Sharing is caring!

This Touring Plan has been designed to take into account the fact that we have small children and we won’t be able to ride the adult rides Kraken and Manta.  We visited on the first day of our holiday as a friend of the family who worked in Florida for years always recommends it as a first day activity as there is a lot of sitting down that can be done, in the shade, which is great when you are jet lagged!

Tip: Pick up a Park Map and Entertainment Schedule on the way in.  You need to make sure you plan your day at Sea World around the shows you want to see, as that really is the main reason to be at Sea World!

Food – Unlike Disney you can’t take a picnic into Sea World, only bottled water and snacks.  You could leave a cool box in the car as you can re-enter but it is worth knowing that before you go.

Arrive at least 20 minutes ahead of official park opening. Guests are typically allowed early entry but held in the main entrance area until official opening.  For us this means we should arrive around 8.30am/8.40am as Park Hours when we are visiting are: 9:00AM – 9:00PM

• Ride Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin first as this is the park’s newest attraction and is the busiest ride. Mostly a tame family ride that ends inside in the spectacular 30-degree penguin habitat.

We really enjoyed Empire of the Penguins however by no means would we have loved it if we had waited for 2 hours which ride times can be during the day.  It is fun and interactive but also extreemly cold, a top tip from me for this ride is to make sure you take cardigans in with you even if you aren’t wearing them.  Ours were on the push chair we didn’t take in and when we got to the penguin exhibit at the end which is really quite impressive, the kids wanted to rush out as they were so cold.  Thankfully as we had done this ride first we could go back on as there was still a very small queue and we could spend more time looking at the penguins (with the cardigans!).

• Possibly ride Journey to Atlantis with 5 year old (42″ height requirement) You will get drenched if you sit in the front seat of Journey to Atlantis®—drenched.

We did ride Journey to Atlantis with our 5 year old, well my hubby did whilst the other re-visited Journey to Atlantis. I was going to do Journey to Atlantis too but stayed with the bags whilst they went on as you had to put all your things in a locker and we had a bit too much.  It was very very scary for her (hubby loved it) and it actually put her off log flumes all trip and she wouldn’t go on another one (even the much tamer ones at Legoland!). Oops.

• Visit Turtle Trek
• Visit Dolphin Cove, Dolphin Nursery and Visit Stingray Lagoon

We enjoyed Turtle Trek and the dolphins, but overall found that it was a little less exciting than possibly billed and it didn’t take very long to do. The girls would have loved to spend a little more time with the dolphins and we did consider trying to book an activity but unfortunately they had all been booked up until about 5pm and having arrived at park opening we knew we wouldn’t still be there then.

• Seated for Blue Horizons at 11 for 11.30am show start (30 minutes)

The size of the stadium for the shows is quite breathtaking.  We chose a seat in the shade and it wasn’t long before the beautiful dolphin show started.  For me it brought flooding back memories of our first trip to Sea World when I was just 17.

• Lunch

After the fantastic dolphin show we ate lunch at Mango Joe’s. All the restaurants were busy at it was the busiest part of the day so we literally chose the restaurant with the shortest queue. If I’m honest the food wasn’t anything particularly special, but a top tip is that the kids can share portions as they are huge.  So could adults!

• Seated for 1.30pm for 2pm One Ocean show. (35 minutes)

The show was absolutely spectacular. Most of us chose to sit outside of the splash zone and out of the sun, but hubby and my eldest popped on their rain ponchos and headed down to the front row to get a closer look at the show and the spectacular whales, and to also try and get drenched!  Bizzarely they must have sat in the only two seats in that whole area where the whales didn’t splash, my daughter was devastated that EVERYONE else got drowned and she didn’t! I think hubby was secretly pleased.

• Visit Shark Encounter Visit Shamu’s Happy Harbor® (if you have children under 6)
• Visit Pacific Point Preserve
• If not too exhausted stay and watch Clyde and Seamore’s Sea Lion High Show at 4pm (being seated for 3.30pm)

After watching the One Ocean show we actually decided to head home. The kids were absolutely exhausted, happy but exhausted.   So we decided we could miss the sea lion show (sorry Clyde & Seamore!) and ead back to the villa for a swim.

We had had a fantastic first day of our 14 days in Orlando and had loved Sea World!  Thanks to Sea World for complimentary tickets but all views and opinions are my own.

The best value ticket for visiting SeaWorld Parks in Florida is the 3-Park SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens Ticket.

The 3-Park SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens Ticket offers 14 days unlimited entry to three parks for the price of two – SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando AND Busch Gardens Tampa – when guests book and visit before 31 December 2017. Prices start from £100 per adult and £96 per child.

Customers with a 3-Park SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens Ticket also get free parking at all parks for 14 consecutive days, meaning that they can come and go as they please.

For further information about SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in Florida or to book tickets visitwww.seaworldparks.co.uk.

Why not PIN this plan for later?