SeaWorld Orlando Changes & Challenges on Reopening Day After COVID-19 Closure

Hi everyone –

We went back to SeaWorld on the day it reopened on June 11th, 2020 after closure due to COVID-19. Central Florida parks have been reopening for two weeks – we’ve been to Disney Springs often and LEGOLAND (twice), Universal Studios (twice) and now SeaWorld. Each experience is unique. Most of the parks here are or will be mandating masks and physical distance, and SeaWorld is no different. The difference was that little of that was enforced on opening day and so this will be our one experience for now, and we’ll monitor for later if masks and distance are in better effect. Safety is #1 for us visiting anywhere. You can see below what the procedures are or should be, along with some construction photos from Ice Breaker and a look at how characters are interacting in Sesame Street.

The SeaWorld opening day was way different than Universal or LEGOLAND. We made the required reservations ahead of time, and then ended up sitting on Central Florida Parkway for a while – it was over 40 minutes from Central Florida Parkway outside the park to parking.

There were cones in some spots to keep cars away from each other.

The familiar SeaWorld lighthouse.

Just like every other location here, temperature checks are necessary.

Unlike any other location I have been to, I ended up in the cooling tent. I was told that I had a 100.5 temperature, and a few minutes later it was 98. I recommend if you have an “off” temperature to have it taken immediately on arrival to the tent – I wish I’d done that in case the original thermometer was wrong.

Here is a look at the tent.

I can’t fault SeaWorld on the level of sanitizers in the park, there is a ton. And often in gallon form.

The rules of the park as stated on the signs are that face coverings (masks) are required as are physical distancing and more.

SeaWorld no longer has paper maps, at least for now.

There are small distancing circles on the ground in various locations.

The circles start before entering the park.

There is a “Welcome Back” backdrop that most guests didn’t seem to notice.

There is also merchandise to welcome guests back.

I like the merchandise overall.

Reusable face masks are for sale, including dolphin and shark masks.

There are one-way arrows in the shops and other areas.

The Ice Breaker roller coaster will be SeaWorld’s first launch roller coaster.

Here are some photos of Ice Breaker.

And a look at the ride vehicles.

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Here is our video of the Ice Breaker construction.

There are still drink fountains in use.

We stopped by to see what the shows would look like. Guests are sat at least somewhat apart.

Wild Arctic wasn’t running but we went to see the animals inside.

There were not very many guests entering at this time.

I have always enjoyed the beluga whales and just general atmosphere here.

The seals were being playful.

There are Face Covering Relaxation Zones like at Universal Studios, but the masks weren’t enforced that day so I’m not sure how many guests were using this area.

Our last visit was to Sesame Street Land to check out how the character distanced interactions were handled.

The Big Bird meet was not much different than usual.

Big Bird sits in his nest and guests can have their photo with him.

The other characters that we saw were all on parade floats. Oscar the Grouch was out when we arrived.

Guests can have photos in front of the floats and interact with the characters. In normal times, Oscar would be on the ground.

Here is our video with all the characters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMJQ8X7kviU&feature=youtu.be

Abby Cadabby was next.

Cookie Monster was on his float.

And the last character was Elmo. We were told that these were the five characters on opening day that would be out. I don’t know if other characters will make an appearance soon or not – Sesame Street has quite a few normally, including Ernie & Bert, The Count and more.

The main issue with SeaWorld was the poor enforcement of masks and distancing – we are still early in a pandemic. We didn’t even attempt any attractions, and I know the coasters had issues that day. We have been pretty spoiled the last two Universal Orlando visits, so we’ll stick with those parks and Disney Springs for the time being. But there were a few positives from the first day – plenty of hand sanitizer and a good way to see characters.