I literally get paid to go to Disney World for my job, so it’s safe to say that I spend more time in theme parks than the average person.

Our girl Lydia in the parks

I’m in the parks at least once a week, clocking tens of thousands of steps, eating theme park snacks, battling the Central Florida weather, and taking seemingly one million pictures and videos while doing all of the above. It’s an absolutely spectacular job that I wouldn’t trade for any other career…but sometimes those theme parks can be BRUTAL. And recently, one Central Florida park nearly took me out!

Let’s take it back in time a few months. Twas the week before the grand opening of Epic Universe, and things were HOPPING here at DFB. (It’s not every day that a brand new theme park opens, y’all!) Our schedules were packed, and we were busting our tails to cover everything happening at Epic Universe while also keeping up with the latest news in Disney World.

Gate at Epic Universe

That week, I did THREE different theme park resorts in a row, and boy was that a smidge overwhelming, even for someone like me! I started on Tuesday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, spending most of my day in Galaxy’s Edge. I gathered footage for our YouTube channel, snapped some pictures on Rise of the Resistance, and did a full review of breakfast at Ronto Roasters. (Just a day in the life!)

Ronto Morning Wrap

My Thursday was another work day, heading into Epic Universe for the first time. I got to dine at The Blue Dragon, put my refillable Coca-Cola Freestyle cup to the ultimate test, and of course, as a major theme park nerd, nearly cried at every turn. (And definitely cried for real when I walked into Isle of Berk for the first time and “Test Drive” was playing.)

Yep, actual tears.

But in between those two work days, I had a day off to spend with some family members visiting from out of town. And you know what they wanted to do? Go to SeaWorld. Now, I hadn’t been to SeaWorld in nearly 20 years, so I didn’t really know what to expect outside of my last visit when I was 8.

©ClickOrlando

Well, even though the other two days were rough — we’re talking 90-degree temperatures and 20K steps in the parks — SeaWorld Orlando was the park that nearly killed me during my visit. So I’m here to warn you in the hopes that you’ll be prepared if you stop by!

©SeaWorld Orlando

Three things really stood out to me during my visit to SeaWorld that made the day extra difficult. First of all, there were hills EVERYWHERE. Now, Central Florida is not generally a hilly place, so this was pretty surprising to me. But to get into those theater shows where you see marine life perform cool stunts, you’re probably going to be climbing some serious hills. Over. And over. And over again.

Dolphin

Remember how I mentioned that it was in the 90s this particular week? Well, there is a distinct lack of shade in many areas around SeaWorld. Throughout some parts of the park, we were walking in the sun for several minutes with nary an umbrella or tree in sight, and that made things particularly difficult when traveling with 3 kids under 5.

SeaWorld Orlando

But perhaps the thing that made the day the MOST difficult was that it was a challenge to find water around the park! We brought our own refillable bottles and had a hard time filling them up — there weren’t any bottle refill stations that employees could point us towards, and the fountains were somewhat scarce. At one point, we were told we could take our bottles to employees to refill at snack stands, but after a very uncomfortable experience doing that, we were deterred from trying again.

We ended up chugging free cups of ice water during our lunch meal. But with drink machines behind the counter at the restaurant we visited, we had to wait quite a while to even get those cups and rehydrate. Once again, somewhat difficult when you’re traveling with littles.

©SeaWorld

So after all that, my advice to you is that you might want to avoid planning a trip to SeaWorld during the hottest months of the year. If you have to travel during that time, come prepared with water, shade (like hats or umbrellas), and a comfy pair of walking shoes. You’ll need those things and a good dose of sunscreen to survive!

To learn how to plan your trip to Epic Universe, check out the video below.

Stay tuned to DFB for more tips and tricks to surviving theme parks!

Check Out Other Weird Things I Do for My Job Here!

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WE KNOW DISNEY.
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Have you been to SeaWorld Orlando? Tell us about your experience in the comments!