Sea World in San Antonio

I saw a coupon on Sunday newspaper where you pay full price for one day and the next day is free. If you are going to San Antonio for several days this may be a good deal; otherwise, if you are planning to go for a weekend, you may want to split between Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. Fiesta Texas is very different from Six Flags, even though now they belong to the same company.
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We did SA about 3 years ago with my kids. They loved it. The good thing about a 2-day pass is that you CAN leave if the kids get tired and come back the next day. In addition to the regular water park there, they have a great kid's water area that you can frequent throughout the day just to cool off. We wore our bathing suits under our clothes for that purpose. It made an all day stay bareable in the Texas heat!
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We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Riverwalk which was very nice at night. You could walk out the back door directly to the RW. There are other nice hotels along the RW that are just as good. We have also stayed at the less expensive hotels like Clarion in the past that were just as good, but not close to the RW.
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We go each year. My kids are 3 and 6. In fact we’ll be there in March also! You can do all of the shows and exhibits and the kiddie theme park in one long day. If they are tall enough for roller coasters and stuff you could tack on a 2nd day. Mine are too little for that. We are staying at Courtyard by Marriott San Antonio Airport at Northstar. It’s not too far from Sea World. There are hotels closer to the park, but this is kind of centrally located so you can do the riverwalk and other stuff also. Plus the hotel has an indoor pool (one of the few in San Antonio).
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We haven’t done any of the extra tours or stuff. But I do recommend feeding the animals … you can purchase trays of fish for a few bucks and feed dolphins and sea lions. This is fun!
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Do the behind the scenes tour. It is pretty neat! You get to pet little sharks & sting rays & get to see Shamu's tng pool. Also, get to the Shamu & Beluga Whale events early, find the person who's giving out the invites for Pix with them (you don't have to buy the pix, but you get a really close up with the animals). With Shamu, you take a picture in front of the tank. With the Beluga whale, they come up & "kiss" your cheek (might be too scary for the kids unless they're pretty independent). Also, find out when the dolphin feedings are. You can buy food there & feed them. It's a full day of activity so you just need to gauge what your kids are able to do.
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I normally go every year around march because I am from San Antonio. Most of time because it is sometimes cool all the attractions are not open. It only takes about a day to do the park. I must warn you there is a playground so it took me forever to get my smaller kids away from that. The dining with Shamu is great, we did the breakfast it was so cool. Now my family is there so I stayed with them so I am not sure about hotels. The shows are great and the with your kids being smaller they will love it. Let me know what you decide. Here is the website to go to www.seaworld.com, this will help you on times. I always made sure that I timed everything that way we would not miss anything. If you go the whole day starting when they open you can cover everything and by the time you leave they will be so tired (and you of course) that you can actually get some rest after a great day of Shamu. Before you leave the park you must take a picture by the sign you will see the cars so you will know where to go. Good luck. Hope this helps.
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Today’s Dallas Morning News has a supplement for San Antonio attractions with lots of coupons for stay and entertainment. Check it out.
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We stayed at a Drury Inn Suites our last time in San Antonio and it was great! We had 2 queen beds in the room and lots of room to walk around. It also had a small refrigerator and a microwave. It included a full breakfast and there were appetizers in the evening (pizza, potatoes, salad). There were many of the hotels in the San Antonio area. We stayed on one that was off of I10, a few miles south of loop 410.
We have done it in one day and in two days. Based on your kids age it will depend on everything they will want to do. There is now a great water park for the entire family and if you guys enjoy that kind of thing it is worth two days. One day to watch all the shows and another day to go to the water park and ride rides. If they still need naps, I would definitely take advantage of the two day passes. Also, there is a huge playground for the little ones as well, so with my youngest being 5 (last summer) her and I stayed there for a long time while my husband and the older ones rode rides. If you plan on hanging in this area a lot, there is not a lot of shade so make sure to bring lots of water and a misting fan!!.

We didn't stay close to Sea World this last time - we stayed at the Omni on Boulevard Ave (I believe). It is a nice hotel and very kid friendly. They have the Omni kids club so when you check in your littlest ones get a bag of cards, games, colors, etc. During the summer (so you might want to check into March as well) they offer family night movies at the pool. They set up a big screen and you can watch movies while you swim or hang out at the pool and cabana hut.

With it being March, it may be too cool for swimming so take that in mind and how much your kids can handle in one day
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When my boys were that age, we went to Sea World. One day was good. Dining with Shamu was fun. But if you’re going to do that, you might want to take a break in the afternoon for a nap or rest at the hotel and then go back.
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The Radisson right near Sea World is great. It can get a little pricey depending on time of year but one of the bonuses is they run a shuttle from the hotel to the park every half hour. No walking to your car, no paying to park, etc. And, if you want to go back to the hotel, take a break and then go back to the park it is only a few minutes away and the shuttle takes you back and forth.
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We took two days last year to see the park with our four year old. But, the second day was mostly spent at the water portion of the park. Given the time of year you probably won’t be able to utilize that so you may be able to see it all in a day. Depends on how much endurance your kids have! Make sure you spend some time in Shamu’s Happy Harbor. They have some great rides for the smaller kids. Also, they don’t really advertise the fact that you can get into the park around 9 even though it technically doesn’t open until 10. Not everything is open but sometimes you can catch a dolphin feeding before the crowds get there.
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We went there for last spring break.
What a great time to go. The park was not crowded at all.
We stayed at the Radisson, few blocks from Seaworld; the prices went up this year; so, we are looking at staying somewhere else for spring break (we are planning to go back this year again)
YES, I would say that you need both days. The Dine with Shamu was great for the kids! (The experience) (however, they did not eat, we did) The food was very good.
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We went last August. Our girls were 6 and 3 then. We did the park in one day and for us that was enough. Didn't do any of the extras though.

I would make sure you take them to see all of the animal shows and feed the dolphins. Besides the kiddie play area, your kids will only be able to go on one ride unless they are tall for their ages - the one that's like the rapids (inside the big inner tube).

Check out the San Antonio visitor web page and the convention bureau. We got better prices there - I think $5 or $6 discount on each ticket or free child with adult, can't remember which. But it ended up being a few dollars cheaper than TEXINS

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You may want to check tickets on the Seaworld website. The last time I went they had twodays for the price of one if you bought them off their website.
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We did not do the extra events and had fun anyway. I talked with someone there that was on the Dolphin adventure with her older daughter, and the daughter was having a blast.

One or two days really depends on how many breaks you want to take. It can be a lot of walking between venues, and some of them brisk if you want to catch as many as possible. We spent the second half of the second day at the water park there and my kids (7 & 8 then) had fun. There were a lot of kids your ages playing on the 'beach' and in the very shallow part of the wave pool.

Check the SeaWorld website for tickets too. I got 2-for-1 day tickets there cheaper than a one-day through Texins. (If they weren't cheaper, they were close in price.)

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I found an old summary for San Antonio, and there's quite a bit on Sea World...hope it helps

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We just came back from Sea World this weekend. There is a San Antonio website (http://www.sanantoniovisit.com) where you can get savings as well.
Click on the SAVE icon on the lower right and then SAVE brochure tab on the next screen. All you need to do is register in their database and a list of online savings are listed for various SA attractions. The one for Sea World was a $6 per ticket savings for a one day ticket. This was an e-ticket, so you pay online, print your tickets and then just go directly to the turnstile at the park.
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I think two days would be good. We were unable to see all of the shows when we went several years ago. They also have a behind the scenes tour that is educational, and really fun for the kids. Riding on a boat in the river walk should be a big hit for kids, and fun for you too! Have fun!
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We just happen to take a carful of kids to Sea World last weekend. We opted for the one day tickets (10% off if you get e-tickets at seaworld.com) and I'm glad we did. The park is open from 10 until about 10:30 in the summer and they all had more than enough fun and sun by the end of day 1. We usually do the typical Alamo, Riverboat cruise thing downtown as well, but the kids seem to get bored with some of that stuff after a little while.
There's also 6 flags fiesta if there into bigger rides. If you're driving, we also found an interesting place to eat on the trip. In Driftwood, about 20 miles south of Austin, there is a gigantic bbq place which was quite the experience called the Salt Lick (http://www.saltlickbbq.com/ ). It's a bit of a drive off I-35, but we found it to be well worth the trip.
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A little fresh advice on Sea World...
Go when they open (short lines on everything) and make sure you make it into the water park area before mid-afternoon. They get a big rush and there is a long, long line just to get into the area. They were also pretty lenient on bringing food and stuff into the park so if you want to bring your own picnic, you can.
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If you want to ride many of the rides and see all or many of the animal shows at Sea World, you can easily spend two days there. They also have several additional 1 or 2 hour tours you can purchase when you arrive at the gate. We have done a couple of them and they have been fun (particular the “Backstage-Pass” tour where you get to visit the dolphin and whale tanks without a huge crowd around you).

My kids, who are now 7 and 10, love to go on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. There is a ~1 hour guided boat ride you can take on the river, which shows you some of the historic and interesting sights visible from the river. There are a couple of places on the river to buy tickets. My kids absolutely love the boat ride. It’s also fun just to walk on the Riverwalk and look in some of the shops and have lunch or dinner on the river.

Your older child might find the Alamo interesting if they have studied it in school. There’s not a whole lot to see there, for kids, but it’s good for 30 minutes or so. It’s also downtown, near the Riverwalk.
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We went to Sea World about a month ago and you definitely need two days at the park now that they have added the water area. The advice I received when we went was to go to the water area first, only so many people are allowed in at one time and their will be a long line once the area is full.
We purchased our tickets off the city of San Antonio website (not the Sea World website), we were able to get a buy one day and get the second free.
http://commerce.4adventure.com/store/dept_tickets.asp?ShopperID=OC379B79B07674B4EAC4EB9A8168DBC5&Token=GDHGHEJDFDLFDDI&dept_id=204&redirect=1
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We go there every year. 2 days would be about right. I found that getting the tickets on the web from sea world offers the best discounts.

Make sure they get to feed the dolphins and the sea lions. The dolphin show
is really very good and nice to do when it gets really hot outside (the mist
from the show will cool you off).

The Ripley’s believe it or not museum is near the Alamo and is fun for kids.
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In the past we have gone two days. We usually see all the shows and visit
the animals one day and hang out at the water park and enjoy the rides on
day two. It's worth two days! Enjoy.
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We went to Sea World several years ago(2 Adults/3 Kids) and thought that we
probably could have used that 2nd day. If you try to get all the shows done
it will leave very little time for the water park. We may have only stayed
a partial day on the 2nd, but we wouldn't have felt rushed to get it all in
in one day. At the time the 2nd day was only $8, so we should have probably
done that, instead we went to Fiesta Texas the next day, they also have a
water park built in.
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We, my husband, myself, and 10 & 12 year old went this summer. We spent the
entire day, 10AM-9PM, and tried to do everything, we didn't. We didn't know
if we wanted to spend two days at Seaworld or 1 day at Seaworld & 1 day at
Schlitterbahn. Since we couldn't decide and depending on the weather, we
bought our Seaworld tickets on-line, 2 days for the price of one. If you
have two days that you can spend at Seaworld, I would recommend it--my
children were exhausted.

We also did the Behind-the-Scenes Tour--my son wanted to touch a shark. We
scheduled this when we arrived at the park and reviewed the animal show
schedules. My children are very interested in animals, but the tour guide
said he thought the Backstage Tour was a better tour.
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The San Antonio zoo is really nice and the river walk is a lot of fun for
all ages. The Alamo would be fun for the 9 year old because they will be
studying Texas history in the next year or so but may not be that fun for
the 6 year old. They have a trolley right in front of the Alamo that goes
to the Mexican market on the west side of town and back, the market is very
interesting and has a lot of inexpensive gifts and good places to eat. The
trolley is fun and I think it is only $.50 per person to ride. (worth it)
But remember San Antonio is usually pretty hot in July.
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Check out Sea World’s website and read about “Dinner w/Shamu”. Our family
did this in May and it was neat. You get a behind the scenes look at the
Shamu whales and a wonderful poolside buffet with kid friendly foods too.
You don’t actually get to touch the whales but you get VERY close. I think
your children would like this a lot.
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The 2 day pass is definitely the way to go. The water park is wonderful!
With 2 days, you won’t feel rushed and can be more relaxed to enjoy taking
it all in. You’re kids will love it. If you like it and think you’ll come
back again within the year, you can upgrade to a season pass from your 2 day
pass for not much more……you can decide that as you are leaving.
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My family went to Sea World a few weeks ago. We did it in one day. It was
REALLY hot the day we went. We planned to buy tickets using the AAA discount
which was the best I had found. However, while we were in line to buy
tickets someone handed me an extra coupon which gave us an extra $1 off per
person. I don't know where they got the coupon.
Like I said, we did both the animals and water park in one day. To see all
the shows, ride the rides and do the water park took some scheduling
finesse, but it was OK. It did require us to do a little back-tracking. We
did the water park at the end of the day because I didn't want to wear a wet
bathing suit all day. I wish we would have allowed a little more time for
the water park. Note that it closes at 8:30 while the park closes at 9:00.
(I think I have the times right. The Lost Lagoon closes before the whole
park anyway)
It doesn't cost very much more to buy a two day pass, only about $4. So if
you have the time and want to be more leisurely, do the two day. We did
everything we wanted to in one day, and didn't have the cost of the hotel
room for an extra night.
All the shows are great, so don't miss any.
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Karen, go to the website and purchase ticket through Sea World. 1 day pass
is 10% off. They also have a buy one day and get 2nd day free. We decided
to go with the 1 day and save $ for parking ($8). We took a 2 yr old and
two teens this past weekend. Everybody enjoyed it, but the park is not big
enough to hang out for 2 solid days.
One more tip: go to the water park first if you can (or later in the day).
They do close it down when it reaches capacity. There was a huge line to
get into the water park around noon-ish. If you are stuck in this line, I
doubt you can enjoy the whole park in 1 day.
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We took our two year old in June and purchased tickets through Texins – the
tickets purchased through Texins have the 2nd day free provisions. I would
definitely recommended visiting the park two days versus one especially if
you want to see the shows and allow the kids time to enjoy the rides. Have
fun.
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We got passes when we got there - we were told that is the only way to get 2
day passes. It was good for us and good for small children to go in two
days if you plan on visiting the water park, watching shows, and riding
rides. Our girls are 12, 11, and 5 and it was worth 2 days since there is
so much to do. I would recommend going on a week day - it is less crowded
on Friday than Saturday. Ride the rides on Friday - less lines and watch
shows on Saturday. Do the water park either or both days. Get a locker in
the water park area if you plan on being in that area - that way your towels
and dry cloths are right there and not across the entire park.
I don't know where you are staying but we stayed at the Omni (not downtown)
and on the weekends they show movies at night in the pool area. Their staff
at the pool are great and keep the place nice and clean and will accommodate
all your needs.
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We just came back from Sea World this past week. I'd recommend the two day
pass. We spent one day taking in the shows and the second day at the water
park. The water park fills up fast, we arrived at 10:30 and the water park
opens at 11AM and there was already a large line forming.
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Riding down the river, the Alamo, Air Force Bases to see some jets (you may
not be able to go passed the visitor's center, but you could watch them take
off and land), Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio Zoo is wonderful
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It depends on how long you want to stay at the park. There is plenty to do
over a 2 day period. One option you have that you might not have considered
is getting your tickets through Texins and having the price directly taken
out of your paycheck. You can also divide the amount over a period of
paychecks (the amount depends on the total I think). I don't think the
tickets are really much cheaper than buying them at the gate, but you have
the payroll deduction option that way.

We went one year and my kids were pretty young. We were there when the park
opened and left when it closed. They were all exhausted. Take your
swimsuit and a towel to store in a locker. It's a great way to cool off.
They have a great kid's water area in the middle of the park.