SeaWorld Orlando Christmas Celebration 2024 guide with food reviews
SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration is underway for 2024. What do you need to know before you go? What new holiday food offerings are best?
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SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration invites guests to experience a lineup of charming new treats, seasonal sips, live entertainment, and holiday moments. On select evenings now through Jan. 5, 2025, guests can experience SeaWorld Orlando’s transformation into a winter wonderland. With over three million twinkling lights illuminating the grounds, SeaWorld offers a place of holiday cheer.
In addition to experiencing the stellar roller coaster line-up at SeaWorld Orlando, guests can enjoy numerous shows and other entertainment during the Christmas Celebration. Some of the highlights of this event involve an ice skating show, meeting Christmas characters, and seeing the Sea of Trees while taking in the sights and sounds of the event.
Christmas Celebration included with park admission
Unlike most holiday theme park activities at Orlando-area theme park resorts, guests at the Christmas Celebration at SeaWorld Orlando can experience almost everything offered as a part of their admission to the theme park. This offers excellent value for groups looking for a seasonal theme park adventure.
We would encourage guests prioritizing this event to stay for the nighttime festivities. Guests can also visit multiple times to enjoy all that Christmas Celebration provides in 2024.
Holiday food and drinks at SeaWorld Orlando Christmas Celebration 2024
SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration visitors can savor the season’s flavors with new and returning food and beverage offerings. Holiday classics like gingerbread, eggnog, and peppermint can also be found, along with holiday cookies and cheesecakes available throughout the park.
In particular, SeaWorld highlighted the following menu items in its press release. Usually, when a theme park promotes certain food items during a special event, they expect them to be the best. We went to find out.
- NEW Festive French Onion Soup – Seasoned Crouton with Provolone
- NEW Kris Kringle’s Biscuit Pot Pie – Biscuit-covered chicken pot pie
- NEW Yuletide Pasta – Baked Ziti
- NEW Roasted Turkey OR Cherry Bourbon Glazed Ham – Sweet Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Brown Gravy
- NEW Santa’s Apple Cider Cronut Chicken Sandwich – Nashville Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- NEW Pork Tamales – Cotija Cheese, Cilantro Crema and Chicharrónes
- RETURNING FAVORITE Bison Burger – Bison Burger, Swiss Cheese, Bacon Onion Jam, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle
- RETURNING FAVORITE Oreo Beignets – Caramel, Oreo Crumble, White Chocolate
Additionally, we were excited to learn that Joyful Chicken and Waffles, Mistletoe Lambchops, and Gingerbread Cake returned for the 2024 event. Last year, those made our “best” list.
Photo by Jon Self
Of course, we were surprised to see our worst item from last year, Santa’s Cronut Chicken Sandwich, return this year. However, it has been “reimagined” into Santa’s Apple Cider Cronut Chicken Sandwich.
Photo by Jon Self
Also, the Bison Burger stands out as one of the best menu items for this year’s event. Though guests may not think a burger is worth their time, this one impressed us!
Photo by Jon Self
New menu items
This year’s event has 11 new or reimagined food items. In fairness, only Santa’s Apple Cider Cronut Chicken Sandwich counts as reimagined. The other 10 new food options are brand-new for Christmas Celebration 2024.
In addition to the items listed above, new menu items this year also include:
- Strawberries and Cream Beignets
- Arroz Con Dulce
- Shaka Festive Donut
- Cranberry Glazed Meatballs
Looking at this list, we had some concerns. Obviously, Santa’s Apple Cider Cronut Chicken Sandwich caused us to pause based on last year. SeaWorld Orlando loves to bring out items featuring cronuts. Some are good, and some are not so good. Also, the beignets and donuts last year were okay, but nothing special. The rice pudding (Arroz Con Dulce) qualifies as very festive, but we doubted how good it would taste at a theme park festival.
In addition, some of these items sound filling. That may be ideal for those looking for a solid snack to help them keep the theme park fun going. However, we were trying all 11 items in one day. So, below, you will find our list of the best and worst new food items at SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration.
Best new food
Before unveiling the list, we must note that it is based on the opening week. We did visit twice during the opening week of this event. Still, food quality changes positively and negatively during a theme park festival. As they say, your mileage may vary. We consulted with other trusted colleagues and pondered how well these food items would continue to be prepared before placing them on our “best new food items” list.
In fairness, we also had a slight obstacle in evaluating all the new food items for the 2024 Christmas Celebration. Two menu items that featured chicken were not available for purchase on either occasion we visited the event. Thus, we did not taste this year’s version of the Joyful Chicken and Waffles or Santa’s Apple Cider Cronut Chicken Sandwich.
Roasted Turkey
The classic holiday dish utilizing roasted turkey easily made our “best” list. The entrée includes the turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing, and brown gravy, providing a solid portion size. Also, the flavor of the turkey surprised us in terms of quality for a theme park food event. Guests can also select ham instead of turkey, but we found the turkey brought a more robust flavor.
Pork Tamales
Another traditional holiday meal made our “best” list. The Pork Tamales brought a surprising level of flavor. The combination of pork, cotija cheese, and cilantro crema creates a new balance for this dish.
With tamales being a holiday tradition for many, this fits nicely into the Christmas Celebration food lineup. Though these may not match those homemade versions, we found that they will give many people a nostalgic feel for tamales during the holidays.
Worst new food
Though we heard complaints about some of the new menu items not being served warm enough, we only found one item we would steer away from this year. The Yuletide Pasta provided what the menu description indicated. However, most guests will want more than they get in terms of flavor when ordering this.
The Yuletide Pasta features baked ziti with a type of marinara sauce. The flavors are adequate, but lack the quality level of most new food items we tried during the opening week of the Christmas Celebration.
Ice skating at SeaWorld Orlando during Christmas Celebration 2024
SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration allows guests to glide across Central Florida’s only outdoor ice rink at Bayside Stadium. Access to the rink is first-come, first-served, with socks and gloves available for purchase. An additional charge is required for the rental of ice skates. Guests may not bring in their own ice skates.
Guests can enjoy the ice skating show after taking a spin at ice skating. “Winter Wonderland on Ice” features sparkling lights, festive costumes, and graceful performances. The “Sea of Trees” and water fountains create a festive backdrop for this show.
Penguin Trek roller coaster
Adding Penguin Trek to the park’s coaster lineup allows guests at SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration to enjoy more winter-themed fun. That attraction, which opened earlier this year, takes riders on a journey through a snowy Antarctic landscape and then to SeaWorld Orlando’s entertaining penguins.
Holiday shows and live entertainment throughout SeaWorld Orlando
‘O Wondrous Night‘
The fan-favorite “O Wondrous Night” show returns for this year’s Christmas Celebration. The show retells the Nativity story with more than 30 cherished Christmas carols, brought to life through life-size puppets, live animals, and a cast. Due to this show’s popularity each year, SeaWorld pass members received access to a special presentation on Nov. 15 before the event officially started.
‘Mrs. Claus’ Magic Kitchen’
The show “Mrs. Claus’ Magic Kitchen” returns in 2024. Guests enter a world where the matriarch of Christmas fun has decided to enter the digital age. Guests can join Mrs. Claus as she attempts to go “viral” with cookie recipes straight from the North Pole. We know Santa likes them, so maybe these recipes are worth the time. The show involves her sharing holiday baking tips with a modern, social-media twist.
‘Holiday Reflections: Fireworks Finale’
Once again, this year, “Holiday Reflections: Fireworks Finale,” a fireworks display set to classic Christmas tunes, concludes some evenings.
The fireworks usually close out the theme park day. However, some nights, the fireworks presentation occurs before the park closes. We suggest checking the SeaWorld Orlando website for showtime information.
Sesame Street Land
Fans of theme park Christmas and “Sesame Street” will have fun options during the event. In Sesame Street Land, guests can enjoy the Sesame Street Christmas Parade. During the parade, visitors will see Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, and Grover. Guests might even spot a few more “Sesame Street” friends.
More entertainment
SeaWorld Orlando said it would be turning up the holiday magic this year. This season, guests can explore the all-new Christmas décor at Journey to Atlantis Plaza, featuring sparkling lights and festive displays, including the Snow Globe Ballerina. The winter wonderland environment continues in the Antarctica Realm with a snowy Christmas ambiance and the lively Donder Elves.
Guests can also explore “An Elf’s Story” by the fireside, meet Rudolph and Bumble in Rudolph’s Christmas Town, and visit Santa Claus at the Wild Arctic gift shop. Also, if that is not enough of “Sesame Street,” the show “Elmo’s Christmas Wish” happens near the front of the theme park.
Christmas Celebration photo opportunities
In addition to photo opportunities with Christmas characters, SeaWorld Orlando presents guests with the opportunity to be in a Christmas-themed photo. Guests can take photos of the “Rudolph” narrative as presents at the Christmas Celebration. Also, some photo opportunities have a button to push to hear a portion of the classic “Rudolph” story.
Upgrades for Christmas at SeaWorld Orlando
Christmas Celebration at SeaWorld Orlando 2024 is included with park admission. However, like most theme park events, upgrades are available for those interested. These include dinner with Santa, specialty hot cocoa souvenir cups, special fireworks viewing areas with treats, and the Sesame Street Christmas Breakfast.
One more upgrade could be useful for those visiting during SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration. The SeaWorld Orlando Festive Food and Sip Sampler allows guests to pay upfront to sample the festival food items sold during the event. A sampler entitling guests to five samples costs $40, and one giving 10 samples costs $75. Guests with a SeaWorld Orlando annual pass receive two additional samples when buying the $75 sampler lanyard.
Concluding thoughts for Christmas Celebration at SeaWorld Orlando 2024
Overall, we enjoyed SeaWorld’s holiday celebration more than at larger theme park resorts for the 2024 season. The food quality has improved for the 2024 event. Also, we found the performances well done by most ambassadors and SeaWorld Orlando employees. Based on the lower price point and most aspects of this event being included with regular theme park admission, the Christmas Celebration at SeaWorld Orlando deserves consideration for some holiday fun. For more information about the Christmas Celebration, please visit the SeaWorld Orlando website.
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