This holiday season has been extremely busy for me as, I’ve been constantly on the road between work and visiting family. But that hasn’t stopped me from setting aside some time to attend some of the holiday events here at the theme parks in the Central Florida area. I’ll be chronicling my time at the theme parks over the holidays over several posts. My first theme park trip for the holiday season actually began with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. You can find my writeup for this trip here. My next trip was to SeaWorld Orlando to experience the park’s Halloween Spooktacular.
SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular is a special event that runs on select days in October, similar to Halloween Horror Nights and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, at Universal Studios and Walt Disney World, respectively. However, unlike those special events, the Spooktacular is included in the price of general admission. The event is family friendly, so you can take your little ones along without having to worry about guys in hockey masks jumping out of you with chainsaws in hand.
The event itself is located along the pathway leading to Bayside Stadium, and continues through the stadium into the Shamu’s Happy Harbor area. The gate to the Halloween Spooktacular did not open until noon, so we headed over to Seaport Theater to catch the Halloween edition of the Pets Ahoy show.
Pets Ahoy is an animal show consisting entirely of rescued animals. There are usually only two Pets Ahoy shows daily, so if you plan on catching one, make sure you get there early as seating can get filled up rather quickly. Next, we headed back to the Halloween Spooktacular area, now that the gates were open.
Keeping a SeaWorld uniqueness, all of the staff’s costumes were sea-themed and colorful.
My son was particularly amused when he got the chance to pose with a catfish and dogfish!
There were also various “pumpkinfish” decorations across the landscaping throughout the event. There were candy distribution lines scattered throughout the event, with each line distributing a different kind of candy. There was no limit to how many times you could get candy at each line, so we were able to accumulate quite the candy stash!
We headed on to Bayside Stadium to check out Penelope’s Party Zone. The area was full of kids partying and dancing with SeaWorld characters in the stage area while the DJ pumped out all of the latest dance hits. There were also a number of interactive exhibits, games, crafts, and photo ops to take advantage of. Of course, there were also more candy lines here. There was also open seating at the stadium, allowing parents to take a load off while their kids enjoyed themselves.
Also, true to SeaWorld’s emphasis on wildlife conservation and rescue, they had a couple of staff members out allowing guests to meet a couple of their animal friends.
From here, we headed back to Seaport Theater to check out Sesame Street’s Countdown to Halloween, starring one of my favorite Sesame Street Characters, the Count! Of course, Elmo and friends made appearances as well. Definitely worth checking out if your kids are fans of Sesame Street (or future fans!).
Finally, we headed over to Shamu’s Happy Harbor to check out the rest of the Halloween Spooktacular area and grab some more candy. Here, there were more SeaWorld characters out and about entertaining park guests.
I made this trip just to experience the Halloween Spooktacular, however, the rest of the park’s shows and attractions were running as usual. The park wasn’t crowded at all, so one could have easily made their way to snag rides on Manta, Kraken, and Journey to Atlantis, with all lines at 30 mins or less. Kraken is easily my favorite ride in Orlando, and the line is always at 15 mins or less. Make sure to ride in the back row if you like airtime, as Kraken’s straight drop is easily the best drop on a coaster in Orlando (at least until Mako opens!). Kraken’s zero-g roll is also one of the best I’ve experienced, complete with a head chopper effect! Also make sure to snag a ride on Manta, especially if you’ve never been on a B&M flying coaster. The pretzel loop is one of the most unique and forceful coaster elements you can experience.
Overall, Seaworld’s Halloween Spooktacular is an event that is definitely worth attending, especially given that the event is included in the park’s admission price. Theme park enthusiasts with children would definitely love the event. Annual pass holders have no reason not to make this an annual event to attend if they have kids. Plus, with Mako joining the ranks next year, coaster enthusiasts like myself can have a blast. Have you ever been to SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular? Feel free to comment below!
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