Halloween & Christmas at Sea World 2021

moanaofmotunui

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 6, 2021
Hi. I was wondering if you guys could help me out with a couple of questions please?

My family are seasoned Orlando veterans that know the parks inside out and usually travel June/July time with the 4th July normally covered in that time period so we know how to deal with crowds and heat. Unfortunately because of Covid we’ve had to move our trip back to 17th Oct – 14th Nov this year as long as all things go to plan but I feel like a total newbie again with having no experience with this time of year and not going since all of the new changes that have taken place the last 12 months.

Our current planned Sea World days are 23rd Oct, 30th Oct & 12th Nov and we plan on buying annual passes sometime in July so that they’ll hopefully cover next year’s trip as well. We’ve been to Sea World more times than I count over the last 25 years so I don’t need any advice about the parks themselves, I'm more interested in knowing about the changes to the parks and extra stuff they put on during the Halloween and Christmas period like special entertainment and extra events/add ons etc. I know things will be different this year still because of Covid but I was just wondering if anyone here had experiences with what they did for Halloween and Christmas there last year so that I’ve got some idea of what to expect because I honestly feel like I’m going in blind this trip. I’m more used to dealing with Electric Ocean than any of the other events Sea World put on throughout the year.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
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They have a candy trail and other stores for Halloween. They keep the same trail and re-decorate it for Christmas time. There were shows in Bayside pavillion. They have the christmas tree light show on the lake and fireworks. Its been a couple years since I've been there but this is roughly what they used to do. Who know what this year will bring...
 
Halloween features colorful, under-the-sea characters who line the candy trail and provide entertainment to guests. They have some on stilts, others in large props (like clam shells) and the focus is on whimsical fun, complete with bubbles. They have candy stations where kids and adults alike can go trick or treating, and you can go through the lines as many times as you want. Each station is usually sponsored by a specific corporate entity, so most feature slightly different candy. Dressing up is encouraged for all guests, even the "big kids".

Christmas at SeaWorld is not to be missed, in my opinion. The lagoon gets filled with trees that are lit at night with lights that "dance" to music. It "snows" every half hour or so in the Waterfront. There are special Christmas shows that are shown only in the evenings (an ice skating show, a special sea lion holiday show, a Christmas orca show, and Oh Wondrous Night) and holiday food booths all along Bayside pathway. You can meet Santa and get your photos taken with him, as well as Rudolph, Clarice, the Bumble and Yukon Cornelius. Last year they had a wonderful dinner with Santa in one of the pavilions that we loved (an all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet meal, served to you by SW staff, with the option to have alcohol included) where Santa read a story to the guests and then posed for socially-distant photos. The park is decorated beautifully, Christmas music plays along all the walkways, and you can even have your photo taken inside a snow globe. It's our favorite time of year to visit!

Just a heads up, SeaWorld annual passes become active on the day of purchase, not on the day of first use. So if you buy your passes in July, just remember your one year of usage begins in July and not when you first use them in October. So....you may want to wait and purchase them just before your trip so you can stretch their validity period out a little longer. Just so you know.
 
Christmas at SeaWorld is not to be missed, in my opinion. The lagoon gets filled with trees that are lit at night with lights that "dance" to music. It "snows" every half hour or so in the Waterfront. There are special Christmas shows that are shown only in the evenings (an ice skating show, a special sea lion holiday show, a Christmas orca show, and Oh Wondrous Night) and holiday food booths all along Bayside pathway. You can meet Santa and get your photos taken with him, as well as Rudolph, Clarice, the Bumble and Yukon Cornelius. Last year they had a wonderful dinner with Santa in one of the pavilions that we loved (an all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet meal, served to you by SW staff, with the option to have alcohol included) where Santa read a story to the guests and then posed for socially-distant photos. The park is decorated beautifully, Christmas music plays along all the walkways, and you can even have your photo taken inside a snow globe. It's our favorite time of year to visit!

There actually were a few changes last year- SW no longer does Miracles (they do still have the sax player and singer. They come out before/after Orca Encounter). OWN was a similar-but-different show (same songs, but no puppets or animals). And the snow globe was used for a ballerina, but no guest photos
 


There actually were a few changes last year- SW no longer does Miracles (they do still have the sax player and singer. They come out before/after Orca Encounter). OWN was a similar-but-different show (same songs, but no puppets or animals). And the snow globe was used for a ballerina, but no guest photos

We had snow globe photos taken this past year. They took them outside the globe due to Covid but Photokey gave the effect of being inside.

567365

While they didn't have Miracles in 2020, I suspect they may bring back an Orca show for the upcoming season, even if fhe format is revamped. They will have to have that venue offering some sort of holiday entertainment to absorb some of the crowds.
 
We had snow globe photos taken this past year. They took them outside the globe due to Covid but Photokey gave the effect of being inside.

View attachment 567365

While they didn't have Miracles in 2020, I suspect they may bring back an Orca show for the upcoming season, even if fhe format is revamped. They will have to have that venue offering some sort of holiday entertainment to absorb some of the crowds.

I didn't bother taking a photo in that area, since the snow globe was closed.

As for Shamu Stadium, I am assuming they will do the same thing they did in 2020- Orca Encounter, with the sax player and singer before/after (which is what they did for Electric Ocean- Orca Encounter, with dancers at the end)
 
Don’t forget to check out Gaylord Resort for the holidays. If you are looking for ideas. Last year was so much fun.
 


Of all the parks I like SW best for Christmas. But IIRC "Christmas" starts the day after Thanksgiving @ SW.
 

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