Orlando Family Vacation to Seaworld Part 2: Tips and Tricks

In the first part of our family vacation which you can read here, I expounded on our experience what we went through in getting ready to come to Florida.  But just not Florida.  This was Orlando, Florida!  Our destination was to visit SeaWorld and see the Shamu/Orca show.

Before flying, I went online to purchase our tickets.  I bought the entry tickets with the All Day Dining Deal promo.  For $99 per person we could eat all day within an hour.  I thought it was a scam, but it was not.  It was very true and I think it is a very worthwhile investment.  Below are some of my other tips if you are planning to travel with your family.

ARRIVAL AT SEAWORLD

First thing we noticed when we drove to SeaWorld in our rental car is that the entrance was hard to find.  So please follow your directions very carefully.  If you enter the wrong way you may get your tires puncture.  Look for the signs that read, "Do not enter".  If they read that, please adhere to their warning. Once you find the main entrance standard parking is $25 dollars.

You can bring water to the park.  You may even bring a small cooler.  Other parks discourage you from bringing anything to drink.  Not SeaWorld.  And it is a very good idea because summer time is very hot.  Water and drinks are very expensive.  The first day we did not bring our own water.  The second day we did.  Also come dressed for the occasion.  I took regular jeans and closed toe shoes.  It was a very bad idea.  After 20 minutes of walking I could feel my feet sweating profusely and my tenders felt like they were gasping for air.  The park is actually very large.  In less than ten minutes my children were complaining of getting tired. So I rented a stroller for $25 bucks and I pushed them all through the park.  They also rent motorized chairs for $50 dollars each I believe.  But I can't quite remember.  These are good for overweight people or those that may be handicapped.

As soon as we got to the park we went to eat.  Take a map of the park.  Sit down and plan how you will explore it.  Here is a list of the restaurants that currently serve food for the all day meals promotion.  (Some of the other restaurants in SeaWorld do not.)

All Day Dining Deal Restaurants

• Voyager's Smokehouse
• Expedition Cafe
• Seaport Pizza
• Captain Pete's Island Treats
• The Spice Mill
• Seafire Grill
• Mango Joe's

We first ate at the Seafire Grill and then we ate at the Expedition Cafe.  When we went to the Expedition Cafe I noticed that just for that meal it totaled over $68 dollars for the four of us.  So it was worth it. The food was also very good and tasted fresh.  The deserts were also very awesome!

SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

We did not do any rides.  But they looked like fun and scary.  We did not do the rides because my eight year old was afraid, and I don't like to be frightened.  All the shows and exhibits are included.  Except for some.  So please check the SeaWorld Website for more information.  Here is a list of the places we visited---

Dolphin Encounter---I bought our tickets online and had them emailed to me.  Before we went to the show we had to redeem the voucher at the information desk.  This was the second most fun activity we did.  For about 15 minutes the trainers talk to us about the dolphins and what they do.  Expect to touch them, get wet and take a picture with them.  For $25 bucks you can take the photo with you.  We also had a chance to feed them.  We paid $35 dollars each for the experience.  This is the least expensive of the dolphin encounters.  If you want to swim with a dolphin you have to pay $200 dollars per person.  Something that we did not do.

Feed the Sharks--For $10 dollars you get the chance to throw fish at sharks and see if they feed on them.  They actually don't.  Most of the 15 fish my kids threw were eaten by the fish.  The sharks in the pool were not too hungry.  But my kids enjoyed throwing food at the fish even if the sharks did not eat any.

One Ocean---We are so glad SeaWorld Orlando still has the orcas show.  I don't agree with everything PETA does.  SeaWorld does a lot of good.  They have improved the care of the big whales so much.  The first day we went, they cancelled the show because of inclement weather.  My son was very sad.  This was the whole reason why we came to Orlando.  But the next day we returned to see if we could get back in.  Apparently when a dolphin or orca show is cancelled you can get a rain pass.  But you must request it the same day, otherwise you take a chance of not getting in.  Thankfully my wife spoke to the manager and he gave us passes to watch the show the next day.  Both the dolphin show and killer whale show are free with the purchase of a single day ticket.  Just get there early to beat the crowds and get a good seat.  Also expect to get wet!!

Overall our experience was a pleasant one.  If we ever go back we will go either in the spring, fall or winter.  Hopefully by doing that there will be less crowds and there will be less oppressive heat.  If we do go back we will take umbrellas or rain ponchos.  The weather is unpredictable.  It may be sunny in the morning, but in the afternoon there may be a shower or two.

Our Orlando Family Vacation Part 1

We have returned from out three nights, four days family vacation to Orlando, Florida.  It was quite an experience to say the least.

AVOIDING THE TIMESHARE SCAM

In this first part I will describe what happened to us and what we did to overcome some obstacles.  One of the first obstacles was that when I first made reservations with the Holiday Inn Resorts Hotel, I did not know they were part of a grand scheme dealing with timeshares.  Be very careful about "resorts" or hotels that do that. If you are not careful they will sweet talk you into signing a long term agreement that you will not be able to get out.  They first lure you in with a very low price hotel stay.  They quoted me for $250.  And then they told me that the money would be returned to me in cash if I went to one of their presentations to their resorts. Then they sugared it up by upgrading my stay by giving me two free tickets to Seaworld.  Seaworld was our destination anyway because our son loves sea life and whales.  It was too good to be true.  The scheme unraveled when I asked them if they would be picking me up to go to their resort.  They told me that they would not. (Although they led me to believe that they would.)  This is when the first red flag popped up.

Holiday Inn Resort, Orlando Florida.  I cancelled my reservation to avoid their timeshare presentation.

I was upset when they told me that so I did some research.  I found out that timeshare sellers do that to unwary vacationers.  I read so many horror stories where participants are kept in their presentations for up to four hours, until they are convinced to signup. They told me it would only take two hours.  But reading these accounts made me call them and cancel my reservation with them.  They returned part of my money but not all of it.  No way would I loose four hours of vacation time and drag my wife and two kids into this.  So we made another reservation with another hotel.  I thought I would be free from these type of schemers but I was not.  Stay tuned to find out what happened with our second hotel.

GOING TO THE AIRPORT

Crowne Hotel Shuttle.  These are the good guys where I parked out car.

Since this was our first trip outside of our beloved city of Chicago I had no clue how we were going to get to the airport.  So I found out that the easiest way would be to rent short term parking with a hotel that offered free shuttles.  And that is is what we did.  It was very convenient.  For four days I spent around 60 bucks.  My car would be parked in the hotel parking lot and when we got back from our trip, we would drive back home.  This was more sensible for us than getting an Uber or Lyft car.

ARRIVAL IN ORLANDO AND MAIN HOTEL STAY

The flight from Chicago to Orlando was a little less that two hours and twenty minutes.  Before our trip, I was actually thinking of driving to Florida.  But my brother, who had driven to Florida before discouraged me.  He told me that it took him a total of 18 hours to get there.  And he also told me that it is very scary to drive up the mountains.  So we took a flight instead.  When we arrived in Florida we opted to rent a car.  I am glad we did because although the Westpark Hotel granted us free shuttles to Seaworld, when we got there, they told us that we had to book it one day in advanced.  Having our own car meant we did not have to depend on them.  We were free to roam Florida any time we wanted.

Westpark Hotel in Orlando where where we finally stayed

However, when we got to check-in to the Westpark Hotel, to my utter disgust, this hotel was also a timeshare establishment.  I think that a lot of hotels in Florida are like that.  As soon as we checked in the clerk steered me into another front desk.  The person in this other desk smiled politely, but she had the look of a shark.  She told me she wanted to give me an unsolicited package and a free breakfast for the following morning.  Second red flag!!  The look of my face changed.  And they all noticed I was pissed!  I told them, "NO!"  I was not interested.  Then that same lady said, "We have other free giveaways to give you if you come to our resort presentations."  I was still more pissed and repeated myself to her. Suddenly, what appeared to be the security guard and a third front desk person, slipped a singled sheet agreement for me to sign.  I read the form but I screamed and told them I would not sign it because they had not asked me to sign it at the end of my check-in.  This was another of their ploys to have them call me and bother me with the buying of a timeshare during my stay.  But I returned their paper and took my luggage to our room.  I do want to say that as far as I know the Holiday Inn Resort Hotel and the Westpark are not related.  However, like I said previously, I believe many hotels in Florida operate this way.  So please be aware!  Once this ordeal ended we were free to begin our vacation. 

We Are Heading to Florida!

If you are like us and most families across the United States, going on a long trip vacation is kinda hard.

Things can be expensive and logistics can be a nightmare.   Do you take an airplane or road trip?  Once you get there what kind of hotel do you book?

We have pretty much done staycations. Meaning we tend not to go far.  The last few summers we have been too the Mall of America and Wisconsin Dells, which are locations close to Chicago, IL where we live. However, this time we were able to book a cheap hotel in Orlando, Florida, and I believe we are taking them family to Sea World.  My youngest loves sea animals and he has been dying to see the orcas.  So today I will make the preparations for us to undertake that trip.  We are all excited and we post a second update soon.