Sea World Christmas 2014 Trip Report

[JaxDad]

Introduction/Hotel

Greetings! I’d like to provide a brief report for our one-day trip to Sea World the week of Christmas 2014. There are many excellent trip reports already on the forum, but maybe this will add a little information to help future Sea World visitors. I did not get any great photos I can include here. I’m very sorry about that. I also share additional information on our hotel and other attractions, but Sea World was definitely the prime attraction for this trip. We did a very laid-back visit, since we were all in various stages of having and getting over colds. I also apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors.

I would like to address the Black Fish issue first very briefly. For those who may hesitate to visit Sea World because of the documentary (or their cousin’s rant about it on Face Book), I absolutely respect that, but would just encourage you to do some additional research for yourself about Sea World and the things they do. If you still are not sure, then just don’t go. Again, I respect that decision, and I hope others will respect my decision to share this unique experience with my children and the message of conservation that Sea World promotes throughout the park. Peace.

My DS11, DD7, and I arrived in Orlando early the day before our Sea World visit. We stayed at the Marriott Harbour Lake. We have stayed there on two previous short trips to Orlando this year and really enjoy the property. I highly recommend it for families with younger children. See Trip Advisor for more information. There are so many great properties in Orlando, you really can’t go wrong if you do a little research. This is our current favorite, but I plan to try others in the future. We arrived at 1130 in the morning. I knew our room would not be ready, but we all just wanted to hang out for the day. It was mostly cloudy but a nice 80 degrees. We were greeted warmly as always. We changed to our swimsuits and enjoyed the pools, the basketball courts, pool tables, foosball tables, ping-pong tables, miniature golf course, as well as the many planned activities for kids that run throughout the day. We had a nice lunch by the pool. The restaurant/carry-out place at Harbour Lake is good, but perhaps not great. The food and selection is good, the portions good, and the prices are what you would expect at a resort. The front desk called my cell later in the afternoon, and I moved our stuff to the room as my kids kept playing. I feel totally safe at this property. The standard room with the King bed and fold-out couch/Queen bed works well for the three of us and includes a kitchenette.

 

[JaxDad]

City Walk and Blue Man Group

We drove over to Universal City Walk the first evening and went to the Blue Man Group show. Parking is $17. As a Florida resident, it would have been free after 6:00 (which would have been great), but the BMG shows were 6:00 and 9:00, and 9:00 was just too late for us. It is a funny and interesting show with good music and comedy “skits.” I had read many reviews, primarily to make sure it was appropriate for my children. It is definitely appropriate, and there were lots of kids at the early performance. The only consistent negative reviews had to do with slow periods during the show. I did notice these, but overall it was very entertaining and we all loved it. There is some great audience participation at the end, like a rock concert. After the show, the performers are available in the lobby for pictures (still in character). The other band members are also available (they are mostly hidden by screens during the show). I had a good deal on the tickets, and I would definitely recommend the show to others, especially if you can get some kind of deal. I think City Walk offers Dinner and a Show deals, plus look on Groupon and other similar sites. As we left the show, it was raining a little. I had been worried it would rain during our Sea World visit, but the rain had moved in sooner than originally forecasted. It was not bad, and we made our way with umbrellas to the City Walk food court area. I did not know this area even existed, but it was very convenient and reasonable for a quick dinner and treat—Moe’s and Menchie’s frozen yogurt. We have not visited the Universal parks yet, but we like the feel of City Walk and may plan to do a Universal immersion at one of the resorts on our next big trip.

 

[JaxDad]

Sea World I

Sea World was next and the weather was looking great. Again, I had a pretty laid-back trip plan in place. For those used to Disney trip plans, Sea World trip plans are literally a walk in the park. Work your day around the shows you want to see. We knew we wanted to see Blue Horizons, Pets Ahoy, plus I had purchased Dine with Shamu passes, which included Christmas show reserved seating (we wanted to see O Wondrous Night, and the Shamu Christmas show). Sea World puts the show times on the web about a month in advance. Just look at the park map online and figure out your preferred way to work through the park and pick your show times accordingly. We planned to go counter-clockwise, starting with Manta and going around the park to end at the last Shamu show. As for any theme park trip plan, it is best to get there at park opening. For our visit, Sea World had extended hours of 9:00 am to 11:00 pm. I had also decided to get Quick Queue passes for all three of us. These are basically unlimited Fast Passes for those used to Disney. For our day, they cost $20 each (I could have used a BOGO offer if we had been able to go to the park a day or two earlier.) I considered getting just one pass for my son, knowing he would ride the coasters and my daughter probably wouldn’t, but there are other non-coaster rides that also take QQ. We had a full day planned, and I did not want to wait in long lines, plus I wanted my son to be able to ride the coasters as many times as possible. I think on non-peak days, you can get by without the QQs, plus you can look into partner hotels which offer free one-time QQ passes (one use per ride).

After breakfast in the room the next day (I had brought stuff from home to prepare in the kitchenette), we left for Sea World. We arrived around 8:45. Parking is a little steep at $17, and “preferred parking” is only $20. We did not need preferred parking this early, but others may want to consider paying the extra $3 if they arrive later and it looks like a busy day. If you have an Annual Pass, I believe parking is free. After going through the turnstiles we went to the Information and Reservations Counter and got our Dine with Shamu and QQ passes. It is a fast and easy process. My son went straight to the Manta roller coaster which is very near the entrance. Even though it was not yet too crowded the QQ did allow him to do more rides. The line started to build pretty quickly. My daughter and I visited the nearby aquarium and gift shop. Definitely visit this aquarium. It has sea horses, sea dragons, a tank full of clown fish, and other interesting fish. After my son had his roller coaster fix, we all went to check out the pelicans and sea turtles nearby, then feed the rays at Stingray Lagoon. This is always really cool. The rays seem to genuinely like being petted, and my kids love it. We visited Dolphin Cove next. We did not feed the dolphins, although I left it as something we might do later.

It was now time for the 10:00 Blue Horizon dolphin show. There were quite a few people, but not a full house. I remember the dolphin shows when I was a small kid visiting Sea World in San Diego. I always loved them, especially the high leaps to the trainer leaning out over the tall ladder. They have added a lot of stuff with performers in fancy costumes diving from platforms and swinging around, plus some parrots and other birds soaring above the audience. I’d personally rather just watch the wonderful dolphins, but they do a nice job with the other stuff and an accompanying story line, and the kids loved it. It is a very good show.

 

[JaxDad]

Sea World II

After the dolphin show, we went to Turtle Trek which is very close to Dolphin Theater. With the QQs we blasted by a LOT of people who had also come straight from the dolphin show. I don’t know if the QQ actually allowed us to get into an earlier show than we otherwise would have (I think it did), but it was definitely nice going straight to the front and knowing we would be in the next show. Turtle Trek starts with a viewing of some nice aquariums with manatees and sea turtles and other animals (such as alligator gars). A staff member provides information and answers questions. Next everyone dons 3D glasses and goes into a dome-shaped theater for a movie about the life of a sea turtle. The kids and I really liked this movie. It was fun watching them reach out, as if they could actually touch the 3D animals swimming by us.

We now had a couple hours before our next show at 1:00. We double-backed a little to the dolphin underwater viewing area, which we had skipped earlier to make it to Blue Horizons in time. This is always awesome. The kids wanted a quick lunch, so we shared some pizza at Seaport Pizza. I normally prefer to go to the Voyagers Smokehouse BBQ, but planned for us to eat light for lunch since we would have a buffet dinner at the 5:30 Dine with Shamu show. We did not choose the All-Day Dining Plan since we were doing Dine with Shamu, but I understand it is a good value. We visited the Pacific Point Preserve next to see the seals and sea lions. This was a little disappointing. The whole back area was off limits due to some construction work. It is still a cool habitat, and fun to hear the seals barking, and we still enjoyed feeding the seals, but this venue seemed to lack the buzz it has had in the past. It was also disappointing that the Clyde and Seymour show was on hiatus, but we knew this before the trip. We will definitely return someday to see the new show.

From there we went to the Antarctica area. This has been totally revamped since our last visit, and they did a great job. In fact, let me pause here to say one of the reasons we really enjoy Sea World is how well it is landscaped, themed, and decorated. It just feels nice and never overwhelming like other parks can feel. The Christmas decorations are no exception. Sea World does an excellent job, including the Christmas and other seasonal music playing throughout the park. We went to the Empire of the Penguin ride. If the signs were correct, the QQs saved us at least 45 minutes here. However, while in line the ride actually broke down. We ended up waiting it out for maybe 15 minutes and enjoyed talking with a family from Brazil (and my son played with their son’s video soccer game). I am not sure if breakdowns are a frequent occurrence for this ride. Since I was not in any hurry this visit, it was not a big deal. Even when the ride resumed, it is a slow-loader. You can pick “mild” or “wild” versions of the ride. We picked “wild,” and I think the difference is the cars you ride in tilt and spin a little faster. I actually think the “mild” line may have been a little shorter. The ride itself has some nice visuals, but it is not anything special, IMHO, but it does seem very popular. The best part is viewing the penguins after the ride. I had brought our jackets, which I highly recommend, because it is very cold, and you want to take your time to view these animals. My daughter especially loved them.

 

[JaxDad]

Sea World III

Since the penguin ride took longer than expected, we bypassed Kraken and Journey to Atlantis for the time being, and went to the Pets Ahoy show. This show was packed, but we did manage to make it in time with seats at the very back. I think we arrived about 15-20 minutes before the show. On relatively busy days, you may want to plan to arrive sooner, for peace of mind. This is definitely a favorite show for my kids. It is very well done. The set is great and included Christmas and Hanukkah decorations. The trainers are energetic and informative about the animals and pet adoption. I wanted to make sure we went to this show and the dolphin show early, before we got into the Christmas shows, so I felt good about our visit thus far.

After spending some time in the huge gift shop near the Pets Ahoy Theater, we double-backed to Kraken. We bypassed a couple things that I do recommend, but we just did not work into our day. If you are there at Christmas, they have a nice photo opportunity with your family in a giant snow globe. There is also the Sky Tower ride. My kids just weren’t interested and I did not try to talk them into it, especially since my daughter sometimes decides she is scared of heights. My son rode Kraken several times using his QQ, while my daughter and I tried to see him as the coaster rushed by a viewing area, plus looked in more gift shops. Next we all rode Journey to Atlantis many times, basically running back around to the QQ entry to get straight back on after every ride. It is a lot of fun. I think the part after the main drop is actually the best. We were pretty soaked after our many rides, but it was a warm day, so no worries. For the fun of it, we did use one of those $5 stand-up drying machines they have at the end of the ride. The whole family fit inside, and they actually work pretty well. When you go to Journey of Atlantis, definitely visit the Jewel of the Sea Aquarium located adjacent to the gift shop. It has some neat tanks, including in the floor and ceiling.

We made our way around the “back” of the park and went to Shark Encounter next. It was not crowded at all, so we spent more time than usual reading the educational exhibits leading to the shark tunnel. After the always cool shark tunnel, the kids fed the sharks and tarpons outside the exhibit. This was also real fun for them and I got some funny pictures. We then kept walking past the Nautilus Theater which allowed me to scope out where the O Wondrous Night show would be. Next is the Sea Garden, which was an unexpected treat. I used to love this general area for the free beer and getting to see the Clydesdale horses up close, when the park was owned by Anheuser-Busch. The beer hall is now a BBQ restaurant. The area leading up to it is now a fantastically decorated garden with cool plantings, large sea life sculptures made from trash found on beaches, plus Christmas decorations thrown in. There are trainers throughout the area with various small animals. The kids got to see a cute little owl and a sloth up close, and ask questions and get pictures. The trainers also pass out little information cards for the animals, like baseball trading cards. It is easy to miss this area, but be sure not to do so!

 

[JaxDad]

Sea World IV

We next went past the arcade games area without stopping. My kids love arcades, but they get their fair share without having to go to one at Sea World. The prizes looked great, but I was not ready to get saddled with carrying around a giant stuffed animal! We stopped at Shamu’s Happy Harbor, which is a large area with kiddy rides and other activities. I basically turned the kids loose here while I hung out and people-watched. They rode the really neat carousel, but mostly climbed around the giant area with nets and slides and tunnels. The kids love the climbing area. I remember trying to keep up with my son in there when he was 5, and I wanted no part of it on this day! They had a blast and even met and played with other kids. There were more really great Christmas decorations in this area, particularly around Shamu Stadium.

Next we did the Polar Express Experience. Again, QQs took us right to the front of the line. This starts with a movie/motion ride that is pretty well done. I’m not always a big fan of motion rides, although I love roller coasters and other “real” rides, but this one was not bad at all. It integrates parts of the actual Polar Express movie and has some exciting visuals/motion during an out of control train ride. After the ride part, you are released into the beluga whale viewing area. We love these animals and the setting of their habitat. We hung back and let the crowd shuffle through ahead of us, then enjoyed watching the whales at our leisure. They also had a spectacular Christmas tree and a Santa for pictures in this area. We next saw the seals (or was it penguins or maybe both) and a walrus. I’m not sure why they no longer have a polar bear; maybe I just missed it. I hope he/she is okay. After exiting through the gift shop, we probably had time to go to the Christmas Market area back toward the front of the park, but I honestly forgot all about it. We never went over to that area, so I can’t comment on it.

 

[JaxDad]

Sea World V (Dine with Shamu)

We took our time walking up to the Dine with Shamu meeting location near the killer whale underwater viewing area. We were a little early, so we watched the killer whale in the tank for a while. A trainer told us all about the whale and her history at the park. The whale’s name was Kayla, and she was a beautiful animal. We lined up with the others for the dinner, had our picture taken (brought to your table later), then were directed to our assigned tables. As others have noted here, tables are assigned as reservations are made. I had waited to see if this would be included in the Blue Friday sale, so I made my reservation relatively late. There are two rows of tables circling a section of the tank. We were in the second row, set just back from the first row table which is adjacent to the glass wall around the tank (it is the same tank as the underwater viewing area). The second row is perfectly fine for viewing the show, however, we lucked out spectacularly as the people who reserved the first row table in front of us never showed up, and we were allowed to move to that table for the show. Dinner is a buffet. There is plenty of time to visit the buffet multiple times. The line can get a little long, but it is generally well managed and moves well. I was worried about this, as I recall one reviewer saying it was a free-for-all. I guess it depends on the guests, and they were generally very well-mannered when we were there. The food is very good. They had several salad and veggie options, plus some grilled chicken and some grilled Caribbean pork loin with nice sauces. There is a separate buffet line with more kid-friendly stuff like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc, and another line with various desserts. Again, it was all very good. A server brings you drinks, including beer and wine. Our server was excellent and kept bringing me refills. (It made up for the loss of the old free beer area.) You can choose to tip your server which we did.

The show part is narrated by a senior trainer and includes two of the wonderful killer whales working with their primary trainers. One trainer and whale team was directly in front of us which was awesome. You learn about how they use positive reinforcement to teach the whales (LOTS of fish and ice). There are a few big leaps and other “tricks,” but a lot of it is more simple direct interaction with the trainers. The narrator and the other trainers answer questions throughout. They answered a lot of questions. It was truly enjoyable. My daughter was particularly excited that the narrator had the same name as her and spent a lot of time just hanging out with her and asking questions. I did not feel rushed to leave at all. I highly recommend this add-on. There is a separate thread with a sticky on this board, and there is lots of good information and pictures there.

 

[JaxDad]

Sea World VI

After Dine with Shamu, we were starting to feel the effects of our colds and cold meds! I had planned to go to the 8:30 O Wondrous Night show, then the 9:30 Shamu Chistmas Show and catch the fireworks on the way out of the park. Instead we went to the 7:45 Shamu show first and just hoped we could make it to the O Wondrous Night show in time with our reserved seats. We didn’t even use our reserved seats for Shamu. We walked over to the stadium and went in with the early arrivals and picked a spot where I thought we could exit the fastest and get to O Wondrous Night. The Shamu Christmas Miracles show was spectacular! It is a high-energy combination of seasonal music, lights, fountains, video boards and of course the beautiful killer whales performing amazing leaps and splashes. It is all coordinated so magnificently. I don’t think I can do it justice with words, so you may want to visit other threads for pictures or YouTube for videos. The regular Shamu show is always a don’t-miss item on any visit to Sea World, but the Christmas version is even more so. It was particularly fun going there straight from the Dine with Shamu show. My kids had a better understanding of how the trainers and whales work together, plus they recognized trainers they had just talked with one-on-one.

For the only time during the visit, we had to rush from the stadium to O Wondrous Night in Nautilus Theater. We just made it in time to be seated in the reserved section. I don’t know how much you would have to get there in advance otherwise. I vaguely recall others suggesting 30 minutes. The show is great. It tells the Christmas story from the viewpoint of the animals. It includes performers with puppets doing the acting as well as choreographed dancing to Christmas music. The sets are beautiful. The performers with the puppets reminded me a little of the Nemo show at Animal Kingdom, but not as colorful and elaborate, due to the setting of the story. Real animals are included as well later in the show, including sheep, donkeys, and even camels. It was a wonderful performance. In today’s PC world, I was a little surprised that Sea World embraces Christmas so openly and not just the “Holiday Season.” This is true in the shows, the music played throughout the park, and the decorations. They don’t shy away from the story behind Christmas. If this is potentially offensive to you as a non-Christian or even as a sensitive Christian, you may want to consider it before going.

We were pretty well spent after the show and decided to leave then and miss the fireworks, so I can’t comment on those (or the Winter Wonderland on Ice and Elmo Christmas shows). We did walk through the lighted Sea of Trees on our way out, and they were really cool. This consists of lots and lots of lighted Christmas trees placed in the center lake of the park. They are lit in a variety of colors and were blinking and changing colors to music. It was a nice final treat as we walked on the boardwalk across the lake and out to our car.

We hung around Harbour Lake the next day until around 1:00. The kids again had a blast in the pool area. There were enough other kids their ages that they quickly formed groups and played all sorts of games. I just watched and hung out. This is a very family-friendly resort. We used the large locker rooms to change, then headed home.

I will make an effort to re-visit the trip report if anyone has questions. However, there are many great sources for Sea World information on this forum, and I hope others will add their own comments. I highly recommend reading any threads or posts from Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina, 919Florida, and KBF. They were very helpful to me.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

An awesomely detailed trip report, my friend! Love it from start to finish!

So glad you had such a great time with your kiddos. I can't wait to be there myself for Christmas 2015 .

I’m not sure why they no longer have a polar bear; maybe I just missed it. I hope he/she is okay.

Sadly, Johnny died earlier this year:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trav...lar-bear-dies-unexpectedly-20140731-post.html

 

[JaxDad]

Thanks Gina! I appreciate all your help!

I was very sad to hear about Johnny the Polar Bear. We even double-backed to make sure we had not missed him. It was so cool to watch him swimming underwater!

I also realized I missed one final exhibit we hit on our way out of the park--the Dolphin Nursery. We had missed it on our way in. We stopped there as we left and there was a small group of people and a trainer to provide information and answer questions. It was really nice. My daughter particularly loved it and pretty much asked the name and age of all the dolphins! This little exhibit is well worth a stop.

 

[JaxDad]

I should also note that I stated our trip plan went counter-clockwise around the park, it was actually clockwise. Sorry about that!

We made use of lockers twice--once early in the morning when we were in the same general area for quite a while and I just didn't feel like carrying my backpack and again while we were riding Journey to Atlantis and wanted to keep stuff dry! If I recall, lockers were 4 quarters each, and there were change machines available.

 

[kathy884]

Loved your trip report -- very well written. We were blown away by SeaWorld at Christmas too. It's just such a beautiful park and a great day. We spent some time at the big three - Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld and everyone in our group enjoyed SeaWorld the most. IMHO - They own Christmas! I would encourage others to visit.

 

[sayheyrenee]

Loved finding this. It sealed the deal for me to get there this 2015! We are sesame platinum season pass members and want to take advantage of sea world orlando and possibly bush gardens Tampa

 

[Ombo]

Great report. We love Seaworld and they have beautiful Christmas decorations.

 

[newestkg06]

Thanks for this very detailed report! Glad to hear you were able to do so much and have such a great time even though you were sick. Seaworld at Christmas sounds absolutely beautiful.

 

[JaxDad]

Thanks for resurrecting this Renee! I'm glad it was helpful. I had fun re-reading it, and now I'm wondering if we should go back again this Christmas!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks for resurrecting this Renee! I'm glad it was helpful. I had fun re-reading it, and now I'm wondering if we should go back again this Christmas!

Well, of course you should!

Life is short, and those kiddos of yours aren't little forever. Go and have a great time .