Planning a Day at Sea World

Ever since my son was little Sea World has been a park we enjoy going to. Sea World does a great job of decorating for the holidays and making it extra festive for you. A bonus for small children is that the kid’s area and entertainment is Sesame Street. They used to offer a breakfast with the characters you could do before the park opened and it was a great way to kick off the day. In the past few years, Sea World has started opening late mornings or even noon. Since the park changed and now there are two separate parks to go to Sea World or Aquatica. They will let you enter the general front of the park early so you can visit the aquarium and dolphins before, not many people know. Then they scan the tickets at the park entrance when they open. The park offers a variety of adult beverages throughout the park and tons of snacks for the kids. A little tip if you have a Sea World souvenir cup from any year you can bring it and refills are minimal. I usually take one and we share it. At the end of the day, we fill it with ICEE by Shamu for a treat. Another thing I like to do is thank all the military for their service. Lackland AFB is nearby and many of the new recruit graduates go with their families for their first time off base since basic training. Between Caden and I, we like to tell them thank you and congratulations. I used to make it a competition but now he’s older and understands.

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Events

I’ve had season passes every year since Caden was 1. Christmas is my absolute favorite at Sea World. They have over 9 million lights! Each section is decorated with a theme. Walking around at night is a treat in itself. Then you add in the character interactions with Rudolf and friends, fun activities, and rides for the kids. We have gone several times for Dinner with Santa. I have also done dinner with Rudolf and friends. Both are ok value- the food is never my favorite option but not terrible. You have to know you are paying for an experience.

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For Halloween, the park is transformed into a haunted park. Howl-O-Scream has transformed the peaceful park you once knew into something sinister this Halloween. Nightfall has awakened hundreds of creatures roaming scare zones and lurking the halls of haunted houses. SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream includes FREE haunted houses that are included with your park admission. Warning: At 7 p.m., the park’s scare level increases from haunting to horrifying, which may be too intense for young children. Howl-O-Scream is not recommended for children under the age of 13 or the faint of heart. Howl-O-Scream is included with park admission.

For more fun events that happen at Sea World visit the link: https://seaworld.com/san-antonio/events/

Shows

To start my planning I look at the park hours and schedule: https://seaworld.com/san-antonio/park-info/theme-park-hours/

I look at what shows are only offered once and then try to plan my way from front to back of the park. Most of the big rides are at the back and the kid’s area is in the middle. There are 5 core shows: the Sea Lions, the Dolphins, Orcas, Sesame Street, and Pets Ahoy. From that sometimes there are others offered from time to time. For shows, you really want to try to be there early as most shows get pretty crowded. Walking from one location to another will probably surprise you with how far it is so plan accordingly. One of my son’s favorites aside from Shamu is Pets Ahoy. This takes place in a small theater so it will fill up! Anything from ducks, pigs, cats, dogs, birds, even a skunk will entertain you.

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Aquatica

I didn’t think I would enjoy Aquatica for a full day but you definitely can. There are rides and plenty of pools to have fun in. The Wave pool has good waves and is always a crowd-pleaser. There’s a lazy river you can waste some time on as well. One activity I didn’t know we’d love as much as we do is feeding the stingrays. You can enter the water with them and learn how to feed them. They are so much fun and strange at the same time! Warning most kids don’t like them swarming and sucking on them but Caden loved it and was a pro!

Extras

For anyone going to enjoy the rides I would definitely recommend the Quick Que, the lines are long at times and this can help. You will need someone to hold your items or use a locker before getting in line. They don’t let you take items and move them to the other side like Six Flags. You can purchase an all-day locker or by occurrence.

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I have purchased the Reserve Show Seating this comes in handy during the summer or holidays when more people will be at the park. I have never purchased the all-day dining- there are too many snacks you will be tempted with. We have done activities such as dine with Shamu or a few of the encounters that allow kids. Most of the interactions with the animals require an older age child so check the rules before you buy.

The kid’s play area is a bit of a nightmare unless you plan on going up with your child or have an older child who can help younger ones. You can enter on one side and come out any number of different locations. Also, kids could become afraid up there and you would never know where they were. I try to avoid it altogether! I will ride the little rides with him. In the warmer months, there is also a free splash pad area that your kids can cool off if needed or wanted.

Depending on the season and show splash zone could mean a drop here or there or soaking! At the sea lion show, you would think well they don’t really splash and that is true for the most part. In the summer the water tower erupts and will drench the left side. Dolphin shows you won’t get wet so much anymore. There used to be a funny mime that would walk around and wet people in the splash zone. For the Shamu Show- if you are on the long side of the 4 corners you will probably leave wet in the summer months. Caden begged to sit in the splash zone so we went and the cold saltwater took his breath away and then he was all smiles. Still makes me laugh when I look at the pictures!

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No matter how well you plan you will not be able to do everything in a day. I suggest just going and having fun but keep in mind showtimes if you want to make them. Only a few times have I gone back to back days. I enjoy going several times per year for the different seasons and events offered. I try to avoid summer because of the heat unless I’m going to Aquatica. The pavement is black and the heat radiates off of it. Bring a good jogging stroller such as BOB or Citi Mini GT. I would also recommend having a good portable fan. I have gone when it was raining and it was empty and fun- sure we got wet but that didn’t stop us. We have also gone when it was freezing