Sea World San Diego Tips for Families

Tips for traveling to Sea World in California with your kiddos and family. This is a fun place to play with children and watch amazing sea life!

Our first big family vacation with all four kids was a ten day trip to Southern California. Our kids ranged from 2-9 years old. We went to all of the big places you think of when you think of that area. I think if you had to pick one place that was the collective favorite of our entire family on our trip, it would be Sea World. Everyone really loved it. We were there in November and the park seemed basically empty.

We recently went to Sea World California again, this time with our 3 teenage daughters (12-17 years old). Once again, we all LOVED it! Here are some tips for you if you are planning a visit there.

>>>Headed to Florida? See our SeaWorld Orlando Travel Tips for Families here

You can see pictures and video clips from our most recent trip in this video:

Tickets

Sea World was part of our Southern California CityPass when we went the first time. I wanted to mention that many sites will tell you to get tickets ahead of time to avoid ticket lines. Well, in all of the parks we visited, only the San Diego Zoo had a line for tickets. Everyone else seemed to have purchased their tickets ahead of time. But you still skip that step.

The last time we visited, we purchased tickets a few days after Christmas. They had a big sale going on in conjunction with the Christmas season and we got heavily discounted tickets.

How Many Days?

We easily did it all in one day. We did all of the shows, all of the rides we wanted to (the ones we did, we did many times–we didn’t want to get wet so we didn’t do Shipwreck Rapids), and we spent time with all of the animals. I think one day is very doable. 

But the second time we went, we went for two days. We saw all of the shows again and rode all of the rides again. There were other things we did the second day that we just didn’t even really notice the first day. We really enjoyed taking our time and watching all of the animals.

Go to the Shows First

The shows are definitely worth your time at Sea World. They have great shows. When you get there, look over your map and take note of the times of the shows. I suggest you hit the shows you want to hit as soon as you can in your day. When we were there the first time, they were spaced so that we could go to a show, then walk by some exhibits on our way to the next show, see that show, etc. That way, you won’t find yourself trying to cram shows in at the end of the day with other procrastinators and not have a seat. Plus, you can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you want to.

Our second time visiting, some of the shows were back to back, so you would watch one, then walk to the next one and watch that one.

Our favorite show the first time was the dolphin show. The second time, our favorite was the Sea Lion show.

Soak Zone

Just know that when a spot is designated as a “soak” zone, they mean “soak.” They don’t mean you might get splashed. They mean soaked. Dripping. You-wish-you-brought-a-change-of-clothes-unless-it-is-the-middle-of-summer.

Bring a Jacket

Sea World is on the coast in San Diego. You will probably want a jacket at some point in the day, especially if you will be there after the sun sets. It was a very pleasant temperature, but when the sun went behind clouds, a jacket was nice, and when the sun set, we wanted jackets! We also liked our jackets after we got soaked. If you want to sit in the splash zone, it can be wise to bring a rain jacket. The splash zone is pretty empty on chilly days, so you can get great seats at the last minute.

This shows you just how busy it was–and that we wanted jackets

The Park is Easy to Navigate

A map is great, and even essential so you know show times, but the park is very easy to navigate without a map. There are lots of signs pointing the way to various places.

Rides

Sea World California has 16 rides. They are really fun rides! Our favorites the first time were Manta and Journey to Atlantis. The day we were there, we literally walked on to every ride we wanted to go on. They have the lines set up for some pretty long lines, however. While the rides were fun, I think the animals are what make Sea World, so I personally wouldn’t spend hours of the day in lines if it was a super busy day, but that is definitely a personal decision. 

On our most recent trip, we all had different favorites. The Electric Eel is very unique and unlike any other ride I have been on in any other park. That was Kaitlyn’s favorite. Nate’s favorite was the Emperor. This was super smooth. Brinley loved Manta best.

They also have a lot of fun small child-friendly rides.

If you want the shortest lines on rides, you want to ride them first thing in the day. Lines just get longer as the day progresses. Not all rides can be ridden by small kids, so the rides that can have little kids on them will get longer lines than the bigger coasters. For example, at one point, the Manta ride had a line while all of the coasters were all walk-on. So it is wise to hit those kid-friendly rides earlier in the day. The second day we went, we went to Manta first. We were able to literally ride the ride countless times in a row. Then we moved on and were done with that ride for the day.

Animal Exhibits

Be sure to read the list of animal exhibits on your map so you don’t miss any. I missed the orca viewing spot until we were walking out our first time. Our children loved seeing the different animals. They absolutely loved touching the Bat Rays. They are very friendly Rays! They come up to be touched. They also really loved Pacific Point. We bought some fish to feed the sea lions (you have to be careful to get the fish to the sea lions and not the wild birds that are smart enough to hang out and often successfully swoop in and get the fish first). 

The last time we were there, we happened upon morning feeding time with the Dolphins. It was so fun to watch them interact with their trainers in a more casual setting. We also happened upon a Beluga Whale training session that day and spent a long time just watching that. You can really spend a lot of time just watching the animals.

Touching the bat rays

 

Feeding the sea lions

All-Day Dining

During our last visit, we were able to get all-day dining both days. We got an amazing deal on the tickets when we purchased them a few days after Christmas. With this deal, you can eat at a restaurant every 90 minutes. Every 90 minutes, you can get an entree, side dish OR dessert, and a drink. Many of the entrees come with a side dish, so keep that in mind when deciding what to do.

This was a lot of fun and we were able to taste test basically every piece of food in the park. If you get this deal, I highly recommend that as a family, you all order different things and try it all. You will be so full that you won’t need much of anything to be satisfied.

The food in the park overall is not amazing. If I didn’t have the deal, I would probably avoid purchasing most things in the park. The salads were all good. The chicken fingers were good at Cafe 64 (but not so good at the other places). Calypso Bay Smoke House was good. The Chicken Snack Shack had really good ice cream.

An interesting thing is that certain foods were not so good one day and really good another. For example, our first day there, the cheesecake was not so great. Our second day there, it was delicious.

If you can get a good deal on tickets, the price is absolutely worth it. A meal for a family in a theme park is always very expensive, so you can save a lot of money if you would otherwise be buying food in the park.

Explorer’s Reef Open Late

When you first walk in, you will walk by Explorer’s Reef. There are bamboo sharks, sting rays, and horse shoe crabs. There are also cleaner fish, which are pretty awesome. They clean the dead skin off your hands. I loved it. They stay grouped on your hand, eating away, until there is nothing left to eat. Explorer’s Reef is open past the time the park closes. I can’t remember if it is 30 or 60 minutes, but it might vary anyway. Ask a worker what time it closes that day. Spend your time there after the rest of the park is closed. It was a lot less busy at that time. You can also spend time in the area before the park opens. They will open the gate at least 30 minutes before the park officially opens and you can interact with the animals in Explorer’s Reef then.

 

Sesame Place San Diego

The first time we went, there was a Sesame Street area right there in Sea World. It is now a completely different park that is about a 30 minute drive from Sea World. If you have some Sesame Street lovers, look into Sesame Place San Diego. Brinley absolutely loved the experiences she had when she was two.

She doesn’t look thrilled–but she was star-struck

Other Tips

Be sure to read up on my General Travel Tips I compiled after this trip. It has more tips that apply to all types of parks like this.

Related Posts

• Disneyland and California Adventure Tips
• Legoland California Tips
• Universal Studios Tips
• San Diego Zoo Tips

This post first appeared on this blog in December 2014