8 Hours in Seaworld Orlando

*We were provided with complimentary tickets by Seaworld, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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8:45 am: To save on parking … and driving … V and I caught a Lyft to Seaworld, which turned out to be a steal deal at only $3.54 to get there! We were picked up right in front of our hotel and dropped off right at the entrance just in time for park opening at 9 am. The security checkpoint lines weren’t long, but it still took a decent amount of time to get through them and into the park.

9:15 am: We’re in! While V had been here before with her father and brother, this was my first time and I was quite excited. Naturally, we grabbed a map to devise a plan on where to go when in order to make the most of our 8 hours. I already planned to purchase the All Day Dining Deal for V ($34.99) knowing we’d be there all day and was originally planning to simply eat her leftovers, should she have any, but then saw the Seven Seas Food Festival ($40 for the 8 item sampler lanyard) was going on and couldn’t pass it up. After stopping to check out the dolphins in the Dolphin Nursery, we made our way towards the Sea of Delight to grab her food band and my festival lanyard.

9:30 am: We didn’t grab breakfast before leaving and to my delight, Seafire Grill Fajitas had it – it’s actually the only dining deal restaurant that provides it and that was perfectly fine with V. She’s a bit picky as it relates to breakfast and I think she was expecting eggs, sausage, and other things she doesn’t eat, but was delighted to find various muffins, danishes, yogurt, and fruit. You’re allowed 1 entree, 1 side or dessert, and 1 beverage, so she went with the chocolate chip muffin, chocolate milk, and a fruit cup. The muffin was so moist and cake-like, but hey … vacay.

9:45 am: It was really cool to see all the sharks at Shark Encounter and while we didn’t participate, we spectated in the Shark Feeding.

10:30 am: Still hungry from breakfast, we went to Voyager’s Smokehouse where V selected the half chicken … fun fact, apparently french fries come with EVERY entree and isn’t considered a separate side … chocolate cake, and bottled Dasani. Usually, V doesn’t eat chicken with the bone and I thought if I cut it off for her she’d feel like she was eating grilled chicken fingers … which she also doesn’t eat come to think of it. It may have worked, except there were a few birds that made their way into the building and looking at them while trying to eat a bird just didn’t sit well with her. As a vegetarian, I totally understood.

We walked around and I got the chance to try some of my first foods from the festival and we made our way to the first show.

11:20 am: Running a bit late, we made our way to Sea Lion & Otter Stadium for Clyde & Seamore’s Sea Lion High. It was a super cute show where sea lions Clyde and Seamore have to make up some classes in order to make the grade and pass high school. This was probably my favorite show out of all the ones we watched.

12:15 pm: I grabbed another festival meal and, to make up for the chicken debacle, we went to the Spice Mill and this time chose the fish sandwich with fries, a fruit cup, and bottled water. This one was more of a hit and V seemed pretty full after eating this time.

12:30 pm: I will admit, I wasn’t as excited to see this show, but V was thrilled to go and see Pets Ahoy. Luckily, the Spice Mill was practically across the sidewalk from Seaport Theater so we made our way over just as the rope was being put up. V was not disappointed as the puppies, cats, and various other animals ran across the stage doing some pretty cool skits. Our favorite was probably the two puppies going on a date, but who doesn’t love a car driving puppy.

1:15 pm: We made our way to Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, which was such a trickery of the mind as we walked through polar ice caps in the blazing hot weather. I kept wishing any moment it was going to cool off to match the scenery, but no such luck. The line was probably the longest of all the lines we had stood in, but it went fairly fast.

You’re given the choice of the smooth or bumpy experience before being sequestered in a room to find out about the adventure you’ll be headed on. I was a bit nervous after V decided we’d brave the bumpy experience, especially after we were just standing in a small area blocked off from others … I kept waiting for the walls to close in on us or something else equally crazy, but the wall moved exposing an area with actual carts for us to ride in.

It was definitely a bumpy ride, but so much fun and such a treat when we got to the end where the penguins were waddling around the snow and ice. It was like Happy Feet, but happier because I didn’t really like that movie … oops.

1:58 pm: More food … at Expedition Cafe this time. I think this was V’s favorite place because it gave more options with things like an Asian, Italian, and an American bar. Like her mother, she doesn’t do well with too many options, so it took a while for her to decide, but she eventually went with fried rice, butter noodles, and icy. This was the first time she had gotten a drink in a cup and we didn’t realize until then there were no tops or straws. Makes sense they wouldn’t have those, but it did make it a bit difficult for her to drink her icy until it melted.

2:45 pm: We trekked it over to TurtleTrek, stopping at Dolphin Cove to see the dolphins along the way. This reminded me of being in elementary school and going to the planetarium when I was younger. You walk through an aquarium type area before everyone packs into a domed area to watch the life cycle of a sea turtle.

3:30 pm: After getting a bit turned around, we found our bearings and walked to the other side of the park to Shamu Stadium to see One Ocean.

When I have always thought about Seaworld in the past, I have only associated it with killer whales and Shamu in particular, so it was really fun to finally see this show. We sat on the very last bleacher of the splash zone area and made it through the show dry … thank goodness, I only sat there for V and the last bleacher was our compromise. I want really share anything about this show as I feel like it’s the main attraction.

3:55 pm: We walked across the sidewalk to Mango Joe’s where V got chicken fingers and fries, chocolate cake, and regular milk. There were a few festival booths in this area as well, so I grabbed food and we squirrel watched as those nicely dressed mice got a bit too close for comfort.

4:30 pm: Somehow, I managed to bribe talk V into getting on the Wild Arctic that happened to be right in front of us. She was really nervous by the description and I had no idea what to expect, but let’s just say she liked it enough that she wanted to get on it again immediately after. At will say, at one point I was holding on to the armrest for dear life because it felt like I was going to fall out of my seat, so keep that in mind while riding.

4:45 pm: We stopped at Seafire Famous Fajitas one more time and V got another bottle of water, a fruit cup, and a rice bowl. I don’t think she was actually hungry, she just wanted a snack and more water, but got the rice bowl because it was included.

5:00 pm: We walked down Festival Pathway and I used the last of my festival punches. We didn’t actually go to the concert area, but I did sing along to Lifehouse as we slowly made our way down the path and to the exit. I didn’t think that was a band I knew, but after hearing a few songs I realized I loved them in high school and was so glad to have gotten a chance to experience them in person … aw, memory lane.

5:15 pm: We were at the exit and awaiting our Lyft back to the hotel.

We had such a wonderful Seaworld experience and I’m so glad to have spent that time with my sweet girl. There were definitely some things we missed, but I think we still managed to fit in quite a bit including more food than I realized Seaworld even had. What are some other Seaworld recommendations you guys have that we didn’t try out?