First time Sea World questions

[spindoctors]

I am treating my 17 yo daughter to Discovery Cove w/a dolphin swim for a graduation present in October. We hadn't planned to go to Sea World, but the ticket is included for free so we are considering going the next day. It would be Friday, Oct. 21. Since the park ticket is free, I thought we would bite the bullet and pay for two Quick Queues for $19 each. We are roller coaster freaks, so my basic plan was to arrive to the park early for the 9 a.m. opening and head straight to Mako and ride that until a line develops. Do we need much more of a plan other than that with the QQ and looking at the show schedule as we get closer?

I have a couple logistical questions as well:

What counter service restaurants do you love/should we avoid?

DD is a teenager and cannot be away from her phone. Do you just use the ride lockers?

Can you swipe a CC for the ride lockers?

Any other tips for a newb?

 

[BabiesDaddy]

We went last October and didn't plan until we walked in and looked at the show times. We didn't have any issues, but i'd recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to the shows. The only place we ate at was Spice Mill. The ac was nice and we were able to sit down. The food is mostly burger and fries,etc, but it was okay. We enjoyed all of the shows, especially the "Pets Ahoy".

 

[spindoctors]

Thanks!

 

[bearzabout]

The lockers by Atlantis/Kraken cost $1 for the first hour. I can't remember if they accept credit cards. You may want to call and see if they put lockers near Mako and Manta. It would be a long walk to the front of the park if you use an all day locker.

Make sure to see the penguins. The line can be long for the ride so your pass may come in handy. The ride is just a way to cool people down so they don't have a heart attack walking into 35 degree temps. Seeing the penguins up close is awesome. I love watching them from the underwater viewing area at meal time. Ask an employee when the will eat next.

Don't miss the aquariums under Manta and Atlantis, the dolphin underwater viewing area and dolphin pool where you can touch them if they swim onto the ledge of the pool, the seals and walruses on the lower level of Wild Arctic, cow ray touch tank, manatee and shark exhibits.

The shamu show is awesome. We see it twice if time allows. Pets Ahoy is cute and Blue Horizons is great. Clyde and Seamore is not as good as it used to be.

Allow at least 20 minutes to ride the Sky Tower. The views are great but it can be a real time waster if timed just wrong.

Keep your feet off the floor of the coaster as it approaches the water on Atlantis if you don't want wet feet.

We avoid eating in the park. The BBQ place always smells good.

We love Seaworld since we have different animal interactions on every trip.

 

[Joanna71985]

There are ride lockers next to Mako, but they are really small

 

[Sarahbelle341]

The food at Voyage Smokehouse is pretty good. And the refillable mug is a pretty good deal.

 

[ravenclawforever]

We went last month also because of discovery cove, but our main destination was Universal. I know Universal really well, so our SeaWorld day wad not ideal due to lack of knowledge. First I found the locker system to be very confusing because they give you different options on the screen, but people are waiting so I did not take the time to think about them. I ended up choosing the minimum time assuming it would just keep charging if I went over time. It was more complex than that, but they do take credit cards. If we go again, I will try to go bagless. We were able to have things in pockets for rides (officially they had signs saying to take things out of pockets but it was posted more like a warning of losing them than a strict rule. They did not let you get in line with bags though. For non valuables (hat, water bottle), they have baskets at the loading docks of the rides. I would want a better plan for getting water next time (though in Oct it probably wont be as hot.) It seemed that most of the food stands carried bottled drinks rather than fountain, making filling up our water bottles more difficult. That was a big thing for us, for which we simply werent prepared. I also will pay extra to eat in a restaurant with indoor seating. Over all the park seemed much hotter than Universal, so eating inside would have been nice. I believe that right now Mako is not included in quick queue (it has a separate one, though that may change by oct.) It was a great ride and had no line when we were there (the week that it opened). The other coasters had long lines, but were really fun. We did not do the penguin ride due to the long line and we didnt see any shows because we were so hot that after riding the 3 coasters and eating lunch, everyone was asking to go back to the resort (Universal). We also made the mistake of taking the free hotel shuttle which did not get there at park opening. The bag check lines were long and not very well organized. Another reason to try to go bagless - it was a much shorter line. I do hope to go again, but with a much more thought out plan and ideally on a less hot day.

 

[keishashadow]

We've never done QQ and have been able to do everything we wanted in a day, but rushed to get it all done

We don't visit multiple times a year, so the park isn't exacty 2nd nature. Will be activating APs in October so that should change lol

I try to schedule things around the shows and try to avoid walking over the bridge multiple times (especially when it's hot). Therein is the biggest challenge...the showtimes can be difficult to line up just right. Get there early and get a coaster under your belt first!

Another issue I've had is my print-at-home tickets consistently don't read properly. Not my printer, other tickets for parks/concerts work just fine! Frustrating to be there at rope drop and find others sailing past you while they try to sort things out. Doesn't make me feel better to be told "it happens all the time". Have taken to being prepared to produce my email confirmation each time/ID/form of payment used (which I was asked for only once).