Sea World San Antonio

we do this trip semi-anually for 15 yrs and stay at Westin La Cantera. It's worth it every time. My mom and I go to the spa on Sat. afternoon and the guys take the kids to the pool. I have stayed at Radisson and the Riverwalk Hyatt (I grew up in Austin...) and nothing compares to the Westin.

have fun!!!!
C.

Hi K.,

We just got back from Sea World with our 1 and 2 year old boys and we had a BLAST!!!! We did not ride any rides and wouldn't have thought of doing that with the kids anyway. There are so many great things to do. I don't know how much the cabanas cost at the water park but we just put our things on some chairs and were fine. We were out at the water park the whole time that we didn't really need to be at our chairs. I wouldn't recommend renting the cabana. They have great little life jackets for the kiddos so no need to bring your floaties or life jackets if you don't want. We did get to the water park right when it opened on Sunday and we had plenty of choices for seating, life jackets, floats in the lazy river, etc. We also did the 2 day pass, one day for the shows and the next for the water park and lunch with Shamu. We arrived in the morning and left at 12:30 each day and returned at 3:30 (left for naps for all of us!) The boys especially enjoyed the dolphin pool (located near the shark reef and Clydesdale horse area). It cost $5 to feed the dolphins and they come right up to you! It was amazing. The boys also did really well at every show ESPECIALLY the Viva show. It's the acrobat show in Beluga Theater. I highly recommend this show! It was our favorite. We also paid $70 for the lunch with Shamu. The food was good (not great) but the boys LOVED being able to be a couple of feet away from Shamu. The trainers were super nice and very informative. They played with the whales and showed off cool tricks while we were eating. Have lots of cash handy at the park. If you have any questions, let me know. You will totally enjoy it. My oldest who is 2 keeps saying, "I go to SeaWorld". It was a great trip for our family. Enjoy!

We were there a week ago and rented a cabana and it was very worth it!  It had a delicious light lunch, a ton of cold waters and someone who works at sea world gaurding our stuff all day.  I have a one year old, and we were able to zip the cabana up and let her walk around while we relaxed without worrying too much about her wandering off.  She definitely needed the freedom to walk around, after being held in the water or in a stroller most of the day.  We had a great time.  Even my one year old had a great time!!  ps, you get free brand new beach towels in the cabana you get to keep..

I haven't rented a cabana but know that if you get in line when the park opens with a few towels to save extra spots you can get a nice spot in the shade for free. You won't need the cabana. Everyone respects a taken spot.
We have had passes to SeaWorld since our kids were 2 and 3. Evan at 7 and 8 they still love it. It is fairly close and buying passes makes the trip twice a year cheap.
First of all SeaWorld is geared toward little ones with a great water park with kid sized slides and several pool areas. There are three different water park areas for small kids, one with a large pirate ship to play on, one with a wave pool for the family, one for just little ones to float around, and all have free lifejackets for all ages.
There is a separate area with rides like a mini roller coaster and spinning paint cans. There are climbing ships with slides and sand boxes. There is a little water spray "park" also.
SeaWorld is known for the shows too. My daughter at three loved Shamu so much she said he was her best friend. We still tease her about it. She wanted to watch the show over and over. There are many places to see animals there. We enjoy the dolphins and horses and all the animal shows.
I could go on and on but I will leave it at that. If you want me to ramble on and give you some advise of how we make the best of it just let me know. oh I will say, the food is awful and expensive, so we leave for lunch and a little down time midday. Either go to the waterpark first thing or feed the dolphins, then nap and watch the evening shamu show is the best way to enjoy your time with least crowd and hot sun. We avoid the crowds by going on off days also. Ok I am still rambling....ps check out the website.

Is Sea World an absulute? The kids do sound a little young to really enjoy all the aspects of the park. However, the Cabana is a definite plus, we were with family at the Dollywood waterpark and it was a lifesaver with the kids and adults. We did not have to fight for seats and we had a table to eat lunch and just take a break; definitly worth the money. If your gathering is for the adults to visit I agree with the other post the kids would be just as happy swimming in the hotel pool. I have three boys and that seems like all they care about when we go somewhere. Good Luck

Hi K.,

The kids we went with are older but I noticed that most of the strollers ended up in the Penguin exhibit. That room is dark and air conditioned and there was plenty of seating. (Located on the other side of the park near the rides.) A cabana is a great idea for the water play day. Otherwise, seating is first come first served and it's not all shaded.

Well I can't agree with them being too young. I took my 3 year old and 18 month old 3 times last year! We decided to get a season pass so we tried to make it worth our while. Sorry I don't know anything about the cabanas. :(
But I will tell you to get out there early and see the shows in a backward matter. Meaning? Well instead of coming through the entrance and going right, go left and see the shows in that order. Sometimes the crowds are not as bad. Key to having a good time out there is to not "plan" out to much and just capture the moments as they come. If you are struggling to try and get somewhere all the time you can miss the moments, you know what I mean? Take it in stride. And of course bring a stroller! Maybe a double with a small umbrella one for the three year old if he gets too tired. Or you could do a double stroller with a wrap/sling or something to hold the one year old in. I brought in a huge beach bag to throw everything of value into while we went in to see the shows and parked the stroller out front. Don't forget plenty of water/juice for the kiddos. Food is pricey of course in the park and they really frown on bringing in food into the park. But we did manage to smuggle a few of those frozen peanut and jelly sandwiches in Daddy's long shorts! We packed a ice chest with lunch and ate it in the van. Bring hats, change of clothes, sunscreen and a few blankets for sun cover if the kiddos hang out in the stroller. I used clothes pins to keep them in place. Hope you guys have a good time out there")
C.

taking little ones to places like an amusement park can be stressful. not to be mean but i would rethink taking children under five to such places. think of who's going to watch the children while you are riding rides...etc.

Wow, I've been to Sea World SA many times and did not even know about the cabanas!
Sounds like a good deal to me, considering the ages of your kids. You don't want to have to be scrambling for a "spot".

Honestly, I'm not sure your kids will get a lot out of the Sea World experience at such young ages.
They'd probably be just as happy splashing around in a hotel pool! The best place I've found is The Hyatt Hill Country down the road from Sea World. They have a lazy river, a huge pool and a kids "camp" facility. It's a great relaxing place for a vacation. Sea World is fun, but it's a lot of work with small children, so not so much fun for mom and dad!
While you are there you may want to take them to the SA zoo. It's a good one.
There is a great little train through the park . Also the Witte Museum has the HEB tree house, much like our Science Place in Fair Park. I took my little one there a lot when he was two and three and he loved it.

I just got back from Sea World & the cabanas are not all that. Save your money & when you need shade sit down in the Castaway Cafe. Plenty of shade & chairs & FREE! My kids LOVED the wave pool! They stayed there alot of the time. The shows were great our two favorites (which we went & saw twice each) were Viva!, & Shamu Rocks Texas (a night show). You WILL get DRENCHED if you sit in the splash zone for the Shamu show. They have 3 whales that intentionally splash you! Alot of fun for the bigger kids, but not so much for the younger ones - the water is soooo cold! Most of all have fun!

I don't know about Sea World, but we just went to Hurricane Harbor in Dallas and the cabana was the way to go. My sister recommends the cabana at Sea World as well. It is definitely worth the money to have a place to sit in the shade. The little ones need a break from the sun especially when they are eating.

We just got back!

For the cabanas, we didn't get one but heard those are awesome for a larger group with older kids (who tend to spend most of their time at the water park). The Lost Lagoon is a bit of a walk from the rest of Sea World so unless you do plan on spending a lot of time in the water the cabanas are pretty expensive. They also aren't right on the water, where you'll want to be since your kids are so young.

If you will be spending more time seeing shows they all have shade. On our last day my dh got in line early for the Lost Lagoon (it opens at 12) and got us 3 seats in the shade by the wave pool where our kids (5-10) spent most of their day.