Seaworld/Aquatica - Are official hotels worth it?

Mickeymickey197555

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 26, 2015
Purchased the Discovery Cove Black Friday deal, and planning on doing Seaworld and Aquatica for the first time. Going in Mid June.

Was planning on staying at Vistana Villages or Bonnet Creek, but is it worth it to stay at one of the Official hotels to get the quick queue?
 
Hope those that have stayed at their official hotels will share their thoughts and experiences if it was to their advantage
 
I think it really depends on whether or not you and or others in your party plan to ride the "headliner" coasters and water slides. If so, then I would say "definitely". There are other benefits as well, including signature show seating and the rescue tour.

Having said that, you should price out the difference as some of the official hotels can be pricey.

In case you haven't seen it, this page - https://seaworld.com/orlando/vacation-packages/hotel-partners/#Official - lists all the benefits and hotels.
 
We always do the official hotels. Our favorite is the Rennaisance because you can literally walk across the street to the park. We are staying there for NY Eve and not having to worry about the crowds leaving is just huge for us. We also stay at the Springhill which is on the other side of the park. That has the benefit of a lot of food places within a block or so. There is (going from memory here) an Applebees, Hurricane Wings, TGI Fridays, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wendys, Flippers Pizza all just a 5 minute walk away. Oh yeah.. almost forgot Ginther Swirls which has good ice cream in incredibly large sizes for a fraction of what even your local Carvel probably charges.

As far as the Quick Queue. Honestly we usually only use them on a ride or two, but it's a nice safety net. Especially at busy times of the year.
 


If I'm going for a full week, I don't think it's worth it to do an official hotel and go for a nice offsite condo, similar to the ones you are considering. We've never found the lines at SeaWorld to be too bad.

On mini trips though, say four nights/three days like my next trip with a smaller number of people, just two of us where renting a condo would be overkill, plus the best condo deals are typically for a full week, I do often pick a SeaWorld partner place if I am going to do a day at SeaWorld, something we almost always do, since we really like that park.

For our trip next time, just me and my son, I'm getting a double queen studio at the Marriott Residence Inn SeaWorld -- includes breakfast, quick queue, has a kitchen -- always nice. I like the pool and hot tub too. It will be perfect for us for the mini trip. On a longer stay or if we have a larger group, the additional space, balcony, and amenities of a condo win out.

If you can get a good deal at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club SeaWorld, a very nice timeshare, that would be a great offsite condo and quick queue would be included too. Usually as many Hilton members trade for that we have done other offsite condos instead, just because of the deal we could get. We have stayed here in the past though and think it's lovely.

I think you will be absolutely fine with whatever offsite place you pick. With SeaWorld being primarily animal exhibit and show based, crowds aren't the issue that they are at Disney. Also for the coasters and popular water ride, lines aren't all that bad and going early morning and late in the day are good options for shorter lines.
 
I think it's also dependent on when you're going. We stayed at the Renaissance this past weekend, and visited Sea World on Sunday. Although we had the quick queue card, we find that we didnt need to use it at all because we could walk on the rides under 10 minutes.
 
Great information, the quick queu benefit is only to ride one time in each attraction?

Is it difficult to obtain that benefit? I read that you need to ask for it at Expedia desk and it is only upon availability.
 


Great information, the quick queu benefit is only to ride one time in each attraction?

Is it difficult to obtain that benefit? I read that you need to ask for it at Expedia desk and it is only upon availability.

Yes it is one time per ride. You obtain them at the Expedia Desk and can get them on day of arrival, day of departure and anything in between. So if you stay for 2 nights you can get 3 days worth. They all clearly state they are based on availability but honestly we have probably gone 10+ times over the years and multiple days each time and have always gotten the tickets. This includes Holidays such as NYE which we will be heading to the Rennaisance for in a few days.
 

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