The Holiday season is upon us! SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration returns and makes the case for Orlando’s best holiday-themed experience at a theme park. Here are the top five reasons to check out the event.
Price
- First off going into this, the first thing you’ll want to know is that this is not a separately ticketed holiday event like Walt Disney World’s “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party” which will cost you anywhere from $139-$199 for around 5 hours of festive activities outside your regular park ticket. This operates like Univeral Orlando’s Holidays event which will include all the Christmas events and festivities every day from now until December 31 included with your park ticket. This means you can enjoy the regular rides and shows throughout the day while also experiencing every holiday offering at night with no extra cost. So if you’re looking for a little more bang for your buck during the holidays this should be one of the events that you consider.
Here is where you can find the biggest discounts for your trip to this year’s Christmas Celebration.
Theming and Decorations
- It might sound simple but when you’re coming to a Christmas event you want it to feel, well……..VERY FESTIVE! The decorations here for a theme park is top notch, almost every tree, building, food tent, and pathway is decorated with some type of lights, Christmas trees and even some nutcrackers.
What makes this event stand out compared to other holiday theme park offerings in the Orlando area is that EVERY portion of the park is decorated, and you really feel it throughout the event wherever you go.
Popular annual traditions like Grinchmas at Universal Orlando or the Holiday decorations on main street at the Magic Kingdom which are very well themed and fun, but are only in portions of the park with other parts of the park having the same everyday aesthetic to them which can take you out of the holiday spirit very fast.
SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration has some of the best holiday theming out of any theme park we’ve attended which helps elevate the whole event as a result and which includes snow flurries near the waterfront several times each night along with a sea of luminescent trees that can be seen anywhere in the park and change colors and “dance” to holiday classics tunes constantly throughout your evening. As Floridians know, any sight of “snow” during the winter season is a rare treat indeed.
Shows & Entertainment
- One of the biggest surprises with this event is the quality of entertainment options that are available.
O Wondrous Night:
This show is returning this year after replaced in 2021 for a holiday chorus show and we have to say that we do like this one even better because it does showcases the “reason for the season” in a show told with over 30 carols, life-size puppets, and live animals. Fun, classic and heart felt, this is a recommend show each time you visit.
Winter Wonderland on Ice:
This in our opinion is the biggest surprise of the event, as it is our favorite holiday theme park show in the area, (sorry Grinchmas…). This is the number one thing that we recommend when visiting because it is a true highlight as it is a Christmas ice show set to holiday classics as a sea of sparkling trees and towering fountains dancing in the background come together in this ice-skating holiday show the whole family will enjoy! Fair warning though get here at least 20 minutes early to get decent seats.
Tip: If you watch this show during your visit, we recommend doing the last show of the night because it will lead right into the Holiday Reflections: Fireworks Finale which caps off each night with festive fireworks, choreographed to joyous holiday musical favorites and while you can see these anywhere in the park, Bayside stadium is hands down the best place to experience this impressive fireworks display.
Character Meet and Greets
- It’s not quite Christmas time without a few photo ops with some classic holiday characters and this event delivers that in spades. Besides having the chance to meet the “Arctic’s most famous resident, Santa Claus, you’ll also be able to meet classic characters from the stop motion animated classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in which you’ll stroll past life-size story book vignettes featuring the classic tale, and meet beloved characters including Rudolph and Bumble and the Abominable Snowman. Btw, the Abominable Snowman is massive in person and is super playful, worth the wait in line alone.
The Food
- This is by far and away the best part of the event and gets you coming back year after year, by no means the traditional theme park quality food at all, some of the best holiday foods, desserts and snacks you will get anywhere, very similar in quality to EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays event, although we have to give the edge here. From Smore’d-Up Beignets, Santa’s Sweet and Savory Doughnut Chicken sandwich to the “Main Event” you be equally surprised and pleased with what you find at this year’s event.
Here are the five food items that were our personal favorites.
The Main Event
Fried turkey breast, andouille sausage stuffing, cranberries, and brown gravy
All Grown-up Birria Grilled Cheese
Texas toast, sharp cheddar, smoked cheddar, and tomato dipping soup
Santa’s Sweet & Savory Treat: Doughnut Chicken Sandwich
Honey sriracha and pickles
Chicken & Waffle Handheld
Apple butter and maple syrup
Bison Burger
Served with cheddar cheese and bacon onion jam
Enjoy the holidays Knight Nation and experience SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration from now until December 31st!
