SeaWorld San Diego announced today that it will reopen its rides and roller coasters as a theme park on Monday, April 12! Under California’s theme park regulations, the park and rides will have limited capacity, health and safety measures in place, including markings for physical distancing in queue lines and modified seating to maintain physical distancing and hand sanitizer available at the entrance and exit of all rides. SeaWorld will continue to operate with enhanced health and safety protocols for cleaning and sanitizing, physical distancing, face covering requirements, and temperature screenings. To give guests ample space for a physically distanced visit, the number of date-specific tickets and reservations available each day are limited and must be purchased online and in advance of each visit to manage capacity.
SeaWorld San Diego is now open daily as an accredited zoo and aquarium and guests can safely spread out across more than 100 acres of expansive open-air grounds, with limited capacity and reservations. Guests can also visit penguins, sharks, belugas, and northern sea otters at the animal exhibits, learn about dolphins and sea lions at live educational presentations, and sip and savor around the world at the popular Seven Seas Food Festival. From the tallest and fastest roller coaster in San Diego to an ALL-NEW Sesame Street animal presentation, the park offerings are limitless.
Annual Pass Members get unlimited admission and Fun Card Holders can visit the park all of 2021 (with certain blockout dates for some pass levels) and must make a reservation prior to arrival.
“We’re delighted to bring back some of the best thrill and family rides that San Diego has to offer. Our guests have been eager for SeaWorld to re-open rides, and we are looking forward to providing these exciting experiences to our guests,” said Park President Marilyn Hannes. “Safety is our number one priority, and as we’ve been fortunate to already be open and operating as a zoo, we’ve already implemented significant safety enhancements for our guests.”
Rides and Roller Coasters
Popular thrill rides such as Electric Eel, the tallest, fastest roller coaster in San Diego will provide long-awaited thrills to adrenaline junkies. Riders will drop from heights of 150 feet while getting boosted 60 mph forwards and backwards through looping twists and an inverted heartline roll.
Families will soon be able to swing high and low on Tentacle Twirl, ride the skies swinging back and forth on Octarock, and drop or dip on Sea Dragon Drop, a child-sized shot-n-drop tower.
Sesame Street Bay of Play
The laughter and learning of Sesame Street come to life at Sesame Street Bay of Play where the whole family can spend time having safe fun together. Families can participate in new experiences including the ALL-NEW R is for Rescue animal education presentation featuring Sesame Street friends, Elmo and Abby Cadabby, as they sing, dance, and learn all about animals. The SeaWorld Rescue Team, along with some of the park’s animal ambassadors, help Elmo and Abby understand how the team rescues and cares for animals in need, and how we can all take care of the environment to make it a safer place for our animal friends.
Sesame Street Bay of Play also offers guests ALL-NEW ways to meet and greet their favorite Sesame Street friends:
- Guests can dance, sing, and groove along with Elmo and friends at the Furry Friends Dance Party. Everyone will love this playful, physically distant, interactive dance party in the heart of the Sesame Street Bay of Play.
- At Storytime with Big Bird, the biggest storyteller on Sesame Street welcomes all his friends to his nest, where families can listen to a special story and take physically distanced photos with their favorite feathered friend!
- Guests can also fly by Abby Cadabby’s Garden to meet everyone’s favorite pink fairy! Kids can wave hello to Abby and take physically distanced photos in her colorful new garden.
- The Count’s Castle meet-and-greet photo area will provide unforgettable memories with the one and only Count von Count! Guests can take 1, 2, 3 wonderful photos with The Count by his not-too-spooky castle. Ah, ah, ah!
- Big Bird’s Bistro where guests can grab a bite with delicious eats and sweet treats!
Starting April 12, children can also enjoy rides made for their size at Sesame Street Bay of Play, featuring Elmo’s Flying Fish, Oscar’s Rocking Eel, and Abby’s Sea Star Spin.
Seven Seas Food Festival
For those who like to sip, savor, and sample in a safe way, the popular Seven Seas Food Festival continues through May 2. The fan-favorite event runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, serving more than 125 flavors from around the world with live music performances stationed throughout the park. Weekend guests will experience the heart-pounding energy and lyrical beauty of the Polynesia Dance Show, complete with atmospheric Hawaiian traditional music, hula dancers, a fire dance and live musicians.
There’s so much to do at SeaWorld that one day is never enough. Starting April 12, southern California residents can purchase a SoCal Resident Pass for only $9 a month which includes unlimited visits** for twelve months and 50% off parking. Please visit www.seaworldsandiego.com/tickets for more details.
To prepare for the popular spring and summer months ahead, SeaWorld is recruiting and hiring ambassadors who have a passion for animals and seek a position at a purpose-driven park. The park is seeking enthusiastic, dedicated, and hard-working individuals for a variety of roles with part-time and full-time options available. Visit https://careers.seaworldparks for a full list of job openings.
To learn more about SeaWorld San Diego’s enhanced health and safety measures and what guests can expect when they arrive at the park, they can visit www.seaworldsandiego.com/safety.
For the latest information on hours of operation for SeaWorld San Diego visit www.seaworldsandiego.com or https://www.facebook.com/seaworldsandiego.
Starting April 12, SeaWorld will operate as a theme park with rides, roller coasters, indoor and outdoor animal attractions, and outdoor animal presentations with physically-distanced seating. Per state COVID-19 restrictions, attendance is limited to California in-state visitors only. Party sizes may not contain more than 3 households. Guests may be asked to present proof of residency upon entry. To adhere to capacity guidelines and for the health and safety of our guests and employees, reservations are required to enter the park.
Press Release courtesy SeaWorld
