Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Crysta Parkinson @ Well Worn Suitcase
Sea World San Diego offers a plan called the "All-Day Dining Deal." Basically it works like it sounds - you pay one price, receive a wrist band, and can eat in the park all day. We were headed to Sea World this weekend, and I am a researcher (in case you hadn't caught on to that yet), so I did some poking around first. Was the all-day dining deal worth it?
I read a few message boards with mixed reviews, and a blog post from a mama who felt the lines kept their family from taking advantage of the pass. A friend suggested there would be a lot of junk food involved, which made sense - it is a theme park, after all. But really, there was very little information readily available about how the deal would go.
(As it turns out, much of the information I read ahead of time was incorrect - but these discrepancies could come from the fact that there is more than one Sea World location. Please note that we visited the San Diego location.)
We decided to try it out, and were VERY pleased we did.
Here's our experience...
Passes start at $32.99 for adults and $16.99 for kids 3-9. There appears to be a few dollars variation based on the particular day you go. We went on a Sunday in high season, and the online price was $35.99 per adult.
We purchased a one-year membership, which gave us 10% off the price, so our total for two adults came to $64.04. (More on that membership and why we chose it here.)
TIP: Children under 3 are free at Sea World, and they encourage sharing with little ones. Our preschooler, B, was a big reason we chose to try this plan out, as she prefers to eat at LEAST every two hours.
The pass is good for four restaurants in the park:
Shipwreck Reef Cafe (ribs, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, salads, kids meals)
Mama Stella's Pizza Kitchen (pizza, pasta, kids meals)
Seaport Market (hand crafted burgers, salads, breakfast bagels, kids meals)
Calypso Bay Smokehouse (smoked chicken, ribs, brisket, kids meals)
A glance at the map told us they were well spread throughout the park.
The deal is a wristband which allows its bearer one entree, one side or dessert, and one non-alcoholic beverage each time through the line. Simple enough.
We started our day mid-morning with the kiddie rides in Sesame Street Bay of Play, so Mama Stella's was nearby when little B decided she needed to munch.
The line was short, and we were pleasantly surprised by the choices. Brightly colored foods lined the cafeteria-style counters. Side options included large, fresh salads, cups of strawberries and sliced watermelon. The entree plates were large and included options such as manicotti, eggplant parmesan, pizza, and pasta with sauce. There were plenty of healthy choices available, and our selections were plenty of food for the three of us.
The average adult meal was somewhere between $13 and $18. Some quick math told us that if we were eating more than twice in the park, the deal was worth our money. Add in snacks, and we were coming out on top financially.
We ate well, and headed on through the park. It was great to know that we didn't have to worry about making the little one sit because this was her chance to eat - we knew we could just take her to get another snack when she needed it.
For our next meal we tried out the Shipwreck Reef Cafe - mostly because the smell of barbecue as we walked by was too much to resist! Again we found a variety of healthful sides and salads. We got a teriyaki chicken plate and a delicious salad with fruits and cheeses on it, and everyone ate together. The plates are plenty large to enjoy family-style.
And don't worry, not ALL of the food is healthy. We had a lovely slab of decadent carrot cake and B got her nosh on with a chocolate-covered Shamu cookie that made her very happy.
We enjoyed the versatility of being able to stop in and get a drink, or a drink and some fruit, anytime we chose. While we were concerned lines would be cumbersome, we found them easy to navigate and only skipped a stop once because they were a little long.
At the end of our day we enjoyed delicious fresh burgers with lots of choices at the Seaport Market and went back through to grab a couple of bottles of water for the trek home. Overall, we were pleased with our purchase and would make the choice again.
To sum it up, we highly recommend considering this plan if...
...you are going for more than five hours (give or take - we arrived at 10:30 am and left at about 5)
...you are going early in the day (things get busier as the day wears on, so you may find yourself less inclined to stand in line)
...you (or smaller members of your party) eat relatively often.
...you enjoy not having to worry about prices and who is spending what while enjoying family time.
...you want to save money but don't want to trek back to your car every time the kids are hungry
(As it turns out, much of the information I read ahead of time was incorrect - but these discrepancies could come from the fact that there is more than one Sea World location. Please note that we visited the San Diego location.)
We decided to try it out, and were VERY pleased we did.
Here's our experience...
Passes start at $32.99 for adults and $16.99 for kids 3-9. There appears to be a few dollars variation based on the particular day you go. We went on a Sunday in high season, and the online price was $35.99 per adult.
We purchased a one-year membership, which gave us 10% off the price, so our total for two adults came to $64.04. (More on that membership and why we chose it here.)
TIP: Children under 3 are free at Sea World, and they encourage sharing with little ones. Our preschooler, B, was a big reason we chose to try this plan out, as she prefers to eat at LEAST every two hours.
The pass is good for four restaurants in the park:
Shipwreck Reef Cafe (ribs, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, salads, kids meals)
Mama Stella's Pizza Kitchen (pizza, pasta, kids meals)
Seaport Market (hand crafted burgers, salads, breakfast bagels, kids meals)
Calypso Bay Smokehouse (smoked chicken, ribs, brisket, kids meals)
A glance at the map told us they were well spread throughout the park.
The deal is a wristband which allows its bearer one entree, one side or dessert, and one non-alcoholic beverage each time through the line. Simple enough.
We started our day mid-morning with the kiddie rides in Sesame Street Bay of Play, so Mama Stella's was nearby when little B decided she needed to munch.
The line was short, and we were pleasantly surprised by the choices. Brightly colored foods lined the cafeteria-style counters. Side options included large, fresh salads, cups of strawberries and sliced watermelon. The entree plates were large and included options such as manicotti, eggplant parmesan, pizza, and pasta with sauce. There were plenty of healthy choices available, and our selections were plenty of food for the three of us.
The average adult meal was somewhere between $13 and $18. Some quick math told us that if we were eating more than twice in the park, the deal was worth our money. Add in snacks, and we were coming out on top financially.
We ate well, and headed on through the park. It was great to know that we didn't have to worry about making the little one sit because this was her chance to eat - we knew we could just take her to get another snack when she needed it.
For our next meal we tried out the Shipwreck Reef Cafe - mostly because the smell of barbecue as we walked by was too much to resist! Again we found a variety of healthful sides and salads. We got a teriyaki chicken plate and a delicious salad with fruits and cheeses on it, and everyone ate together. The plates are plenty large to enjoy family-style.
And don't worry, not ALL of the food is healthy. We had a lovely slab of decadent carrot cake and B got her nosh on with a chocolate-covered Shamu cookie that made her very happy.
We enjoyed the versatility of being able to stop in and get a drink, or a drink and some fruit, anytime we chose. While we were concerned lines would be cumbersome, we found them easy to navigate and only skipped a stop once because they were a little long.
At the end of our day we enjoyed delicious fresh burgers with lots of choices at the Seaport Market and went back through to grab a couple of bottles of water for the trek home. Overall, we were pleased with our purchase and would make the choice again.
To sum it up, we highly recommend considering this plan if...
...you are going for more than five hours (give or take - we arrived at 10:30 am and left at about 5)
...you are going early in the day (things get busier as the day wears on, so you may find yourself less inclined to stand in line)
...you (or smaller members of your party) eat relatively often.
...you enjoy not having to worry about prices and who is spending what while enjoying family time.
...you want to save money but don't want to trek back to your car every time the kids are hungry
Posted in
Very good written article. It will be supportive to anyone who utilizes it, including me. Keep doing what you are doing – can’r wait to read more posts.
ReplyDeletesea world