December 2018 DC/SW/Aquatica

[floridaboundfromsd]

My husband and I have started planning our 25th Anniversary trip to Florida in December. We will be spending the first week at WDW and will be staying on site. We are planning on going to Discovery Cove on Sunday, Dec 9th and then visiting Sea World and Aquatica the following two days. I am hoping someone who has been to these parks in December can tell me their thoughts on crowds, park hours, tips or suggestions, etc. I do realize that weather in December can be all over the place so we will have back up options if needed for at least the waterpark day. Also, any reviews or thoughts on the parks and whether or not the all day dining is worth the cost at Sea World. TIA!

Ann Marie

 

[mshanson3121]

F

 

[serenitygr]

We’ll be there one month before that so also interested!

 

[keishashadow]

My husband and I have started planning our 25th Anniversary trip to Florida in December. We will be spending the first week at WDW and will be staying on site. We are planning on going to Discovery Cove on Sunday, Dec 9th and then visiting Sea World and Aquatica the following two days. I am hoping someone who has been to these parks in December can tell me their thoughts on crowds, park hours, tips or suggestions, etc. I do realize that weather in December can be all over the place so we will have back up options if needed for at least the waterpark day. Also, any reviews or thoughts on the parks and whether or not the all day dining is worth the cost at Sea World. TIA!

Ann Marie

SW really has amazing Xmas shows that top WDW’s IMO, especially as they are included with the price of admission. Not to mention they have the Bumble!

I’d reconsider moving DC to a weekday & enjoying the weekend activities. I did DC this year in Jan & Feb . Lucky on temps, coolest in January but still low 60’s. The animals are still out &. About & active. The Wet suits keep you warm just hope for sunshine...makes it feel warmer lol

First weekend of Dec the crowds were low, hardly anyone at ray area for any of the winter trips. Park hours were abbreviated during the week as I recall.

 

[Tksolomom]

I would swap your SeaWorld and DC days around so you can see the Christmas stuff at SeaWorld which is only on the weekends. You can get into SeaWorld before DC, you just have to show your tickets.

 

[Slapshot1188]

We were just there for New Years. Crowds were large but nothing compared to Disney/Universal. I wouldn't worry if you are going in the early part of the month. Weather is definitely something to consider. One day it was freezing. We are Floridians and had to buy gloves (Rudolph ones) for the kids. It was that cold (The high was 54 if I recall). Another day it was fairly pleasant and we did the Atlantis ride.

We did the Dining Deal for the first time because we got it B1G1 1/2 off at Black Friday. If you can spend the full day at the parks you can definitely get a vast amount of food. We started in the morning with continental breakfast (only 1 restaurant serves breakfast) and waters. Then stopped for either snacks or a meal every hour. We sampled almost all the QS restaurants. The food isn't anything to brag about, but it was decent and we ended up buying the Dining Deal again before our trip ended. Best meal was actually a special at Mango Joes. It was Beef Stew in a bread bowl. Of note.. we also tried the Philly Cheese steaks there and they were uneatable and we ended up throwing them away.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Agree to check out Sea World's "Blue Friday" specials, I also did the above mentioned all day dining deal.

 

[floridaboundfromsd]

Thank you for the replies. We will definitely be swapping our DC and SW days so we can see the Christmas events. I will also watch for the "Blue Friday" specials. I am assuming these go on sale on Black Friday? Is this through the Sea World website or Groupon?

Thanks again!
Ann Marie

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Sea World, and yes Black Friday. Sign up for their free email list and they will give you a heads-up before they become available.

 

[bearzabout]

We were super lucky and were able to go to Aquatica for 2 days December of 2017 when the temps hit 83. To me, the air temperature needs to be in the mid 80s or it is hard to ever warm up after getting out of the water. Going on a sunny day is important also if the air temps aren’t very high. The crowds were not bad. Since mornings can be chilly, we tend to arrive about noon and stay until the park closes.

Seaworld is fabulous at Christmastime. It is truely magical at night. Make sure to arrive for the show O Wonderous Night at least 45 minutes before showtime to get a seat. The park is packed on weekends since the Christmas shows tend to be on Friday through Sunday nights up until mid December. It is worth going on these busy nights to see the special shows. I’d do Seaworld on the Sunday and move the Discovery Cove visit to a weekday.