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SeaWorld California
& Aquatica California
San Diego, CA
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
Ride Rehabs - The following dates are subject to change
Journey to Atlantis - NOW CLOSED through 2025
Skyride - NOW CLOSED through TBD
Arctic Rescue - NOW CLOSED to Nov. 17
Rescue Rafter - NOW CLOSED through TBD
Tidepool Twist - NOW CLOSED through TBD
Emperor - Nov. 18 to Nov. 29
Electric Eel - Dec. 2 to Dec. 13
Manta - Feb. 3 to Feb. 14
Rescue Rafter - Feb. 10 to Feb. 14
Electric Eel - Feb. 18 to Feb. 20
Shipwreck Rapids - Feb. 24 to Mar. 8
Skytower - Feb. 24 to Feb. 28
See Arctic Rescue (2023) in Action Here
Click Here to read our review of Howl-O-Scream 2023
 Park News - (9/27/2024) Some local residents, bird enthusiasts, and the Mission Bay Parks Committee have grouped up to “urge” SeaWorld San Diego to put an end to the nightly summer fireworks displays over Mission Bay. You might say that the annual fireworks displays have become something of an institution to the city’s lifestyle. I know growing up in the area myself, the nightly fireworks over the bay that you could see for miles in each direction in the summertime was something you could practically set your watch to. Instead of “be home by 10pm” the fireworks display itself was used by the parents of more than a few friends of mine to serve as the nightly summer curfew for their teenagers, and everyone had to head home as soon as the fireworks were done.
As you probably guessed, I’m opposed to the idea of shutting the fireworks down, and if you recall, back in 2017 and 2018 SeaWorld actually did just that. The nightly summer fireworks show ended and was replaced with a somewhat, lackluster, Electric Ocean night party atmosphere itself that just did not resonate with guests who beg for the fireworks to return. In 2019 the park relented the brought them back for a year, only to be forced to close the park entirely in 2020 due to the pandemic before reopening once again with fireworks in 2021.
So once again many of the same forces that complained a decade ago and trying to urge the park to shutter the display once again with an assortment of complaints that range from noise, to upset dogs to dead birds washing ashore in Mission Bay. Personally, I think they’re forgetting about all the toxic materials that lie below the ground all around Mission Bay and the fact that Fiesta Island at the center was a landfill and sludge waste treatment facility for the city for decades. Not to mention that the entirety of Mission Bay itself is a fake man-made creation created in the 1940’s by dredging up a large region that was full of wetlands and marsh areas. This was followed by for a time in the late 50’s to early 60’s as some of the shoreline of the new artificial bay had large quantities of industrial waste deposited deep underground as a new landfill, a major section of which lies directly next to SeaWorld itself forever preventing the expansion of the park towards the East.
Remember… I was a local. I grew up there in the years that followed, where we were told as kids that Mission Bay was for boats, and not to swim in those waters otherwise we might get sick. So with all honestly, dead birds have been washing ashore around Mission Bay for a lot longer than SeaWorld has been having fireworks, so there are much bigger problems quite literally “just below the surface”. Meanwhile, the skies around San Diego were always great for fireworks displays. From the Summer Nights SeaWorld displays to the giant July 4th displays along the coastline (remembering the Ocean Beach Pier shows…) and when it came to noise, nothing could come close to the old “KGB Skyshow” events that used to make the ground itself shake around the former Qualcomm Stadium (the once home to the San Diego Chargers and Padres).
So for those current residents (johnny-come-latelys / transplants) who just don’t understand why SeaWorld “just has to have a fireworks show”, they clearly don’t know the history San Diego has long had with hosting some of the best fireworks displays of all time. That said… any professional pyrotechnical will tell you that shows can be created to not be as loud. Fireworks by nature are not always so explosive sounding, and often have their volume cranked up with the inclusion of “reports” in the show, which are simply units that just create a big ‘bang’ sound with no visual aspect at all. Modern technology could also assist here, as the rise in popularity of drone shows at many theme parks could bring a new element of fun to the skies over SeaWorld, but only if California will allow it. The state famously prevented Disneyland from adding drones to the World of Color show at Disney’s California Adventure, but the inclusion of drones at SeaWorld could possibly allow the park to reduce the number of fireworks used in each performance.
(8/19/2024) SeaWorld San Diego has a great offer right now on the 2025 Fun Card. If you purchase it now for $122.99, you will not only get admission to the park for all of 2025, but also for the remainder of 2024.
(8/9/2024) SeaWorld San Diego has announced that the park will post the all-NEW Bayside Brews & BBQ festival on select dates between Friday, August 23rd and Monday, Sept. 2nd. “In celebration of the park’s 60th anniversary, guests can enjoy an impressive selection of 60 craft brews, plus a NEW menu of delicious BBQ fare, including a variety of smoked and grilled favorites that will tantalize taste buds. Guests are invited to indulge in an unbeatable mix of flavors and experiences while strolling between award-winning attractions and incredible animal presentations, making it the perfect summer outing for families and friends alike. Guests can eat, drink, and soak up summer and save up to 65% off on tickets, Fun Cards and Annual Passes during the End of Summer Sale for a limited time.”
Visit the official website for all the juicy details!
(8/8/2024) Howl-O-Scream is returning to SeaWorld San Diego for the 2024 season, running on select nights from Sept. 27 through to Nov. 2, 2024. The park is offering a fantastic 60% off sale on tickets if you purchased in advance right now on the official website.
Returning guest favorite haunts this year are: Circus of the Damned, Nightmare Experiment, Simon’s Slaughterhouse, Deathwater Bayou and Area 64: Alien Outbreak.
All new Scare Zones this season: Terrors of the Deep, Ripper Row, Red Moon Revelry and All Hallows Harvest, plus the return of Deadly Toys, The Graveyard and Carnival of Chaos.
Also new this year will be three new “Vile Vignettes” (stanged scenes): Fall of Atlantis, Hunter’s Oath and Songs of Old Halloween, along with the return of Misfortune, Dark Magic and Call from Beyond.
Visit the official website for all the details and descriptions.
(7/14/2024) The Electric Eel coaster at SeaWorld San Diego made news headlines this week, after a woman claimed that the “Comfort Collar” came off of her 10-year old daughter in mid-ride. There is some video footage to back this claim up, but as most ride fans know, the SeaWorld “Comfort Collars” are not officially part of the ride’s real restraint system, and are just an extra add-on requested by the park that is, according to a statement by SeaWorld, only intended for the rider’s comfort. It it worth mentioning that the exact same ride as Electric Eel was first installed at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (also in California) that runs without the additional “Comfort Collars”.
So while this may cause a bit of a fright at first, at no time was any rider at risk. If you’ve ridden one of these Premier Rides roller coaster trains with the add-on Comfort Collars, you know they are simply padded straps that come down over the riders shoulders and are cliped by the rider to a small ring on the lap-bar. As such, any rider would also be able to unlatch these comfort collars in mid-ride if they chose to do so. Keeping this later fact in mind, I do find it slightly interesting that the woman’s niece apparently was set up at just the right time to capture video of the train to see the comfort collar float off during the barrel roll element at the top to provide to the news station.
Growing up in the region, this brings to mind an interesting incident that took place at Disneyland in 1994, when a man claimed to have “fallen out” of the Disneyland Skyride in mid-span. He landed safely on a tree just 20 feet below the car, saving him from falling to the ground. The incident was immediately suspect as he claimed that the locked door to the gondola swung open on its own, and the strange coincidence that he “fell” at the only point in the entire layout where there was something below to catch him. Of course he filed a lawsuit for damages against Disneyland only to back out of the lawsuit before it could go to court. While the case did not go before the public, it was felt that the man had gotten a “key” to unlock the gondola door and had carefully planned the stunt fall on purpose.
Going back to the issue at hand at SeaWorld, apparently the mom raised hell afterwards to the point that security was called to escort her from the park. Time will tell if she too tries to file some kind of lawsuit over the incident.
(7/2/2024) SeaWorld San Diego has announced a Summer Spectacular concert lineup taking place at the park on Saturdays from July 13 to August 24th, 2024. Best of all the concerts are all free to park guests, though you can upgrade your experience by purchasing a premium seating package.
Saturday, July 13 – Jesse McCartney
Saturday, July 27 – Bow Wow and Soulja Boy
Saturday, Aug. 3 – Reliant K
Saturday, Aug. 10 – Hunter Hayes
Saturday, Aug 17 – Montell Jordan
Saturday, Aug. 24 – Newsboys
(6/13/2024) SeaWorld San Diego invites guest to come shell-ebrate World Sea Turtle Day this weekend, starting Friday, June 14 and running through Sunday, June 16. Throughout the weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to engage in a variety of interactive experiences and educational sessions, plus receive a free turtle plush with purchase at Reef Gifts while supplies last and more!
The festivities kick off with daily Aquarist Q&A sessions and turtle feeds at 10:45 a.m. in the Turtle Reef Gallery and 12:45 p.m. at the North Turtle Pond. Guests will have a unique opportunity to engage with and learn from turtle experts while observing the turtles being fed. Then, at 1:30 p.m., guests can enjoy interactive fun with the park’s turtle dive team, playing games like rock, paper, scissors!
For more information, visit the official Sea Turtle celebration page.
(5/27/2024) SeaWorld San Diego will be hosting some special entertainment this summer as part of the park’s 60th Anniversary celebration with the SeaWorld Summer Spectacular taking place now through Labor Day (Sept. 2, 2024). The fun includes a new 60th Anniversary Parade featuring the Shamy and Crew characters, the new Enchanted Wonders Fireworks now nightly, the live Shamu and Crew: Together Again character show, BMX Blast! Powered by BodyArmor high action show, a new Sea Lion Presentation starting on June 7 called Flippers, Facts and Fun, and a water stunt spectacular: Pirates Ahoy! The Battle for Mermaid Cove.
Every Saturday between July 13 to August 24th the park will also be putting on a summer concert series featuring Jesse McCartney, Ginuwine and more artists to be announced in the near future. Keep an eye out for the new Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience exhibit set to open soon.
(3/16/2024) While SeaWorld San Diego had just installed a new themed entrance to the park within he past decade, it seems that the park has been working on taking that old one down in order to replace it with something more simple looking. Based on the concept artwork shown a couple of months ago on a park wall, it sort of had the look of being built like some kind of pier themed structure. A new piece of artwork sent my way this morning however showcases the same plain structure within a more themed landscape, which does look quite nice after all.
At this time, I’m not sure when the park is hoping to finish the new entrance gate, but from what I’ve been led to believe, the former one that apparently involved a lot of custom themed fiberglass work was just not holding up well at all, and needed to be removed.
(1/25/2024) “SeaWorld San Diego is rolling out the New Orleans flare, food, and festivities with the return of Mardi Gras starting January 27. During the event, guests will feel the vibes of Mardi Gras in the park with an ALL-NEW opening ceremony led by the Mardi Gras King and Queen, a Mardi Gras processional, atmospheric performers, live music, and delicious authentic food and beverage options. The event is included with park admission and will run on weekends through February 25, including Friday, February 16 and Monday, February 19.”
Visit the official site for all the details about this year’s event.
(1/16/2024) Tidal Twister has now been fully removed from SeaWorld San Diego, and you can get a peek at the former ride side in some pictures posted by ParkJourney on Twitter. On a semi-related rumor… I’m hearing that the closed aquarium building behind the nearby Tide Pool exhibit has now reached the point where it needs to be taken down. The site mixed with the Tide Pools and former Tidal Twister ride side could be repurposed for an all new ride in the next year or two, so keep your eyes open.
(11/7/2023) SeaWorld San Diego is bringing festive cheer and special traditions to families this holiday season at its annual Christmas Celebration with all-new and reimagined holiday offerings. Nominated for 2024 Best Theme Park Holiday Event by USAToday 10Best, the park will transform into a winter wonderland under the iconic SkyTower Tree of Lights decorated as a Christmas tree in all green with red sprinkles of lights, and event offerings include the All-New O.P Otter’s Holiday Sing-A-Long, Mrs. Claus’s Christmas Parade, live reindeer, a daily tree lighting of a twinkling 30-foot Christmas tree, and more. Holiday celebrations, including Hanukkah festivities, are running on select dates November 17 through January 7, 2023.
Follow the link for all the official information.
(10/27/2023) A video short posted by CoasterHub shows off the remains of the former Tidal Twister at SeaWorld San Diego. Based on what I’m seeing, it’s clear that the ride is simply being torn apart, so don’t look for this one to come back anywhere.
(10/24/2023) According to Theme Park Insider, the battle between SeaWorld San Diego and the city of San Diego over $12 million in unpaid rent / lease payments may now be moved to a Federal court. Or at least if SeaWorld has their way, as the company has filed a notice to move it from California Superior Court to the Federal system as the chain is incorporated in Delaware and has their HQ in Orlando, Florida. The move is also a more logical request for SeaWorld Entertainment, as a way to move the case to a more unbiased venue for the hearing.
(9/27/2023) All mention of Tidal Twister has now been removed from the SeaWorld San Diego website, including from the map, the list of rides, and any mention of it from the refurbishment schedule which previously had downtime’s listed for it every month through to the end of the year. We can only assume that the park has finally opted to close the troublesome ride for good.
(9/8/2023) The fight between SeaWorld San Diego and the City of San Diego just went to the next level as the city has now filed a lawsuit against the theme park for $12.23 million in back-rent that the city says they are owed for the land lease the park sits on. Normally this would be a fairly straight-forward matter, but the dispute involves the time-period that the theme park was kept closed by order of the State of California accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2025 - Journey To Atlantis Update / Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience - (11/2/2024) A bit more information has been revealed as to the current planned long-term closure of Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld San Diego. According to the local news the park has closed the 20 year old attraction (2004 - 2024) to reopen it in 2025 after making an “update” to the ride experience.
SeaWorld says the updated Journey to Atlantis, the park’s first roller coaster, will be adding a refreshed storyline and adding new theming, water elements and special visual effects “to create a more exciting and immersive experience than ever before”.
If you’ve ridden the first Journey to Atlantis in Orlando, you know that the Florida version was given a very large dark ride style experience in addition to the coaster/flume fun thrills, while the San Diego version was essentially cut back to be an almost entirely outdoor flume experience. The one exception to this rule was the unique indoor elevator lift segment inside the central tower that happens just before the high speed finale. Going back to the initial plans for the attraction, there was always the intention to make this lift segment a more highly themed experience, but budget constraints and technology limitations of the time always made it so whatever they did try to install here over the years go mostly unseen and unheard, so I'd love to see this area finally fleshed out.
Here is a fun fact most guests don't know about… Journey to Atlantis in San Diego not only underwent a number of physical revisions throughout the planning phase, many of which included more indoor sections and traditional indoor lift hills, but an overhaul to the entire THEME and STORYLINE of the ride experience was heavily considered. Rather than stick entirely with the more Greek Mythology oriented concept, a few other story-lines were also in the works, some of which were tied to some of the alternate layout concepts. As I recall, a very strong favorite that almost made it once the final layout was given the green light in San Diego was one that would have tied Extraterrestrials to the mythic lost city of Atlantis.
Now here me out… because the attraction was in development from the late 1990 until the first shovel broke ground around 2002, and at the time one of the hottest entertainment properties on TV at the time was The X-Files on the FOX network that ran from 1993 to 2002. An official license was not expected (though I’m sure someone in the corporate office probably looked into it) but the floating artifacts in the lagoon that your boat slowly circles around after the first splash-down before returning to the tower was once envisioned as a crashed UFO sticking up out of the water, surrounded by bubbling water and steam vents. Alien forces were at work here, affecting the very currents of the water to pull your boat from here inside the Atlantis tower itself, which would have had a bit of an alien technology makeover inside. Once inside the riders were essentially ‘captured’ within the tower, and a beam of light would come down from the top of the shaft, pulling your boat into the air and scanning everyone during the hidden elevator style ascent to the top. In the end, I don’t think there would have been any actual aliens present there, but I think the story was that it may have been a piece of ancient alien technology left behind still running on auto-pilot, essentially scanning the boats for any sign of lost Atlantean DNA signatures, once at the top, and upon getting a negative scan for the designed DNA traits, the boats were kicked out at the top of the tower and sent on the final wild roller coaster style ride back to the bottom. I think the raw idea was that if any lost tribes of Atlantis were found, the Atlantis tower would then beam a signal home for a rescue mission to be dispatched to pick-them-up, but given the presence of the crashed UFO in the water out front, that last rescue mission may not have gone as planned.
Anyway… that’s what I recall hearing about first hand a quarter-century ago when I still lived in San Diego. The San Diego park has always had a bit of a semi-hidden obsession with the idea of alien technology… as you may recall how the park’s old Mission: Bermuda Triangle ride ended with a mysterious other-worldy rescue energy coming from the depths of the trench. Maybe another day I’ll talk more about a planned coaster concept where Manta sits down that was approved and then canceled at the last second in 2008/2009 when the economy hit the skids. This would have involved a launched coaster with aquatic themed cars that would eventually launch into a large show-building and take a deep dive to the bottom of the ocean for an encounter with the unknown! Think of it as an underwater themed version of what eventually was realized as Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what was planned and the timelines involved at both parks.
So back to San Diego… what else is planned for 2025 other than a jazzed up Journey To Atlantis? Would you believe… Jellyfish? Yeah… what was supposed to be the big new attractions for 2024 was never built, as the park was focused more on building their new main entrance and now Jewels of the Sea: A Jellyfish Experience has now been confirmed as being a 2025 attraction for the park that will be installed inside of the former Clydesdale barn, not far from Journey to Atlantis. This isn’t the first time a new attraction was planned for the former Clydesdale barn structure, as you may recall the very short lived Submarine Quest ride, which despite the name took riders into the sky on an elevated track around the immediate area, and then encouraged kids to play with touch-screens on-board rather than take in the view. Ummm… yeah… I’m not surprised they let that concept go in conjunction with major flaws with the ride system itself that came up, but since then I think the former barn building has simply sat quiet and forgotten.
(9/29/2023) SeaWorld San Diego is getting a new attraction in 2024 called Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience. According to the press release, this new exhibit will be added to the park’s Ocean Explorer area, which is immediately to the right after you enter the park.
“Glowing with an ethereal light, Moon Jellyfish, Pacific Sea Nettles, Upside-Down Jellyfish, and Comb Jellies will gracefully glide through the water, showcasing their hypnotic movements that seem almost unworldly. The experience features an 18-foot-tall cylinder, among the tallest jelly cylinders in the country, and a five-foot diameter sphere jelly habitat with water that pours from the top and sides for guests to touch. Guests can have the perfect photo-opp with a 10-foot-tall acrylic living arch of jellyfish for guests to walk through for views from multiple angles. ”
2026 - New Roller Coaster - (10/5/2023) Screamscape is hearing that long term planning may have begun to add yet another roller coaster to SeaWorld San Diego. The ride could open as early as 2025 or 2026, and the early rumor is that they may have asked B&M to come up with a layout for a Wing Coaster. Given that the park has a sensitive relationship with the local governing agencies, especially when it comes to building anything with height, I would suspect that if SeaWorld San Diego were to build a B&M Wing Coaster, they would take inspiration from Thunderbirg at Holiday World, which uses a magnetic launch system rather than a lift hill.
Another great possibility, and one that would definitely tie into the California surf culture, would be for the San Diego park to build a copy (or near clone) of the Pipeline Surf Coaster that opened at the Orlando park earlier this year (see video below). This next-gen stand-up coaster is themed like a giant surf board and also uses a magnetic launch to keep the action fast and low when needed. The real surprise is the hidden piston built into every restraint unit that quite literally lifts the riders off their feet for a true Hang 10 moment of airtime at the peak of every hill that is guaranteed to make you squeal with glee.
Stay tuned!
???? - S&S Screamin Swing - Rumor - (1/30/22) I’m passing on this rumor with a huge grain of salt, but according to the source SeaWorld San Diego now may be in line to add an S&S Screamin’ Swing ride like the new Tidal Surge under construction at the sister park in San Antonio or the Finnegan’s Flyer that was built for Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I’m told that if this goes through, the new ride could replace part of the land used for the park’s failed Submarine Quest ride.
New Attraction Footage -
2023 - Arctic Rescue - (7/3/2023) Screamscape was invited to send a local member of the crew down to give the new Arctic Rescue roller coaster at SeaWorld San Diego a spin. The video below shows off a POV of the coaster in action from the front row and from the back as it passes through three launch zones throughout the journey.
Howl-O-Scream 2023 Review -
(10/4/2023) Screamscape was invited to try out this year’s Howl-O-Scream event and I decided to send in my good friend Andy to check it out. For a little history, back in the day, growing up in San Diego, Andy and I would often frequent all the haunts we could find in town, which included several years of visits to the city’s once famous ‘Scream in the Dark’ haunt, the Haunted Museum and others from years past. They managed to shoot an awesome video for us that captures all the fun of Howl-O-Scream and sent back a quick review as well, so enjoy!
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SeaWorld opens its doors to sirens and slaughterhouses in 2023's Howl-O-Scream, featuring 5 haunted mazes, multiple vignette areas, spooktacular cocktails, roaming haunts, environmental effects, and dark rides. Contained in the southern section of the park, SeaWorld has concocted a trail of screams and haunts worthy of adults and children alike. Honestly, it takes a brave child to deal with what we had to endure. Some of this is NOT for the faint of heart. SeaWorld claims "nowhere is safe!" - and that is true as actors dressed as monsters can startle you at every turn. That is, unless you don a magic blinking medallion (available for
$15 within the park) to guarantee a spook-free experience.
For those brave souls who wish to venture further, the park provided Five (Count-em!) Five themed mazes of jump scares, curated scenes, animatronic ghouls, sparking chainsaws, and more. Within the various themed encounters careful attention to detail was taken, making sure you were looking in the wrong place so that the live ghouls could get the drop on you.
For the extremely observant- there are no less than TWO hidden speakeasies nestled within the haunts (don't forget the password: "Gauntlet"). Fiendish, yet delicious cocktails were available inside including frighteningly authentic "blood bags" filled with what we hope was a cocktail and not the real thing! Collectable, color-changing skull mugs were also purchasable.
Along the dark, smokey paths between mazes were a motley assortment of various monsters to keep you on your toes. Also speckled throughout your adventure are themed "Vignettes" like mini-musicals to enjoy while eating, drinking or planning your next move:
Dark Coasters! What's scarier than a 14-story vertical drop? The turn after- in pitch blackness! When you can't see it coming, it's even scarier. The park offered three coasters of various fear levels to satisfy guests, Emperor, Arctic Rescue, and Electric Eel. A great way to end your visit to the creepiest seaside spectacle you've ever seen this side of the pacific! We were truly taken to another world that hardly seemed like the park we visited a few months earlier.
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