SeaWorld banks on a little 'Street' appeal

[RNCollins]

SeaWorld banks on a little ‘Street’ appeal
https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Insights/SeaWorld-banks-on-a-little-Street-appeal

By Holly V. Kapherr / Insights / Travel Weekly / travelweekly.com / Apr 3, 2019

“SeaWorld has been on the back foot for much of the past decade; its image has taken some devastating hits, as have its attendance and its finances. But the theme park and entertainment company is looking to make a fresh start: It has been sold, has a new management group (just hiring former Carnival Cruise Lines executive Gus Antorcha as CEO) and now is making some of the biggest changes ever to its Orlando park. The latest news: the opening of Sesame Street at SeaWorld Orlando, a six-acre land with 11 attractions that feature the characters from the landmark Children's Television Workshop show.

The partnership between SeaWorld and Sesame Street stretches more than 40 years; Sesame Street characters have been appearing in SeaWorld's other parks long before this area opened in Orlando on March 27. But the new park area, which coincides with the show's 50th anniversary, takes that relationship to another level.

"The core values of Sesame Street and the core values of SeaWorld are one and the same," said Amanda Trauger, creative manager for theme park development at SeaWorld, who spoke to me via phone on opening day. "Adults will love the nostalgia of seeing characters and sets they loved as kids, and children will love watching their favorite characters and scenes come to life in a fully immersive way."

Sesame Street at SeaWorld Orlando is a re-creation of the "Sesame Street" sets, complete with Mr. Hooper's store, the stoop at apartment building 123, Oscar's trash can and Big Bird's nest. Guests can enter these sets and interact with the characters. In addition, there are attractions such as Big Bird's Twirl 'N' Whirl (similar to the Disney teacups ride), Cookie Monster's Cookie Drop (think of the Frog Hopper ride seen at many amusement parks) and an interactive scavenger hunt train ride hosted by everybody's favorite furry red monster, Elmo. Admission is included with the regular park admission....”

Super Grover's Boxcar Derby rollercoaster, one of the 11 new rides and attractions that make up Sesame Street at SeaWorld Orlando.
Photo provided by Travel Weekly

 

[Tank]

We just got back from San Diego , went to Sea World, noted the presence of Sesame Street at the park. Didn't know it has been joined for 40 years , but definatly is being highlighted.

We have gone probably 9 times or so over the past 30 years
Had one in Ohio made it very convenient for us , closed now.

Noticed also highlighting all the work saving local animals.

Was an awesome visit, the shows were incredible! One of our favorite places to go

 

[bizaro86]

We went to Seaworld San Diego for two March break periods in a row on annual passes. I was pretty disappointed with a number of changes compared to last year.

1) 10:00 AM opening now means no scanning tickets until 10. Last year they started scanning at 9:30 and the touch pools were open.

2) Most of the park, including sesame Street land and the majority of the animal exhibits didn't actually open until 10:40. Last year it all opened at 10. That made the first 40 minutes very crowded at the limited stuff that was open.

3) Sesame Street characters now weekends only vs every day last year. Made for much longer lines.

4) Many of the larger/favorite rides opening later. Riptide reef now opening at noon.

5) less showings of shows. Sea Lions live and the Dolphin Stadium show only 1x/day on weekdays as compared to 2x/day last year. Made them very crowded, standing rim only. Needed to arrive much sooner before starting to get a decent seat.

6) skyride and tower are now $5 each on top of park admission .

7) the performing pets show was cancelled, which appears to be a permanent change from the signage/maps.

For us the combined changes meant a lot of extra time spent standing in lines/waitng around, and significantly less value in a visit.

It was very noticeable the change, and as we we the same week both times (last week of March) doesn't seem likely to be a seasonal change.

Interestingly, we went to Legoland directly after on both trips. This year the lines for Legoland were much shorter.

 

[Sea Six]

I always thought Sea World required too much planning in order to see all the shows. If you don't plan your day you could end up missing something. There was even a time they gave you a suggested route to follow based on when you arrived so you could see all the shows.

 

[bizaro86]

I always thought Sea World required too much planning in order to see all the shows. If you don't plan your day you could end up missing something. There was even a time they gave you a suggested route to follow based on when you arrived so you could see all the shows.

I think Seaworld is a two day park if you want to see all the shows (which are worth doing). We did 3 days, because my kids like to repeat the rides and will spend an hour feeding/watching the sea lions.

Actually, another thing I missed was the pets show. It was performing last year, but was cancelled this year. My kids really enjoyed it, but it definitely was for younger kids, imo.

 

[sfwilshire]

I think Seaworld is a two day park if you want to see all the shows (which are worth doing). We did 3 days, because my kids like to repeat the rides and will spend an hour feeding/watching the sea lions.

Actually, another thing I missed was the pets show. It was performing last year, but was cancelled this year. My kids really enjoyed it, but it definitely was for younger kids, imo.

My favorite show! Sorry to hear it's gone.

Sheila