SeaWorld Starts Celebrating Christmas from late November to December 31st every year and they really dress up the park for the event and have special shows they put on just for the holiday as well and I particularly think they do the best job of any park that I’ve been to. With that being said, let’s dive in and enjoy Christmas the SeaWorld way!

Port of Entry

This is the main entrance to the park and it contains mostly gift shops, a pastry shop, Ice cream parlor, restrooms, guest services & reservations, and locker & stroller/wheelchair rentals. This is also an area where you can get you photo with Shamu in front of the large Christmas tree.

You can see here the decorations throughout this area.

From here, we can turn left and enter the Sea of Shallows area which has the Key West area that includes the Stingray feeding and petting lagoon, a dolphin petting a feeding lagoon with underwater observation area, a Steel Flying roller coaster called Manta, and a dolphins show called Blue Horizons or we can go right. Unfortunately, there weren’t many Christmas decorations in the Sea of Shallows area so we’ll turn right and enter the Sea of Delight and the first area in this land is called The Waterfront.

Sea of Delight

The Waterfront area carries a Mediterranean theme with multiple restaurants and shops as well as restrooms, food stands, a 335 foot tall Gyro-Observation tower called the SkyTower and a cute animal show called Pets Ahoy in the Seaport Theater.

Normally, the Seaport Theater hosts the animal show Pets Ahoy but during the Halloween and Christmas holidays, it also hosts a Sesame Street live action show as well. Elmo’s Christmas Wish is shown here during the Christmas season and, as you can imagine, it is a very kid friendly show and it fills up quickly so I’d recommend getting to the Christmas show at least 30 minutes prior to the show and even earlier the closer you are to Christmas.

This area is also beautifully decorated.

There are even walk around characters you can take your photo with as well as having some comical interaction.

Here are some beautiful night shots of the area.

This is also one of the many areas where you can see the Sea of Trees show that runs every couple of hours. It is best viewed from the bridge that crosses Lake SeaWorld.

 

Here’s my video of the show where you’ll see up to 150 trees with LED lights dancing to music. This show only happens during certain times during Christmas so check your map for show times. The video was also shot on the island in the middle of the lake.

Just outside this area is the Sea lion feeding and viewing area and the Sea lion & Otter Stadium which used to show the Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island show and the Clyde and Seamore Saves Christmas holiday show. Unfortunately, at the time of this posting, the stadium was closed for a complete remodel and a new show. We’ll turn left and pass the Sea lion  and Otter Stadium and then turn left into the our next area.

Sea of Ice

This area was formerly known as Antarctica and it has one restaurant, a gift shop, and a family friendly ride called Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin which ends in the frigid cold Penguin exhibit. Remember, when you’re in this area, you’re supposed to be at base station Antarctica so it is decorated appropriately.

Up next would normally be the Sea of Legends which has restrooms, two gift shops, and two rides. One ride is called Journey to Atlantis and is a water coaster which is part water ride and part roller coaster and is themed to the legendary lost city of Atlantis. The other is a floorless roller coaster called The Kraken and is themed to the legendary sea monster with the same name. Unfortunately, this area had no Christmas decoration so I didn’t take any photos of this area but I did ride the rides. So now we’ll go back trough the Sea of Ice and the Sea of Delight areas to get to our next land.

Sea of Mystery

This area contains restrooms, animal viewing areas including the Sharks attraction, a sit down table service restaurant called Sharks Underwater Grill which is really good and a bit expensive, a show in the Nautilus Theater called Allure: The Call of the Ocean which just recently closed for a refit and a new show, and the SeaGarden. The Nautilus Theater does have a wonderful Christmas show called “O Wonderous Night” which is a telling of the night that Christ was born from the animals perspectives interspersed with traditional Christmas and Gospel holiday songs.

There is a pre show to entertain the guests before the actual show begins and it is simply a musician playing Christmas songs on his guitar with the audiences participation.

After he’s done, the show begin and it really is incredible.

Here’s a video of the show from KDFanPre91

I also recommend getting here at least 30-45 minutes before the show begins. Here are the decorations throughout the area.

Up next is a kids area.

Sea of Fun

This area was formerly known as Shamu’s Happy Harbor which is a kids area that contains a kids climbing structure water play area, several kids rides including a junior coaster called Shamu Express. There’s also a games area, several food stands, restrooms, and gift shops.

The next land contains the star attraction at SeaWorld.

Sea of Power

This area is right next to the Sea of Fun and it contains one show, a ride, some food stands, a restaurant, and an animal viewing area. The show is One Ocean during the day and Shamu’s Christmas Miracles at night which is an incredible holiday show and one that is not to be missed at all.

This show is set to Christmas music with a fiery gospel ending. But there’s a pre show starring a saxophonist playing traditional Christmas music and he is rally good so get there at least 30-45 minutes before the show starts as this one most definitely fills up quickly.

Here’s a video from Theme Park Addicts YouTube Channel.

Up next is the Wild Arctic ride and animal exhibit. The Wild Arctic is a motion simulator that is transformed into the Polar Express ride where you board a train to the North Pole to see Santa and go through a journey along the way. Once you’re there, you disembark and you’ll get to see Santa and two Narwhal Whales, a Walrus, and some Sea lions. Unfortunately, the two Polar Bears that were where the Sea lions are now had passed away due to old age. I also had thought I had already taken photos of the decorations on this ride and come to find out they were lost to time. Up next is the special events area which is only open during certain times of the year like this one.

Christmas Celebration

Here you can get food, decorate your own Christmas Cookies, sit around a roaring fire, drink some hot chocolate which is really good by the way, get your photo taken with the Christmas Polar Bear, and watch an ice skating show called Winter Wonderland on Ice. Here’s a video of the ice skating show from KDFanPre91. It is pretty good and worth watching.

Here are some photos of the special events area that is all dressed up for the season including a photo of one of the model train sets that are there.

That brings us back to the Port of Entry and to the end of this review. I hope you liked it so much that you’re booking your next Christmas vacation at SeaWorld Orlando and I hope you have a whale of a day.