In case you were wondering, SeaWorld serves only sustainable seafood. Prices are in line with everyone else’s: $13–$16 a meal, before a drink. All-Day Dining Deals (one entree, one side or dessert, one nonalcoholic drink each time through line, once an hour) cost $40 for adults and $20 for kids; rare is the person who will stay (or eat) long enough to make it pay off. If you’re 21 or over, there’s a $55 package which adds one draft beer per hour.

Disney World has its Mouse-ear ice-cream bar, but at SeaWorld, you’ll be served a variety shaped like Shamu ($5). Plastic drinking straws choke animals, so you don’t get one. SeaWorld often has a happy hour good for 2-for-1 drinks, usually at Flamecraft Bar and Sharks Underwater Bar; ask if it’s available.

The headline meal event is Up-Close Dining at Shamu Stadium, served from noon to 2pm in peak summer and from 4:30 to 6:30pm in other seasons alongside the orca pools with the narration of trainers. Prices fluctuate by the day, but expect $30 to $36 for adults and $15 to $25 for kids. On weekends and in high season, look for Breakfast with Elmo and Friends ([tel] 407/545-5500; $30 adults, $15 kids; 9:15am).

Expedition Café, with exposed seating outside Antarctica, serves stir-fries, chicken tenders, and pizza.


The Seafire Grill, at the Waterfront, does crispy fish, wings, and salads, and Flamecraft Bar has appealing terrace seating overlooking the lagoon and a changing selection of Florida craft beers, plus bar bites like tacos and quesadillas. Flamecraft feels normal and chill—truly, even if it weren’t inside a theme park, you still would probably want to hang out here. There’s even live acoustic music on weekends to attract locals.

Farther up the Waterfront, the Lakeside Grill offers kebabs, nachos, and burgers, and it also has pretty water views. Voyagers Smokehouse, facing the Seaport Theater’s entrance, offers baby back ribs, spare ribs, and barbecue chicken.


Similar to Epcot with The Seas, SeaWorld devotes a section of an underwater viewing area to Sharks Underwater Grill & Bar, one of the park’s premier tables (open 11:30am). It doesn’t particularly specialize in seafood. Despite some cute touches, such as a bar that’s also an aquarium and chairs that look like sharks’ teeth, prices such as $29 for tempura shrimp and $32 for salmon strike me as too high (kids’ meals are $14). The cocktail bar up front ($14 a drink) is first-come, first-seated.

Waterway Grill is indoors (meaning cool) behind Infinity Falls. In addition to casual churrasco steak, slow-roasted pork, and seared tofu, it has a good selection of a dozen beers on tap, some of them craft brews from around the state, such as Cigar City from Tampa and Green Bench from St. Petersburg.


Captain Pete’s Island Hot Dogs in the Key West area has foot-longs such as one with chili and cheese ($9–$12).

At the Shamu end of the boardwalk, Altitude Burgers, under the Ice Breaker coaster, does a counter-service menu of grilled chicken sandwiches, pizza, and a wholly inadvisable but nevertheless popular build-your own burger made with a pound of meat ($20).
 

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.