My 6yo son and I are going to Sea World San Diego for the first time. How much would you budget for food in the park? We would eat breakfast before we arrived, no table service restaurants, 6yo not a big eater (would order a kids meal or something like a hot dog, if available).

Also, can you bring small snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks) in your backpack?

Thanks!

We have always brought snacks in for the kids, they don't seem to say anything if the food is in your back pack and you aren't bringing in a full picnic.

As far as a food budget, kids meals are around 5.95 and an adult meal ranges around 7.95-11.95, ship wreck reef cafe is a good buffeteria style restuarant, the deli by the budweiser clydesdales is also very good. My husband swears by the Calypso Bay Cafe (BBq, I believe that is the name) he said his portion of food was more than adequate.

I would say for the 2 of you to budget at least 40 dollars a day for meals and snacks and drinks, just to be on the safe side, you likely won't get anywhere near that.

No way. Sea World is pretty expensive for food.
Kid's meals are $5.95, then add $2.50 for the drink.
The absolute cheapest adult sandwich in the park is $7.95, unless you go to the Deli and get one a la carte for $5.95 (not on the menu - ask).
If you are frugal, lunch will be $20 (You might have to eat a kid's meal to eat for $20) and dinner will be $30. If you want 2 drinks and 2 churros, plan on spending $13 just for that.

I would recommend Mama Stella's for lunch or dinner. You can both eat a lot of food and be full for less than $30 (prices are unchanged for lunch / dinner).

I would budget no less than $60-$80 for two people for one day.

You can get free beer at the Hospitality Center. :cool:

No way. Sea World is pretty expensive for food.
Kid's meals are $5.95, then add $2.50 for the drink.
The absolute cheapest adult sandwich in the park is $7.95, unless you go to the Deli and get one a la carte for $5.95 (not on the menu - ask).
If you are frugal, lunch will be $20 (You might have to eat a kid's meal to eat for $20) and dinner will be $30. If you want 2 drinks and 2 churros, plan on spending $13 just for that.

I would recommend Mama Stella's for lunch or dinner. You can both eat a lot of food and be full for less than $30 (prices are unchanged for lunch / dinner).

I would budget no less than $60-$80 for two people for one day.

You can get free beer at the Hospitality Center. :cool:

Calypso Bay Smokehouse. ;) Yes, good food. $40 each, not $40 for both for the day though.

I take both my kids and with snacks and drinks we are always under 60 dollars and thats for 3 of us. Just my opinion, I think it can be done for around 40, but we might skimp a little more than most when we eat at Sea World, this also takes into consideration that you are only eating one meal and snacks.

So I will defer to theme park addict with the 60 dollars.

$40 is good for one meal and snacks.
$60 is good for 2 meals and snacks.
I was there for 13 hours this week (one day), and I needed two meals. :D

It gets to me that the drink is not included for the kids meal - then they charge you sooooooo much for a small kids cup :mad:

The food is good there, but make good use of a snack you brought in and a late lunch (this will also let you avoid the rush at lunch time). Shipwreck is a great place to eat. Try to get a place past the bathrooms over the bridge where you can sit in the shade and watch the boats on the ride go by.

I also always try to bring in at least on bottle of water for myself and a juice or two for the kids.

Thank you guys for your help. I'm not sure if we'll be there for one or two meals. We tend to go places at opening so I'm thinking we might be ready to leave around 6:00. Going under that assumption I think we will bring one snack, buy lunch and one snack and then stop for fast food on the way home. I'll bring $60 just in case and hope that it's less. :)

I was at SeaWorld for the first time since I was a little boy yesterday. Walt'sbirthdaygirl is right on with the prices. Most of the entrees did fall in the $7.95-11.95 range. The $7.95-9.95 range tends to be the burgers and sandwiches. The basic $7.95 burger is still really good and looks more like a restaurant burger than a fast food burger. It comes with a huge helping of fries too. The $9.95-11.95 stuff was the BBQ stuff and other entrees. My friend had the jambalaya and roasted chicken at Shipwreck Cafe and it around that price. They have pricier stuff as well. A full rack of ribs at Shipwreck was around $20 I think. We spent $30 for lunch for both of us at Shipwreck. I did not finish my meal, a rare occurance for me.

The kids meal is $5.95 and comes in a souvenir carrying case shaped like Shamu. At most places in the park you get a choice of chicken tenders and fries or hot dog and fries. At Mamma Stella's you can also get spaghetti and breadstick or pizza and breakstick with the kids meal. My friend and I ended up getting spaghetti kids meals for dinner and it was plenty, although we had dinner after spending quite a bit of time at the hospitality center so we were full of free beer as well. We looked at the menu at Shipwreck, Calypso BBQ, and Mamma Stella only, so there may be other choices elsewhere.

There are churro, popcorn, and soda vendors around the park, but I didn't get anything from any of them. The temptation to snack wasn't as high for me at SeaWorld compared to Disneyland where they have frozen lemonade, turkey legs, etc. carts everywhere.

We also paid the extra $5 for preffered parking. We got a spot right next to the main entrance and came out to get cold drinks from the cooler throughout the day. Bottled water and milk was $2.59 in the park. Bottled sodas were $2.79. I can't remember how much sodas from the restaurants cost. Drinks sold at shows come in souvenir cups at are $7 or $9.95 for the fancier ones. I think it was $2 for a refill on the souvenir cups.

The best deal, IMO, is the small souvenier cup ($1.99). You can get refills for 99 cents or $1.49 depending on where you do it. They haven't changed the cup's style in at least a year. I am still using the same cup from 2005. Also, if you ask nicely, they will refill it with iced water for free.

Another good deal is free beer at the Hospitality Garden, although, I am not a beer drinker. I'm a Jack & Coke fan myself. ;)

The Bakery, at the exit, has prices for coffee and pastries in line with what you pay at Starbucks.

Well, we went to Sea World yesterday. We got there at 10 and left at 5:30. This is what we spent on food.

Lunch at Mama Stella's (BBQ chicken pizza for me, pizza kids meal for ds, two sodas) = 20.11

Bucket of cotton candy = 3.99

Two waters = (can't remember exact price) around 6.00

I was full from lunch the whole day so no other snacks for me. Ds ate the couple snacks we brought - granola bar, fruit snacks.

GRAND TOTAL = $30.10 :)

Good job :)