SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

^They still have that section blocked off (staggered open), unless there is an event that takes place where it needs to be open (like Up Close which sounds like what was going on when you went).

This past Friday, SeaWorld Orlando hosted TPR for a media preview of this year's Seven Seas Food Festival! This excellent event returns for its third year with delicious new options at returning booths along with several brand new booths! As with previous years, the best way to experience the event is to buy a sampler lanyard, with passholders having access to purchase an exclusive 20-item lanyard for the best value of the event.

With a great selection of unique foods (with sizeable tasting portions), a great variety of beverages (alcoholic and non) and all of the fun of a normal day at SeaWorld Orlando, the Seven Seas Food Festival is just another great excuse to come out and visit the park!

The Impossible Meat Slider is an absolute winner! We love that the Central Florida parks and resorts have been embracing the Impossible Burger and it is awesome to find options like these popping up across festival menus and permanent menus across town.

Many of the booths/kitchens feature a neat display nearby that shows off common ingredients used in the feature region.

Lamb chops being prepared fresh for consumption!

The Sea Scallops Provençal from the Mediterranean kitchen is served with a wonderful risotto and has been a festival favorite at the event since it debuted in 2017!

Bananas. Foster. Cheesecake. Cone.

Heaven in a cone.

The Bacon & Cheddar Hushpuppies are a returning favorite and with the generous helping of honey butter, they are a treat best served hot!

The Teriyaki Beef and Avocado Salad is a new item that was delicious and refreshing. Served cold with a bed of tortilla strips, this dish was hearty and the plate was full!

The Jambalaya at the Gulf Coast Market was quite nice!

New this year and totally unique is the Cajun Lobster Cheesecake, also found at the Gulf Coast Market.

What's for dinner?

Well since you asked... I wasn't going to pass up the New Orleans Crawfish Boil at the Gulf Coast Market!

There was half of a lobster claw in the cheesecake!

Watch as the predator prepares to attack his prey...

The predator takes the time to savor the kill.

Over at the Brazilian Market, there are many delicious dishes to be had!

The Bacon Wrapped Plaintains are delicious (and a great portion) and the new Brazilian Picanha Steak is fantastic!

For the fans of mini donuts, at the Seven Seas Food Festival, you can get them loaded with chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry on top.

All the scallops. I need all the scallops.

New this year are the Key Lime Fritters!

Several of the event's most popular individual kitchens have been moved to the festival area and placed side by side.

Jamaican Beef Pattys are available for those that are interested.

Many of the booths throughout the event offer food and beverages, but part of why the Seven Seas Food Festival is so awesome is the abundance of booths dedicated purely to drinks!

The Seven Seas Food Festival also features headliner acts at the Atlantis Bayside Stadium, included in park admission during every day of the festival.

Ever notice how the turning maneuvers on Mako look like the jaws of a shark?

SeaWorld recently launched its own pin trading program not unlike the ones you find in the other parks.

Seriously folks... If SeaWorld Orlando didn't have enough awesome going on to convince you to visit on a normal day, the Seven Seas Food Festival is a great excuse to come out and visit, if not to consider buying an annual pass!

Over a decade after Manta debuted, this element still looks fantastic!

Signage accompanies every market with photos and descriptions of every item available to purchase.

Pão de Queijo are huge and well worth it!

The Seven Seas Food Festival runs on select dates through May 5th (Fridays - Sundays) and reaches into most areas of the park.

The Mousse De Maracuja (Passion Fruit Mousse) and the Bacon Wrapped Plantains are both heavenly!

SeaWorld Orlando is launching their own brew club! Membership can be purchased for $79.99 online or in person at Waterway Grill. Beer refills in the club are only $5!

The portions are generous for the price!

Skewered Pork Wrapped in Bacon was AWESOME!

The Ports of Call section of the park is used for the Seven Seas Food Festival and some of the best food options are back here!

Did we mention that we LOVE the bacon wrapped plantains?

The Bingsu Salted Vanilla Ice Cream topped with caramel popcorn is one of our favorite desserts of the entire event!

Fantastic report, I went for the first year of the seven seas festival and was disappointed we couldn't make it back down there last year. I would love to sneak in a quick trip before this ends but not sure I'm going to be able to pull it off. Everything looks even better than the past few years and it was already awesome to begin with.

Great report! I went to the food festival opening weekend and it was awesome. Made it through about 9 food items and the other 6 ended up being some frozen alcoholic drinks. All the food I had was excellent (I think I only had two that you featured so the other abundant options are awesome as well). You are right about the portion sizes and liked it more than food and wine at Disney (that being said it's been like 6 years )

More I wanted to taste but just too much for one day, even for me.

More parks need to do those fresh mini donuts, they're soooo good!!!

Bacon cheddar hush puppies?!?!?!

Thanks for this update. Super stoked to check this out in a few weeks!

So much good food! What a great diverse mix of sweet and savory for what seems like an endless menu when combined.

That beer stein though. Seems like you've gotta be a dedicated drinker to bring that thing to and from the park on top of putting it where you need to if you want to ride something.

^ hey PK. serious beer drinkers will go to great lengths to save a few bucks ! 5 bucks a refill, yeah, I'm cool with that. Seriously though, after reading the terms, the steins are kept in your own personal cabinet at the Waterway Grill Bar.

^ hey PK. serious beer drinkers will go to great lengths to save a few bucks ! 5 bucks a refill, yeah, I'm cool with that. Seriously though, after reading the terms, the steins are kept in your own personal cabinet at the Waterway Grill Bar.

Thanks for calling that out, I hadn't had the chance to read all the details on it. That's pretty cool! $5 for probably a great offering of beers too, I'd be in if I was a local.

Bacon cheddar hush puppies?!?!?!

 

Thanks for this update. Super stoked to check this out in a few weeks!

If they're anything like the hush puppies at the BGW Food & Wine Festival, they're very tasty.

Bacon cheddar hush puppies?!?!?!

 

Thanks for this update. Super stoked to check this out in a few weeks!

 

If they're anything like the hush puppies at the BGW Food & Wine Festival, they're very tasty.

Does that happen on March 23, 2019? That’s when I am going and bacon cheddar hush puppies sound very appetizing.

LOVE these reports!

Even though I'm home from work sick, I still want to try everything shown here. Haha!

Thanks for sharing, Adam!

Bacon cheddar hush puppies?!?!?!

 

Thanks for this update. Super stoked to check this out in a few weeks!

 

If they're anything like the hush puppies at the BGW Food & Wine Festival, they're very tasty.

 

Does that happen on March 23, 2019? That’s when I am going and bacon cheddar hush puppies sound very appetizing.

Sorry--doesn't start until May.

And they are.

Bacon cheddar hush puppies?!?!?!

 

Thanks for this update. Super stoked to check this out in a few weeks!

 

If they're anything like the hush puppies at the BGW Food & Wine Festival, they're very tasty.

 

Does that happen on March 23, 2019? That’s when I am going and bacon cheddar hush puppies sound very appetizing.

 

Sorry--doesn't start until May.

 

And they are.

Actually looks like it IS going on now, and March 23rd is one of the dates! Here's the landing page for the event, which says it's on Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays between February 9th & May 5th.

And yes, I had those bacon cheddar hush puppies at BGW last year as well, and oh my god they are amazingly effing good. I'm going to be heading down to Orlando at the very end of this month, and knowing this information now, I'm pretty sure I'll be making SeaWorld my Friday stop.

Everything at Seven Seas looks fantastic. More parks need to do food festivals like this.

Hey all. It has been awhile since I have posted photos from a Sea World visit. I believe that it had been about a year. I was able to visit the park a few weeks ago and it was by chance that the brand new Sesame Street area had just opened. This visit also marked my first experience with the new river rapids ride, Infinity Falls. I really liked Infinity Falls and was pleasantly surprised how long the ride was. I have a few notes to share with you. The ride/ride area does not open with the park. It opened an hour after the park opening. I highly recommend that you get to the ride early as the queue can get really busy later in the day. Also, make sure that you do rent a locker to put your valuables in. Everyone in the boat gets really soaked. I admit that I wore flip flops and a poncho to help from getting totally soaked. The new Sesame Street area was quite nice and I am pretty sure families will really enjoy it.

Anyways, I do have a few photos to share with you.

Good morning Manta! Manta was my first coaster ride of 2019.

I had been really looking forward to riding this. This is a great, though soaking, new ride at Sea World.

Apparently it is the tallest drop on a rapids ride.

Everyone gets soaked on this ride.

You can spent a lot of money on these evil spray jets.

Here is another boat about to take the plunge.

SPLOOSH!

Gator wants to eat you.

I spent a little bit of time exploring the new area of the park.

I am old enough to remember Mr. Hooper on the show.

Broadway theatre fans will enjoy this.

Anyone else remember the Martians?

All kinds of clothing and merchandise are available to purchase.

The theming in the new area is quite immersive.

Well this is a throwback to one of the original animated shorts of the show.

Sure, why not?

That was fun.

There is also a screen that keeps a record of all the recent created monsters.

Oh I have to try one of these!

Oh wow, there it is. It really was huge and yes it was eaten.

Oh how awesome! That's some pretty great Sesame Street theming, way more than I expected.

Love "Scramilton"!

Wow this area looks way better than expected!

Love "Scramilton"!

But I'm a bit disturbed by "Bearspray." I don't think I want any spray from a bear.

Or is that "Bears Pray"?

Man of La Muncha is my favorite.

Free Beer Is Back This Summer at SeaWorld Orlando!

The company announced the fan-favorite promotion will return in June during Tuesday’s earnings call during which it reported that SeaWorld parks’ attendance and revenue rose for the fifth straight quarter.

 

Orlando-based SeaWorld Entertainment’s attendance jumped by nearly 4 percent -- or by about 100,000 people -- to about 3.3 million guests for the first quarter while the company operated at a $37 million net loss, an improvement from the same time last year when the loss reached $63 million. Total revenues increased 2 percent to nearly $221 million.

 

SeaWorld did not say when in June the free beer would begin or if it would be the same two-per-customer, 7-ounce pours as last year...

It appears that SeaWorld Orlando have teased us with a new roller coaster today! What do you think this could be?

Teaser video:

[twitter]

The video on Instagram uses the phrases "Plunging Thrills" and "Predatory Heights" and also shows a bird diving down a cliff. SheiKra part II?

Skua or jaeger for the name.