SeaWorld Orlando's New Ocean Discovery Days Gets Dates, January 9 to 24, and Seven Seas 2027 Starts January 29

SeaWorld Orlando's brand-new January event now has a spot on the calendar. Ocean Discovery Days runs January 9 to January 24, 2027, according to the park's events page, which now lists it as "ALL-NEW!" with its own logo.

Until now SeaWorld's releases had only said the event would debut "later that month," meaning January, in the August 11 release on the 2027 events lineup, and called it "an all-new January event" in the September 29 Annual Pass release. The exact dates are the new part. The event was not listed at all in the Wayback Machine's August 19 capture of the events page, and it still did not appear on the live page when we reported on September 9. SeaWorld's sitemap lists October 7 as the page's latest update, though that alone does not show when the dates were added.

The new Ocean Discovery Days logo on SeaWorld Orlando's events page. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

What Ocean Discovery Days is

SeaWorld's events page describes it as "An all-new event inviting guests to discover the stories behind the seas through immersive animal experiences, interactive activities and engaging conservation experiences that celebrate the park's rescue, research and animal care efforts."

Beyond that line and the two press releases, SeaWorld has not published details. There is no dedicated Ocean Discovery Days page yet, so the schedule, the activity list and whether any piece of it carries an extra charge have not been posted. SeaWorld has not said when it will post them.

The window opens on a Saturday (January 9) and closes on a Sunday (January 24), so it covers three full weekends.

Seven Seas 2027 starts January 29

The same page now lists the 2027 Seven Seas Food Festival on "Select Dates, January 29 - May 16." January 29 is a Friday.

That is a change from what we reported in September, when the 2027 lineup published by WKMG had Seven Seas running February to May, and SeaWorld's own events page listed it as "February-May" in the August 19 Wayback capture. The 2027 dates sit one day earlier on the calendar than this year's, on the same days of the week: SeaWorld's festival page says the 2026 edition ran "From January 30, 2026 to May 17, 2026." That same page, as of Friday, still says the festival "typically runs from February to May."

Seven Seas Food Festival dishes, from SeaWorld's festival page. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

SeaWorld's calendar through May 2027

• Christmas Celebration: select dates, November 6 to January 4, 2027
• Three Kings Celebration: listed as January 2027 (the August release says it "kicks off the first weekend of January")
• Ocean Discovery Days: January 9 to 24, 2027
• Seven Seas Food Festival: select dates, January 29 to May 16, 2027
• Mardi Gras: February 9, 2027
• St. Patrick's Day Celebration: March 17, 2027
• Cinco de Mayo: May 5, 2027
• Viva La Música: May 2027

Put together, the dated events leave only two short breaks in January (Three Kings is listed only as "January 2027"). Christmas Celebration wraps on January 4, Ocean Discovery Days opens five days later, and Seven Seas starts five days after Ocean Discovery Days ends.

Would a January animal-and-conservation event get you to SeaWorld before Seven Seas, or are you saving your visit for the food booths?

Sources

• SeaWorld Orlando, Events
• SeaWorld Orlando, Seven Seas Food Festival
• SeaWorld Orlando press release, August 11, 2026 (2027 events lineup and Fun Card)
• SeaWorld Orlando press release, September 29, 2026 (2027 Annual Pass launch)
• Wayback Machine, SeaWorld Orlando events page, August 19, 2026 capture

Image credits: SeaWorld Orlando (beluga viewing window, Ocean Discovery Days logo, Seven Seas dishes).