The holidays haven’t been canceled at SeaWorld Orlando. From the Sesame Street Breakfast to Dinner with Santa, the whole family can safely enjoy special holiday outdoor activities, including some new shows for the 2020 holiday season. Returning events and new attractions scheduled for November 14 through December 31 at SeaWorld Orlando feature more than three million lights and park-wide holiday activities, along with SeaWorld Orlando‘s one-of-a-kind up-close animal encounters and thrilling roller coasters, with limited capacity and physical distancing measures in place.
Limited Capacity and Other Safety Measures
To keep the season merry, SeaWorld Orlando’s creative experts consulted with its medical team to modify this year’s holiday offerings. Reservations will be required, and the capacity will be limited. This year’s seasonal fun features open-air entertainment and enhanced health and safety measures, including temperature checks, increased sanitation and cleaning, face-covering requirements, and physical distancing. SeaWorld Orlando’s guests can safely enjoy the tastes, sights, and sounds of the holidays with physically distanced shows, tasty treats, specialty shopping, and all of SeaWorld Orlando’s beloved holiday traditions.
On the Schedule at SeaWorld Orlando for the 2020 Holiday Season
This year, SeaWorld Orlando celebrates the holidays with more activities than ever before, including:
*New* Outdoor Ice Skating
For the first time this year, guests at SeaWorld Orlando can enjoy the thrills of outdoor ice skating at Bayside. The entire family can skate on ice along the water of SeaWorld’s central lagoon throughout the day in Seaworld’s winter wonderland. Capacity will be limited to ensure physical distancing, and guests will be required to wear gloves and crew-length socks. There’s an additional charge for ice skate rentals, and socks and gloves will be available for purchase.
*New* Eight Nights of Lights
SeaWorld Orlando will celebrate Hanukkah’s Festival of Lights from December 10 through December 18 as families and friends gather for socially distant lighting of the Hanukkah menorah.
*New* The Lighting of the Kinara
From December 26 through January 1, guests at SeaWorld Orlando can join a joyous time of celebration and reflection with the nightly lighting of the Kwanzaa kinara.
*New* Photos With Santa
At SeaWorld Orlando, it’s still possible to take a trip to the top of the world to spend time with the North Pole’s most famous resident, Santa Claus. This year, SeaWorld Orlando’s Wild Arctic will admit one party at a time to meet and greet Santa, followed by an opportunity to sit physically distanced in Santa’s sleigh with Santa above and behind, protecting guests behind a plexiglass partition. Photo packages are also available.
*New* Happy Holidays From Sesame Street Land
The holidays this year are furry and bright on SeaWorld Orlando’s favorite street. Friends from Sesame Street will dance and sing to favorite songs to celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.
*New* Christmas Show at the Nautilus Theater
For a new experience to celebrate the spirit of the season, SeaWorld is bringing more than 30 favorite Christmas carols back to the stage with lighthearted laughs and creative surprises at the Nautilus Theater, with limited capacity and physical distancing.
Rudolph’s Holiday Experience
The whole family can get into the holiday spirit with this 10-minute special-effects movie that plays daily in the Sea Port Theater, beginning at the top of every hour. Capacity is limited to facilitate physical distancing.
Sea of Trees
Guests can immerse themselves with a walk through an expansive holiday Sea of Trees, located in SeaWorld Orlando’s central lagoon, where the glistening forest sparkles with lights and music around a magnificent centerpiece that soars 70 feet above the water. With 360-degree views of the entire park, there is lots of space to help guests keep a safe physical distance from each other. The lights dance to holiday classics to make the Sea of Trees a beloved Christmas treat.
Winter Wonderland on Ice
Skaters on a stage of ice, lights, and sequins bring Christmas to life in a show-stopping ice skating extravaganza with physically distant seating arrangements. The background of towering fountains and sparkling trees comes together to make this a can’t-miss experience for all SeaWorld Orlando guests.
Rudolph’s Christmas Town
The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is coming back this year for an appearance at Rudolph’s Christmas Town. Guests can stroll past life-sized outdoor storybook vignettes to the classic Christmas story and meet beloved characters, including Bumble, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius, and, of course, Rudolph himself. This attraction has a limited capacity to promote appropriate physical distancing.
Christmas Market
Every year, SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas market offers delectable culinary delights and features festive entertainment. This year, the Christmas market offers an all-new chef- and a mixologist-created holiday menu. After their encounters with a photo-worthy model train village and playful elves, guests can relax next to the warm glow of the fire pit with mulled wine, seasonal beer, or unique holiday-inspired adult beverages rooted in classic Yuletide traditions. Limited-time menu options include peppermint cocoa made with peppermint schnapps, and a Winter Wonderland Hot Toddy made with cider, honey whiskey, and chain infusion. Physical distancing measures and limited-capacity rules will be in place.
Holiday Food Pairings
Food offerings throughout the park will follow a holiday theme. The smoked-cured and ale-cured pork slider; mini chicken Philly; and Traditional Christmas Dinner Stack with layered turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and gravy over Texas toast will be available this year. There will also be a creative range of peppermint desserts, including the ever-popular peppermint bark cheesecake. Guests can savor and save with the Christmas Celebration Tasting and Brew Sampler Lanyard, starting at only $35.00 for a 5-punch lanyard or a 10-punch lanyard for $50.00.
Dinner With Santa
This year, like every year at SeaWorld Orlando, the wonders of Christmas will come to life with dinner with Santa for the whole family. The experience includes a sumptuous holiday meal with all of the trimmings and opportunities to take physically distant photos with Santa. Dinner with Santa features widely-spaced, single-party tables, protective foodservice barriers, sanitation steps between courses, and additional guest safety measures.
Sesame Street Holiday Breakfast
All of the favorite Sesame Street characters are available to join guests at the traditional Sesame Street Holiday Breakfast. Designed as a safe, fun experience for the entire family, the Sesame Street breakfast experience features delicious food and physically distant appearances by Sesame Street characters.
SeaWorld Orlando Offers Holiday Fun on a Budget
The best way to maximize your savings when visiting SeaWorld is to plan on making more than one trip. Visitors can buy a 2021 Fun Card and get the rest of 2020 free or upgrade to an Annual Pass for as little as $11.75 per month per visitor with no down payment required. Annual Pass visitors get up to six free guest tickets, free parking, and VIP Ride Nights, along with savings of up to 50 percent on photo prints, Quick Queue, merchandise, and more.
SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego, are part of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, one of the world’s leading theme park and entertainment companies. The company provides fun and educational experiences that inspire guests to protect animals and other natural wonders around the world. SeaWorld rescues and rehabilitates marine and terrestrial animals that are ill, injured, orphaned, or abandoned, with the goal of returning them to the wild. To date, SeaWorld has rescued more than 37,000 animals in need over the last 50 years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Visiting SeaWorld Orlando
Are face coverings required for visitors to SeaWorld Orlando?
All visitors to SeaWorld Orlando over the age of two are required to wear masks in all parts of the park, except in designated relaxation areas and when eating or drinking.
What kinds of face coverings are acceptable at SeaWorld Orlando?
Any face covering with a CDC-approved design is acceptable at SeaWorld Orlando. The park reserves the right to judge which face coverings are acceptable for its guests.
Does SeaWorld Orlando do temperature checks?
Guests and employees have temperatures checked before they are allowed to enter the park. Anyone who has a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher will be escorted to a second location for a retest. If the guest’s temperature is 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher after the second test, they will be re-accommodated for a visit to the park at a later date.