Thanks I'll keep hoping. My local AAA gave me a number of AAA South to call and said I am eligible for their discount, so I'll try that today. I've heard conflicting reports whether or not that AAA will work, but it's worth a shot.
Went in Sept with AAA discount. I think it took about $47 off each ticket.
Hi all. We are new to DC too, and have a trip planned this spring. Hope you don't mind me asking a ? on your post
Do you have a suggestion for Dining options when at Sea World and Aquatica throughout the week. We bought our DC tickets first, so we could benefit from free admission to SW and AQ all week. But I'm not sure how dining works if we didn't buy tickets direct for SW and AQ. Any thoughts??
TIA!!
Gina, I bought the Seaworld all day dining deal on Blue Friday (couldn't resist that price). I never thought about breakfast in the park. What is there for options? Thanks, Gigi
GINA!!!! TY for your offerings I am printing out your advice and bringing it with us !!! LOL
One thing .I am hoping that ONE OCEAN/and DINE WIth Shamu will be open by the time we arrive.
They told me April 7. I am PRAYING they are accurate. We arrive a week and a half after that.
I was Planning on doing Dine with Shamu,what do you think??????
Dine with Shamu is great . We thought the meal was excellent quality and the "show" (which is more like a demonstration/information session than a show) was very interesting and entertaining. At $29.99 pp, its a good value.
You can check out our experience at DWS by clicking on my December 2012 trip report (the link is in my signature). I think Dine With Shamu starts on page 6, if you want to skip over the beginnings and go right to it. There's a full write up and several photos, too.
All that said....if you are only doing SeaWorld for one day, I would stick with the all day dining so you can minimize your eating time and maximize your shows and attractions time. Good as DWS is, it does take a lot more time from your day than a meal at Voyageurs or the SeaFire Inn. If you have two SeaWorld days on your itinerary, then definitely do the all day dining one day and DWS the second visit. Then you get the best of both worlds .
Any other questions, feel free to ask!
We plan to go to Sea World 2-3 days. I have little ones, and we are staying closely, with unlimited admission. So we figured we would go a few days and see everything, take our time. And a day or 2 at Aquatica, and one day at DC, one day to relax, do DTD. I definitely want to do Dine with Shamu one day. Your report was AWESOME!!! I just pray they open it back up in time for our arrival. I really will be heartbroken if its not.
Any other advice or touring advice about anything would be greatly appreciated!!!! we are staying at spring hill suites
annabug, I think you have a GREAT plan . By spreading your visit over several days (and staying at an onsite property), you can relax and enjoy and see everything you want to see, including the favourites more than once. You'll have Quick Queue at your disposal, so you won't have to wait in line, either. You're going to have a great trip!!!
Definitely do Dine with Shamu on one of your days, assuming its open by then (I will have my fingers crossed for you!!). Do the dining plan at least one day too. When you do the all day dining, I would avoid the Terrace Garden Buffet. It is probably the only restaurant in SW that we won't return to. Its not that its bad....its just that there are much better dining options in the park.
I would plan on setting aside some money in the budget to feed the various animals around the park, as your little ones will love the experience. Plan for some time at Shamu's Happy Harbour (where they will have lots of rides geared for the youngest guests) while you relax and watch them have fun. Also consider getting the photo CD.....save each of your photo receipts (given to you by each of the park photographers at the various picture locations around the park) and turn them in on your final park day. Save your Aquatica ones, too.....as I hear they can also be included as long as all pics are taken within a 7-day period. The Adventure Photo location at the front of SW will put all your family's pics on a CD for about $40, which is an awesome value....but they can only burn it once (you can't add in additional pics after the fact). If you choose to go with the CD, also ask if they have any frames you can add on for an additional small cost.....we got lovely SeaWorld themed frames for $5 each (they hold 6 x 8 pictures) when we were there a year ago. Along with the photo CD, they're the best park souvenirs ever.
There is a section of the park that offers carnival style games (where you can shoot basketballs into the hoop to win a prize, etc.). Some of these games are only a couple of dollars or so to play, and you get a guaranteed prize at the end (like a stuffed stingray, penguin, etc.). Some you play and get nothing (unless you "win"), so be sure to check that out before you play. Its a fun way to get a little stuffed animal for each of your kids as a souvenir. IIRC, you can also buy a card that gives you $25 worth of game play for $20, so if you think they will want to play a couple of times each then this could be something you want to do.
And be sure to come back and post a review of your trip once you're home. We all love to read about other family's adventures!!
Just posting to say that we are planning our first DC trip for the last weekend in Match, first week of April. Can't wait! I am a WDW expert, but no nothing about touring SW, DC, and Aquatica. I will begin my reading here on the DiS to get up to speed. We will be staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We also have some time planned at DisneyQuest and dinner at HDDR.
Another newbie with questions, if you don't mind. I bought my tickets for November 9th, it's my mom's birthday and she picked DC as her gift.
How is the weather around that time in November?
I read the admission includes breakfast and lunch, plus unlimited snacks/water/soda, but what type of food do they offer you? Is it traditional American fare? I wonder if they have vegetarian options and what type of snacks are there.
Mom's on the plump side, around 200 pounds. Will the wetsuits fit her?
Also, reading the FAQ I discovered we can use the tickets to Seaworld prior to our day at DC. Has anybody else done that and how much of a headache it is?
This was probably mentioned somewhere in the thread but incase it wasn't just wanted to say that when we were at DC last year I had read something about getting a parking pass at DC which we could use for 2 weeks at SW and Aquatica. Well I bought one and I think it was $25. We ended up going to SW twice and Aquatica 4 times so it was quite a saving for us. I just asked at the DC reception on the way out. I didnt see it advertised there and got talking to people at at hotel who had been and never knew anything about it.
We loved DC, I thought we would be bored but got there at opening and left at closing and sat on my sun bed only to apply sun cream. Out of 7 of us, 4 did the swim. We were in the water the whole day and had to plead with my son to get out of the manta pool. he just loved it (he is 13). We are going to go this year but wont do the dolphin swim so will have a bit more time. I didn't even see those green seats in the water and willd efinitely look out for them as looks like a nice place to relax.