Is Sea World worth the money???

[deanie]

My daughter loved it when she was 6 and she loved it again this year at age 21. Our whole family has all had a really good time there.

 

[kaligal]

"Worth it", as always, depends on how much money you have and how much you value the thing you're spending it on...so it would be hard to judge "worth it" for someone else.

I think it is absolutely worth it. I adore Sea World and have been there many, many times. If I never saw Clyde or Seamore again, that would be okay, but I gotta have my Sea World. (Clyde and Seamore are fine, even cute the first couple of times. After about 200 times, you start to hate them.)

I could spend a morning or afternoon walking through Sea World and not even see a show. In fact, I have done that many times. Have AP, will travel.

Sea World is great.

 

[RabFlmom]

Our son loved Seaworld when he was younger and I wouldn't hesitate to take small kids. There's a lot to do and lots of great shows.

One thing I have never liked is the food. They do have great Shamu bars though.

Can I ask where you ate while there? My friends tease me that I eat my way through the park when we take them with us. LOL I for 1 won't pay the price or take the time for Dine with Shamu or for Sharks and have heard they are mediocre at best; but I love some of the other food. Can't beat the BBQ or the fajitas in a theme park. Love the strawberry waffle cones, too. LOL
Even the pizza used to be good, but I have heard it is not as good now that it isn't wood fired at Voyagers.

 

[llqool]

We love Seaworld, and have specifically gone there, rather than Disney on holidays when we know WDW will be crowded (b/c Seaworld is usually *much* more manageable).

If you are AAA members, you might want to check out their ticket prices. We went to Busch Gardens this summer, and the AAA deal was better than the Southwest one.

Another thing that your kids might like, aside from the climbing area and feeding the rays/dolphins is to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. You can walk through their stable and they will often have one horse available for you to pet/get your photo taken w/.

The only thing that my husband is seriously bummed about is that now that Inbev has taken over, they don't have the free beer samples and the beer school anymore. We have been to beer school about 10 times and loved it!

 

[maddiesmom0116]

I love Sea World - Orlando, we go every couple of years. We went earlier this year and we had an excellent time. My DD had just turned 5 and many of the rides were perfect for her age range. The service was above and beyond everywhere we turned, it was like the service at Disney 5-10 years ago. The cast members there went above and beyond all day long. We plan on going back next year again just because of this years visit.

 

[dormouse72]

I guess I would love Sea World if I wasn't comparing it to Disney...

FULL INFORMATION: I haven't gone in a LONG time, so I'm sure it must have changed.

Overall: I remember feeling like it was dirty. Overflowing garbage cans and suddenly remembering things like lots of bugs and seagulls in Florida.

Rides/attractions: All this time I still remember Atlantis ride - that was amazing. The Shamu show and the people mover through the shark tank were incredible. Lots of touch tanks for younger kids (I had a 5 year old, 4 year old, and 18 month old with me) and places to buy herrings and feed things like dolphins and seals. Tons of touch tanks and a nicely themed kids area.

Those herrings - of course - were what attracted all the "natural wildlife". Not just pesky seagulls but really opportunistic beasts which took my daughter's french fry out of her hand while she was eating. My (now ex) husband eventually just sat there with a water gun shooting at them so the rest of us could eat in peace (thank GOD my 5 year old nephew was "armed")! And then we went to feed seals and there was a large (I mean very LARGE) aquatic bird of some type (looking almost like a pelican but it was brown and white with an enormous mouth) sitting in the middle of one of the paths badgering people for fish. Probably now my kids would enjoy it but at the time with 3 small kids and this bird bigger than they were - it actually made me nervous (I admit that I am not a bird fancier - I will admire them from afar). I mean, this wasn't one of the park animals which was under medical care allowed to wander the paths with a handler near by as an attraction - it was a wild animal keeping itself alive.

I also had a problem with the Budwiser Horses - which I didn't expect to have. I know it's a Busch park so they plug their products (I'm not a teetotaler by any means) but I did have a reaction to having alcohol and things meant to attract kids being promoted TOGETHER. The horses were beautiful but so out of place in a park devoted to marine life, it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

I also remember sitting in one of the smaller theatres watching a dolphin show - great show, but I could see the parking lot of the mall next door from my seat at the top of the stadium seating. It kind of distracted me.

We got back to Disney (we were staying on property) and went to Magic Kingdom the next day; I was sitting there with my husband in Tomorrowland just enjoying the Disney atmosphere - no "wild life", no seagulls stealing our food and only the random bee here and there - wondering how it could be so different just down the road. At that point he looked at me and said "I'm never going off property again".

So like I said, if I wasn't comparing Sea World to Disney, I'd probably love it. There were a lot of great aspects to it and my kids have gone back with family and had a blast; my daughter came home from that trip wanting a fish tank, now wants to be a marine biologist, and her dream internship is one at Sea World. But I probably wouldn't do it again, at least not in a vacation where I combined Sea World and Disney. I go to WDW for more than just rides.

 

[llqool]

We got back to Disney (we were staying on property) and went to Magic Kingdom the next day; I was sitting there with my husband in Tomorrowland just enjoying the Disney atmosphere - no "wild life", no seagulls stealing our food and only the random bee here and there - wondering how it could be so different just down the road. At that point he looked at me and said "I'm never going off property again".

I have never experienced the kind of wildlife you experienced in the 6 or so times I've been to Seaworld. But I *have* been attacked by birds twice at the Flame Tree BBQ in AK. And I have been to Disney during mayfly and lovebug season, and bugs are not discriminators of where they land, so we experienced them as much on property as off....

nature is, well, nature and can only be controlled so much!

and the "beer theming" is much more low-key now that Inbev has taken over. at least, that's what we experienced at Busch Gardens a month or so ago. Yeah, they serve beer at the food places, but they do that at EPCOT, too!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

My son lost a whole chimichanga to a big bird in Frontierland.

 

[llqool]

My son lost a whole chimichanga to a big bird in Frontierland.

I know it was probably upsetting at the time, but the way you worded it is VERY funny!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I know it was probably upsetting at the time, but the way you worded it is VERY funny!

lol! It has become the family joke.

 

[MissionMouse]

I would say Disneyworld is a major contributor in the bird issue in the Orlando area. Never experienced any bird issues like I have found at Disney. Lots of tourist feeding birds throughout Disney property combined with lots of food waste from their restaurants, luau and other food activities.

It would appear to be growing issue and various bird species have taken up home on Disney property and migrate across the property in what appear to be patterns associated with the time of day. I would suspect Disney is battling the situation behind the scences, otherwise it would be really bad if they took no action.

If you stay around the Magic Kingdom area you can easily observe massive flocks of birds migrating from the backside of MK area to MK resorts at specific times of the day. Their like swarms and appear to target specific areas on the property... they arrive very sudden, search-eat and depart as fast as they arrived. One area is the luau-Tuvalu area of the PR. Seagulls at Epcot....

 

[gerryc28]

I have a SW RR card, but how do you get the Sea World tickets through them?
Thanks.

 

[llqool]

you can show them the rewards card at the gate, and they give you 20% off

 

[romanojames]

I would love to bring my daughter to seaworld and enjoy the dolphin show.

 

[krolyat]

you can show them the rewards card at the gate, and they give you 20% off

Thank you this is good info to know But is the card you are referring to the South West credit card or just the paper print out card with your member number for the rapid rewards?

 

[PEIMother]

With the Southwest card, do we get 20% off the children's admisisons as well? Heading there next week with a party of 7.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

We just got back and got in free because dh is in the miliary. While we enjoyed it for free, I would never pay the close to $400 it would cost for us to get in for one day. It's just not worth it IMO.

Manta is a great ride and the animals are nice, we love animals. But you can see seals at and penguins at the zoo and my kids got to pet sting rays at the tampa bay baseball game for free. The tanks are beautiful to watch for a minute.

No you can't see shamu and no you can't get that close to the dolphins anywhere else so take into account if you have a decent zoo nearby that is cheaper or how important the chance to pet a dolphin (they may or may not come to you) and seeing shamu is worth the cash.

I will always take advantage to go for free because it's a nice gesture and we did enjoy it for the day but no it's not worth that much cash to us. Because we got in free we did spend some money in the arcade, ate there and bought a few small souveniers but if we paid gate price we wouldn't have done those things.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

the kids and I love SeaWorld. We really like the shows and seeing all the animals. The kids always have to feed the dolphins and Sea Lions. We also love Shamu Rocks.

 

[RabFlmom]

We just got back and got in free because dh is in the miliary. While we enjoyed it for free, I would never pay the close to $400 it would cost for us to get in for one day. It's just not worth it IMO.

Manta is a great ride and the animals are nice, we love animals. But you can see seals at and penguins at the zoo and my kids got to pet sting rays at the tampa bay baseball game for free. The tanks are beautiful to watch for a minute.

No you can't see shamu and no you can't get that close to the dolphins anywhere else so take into account if you have a decent zoo nearby that is cheaper or how important the chance to pet a dolphin (they may or may not come to you) and seeing shamu is worth the cash.

I will always take advantage to go for free because it's a nice gesture and we did enjoy it for the day but no it's not worth that much cash to us. Because we got in free we did spend some money in the arcade, ate there and bought a few small souveniers but if we paid gate price we wouldn't have done those things.

Did you miss all the shows? Sea World has funny/educational/good shows that showcase the animals in a way that most zoos do not. $400 is a lot for a family to get into any park so I can understand when people say it wouldn't be worth it, but if you put it into $$ terms comparing with other activities like going to a concert, Nascar race, or a Off Broadway play which lasts only a few hours max, it is still a great deal at $80 for 16 hours or more of an activity( they give you a day free with one day tickets).

But like anything we do you have to be able to afford it to make it worth the money. On a tight budget it definitely would hurt the months expenses. Also if there is any chance you will be back in Orlando for a 2nd time in 1 year buying the Sea World Fun card gives you the park for the year for the price of 1 day. Can't beat that at any of the other theme parks.

 

[perdidochas]

I am going with my family, Dh, ds(1), and dd(4 1/2) - first time in 15 years - and wondering if seaworld is worth the 200+ dollars we are going to have to spend? Has anyone bought tickets off of craigslist before in orlando? is it safe or not worth it? Thanks.

When my kids were 2 and 4 we went to Sea World as our first theme park trip to Orlando. We took our time, spent 2 days there, and had an excellent vacation. It was worth what we spent on it.