Seaworld – The Worst Food in Australia?

During a recent visit to Seaworld, I was appalled at the standard and quality of food being served to children.

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Seaworld is a lot of fun, but the food on offer lets it down.

It’s a harsh headline, but having just spent four nights in The Seaworld Hotel, and 5 days in the theme park, someone needs to say it. The food is mostly unhealthy and unacceptable. It could easily be re-named sugar world.

There’s nothing better than a day at a theme park with your kids. It is the stuff dreams are made of, and staying at The Seaworld hotel last week was a dream come true for my 8 year old twins.

But our disappointment with the food started almost the moment we arrived at the hotel.  We arrived late, and were all tired. The kids wanted room service – one of their favourite holiday indulgences.

We wanted something light, but struggled to find anything on the menu in that category. When the toasted cheese and ham sandwich and hamburger and fries arrived, both children were visibly shocked. “This is worse than a fast food restaurant” came the comment from my daughter. “You can’t eat the chips as they are fried so hard, there’s no potato left inside them” said my son.

We thought it was a one-off.

Breakfast wasn’t better. Everything was sugar loaded, from pikelets to juices, white bread, cakes and cereal as far as the eye could see. Boiled eggs and eggs made to order were our only saving grace.

I sat there looking at table after table of mostly overweight parents and sugar-hyped kids wondering what the future held for these people who were seemingly so unaware of what they were consuming. Even the parents were fighting each other to get to the food sitting on vast buffets.

We ate there once, and vowed not to return for the evening buffets – which we looked in on, and were equally shocked by due to the sugar loaded saucy dishes and desserts, particularly at the Italian dinner buffet.

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Seaworld’s Shark Bay.

Inside the park, it’s even worse. At least in the hotel it is possible to drive elsewhere and eat clean food, but inside the park, you ‘re trapped.

There’s sugar and fat as far as the eye can see. Fish & chips and pizza are the staples. Frozen ice drinks full of sugar syrup and icecreams abound. It is difficult to walk ten metres without bumping into a vendor. There are Asian dishes soaked in sugared sauces, burgers and hot dogs with thick white buns and chips, and the occasional salad loaded with sugar filled dressing.

And the food is not cheap. My mind wondered what health food advocate Jamie Oliver would say.

I’m not saying kids should never eat pizza, a serving of fish and chips or an ice cream, but I am saying a theme park targeting children where there is almost no healthy food on offer, and is purposely set-up in a way to lure kids to eat unhealthily all day long is not on.

Seaworld are actively encouraging children to consume extreme amounts of sugar. As an organisation, it isn’t taking responsibility for the huge health issue we are facing as a nation.

The saving grace of the 5 day experience was the Japanese restaurant at the Seaworld Hotel – which offered first class sushi, sashimi, and a range of cooked dishes. The kids set menu included chicken teriyaki, rice and a light lemon sorbet. My kids loved the sushi roles which were all prepared fresh to order. We ate there at every opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Renae Leith-Manos

Editor and Founder of Bondi Beauty

Renae Leith-Manos loves fitness, new beauty products, long chats and long flights. She is at her best when traveling the world writing about luxury hotels and Michelin Star restaurants (www.renaesworld.com.au). She has had a colourful media career as a journalist inmagazines and newspapers, in Australia and Asia. She spends her time writing, cooking, consulting to new businesses, running and working out.

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