It’s been a while since our last visit, but we’re back at SeaWorld San Diego with a “Spooktacular” update of the park and their popular Halloween event. Plus, we’ll take a look at what’s new in the park and preview what’s to come in 2017.

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It’s Spooktacular!

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The ever so popular Halloween Spooktacular has returned this year in a somewhat smaller scale than before, but still offers the trick or treating that kids love and even some new additions!

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The dance party area, which used to be in front of Animal Connections, has moved behind Explorer’s Reef.

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Kids can play with “slime green” kinetic sand and dance with colorful characters.

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Elsewhere in the park, guests can go trick-or-treating!

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Friendly ambassadors are on hand passing out various treats and bags – so no need to bring your own!

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A new offering this year is a Dia De Los Muertos area located in front of Manta.

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This themed area is filled with decor, facts about the holiday, games, music, and food for guests to enjoy.

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The popular Baja Grill is open during the event…

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…but Sausage Shack is closed. Instead, they have set up a variety of games for guests to play and themed merchandise!

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Overall, this area is very beautifully themed, but very small. We hope that this area will continue to grow and expand in the coming years.

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There are two Halloween themed shows this year. Over in the Mission Bay Theater, a Sessame Street show called “Who Said Boo?” features the Count, Elmo, Abby, and other characters. Over at Sea Lion Stadium, “Clyde and Seamore’s Big Halloween Bash” is a fun overlay of the popular Sea Lions Live! and Sea Lions Tonight shows. The beloved pre-show, with Biff, is back with a lot of new additions and touch ups that have brought a new life to the usual show.

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The show itself pokes fun at Ghostbusters, the Twilight Zone, and Jaws as well as features a fun dance party with the host being the Headless Sea-Horseman.

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Overall, the Halloween Spooktacular is a great offering that seems to suffer a bit from being scaled back this year due to construction in the park. SeaWorld San Diego is as popular as ever during this event and we hope to see a expanded offering next year with more attractions and offerings!

Looking into 2017…

SeaWorld San Diego is gearing up for a big season next year with three new experiences. The biggest of the three – Ocean Explorer – is a brand new, 3-acre realm in the park. Walls have just gone up surrounding the area which was Animal Connections (formerly the building where the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales were) and Café 64 – which is rumored to close temporarily in the near future, but is still currently open.

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From the SeaWorld website: “The heart and destination of Ocean Explorer will be a series of undersea research bases housing specially-designed aquariums and interactive activities displaying unique and elusive ocean animals…Ocean Explorer will also feature a play area and a number of other rides, including jellies-themed swings and a shot-and-drop ride.”

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“…guests will travel to Ocean Explorer’s remarkable undersea animals aboard submarines, the signature ride of the area. Embarking on these mini subs, visitors will become researchers on a mission to collect data and learn how they can help animals. This three-minute experience will include an onboard digital navigation dashboard, as well as a few other surprises along their journey, enhancing the riders’ understanding of the ocean ecosystem.” Ocean Explorer is scheduled to open late-spring of next year.

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Also next year, SeaWorld will unveil a new “Orca Encounter”, following the permanent end of the Orca shows.  But that’s not to say that there will be no more summer offerings! Joel Manby recently revealed in an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune that the park is looking to “bring nighttime back in a big way” with a revamp of Summer Nights called Electric Ocean. This is a very big opportunity for the park to create something that will bring life into the park after dark, which the park currently suffers from the lack of.

This & that…

And while we still haven’t reached Halloween yet, decorations for the Christmas Celebration are already being seen all around the park. Here’s some of the decor around Calypso Smokehouse & Grill!

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Finally, we noticed that the a new animal area has popped up between Sessame Street Bay of Play and the Dolphin Stadium, next to Calypso Smokehouse. While there were no animals there during this visit, we’ll be keeping an eye out and will check in during our next update.

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Leave a comment below with what you’re most excited about! We hope you’ve enjoyed this update and we’ll be back soon for another look around SeaWorld San Diego!

Joseph Thomas
Joseph Thomas writes many of the In the Parks articles relating to Sea World and the surrounding San Diego attractions for MiceChat. He is an avid theme park and roller coaster enthusiast centered in Southern California.