Spring break and Seaworld! Seaworld admission deal for Florida & Georgia residents!

This week is spring break for my kids so we decided to have some fun.  For Florida and Georgia residents, Seaworld had a really great deal almost too good to pass up.  Pay $69.95 and get in for the rest of the year FREE.  Not a bad deal since a one day visit costs more than that. 

Well anyway, we get to SeaWorld after a long wait in traffic to get to the parking lot.  I had ordered the tickets online so it was very quick to get through the line to get in.  I was trying to remember the last time I was at SeaWorld, I think Zachary was still in a stroller and under 2.  He is my youngest and is 13 now so it has been awhile.  I was a little surprised that they charge for some of the rides.  It costs $5 a piece to ride the Flamingo paddleboats for 20 minutes although I have to admit we had a blast!  Also the sky tower costs $5 as well.  So if you are trying to be frugal, those are some extra expenses you may want to consider. 

The shows are fantastic though and seeing the dolphins, sharks, manatees, turtles, flamingos and even the ducks was major fun.  Actually I enjoyed the penguins the most.  I can't even count how long we watched those penguins.  They were just amazing to watch.  The best thing of all was connecting with the kids.  We won't count that major fight between 2 of the 3 kids.  Such is life....   Don't you always wonder how they can be completely evil to each other and an hour later they are going on rides and laughing and acting like best buddies?  I never did quite get that but I am certainly not complaining.  I love it when they get along. 

One thing that really saved us money was the full meal deal.  You buy a wristband that gives you free food at 6 restaurants in the park all day.  You can eat Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, snacks and everything.  One restaurant offers breakfast as soon as the park opens and all are open for lunch and dinner.  Each time you order, you can get one entree, one side and one drink.  I can't tell you how many times I went through the line and got fresh strawberries and a bottle of water.  What a great snack.  My youngest loved the watermelon and my middle guy fell in love with the rich chocolate cake.  When I figured it out, we saved big time.  Now I have three teenage boys and they really can pack it in.  They certainly have hearty appetites which made it worth it.  If you are planning on a trip to the parks during warm weather, expect to buy lots of bottled water which makes this a really great deal once you include that.  The cost is $30 for adults and $15 for kids up to 9.  If you have an annual pass you get 10% off.  The deal worked out so well for us, we will be sure to do that again.  Normally we make a big breakfast at the resort before heading out to a theme park and I bring lots of snacks, capri suns & bottled water.  Then we eat lunch at the park and stop after the theme park and have dinner somewhere else to save money.  It was really nice to not have to worry about that.  It makes for a really nice day.  I think my kids were in heaven.

I am actually freezing outside trying to write this post because the closest internet connection I could get was outside, so this is going to be a short one.  Suffice it to say that if you are disabled and use a wheelchair to get around the park, SeaWorld Florida is NOT the place to be.  They don't go out of their way to help you.  If you ask an employee if there are any handicapped seats, they might say " Well, there might be.  We're not really sure."  Yep, that was the answer we got when we asked today at the 4pm Shamu show.  Or if you order food at one of their many establishments, don't expect to be able to reach the condiments or napkins or silverware because they will be on the highest shelf and unreachable for someone in a wheelchair.   If you are disabled or need to use a wheelchair or motorized scooter, Disney has you covered.  Unfortunately that truly is your best bet.  I could go on and on about the shortcomings in that regard but my hands are frozen so I am going to warm up with a nice cup of hot chocolate.  Night all.  :-)