swim would be a Christmas present for our DDs (10 and 7 at the time). I am worried about 1) temperature and 2) crowds. Is it worth the risk, or should we save this for another warmer weather trip?

Yes there is always a chance that it will be cold, but there is a chance that it will be beautiful outside. Extreme cold in Florida is rare and even if it is cold, it usually warms up by the afternoon. Crowd size shouldn't be an issue either. Discovery Cove only allows a certain number of people in per day. (I think 1,000 people. I may be wrong but its a pretty low number compared to an actual theme park)

If you save this for a warmer weather trip, then you run the risk of having rain and storms.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We are considering doing Discovery Cove on December 27 this year before we go on our Disney cruise. The dolphin swim would be a Christmas present for our DDs (10 and 7 at the time). I am worried about 1) temperature and 2) crowds. Is it worth the risk, or should we save this for another warmer weather trip?

No worries on the crowds. DC caps admission at a very low number of people (something like 1000 max), so there are never crowds even when its a sold-out day.

As for the temps, we went on January 1st, 2012 and had gorgeous weather. Of course, that's not guaranteed......but you are also not guaranteed to have it be "cold", either. The lazy river and Freshwater Oasis are super warm great places to hang out on a chillier day, and they also set up heaters near the restaurant where you can dry off quickly and warm up. The wet suits also help keep you warm on cooler days.

I would not hesitate to book again on Christmas week.

 

[Lynne G]

We are considering doing Discovery Cove on December 27 this year before we go on our Disney cruise. The dolphin swim would be a Christmas present for our DDs (10 and 7 at the time). I am worried about 1) temperature and 2) crowds. Is it worth the risk, or should we save this for another warmer weather trip?

I am taking a risk, as I booked Christmas for this year. Cannot wait to go back. We enjoyed it 2 Augusts ago. They have full wetsuits to help with the cold. The river was warm and I too hope it will be a nice day.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

Thank you. I was having a moment of panic, but now I think we will stick with our plan.