I haven’t been to SeaWorld in years! When I received an invite to attend a media event for their Christmas Celebration, I was beyond excited. My son kept asking about the park and if there were bumper cars he could drive, so we sat down and navigated through their website so he knew what to expect. Since I had never experienced SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration, I was excited to see the park transformed into a holiday wonderland and “experience the waves of holiday spirit”!
We had a spectacular view of the waterfront when the Sea of Trees was switched on. It was amazing to see the trees light up and blink to music. You can see a video of the making of the Seas of Trees here. After we enjoyed complimentary treats and beverages while gazing at the gorgeous trees, a few animals were brought out for us to get up close and personal with. My son was able to feed a beautiful parrot, have a photo taken with Clyde (Sea Lion) and touch a sloth! It was during those moments that my kid fell in love with SeaWorld!
After our animal encounters, we started walking towards “The Polar Express Experience”. We were excited to ride a train to the North Pole and visit Santa! My little guy couldn’t wait, but we did make one special stop to play in the snow and dance with elves! They were so much fun! Best part of all, my son signed Santa’s nice list! I even have proof so when he misbehaves, I can show him that he gave Santa his word!
Once we finished frolicking and playing with Santa’s helpers, we made our way to The Polar Express! Unfortunately, no train ride for us since my guy was an inch too short. He wasn’t upset, we still enjoyed snippets from the movie with his little friend (GooberMonkey‘s son). Afterwards, we had photos with Santa and then visited the underwater viewing area to see beluga whales, polar bears and walruses.
At this point, my kid was ready to fall over from all the excitement. We decided to visit a few of the animal areas, including Shark Encounter and the underwater Dolphin viewing (Dolphin Cove was already closed for the evening). We enjoyed strolling through the quiet park, looking at the beautiful trees and seeing the animals. I knew my little guy was exhausted at this point and there was no way he was going to stay awake for any of the special shows, so we hit the gift shop to grab a souvenir and headed home.
I am extremely sad to have missed O Wondrous Night, it sounded so magical! Basically, it is the Christmas story told from the animals’ eyes! I can only imagine how amazing it is. I love the fact SeaWorld shares the real story of Christmas, it warms my heart!
The video I watched of Shamu Christmas – Miracles looked pretty amazing, too. That is another show we will have to catch! We did watch the ice skaters practicing for Winter Wonderland On Ice, they were so graceful!
For a full line-up of the Christmas Celebration shows, click here.
Enjoy SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration:
- Fridays through Sundays, November 25 to December 11 from 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
- Every night, December 16 to 31 from 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Below are photos from our wonderful SeaWorld experience! You can click to enlarge.
*SeaWorld provided media passes for my family to visit the SeaWorld Christmas Celebration; however, the opinions expressed are my own.