Visit San Antonio #CQSATrip
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Disclosure: Many of the places we visited comped our admission so that we could write a review.
We recently decided to take a family trip to San Antonio where we stayed at the Red Roof Inn to check out their new premium rooms. We actually stayed an entire week and we still didn't get to do all the things we wanted to do so we hope to plan another trip to San Antonio soon. Make sure you check out all the San Antonio Coupons available. On this trip we brought along our American Tourister Duralite 350 luggage. I love the new colors and it rolls so easy. We were able to pack all of our clothes (family of 4) in the 2o inch and 28 inch. I love how the inside has separated compartments and you can unzip the sides to extend for more room.
Below is a list of places that we visited and we are going to tell the good AND the bad so that you can have some insights when planning your next visit. Make sure you email the San Antonio Visitors Bureau as they may be able to send you some coupon books for discounts on admission. If you forget you can always pick them up in the lobby of the hotel you are staying at as well. We also downloaded the Murphy USA app which took us to the cheapest gas on our road trip as well as coupons for snacks.
Schlitterbahn Water Park: I have to admit this is the one I was looking forward to the most and it didn't disappoint. The thing I will tell you is we didn't know there were 2 different sides to the watermark. We just typed in the address in our GPS and when we arrived I was a little worried. The gate we went into wasn't very busy and what we could see didn't look very “exciting”. What we found out is that there is 2 sides, an old and a new. The good thing is that there is a tram that runs all day between the 2 and it didn't take us very long to get to the other side. They have rides for all ages, so you don't have to worry about anyone getting bored. I have to say this is the only place I have ever been with more than 1 lazy river that includes rapids and small drops. These were my favorite and I wanted to ride them over and over again. Schlitterbahn also has a water roller coaster that actually blasts you uphill! Yep that's right I said uphill!
They do have 1 ride that does cost extra to ride. It is called the SkyCoaster and of course my husband and my son rode it twice! They put you in a harness and pull you up to 180 feet and when they let you go, you swing “Superman” style up to 80 mph over the water park. No way I was going to go on that!
The other great thing for us was that they allow you to bring your own ice chest into the park. We were able to save a lot of money on food and drinks by being able to bring our own. Just remember that they don't allow you to bring any glass containers into the park. There is plenty of picnic tables though out the park that you can use.
Sea World Texas: We spent a full day at Sea World and we only saw 2 shows. If you are disabled, make sure you check out the motorized scooters available just inside the park. I recommend the one with the top cover. This place has a little something for everyone but is really a great place if you love animals. The shows only last for 20 minutes or so, so you don't have to worry about 1 or 2 shows taking up your whole day.
The 1st show we saw was One Ocean. They had Orca whales like the famous Shamu doing some amazing tricks and of course splashing the audience! The splash zones are clearly marked so if you want to stay dry that's not a problem. The 2nd show was a dolphin interactive show. They open up the ropes around the dolphin pool and you can lean over the edge and the dolphins can come up to you. But I have to warn you that it is a mad rush to get a spot and even though you get you a spot you are not guaranteed of having a dolphin come up to you. The trainers do a good job showing you how they train the dolphins and the dolphins still do some pretty cool tricks so it wasn't a total bust.
We spent the rest of our day riding the rides and walking through the different sea animal exhibits. I loved seeing the Penguin Exhibit. and my kids loved the Great White roller coaster. They do have a couple of places you can feed different kinds of ducks and birds but the food is extra and only takes quarters, so be prepared because it's a lot of fun.
A down side was that SeaWorld was a little expensive. Parking was $17 and we decided to get the all day dining plan and that was $29.99 per person and for children ages 3-9 is $16.99 per person. The good thing about getting that is that it covers all food and drinks from certain restaurants around the park. They provided a good variety of food to choose from and they also had fruits and bottled water. It was the end of July when we went so water was a constant thing.
Natural Bridge Caverns: My family likes caves and this one was beautiful. The tour we took was the Discovery tour. They take you 180 ft below ground and show you a bunch of amazing formations. There are plenty of opportunities for pictures so stay tuned as we are actually going to do a separate post for the caverns and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch since we took so many cool photos!
Best San Antonio Ghost Tours: I have to admit that we were a little disappointed with this. It was just a walk around the Alamo and the downtown Riverwalk area with some interesting history and a bunch of cheesy jokes. I know they don't guarantee anything but it was extremely disappointed.
The kids did have a little fun using some of the instruments they gave them but that was about it.
Ripley's Attractions and Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum: This was another thing we were disappointed in. The wax people didn't look anything like the people they were suppose to look like. The lighting was pretty bad but take a look at this scary looking Michael Jackson! I have been to other wax museums and I promise you I have seen better. The one in LA is fabulous!
Matter of fact the only attraction at this Ripley's attraction that we liked was the 4D Movie.
Downtown San Antonio:
If you are visiting San Antonio you have to visit The Alamo as well as the Riverwalk. Make sure you check out the audio guided tour and while I recommend visiting the Alamo during the day you should also definitely check it out at night as well to see it all lit up because it is beautiful!
The Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio is full of restaurants and shops. Make sure you check out their coupons before you go.We actually ate at “The Original Mexican Restaurant” and it was very good. We even got serenaded while we were there. After that we took a ride on the River Cruise. It takes you through the river walk with a guided tour.
