It’s the most wonderful time of the year at SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration. Known for being the largest marine life theme park in North America, SeaWorld has transformed into the biggest Christmas celebration with the largest light display in the state of Texas! From now until January 2nd, the park will be decked out with millions of Christmas lights and will feature tons of festive entertainment including over a dozen yuletide themed areas, a Texas Santa, Rudolph and friends, and O Wondrous Night, a unique Christmas show recounting the story of the nativity and featuring traditional carols, puppets, and live animals.
This Christmas, SeaWorld is not only celebrating the holidays but also celebrating special guests who will visit the park. On December 25th, Valero Alamo Bowl football players, coaches, staff, families, and friends will enjoy the holidays with a special VIP trip to SeaWorld. Continuing a long-standing tradition of inviting Valero Alamo Bowl players to the park, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Arizona Wildcats will be welcomed for a day of excitement. Football pads and helmets will be set aside to allow for a day of fun with an animal encounter and an exclusive ride on one of SeaWorld’s iconic roller coasters. During the visit, players will encounter members of the pinniped family, California sea lions, and learn about their natural history and care. The fun and thrills will continue as the athletes brave the Steel Eel, a 150-foot-tall hyper coaster that gives riders several instances of weightlessness.
Collegiate players aren’t the only ones who can come “face to fin” with animals from the sea. Guests who visit SeaWorld year-round can experience up-close animal interactions with sharks, penguins, beluga whales, and can even enjoy a chef-created meal mere footsteps away from the ocean’s top predator during the park’s Dine with Orcas exclusive dining event. Coming very soon is Aldabra Island, a new state-of-the-art 7,000-square-foot tortoise habitat that will feature a climate-controlled shelter, a wading pond, a stunning waterfall, spacious yards for the tortoises to enjoy, and a special tortoise encounter. All these unique animal interactions provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation for these magnificent marine animals.
SeaWorld is known for animals, but one can’t forget that it is also home to thrilling rides! The park features an impressive collection of exciting rides including the Great White, a floorless inverted coaster; the Steel Eel, a hyper-coaster that takes guests through a series of gravity-defying camelbacks; Texas Stingray, the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Texas; Wave Breaker: the Rescue Coaster, where guests board jet ski-like cars and join SeaWorld’s Rescue Team to help an animal in need; and Tidal Surge, the world’s tallest and fastest ride of its kind. Coming in 2024, the park will open Catapult Falls, a first-of-its-kind ride that combines the thrill of a launched roller coaster, the excitement of a vertical lift elevator that lifts riders above the theme park, and a water flume ride with the steepest drop, to produce multiple rushes of adrenaline as well as moments of exciting splashes to cool guests down.
Whether you want to dive in and come face to face with majestic animals, ride adrenaline-pumping coasters, or stroll through acres of a wintry Christmas wonderland, SeaWorld San Antonio is the place to make memories during the holidays and every day!