SeaWorld San Diego’s Seven Seas Food Festival is back and features an assortment of food and beverages. I’ve been a fan of the festival in years past, and the park is certainly trying to adapt to these interesting times. They’ve even got a few surprises that I didn’t expect to see. There’s also a lot of maintenance going on in the park and some areas that could use a little TLC.
Seven Seas Food Festival
The Seven Seas Food Festival features over 125 different items this year and is offered Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through May 2nd.
To taste your way through the selections you’ll need a Sampler Lanyard. Guests can purchase a lanyard of varying number of tastes: 6 tastes for $30 (Dine and Drink Bundle add-on to a day ticket), 10 tastes for $60, 15 tastes for $75, and a special option for Pass Members to have 18 tastes for $75. The lanyards are valid until the end of the festival, so if your eyes are larger than your stomach you can bring your lanyard back on your next visit for more food! Keep in mind that theme park admission is required for entry and a Sampler Lanyard is a separate purchase (admission tickets range from $65 to $75). So your cheapest way into the event is admission with the Dine and Drink bundle, which starts at $95.
Food
There are so many options that I couldn’t possibly hit everything, but here are my recommendations based on what I was able to try:
My number one choice was the Tropical Cheesecake. It’s the perfect balance of sweetness without being overbearing, and the pairing of Pineapple and Coconut is refreshing. Truth be told, I was surprised at how much I liked this; I’d definitely get this again.
Since everything is festival-portioned, not all the food will be a substantial meal. However, that certainly wasn’t the case with the BBQ Brisket Tacos. This item was one of the best values for portion size. These tacos are filled with so much salsa and brisket that it was hard to take a bite. You’ll want to grab a fork for this one.
I’m not generally a big fan of coffee, so Tiramisu tends to scare me off. That said I was pleasantly surprised with this version. I found that the coffee flavor wasn’t overbearing and it complimented the ladyfingers very nicely.
If you’re a cheese-lover, this next item is for you. The Fontina Cheese Meatballs have been coated in a layer of cheese and served in a generous pool of Marinara sauce. The meatballs were nice and juicy and extremely flavorful. If you’re feeling hungry, this is another good option.
Here are a few other options we tried:
Entertainment
SeaWorld has set up several stages around the park which feature live musical performances. The stages are located near a few select food booths/locations along with some relaxing places to sit and listen for a spell (or eat some food!).
The Polynesian Stage is a bit hidden on a little field at the back-left corner of the park called The Water Front. This charming grass area overlooks the majestic Mission Bay and is a perfect place to unwind. Be sure to search it out for the beautiful view and the music too.
The musical acts aren’t the only entertainment, the SeaWorld shows are also available with Orca Encounter, Dolphin Days, Sea Lions Live, and their Sesame Street Show.
Currently, at all the larger shows, select sections of rows are closed off to allow for social distancing. Stickers are placed on the benches so you know where to park. Even though the park was a bit slow, many of the shows reached capacity.
SeaWorld is also throwing in one more show to end your night, fireworks!
Around the Park
Note that SeaWorld is currently operating as a zoo. As such, there are no attractions currently operating. However, once their festival wraps up early next month, we do expect them to shift to theme park mode.
Most Southern California theme parks have either announced a full reopening with rides and/or have been offering food festivals. You can check out our Southern California Theme Park Reopening Guide for all the information on when your favorite parks are reopening and festivals and events they may currently have open.
More views from around SeaWorld
Taking a look at Sky Tower, the ticket booth is currently being used as a Food Booth cash register.
Inside the cabin, a maintenance ladder has been placed near one of the doors.
Over at Shipwreck Rapids, we can see signs that the water canal has been cycling. Several water features facing guest areas have been turned on.
At Tidal Twister, several attraction parts are sitting under the track in the ride area.
Bayside Skyride is getting some maintenence as well.
Manta had two trains on the track, one at the load and one at the unload stations. Hopefully, SeaWorld can work on a little track maintenance as visible rust can be seen along all the rails.
There’s some concrete work being done at Riptide.
The Journey to Atlantis lagoon is filled, but there’s rust and paint issues here as well.
In the Sesame Street: Bay of Play section of the park, the rides and the play equipment are closed, but you can still see the Sesame Street Characters come out and meet guests from a distance.
One of the cutest things in this section of the park are the distance markers on the ground have the footprints of Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Big Bird. It’s a nice touch.
SeaWorld is currently working on their new Floorless Dive-Coaster, Emperor. Named after the Emperor Penguin, this coaster will be California’s longest, fastest, and tallest, floorless Dive Coaster. The coaster was expected to open this Spring but SeaWorld has yet to announce an opening date.
Some other notes of interest are that Sea Lion Outlook and Dolphin Point are both closed for refurbishment.
Construction crews were power washing the exhibits during our visit.
Also, both of the indoor Aquariums were closed during our visit, even though the state is allowing indoor activities at Zoos and Aquariums at 25% capacity in the current Red Tier for San Diego County.
And to finish today’s article, here are a few pretty pictures of the park:
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Well, that concludes today’s tour of SeaWorld San Diego. Did you see any foods that you’d want to try? What do you think of their pricing for the park and festival? Surprised to see SeaWorld offering Fireworks? And what’s your best guess on when Emperor will be launching? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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