So we are taking our 2-year-old to Sea World in March. Any tips would be welcome. My wife and I were last at Sea World about 8 years ago. Our daughter loves animals so we know she'll want to see the horsies, penguins, and the sea lion show as well as shamu and the dolphins.

Plan your time out before you go. Visit the SeaWorld website and look up the times of each show and decide ahead of time what you want to see and schedule your day accordingly. Show times can be found by clicking on the park hours for a given day under "Park Hours" which is under "Information".

I was going to suggest the same thing - but I didn't realize they had them online (last time I was at a Sea World was quite a while ago). They have the show times set up so you CAN see everything, if you plan it - but if you plan/execute poorly, you won't be able to see the big shows.

And I'm assuming since you mentioned this in the Legoland thread that you were talking about San Diego - if it was Orlando, one of the mods can fix the title.

I would suggest taking some cash with you as well. They offer animal feedings throughout the day for the dolphins, rays, seals and sea lions. This is one of my favorite things to do during the day.

Also, they do offer a dine with Shamu. Even though I haven't done this, it looks like a lot of fun. The only problem is that when you eat it is in a splash zone. Another tip, take a change of clothes (at least leave them in the car) so that if you do get wet you can go get them to change.

Take sunscreen. The shows are about 45 minutes, and you will be sitting in the sun for that time. It's easy to get a sunburn. Don't forget the exhibits. There are some really good aquariums there, and plenty to see and do. Also, they have a few pools that are hands-on, so your kids can pet a sting ray or play with starfish. They have sanitizers there too, so they can clean up afterwards.

I second taking a change of clothes for the kids.

If you are going to sit in the splash zone at a show, bring a rain poncho or two. They helped keep the water off my husband and son, but the towel we brought did nothing for my daughter and I. Plus, we bought them there - and they were expensive. Still, it was a lot of fun to sit front row and we saw a lot!

Plan for food prices. The food was grossly expensive and not that great. A small salad was over $5. You might bring in some food for your kid or plan on taking a mid-day break.

It was worth it to pay the extra $5 premium parking fee and park closer to the entrance.

You can take a Sea World stroller into the parking lot and leave it there for pick up. If you are not planning on bringing your own, it is nice to know you do not have to dump it out at the gate and carry the kid and purchases to the car.

We absolutely LOVED the animal show. (Pets Rule, I think). Sit in the splash zone - you do not get very wet (misted, more like). Afterwards, your kids can meet the pets and pet them.

Right near the Pets Rule stadium, there is a bathroom with a separate, quiet, changing area. There is a rocking chair in there and all sorts of supplies. Nice if you need a time out area.

I would suggest taking some cash with you as well. They offer animal feedings throughout the day for the dolphins, rays, seals and sea lions.
And they love eating spare change and five dollar bills. :)

And they love eating spare change and five dollar bills. :)

OK, I saw the smilie but this is something I've fairly sensitive to. Please don't throw anything into any of the enclosures unless it's food that you bought at that particular location. Even buying food from one location and feeding it to another animal is bad. Anything unauthorized that's thrown to the animals has the potential to seriously harm them.

When it's cold, it's VERY cold, and when it's hot, it's really hot. So dress in layers that you can peel on or off depending on the weather. And bring a camera! We were very impressed with Sea World. The landscaping was beautiful and the bathrooms were clean and well stocked. I agree that you need to plan ahead. Pick up a Park map at the main entrance and plan your day according to the show schedule. We didn't plan very well and sadly missed a couple of the shows. The shows here are great. As a general rule, the closer to the bottom of the stadium you sit, you are in the "soak zone" and will probably get wet. So if you don't want to get wet, sit closer to the top. We had a great barbecue lunch at Calypso Cove.

This is a great thread! Thanks for all the info! I saw someone said that the shows are 45 minutes. We are going next week & I am trying to plan. Are most of them that long?

Most of the shows are 30 minutes to 45 minutes long. You do have to plan to go to the shows or you could miss most of them during the day. Also plan on showing up to the shows at least 15 minutes early to make sure you get a seat. If you don't care about sitting in the back you can sometimes show up later. The Clide and Seymore show is the hardest to find seating for followed by the Dolphin show. The Shamu stadium is the largets and you can find seating in the back within the last 5 minutes of the show.

As you are going next week (slow time), you might want to plan on being at the shows really early as they will only have 1-2 shows scheduled (maybe 3) so everyone in the park will go at once.

Its been several years since we took the drive from Anaheim to Sea World during our annual vacation. We have only been to SW one time. Any suggestions on things we SHOULD NOT miss and where we should eat with three children under 6? Thanks

Its been several years since we took the drive from Anaheim to Sea World during our annual vacation. We have only been to SW one time. Any suggestions on things we SHOULD NOT miss and where we should eat with three children under 6? Thanks

We typically eat at two different places. A place by Shipwreck Rapids that has lots of different types of food. I also like to eat at the Italian place, Mama something or other...

I would suggest to make the shows but beyond that, make sure you take some cash to feed the animals. It's really cool to spend $5 to feed the dolphins. The bad part, is $5 gives you 3 fish. You can also feed the sea lions, seals and rays.

We typically eat at two different places. A place by Shipwreck Rapids that has lots of different types of food. I also like to eat at the Italian place, Mama something or other...

I would suggest to make the shows but beyond that, make sure you take some cash to feed the animals. It's really cool to spend $5 to feed the dolphins. The bad part, is $5 gives you 3 fish. You can also feed the sea lions, seals and rays.

Thanks - I seem to remember feeding the dolphins last time we were there . . . only I think we fed more seaguls that dolphins! :)

Thanks - I seem to remember feeding the dolphins last time we were there . . . only I think we fed more seaguls that dolphins! :)

Yeah, that happened to us a few times as well. We had just been told to make sure to protect the churro as the seagulls will get them. As I walked away, one swooped down, hit my head and ripped the churro out of my hand. Luckily, the guy gave us a new one.