Myatt's Travels: Sea World, San Diego

Our family has a tradition to go to Sea World every other year. We typically visit Disneyland from Monday through Thursday and then Sea World Thursday evening through Saturday. Even though Sea World is busier on Weekends than on Weekdays, it's still not as bad as Disneyland on Weekends, so the Weekends are the time we designate for Sea World.

We have stayed in two different hotels over the years, the Dana on Mission Bay, and Comfort Inn and Suites at Hotel Circle. Until this past year, we had always stayed at the Dana, but because of their outrageous parking fees and because the Comfort Inn and Suites was less expensive, I thought I would try the Comfort Inn this year. I'll describe the Pro's and Con's to both hotels.

Dana on Mission Bay
The Dana has a special sentimental value to me because it is the same hotel that my mom used to take me to, though the name has changed maybe a half dozen times from Vacation Village, to Polynesian Princess, to the Danna Inn and Marina, to a few others I'm probably forgetting. The property has also been completely renovated since I was young, so much so that I wouldn't recognize it if I didn't know that's where I used to stay.

It was hard for me to stay somewhere else this year because of this attachment I have to the Dana, but the last time we stayed in 2011, we were charged $16 per par per night for parking! (now $20 per night) Since we have 2 cars, it ended up being about as much as paying for another room, by the time our stay was over. The rooms were also about $120 more per night than the Comfort Inn and Suites, and since we need 2 rooms, that adds up too.

What I love about the Dana, is that it is the only hotel within walking distance of Sea World. It might be a long walk for some - just under a mile - but not bad for me. I will admit though that after a long day, the walk back seems longer than the way there! If you walk to Sea World, you don't have to pay the $15 parking fee that Sea World charges (it's getting pretty expensive to park a car these days...). In the past, we were given an allowance to eat breakfast at a nearby restaurant, which was very nice. I heard, however, that now they are no longer offering any sort of breakfast. They do have a free shuttle (well, it's not really free since they now charge an extra $9 per night for internet, shuttle service, etc) but I would still prefer to walk to be able to plan my own schedule.

The Comfort Inn and Suites at Hotel Circle
The $240 I was saving per night (since I need 2 rooms) already gave me a good first impression of the Comfort Inn. Getting in to the elevator or stairs requires a room key, which is a nice added touch of security. Parking was $10 per night per car, so half of what the Dana was.

They offer a continental breakfast every morning by giving a voucher with the number of people in your room on it which you have to give to an attendant at the breakfast room. For breakfast, there was cereal and muffins every morning and then either scrambled eggs or biscuits and gravy. I'm not usually one to complain about food, but the eggs were not really good. It didn't bother me too much because I love cereal, and the muffins were great!

The parking there was crazy. It looked like a normal parking space had been divided in two for parking. The spaces were so short and close together that it took an expert driver to pull out and into them. Once again - crazy! But that was really the only really bad thing about the hotel. It was a little inconvenient to have to drive to Sea World and pay the parking there, but we still saved a lot of money because the rooms were so much less expensive, but not inferior than the Dana.

Sea World
Sea World was as fun as always. Manta, which they were working on last time we were there, was open and the older kids and even Shelby, my 7 year old, enjoyed it. They all loved feeding the stingrays. It is nice that there is no longer any extra charge to ride the Skytower or the Sky Ride, as there used to be when I was young.

The older kids and Shelby also loved the Atlantis ride. Trey and Lizi, my 6 and 4 year olds, loved running away from the splashing water the boats made as they came down the steep drop, while they waited for us. The kids all loved the Wild Artic exhibit, the Shark Encounter, the aquariums, and the Penguin Encounter.

The shows were great too. Our favorite was the Seal Lion and Otter Show. It was as funny as it always is and the preshow entertainment is hysterical too. The Shamu show and Dolphin shows aren't nearly as good as they were 10 or 15 years ago, which is disappointing. Pets Rule and Cirque de la Mer were fun to watch for me, and the kids particularly liked Pets Rule.

We ate at Pineapple Pete's Island Eats where the food was ok, but where the one thing that stands out to me was that I was charged extra for ranch dressing to dip my chicken fingers in...Really? At one of the snack stands we got a refillable Shamu cup that we were able to refill for $1 every time. The other yummy snacks we had were the M&M ice cream sandwich and the Milky Way ice cream sandwich. We also got a couple of Souvenir popcorn buckets that we could refill for cheap for snacks. In the past I have eaten at Mama Stella's Pizza Kitchen, which has had pretty good food, from Italian pasta's to Pizza.

I'm still a bit undecided as to what hotel I'll be staying in when we go back, but I know we'll be returning to Sea World.