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The Seven Seas Food Festival at SeaWorld Orlando is full of delicious food offerings, not to mention a great selection of cocktails, wine, and craft beers.
And as regular readers of the blog know, here at Green Vacation Deals, we love the Seven Seas Food Festival – and we also love saving money!
One way you can save money at the Festival is by purchasing a Seven Seas Food & Beverage Sampler Lanyard. But is it actually worth it?
We’re going to go over how the Lanyard works. And then we’ll figure out if it’s a good deal or not for you!
How the Food & Beverage Sampler Lanyard Works
The Seven Seas Food & Beverage Sampler Lanyard consists of a punch card on a lanyard. This makes it very convenient, as you can just wear it around your neck during your day at the park.
Depending on which pass you buy, you’ll have the option of 10, 15, or 18 samples. You’ll have the entire festival (Thursday through Sundays, through May 7) to use up those samples. So if you are planning to visit more than one day, make sure to keep bringing your Lanyard if you haven’t gotten all of your samples yet.
And by samples, that just means any of the food or drink items available at the Seven Seas Food Festival marketplaces. Each item counts as one sample. So if you were to get, for example, the Ahi Tuna Poke Nachos and the Big Wave Golden Ale at the Polynesian Market, that would count as 2 samples.
With the Lanyard, you’ll still order your food the same way as usual. However, when you go to pay, you’ll just give your punch card to be punched. You’ll get one hole punched for each sample. By the way, I find this to be easier and faster than having a credit card charged for the purchase – not to mention, more fun!
In the following photo, you can see that 3 holes have been punched, corresponding to 3 food samples.
You may have noticed that it says “Pass Member Exclusive.” I was able to take advantage of the special Lanyard for Pass Members because my family and I all have SeaWorld Annual Passes. We’ve previously discussed whether or not the SeaWorld Annual Pass is worth it – one of the benefits is having access to deals like this, where you get 3 bonus samples for the cost of a 15 sample Lanyard. However, you do NOT have to be a Passholder to get the regular 10 or 15 sample lanyards.
Is the Seven Seas Food & Beverage Sample Lanyard a Good Deal?
So now that we’ve gone over how the Sampler Lanyard works, let’s see if it’s actually worth the money!
Whether or not the Sampler Lanyards are worth the price depends on how much you use the Lanyard – and how much your samples would cost normally, without the Lanyard.
Now, there is the occasional sample that costs less than $9.99. For example, the nonalcoholic Sparkling Strawberry Punch at the German Market is only $6.99.
And there are a few alcoholic beverages that cost more than $12.99. The Moose Juice specialty cocktail at the North Atlantic Market, for instance, is $13.99.
But by and large, the markets have one less expensive sample (usually a dessert) for $9.99, with the rest of the food and all of the drinks in the $10.99 – $12.99 range.
So let’s estimate how much money you would save if you always ordered a $9.99 sample. (In reality, it’s likely you’d order some samples that cost more than $9.99, but we’re being conservative with our estimates.) And for the sake of convenience, let’s go ahead and round up one cent to the nearest dollar, simply because it will make the math easier!
Note: Not fond of math? No worries! Just scroll down to the Summary section if you’d rather not look at any calculations.
10 Sample Lanyard
A 10 Sample Lanyard costs $70.
If you were to buy 10 samples without the Lanyard, it would cost:
10 samples x $10/sample = $100
That’s a difference of:
$100 (without the Sampler) – $70 (with the Sampler) = $30
So if you use all 10 samples, you’re saving $30!
And really, you’re saving AT LEAST $30, since most samples actually cost more than $10.
What if you only end up using 7 out of the 10 samples?
Well, without the Lanyard, that would cost:
7 samples x $10/sample = $70
Since the Lanyard costs $70, you’d basically break even. But since you’d probably get at least a sample or two that costs more than $10, you’d still save a little money.
If you were to get 6 samples and all your samples were around $10, you’d lose money. But what if you were to get 6 samples and all your samples were about $13 (the higher end of many of the markets)?
Without the Lanyard, you’d pay:
6 samples x $13/sample = $78
The difference is:
$78 (without the Sampler) – $70 (with the Sampler) = $8
Therefore, if you’re only going to get 6 samples, then the 10 Sample Lanyard will still save you money – but only if you buy some of the more expensive samples. Depending on exactly what you choose from your 200+ choices, you may or may not save money.
If you’re only getting 5 samples and you get only the most expensive samples (at $14), without the Lanyard you’d pay:
5 samples x $14/sample = $70.
Well, that’s the cost of the Lanyard. And you might want to choose some samples that cost less than $14. So if you only get 5 samples, it’s not worth it.
Conclusion: If you know you’ll have 7-10 samples, then you’ll be saving money with a 10 Sample Lanyard. If you get 6 samples, the Lanyard might be worth it. But at 5 samples, it’s not going to save you money.
15 Sample Lanyard
A 15 Sample Lanyard costs $85.
If you got 15 samples without the Lanyard, that would cost:
15 samples x $10/sample = $150
That’s a difference of:
$150 (without the Sampler) – $85 (with the Sampler) = $65
That’s a pretty significant savings of $65 if you get all 15 samples!
What if you only use 9 samples?
Without the Lanyard, that costs:
9 samples x $10/sample = $90
Which is a difference of:
$90 (without the Sampler) – $85 (with the Sampler) = $5
So even if you only get 9 samples, you’d still save at least $5.
Conclusion: If you plan on getting 9-15 samples, then you’ll be saving money with a 15 Sample Lanyard.
Summary
The Seven Seas Food & Beverage Sample Lanyard is definitely worth it as long as you’ll be ordering around 7 samples. (It may or may not be worth it if you order less than 7, depending on how expensive your samples are.)
And here’s a tip – you can share a Sampler Lanyard! You can order food for you and others using the same Lanyard. (Of course, you may have so many things you want to try that you might not want to share!)
Here’s a breakdown of what (if any) Sampler Lanyard you should get, based on how many samples you’re planning on getting.
If you want…
1-5 Samples
It’s probably not worth getting a Sampler Lanyard
6 Samples
Get the 10 Sample Lanyard if you want the more expensive samples. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.
7-10 Samples
Get the 10 Sample Lanyard to save money on your food and drinks.
11-15 Samples
You should get a 15 Sample Lanyard to save money at the Seven Seas Food Festival.
If you want to get the 10 or 15 Sample Lanyard, you can purchase the Lanyard online here.
SeaWorld Discount Tickets
Of course, none of this matters if you don’t actually attend the Seven Seas Food Festival!
You’ll need SeaWorld Orlando tickets, since the Food Festival is included in the price of park admission.
There are currently some great deals for SeaWorld Orlando tickets. You can save up to $35 on a single day ticket, or even get a 2nd day free.
