SeaWorld's Christmas Release Touts ALL-NEW Entertainment, and Every New Experience It Names Is in San Diego or San Antonio

SeaWorld's big Christmas announcement went out Thursday morning with a headline promising "ALL-NEW Festive Entertainment." Read the release's Orlando section, though, and you will not find that tag on anything.

The release on PR Newswire, posted October 29 and covering all three SeaWorld parks, saves its new-this-year labels for the other two parks. San Diego gets four ALL-NEW experiences. San Antonio gets an ALL-NEW beluga and dolphin show, plus a new carol group. Orlando gets the comeback of an old favorite and a mostly familiar lineup.

The Sea of Trees at SeaWorld Orlando's Christmas Celebration. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

Where the new stuff went

Here is everything the release calls new, park by park:

• SeaWorld San Diego (November 13 to January 3): "four ALL-NEW holiday experiences," namely Baby Shark's Christmas Adventure, a reimagined Dolphin Island Christmas, the Rock the Holiday Christmas Parade and North Pole Storytime
• SeaWorld San Antonio (November 12 to January 4, select dates): the "ALL-NEW" beluga whale and Pacific white-sided dolphin show A Joyful Splash, and the "All-New Melodic Mistletoes" carolers
• SeaWorld Orlando: nothing labeled new

That is a change from last year. SeaWorld's 2025 Christmas release put the ALL-NEW tag on three Orlando items: a reimagined Santa experience, Mrs. Claus' Magic Kitchen and Clyde & Seamore's Countdown to Christmas. All three are on this year's schedule, just without the tag: Mrs. Claus' Magic Kitchen and Clyde & Seamore's Countdown to Christmas are in the new release, and SeaWorld's Christmas page lists Santa meet-and-greets at Waterway Grill.

Orlando's headliner is a comeback

The Orlando section leads with "The return of Miracles," the nighttime orca show set to holiday music, which we covered when SeaWorld announced it in September. The release repeats the Pass Member perk: "SeaWorld Annual Pass Members will be among the first to experience Miracles through an exclusive presentation time." It still does not give that showtime.

The full Orlando lineup

SeaWorld Orlando's Christmas Celebration runs on select dates from November 6 through January 4, included with park admission. The release says the park will have "more decorations than ever before." Here is what it lists:

• Miracles, the nighttime orca presentation
• Sesame Street Christmas Parade with Elmo and friends
• O Wondrous Night, a retelling of the first Christmas with "more than 30 carols, life-size puppets and live animals"
• Elmo's Christmas Wish at Seaport Theater
• Winter Wonderland on Ice
• Clyde & Seamore's Countdown to Christmas
• Holiday Reflections: Fireworks Finale
• The Sea of Trees, with a "towering 70-foot centerpiece," plus snow flurries along the Waterfront, toy soldiers and ballerinas
• Rudolph's Christmas Town, Sesame Street photo ops, a miniature Holiday Train display and Mrs. Claus' Magic Kitchen
• Ice skating at Bayside Stadium (extra fee) and Christmas movies at SeaFire Grill, no meal purchase needed
• Dinner with Santa at Sea Harbor Pavilions (select dates, not opening weekend) and the Sesame Street Christmas Breakfast at SeaFire Grill, both extra

Elmo's Christmas Wish, the Holiday Train display and the SeaFire Grill movies are not in last year's release. SeaWorld does not call any of them new, though, so we will not either.

One Orlando "all-new" does turn up, just not in the release. The shopping answer in the FAQ on SeaWorld Orlando's Christmas page mentions "the all-new Christmas Market." The release does not list it.

Image: SeaWorld

The holiday traditions, and a date to double-check

The release also lists a Hanukkah menorah lighting and a Kwanzaa kinara lighting in Sesame Street Land, New Year's Eve fireworks on December 31, and a Three Kings Celebration on January 2 to 6.

If Three Kings is on your list, check before you go. SeaWorld Orlando's Christmas Celebration page lists it as January 3 to 6, a day later than the release. It is not the first time SeaWorld's Christmas dates have disagreed with each other. In September, the Christmas pages gave four different answers for when the season runs.

The ticket deal

For Orlando, the release advertises: "Save up to 60% on tickets and up to 25% on Annual Passes." As always with "up to," the biggest number is the ceiling, so check the actual ticket you want.

Does Miracles coming back make up for a release with no ALL-NEW Orlando shows, or were you hoping for something brand new?

Sources

• SeaWorld via PR Newswire, "SeaWorld's Award-Winning Christmas Celebration Returns in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio With ALL-NEW Festive Entertainment and Timeless Holiday Joy" (October 29, 2026)
• United Parks & Resorts, 2025 SeaWorld Christmas Celebration release (October 28, 2025)
• SeaWorld Orlando, Christmas Celebration (checked October 29, 2026)
• Parks Magic, September 30, 2026: Miracles returns to SeaWorld Orlando
• Parks Magic, September 2, 2026: SeaWorld's Christmas pages and their four different dates

Image credits: SeaWorld Orlando (Sea of Trees); SeaWorld (Christmas Celebration logo).