Sea World Resort Sponge Bob Splash Bash aquatic adventure playground
Sea World Resort and Water Park on the Gold Coast has been repeatedly recognised as one of the prime Australian resorts for families. Being familiar with the resort’s reputation, when I heard about a fantastic deal including theme park tickets and dining discounts I snapped one up.
Sea World Resort on the Broadwater
Our vacation at Sea World Resort was a departure from my traditional style of Gold Coast trips that has in the past focused on beach time. The resort is located on the stunning Broadwater though, and incorporates a water play area and pool as well as direct entry to Sea World. Consequently our five night stay was very much water focused. There is a stunning beach directly opposite the resort which we enjoyed exploring however it is was not patrolled at that location hence swimming in the ocean was out of the question for us.
The Sea World Resort aquatic adventure playground
Some lovely touches at the resort that engaged my toddler were the ocean centric sculptures and art-work. The aquatic adventure playground is Nickelodeon themed and was a major hit with my kids. Be aware that the aquatic playground his limited hours – it was open from 11am-5pm during our May visit however this may change seasonally. While the pool was heated the aquatic playground was not so the kids didn’t last as long as they would have in the water park as they turned blue rapidly. At eight pm every night there is a “Sponge Bob Square Pants” splash party – a water light show that is fun for kids if they are still awake by then.
The bedroom in the Sea World Resort
We stayed in a resort superior room that is a standard hotel room – two double beds and the bathroom had a bath-shower. There was certainly enough room for our family. Our room was in the garden wing on the ground floor and I would recommend this for other families with young kids as it was quiet and had a sliding door that opened to grassy gardens where my kids could play.
Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast – great grassy hills for rolling on.
We dined daily in the Shoreline restaurant for breakfast. Kids under 4 eat for free and children over 4 are charged one dollar for each year of age. The breakfast was standard hotel fare but my son particularly enjoyed making his own pancakes using an automated pancake maker. If your children are early risers like mine (5am every day we were there) it is worth taking them to breakfast early (it opens at 6am) as the restaurant did become very busy, filling up with Chinese tour groups by 7.30. The dinner buffet at the Shoreline restaurant was above par and offered some delicious seafood options for adults as well as the mainstream kid’s foods to keep even the picky eaters happy. Don’t fall into the trap as we did of thinking the soft-drinks are included in the buffet –on our first evening I poured drinks for all of us only to then find out that “all you can drink” soft drink is $6. There was no option at dinner just for a small juice for kids so water it was for the rest of our stay. Dining packages are available if you pre-purchase breakfast and dinner that substantially reduces the cost of meals. Unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to dine at the resort’s teppanyaki restaurant as we neglected to pre-book however our meal at the lounge restaurant was enjoyable.
Breakfast at the Sea World Resort
Sea World Resort is not within easy walking distance of shops. The resort does have a small shop on site however there were few healthy options so it is worth packing healthy snacks for your kids in your luggage.
I travelled to the Gold Coast unaccompanied by my husband, although he was able to join us for one night. My boys and I had a great time at the Sea World Resort when it was just the three of us, and I was easily able to manage the practicalities of looking after two young kids by myself there. Consequently I would recommend this as a destination for single parent families and other mums that like me have husband’s whose work interferes with family vacation time.
Extra activities for resort guests included a morning Nickelodeon character meet and greet, and a dolphin discovery presentation. Guests visiting the resort in warmer months have access to the Sea World Water Park however it was closed during our visit. Ultimately though it was the easy access to Sea World from the resort, allowing our family to make the most of our six-day pass that clinched the deal for me. Being able to spend just a couple of hours at the park, and then return for some quiet time or a nap was gold.
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