Park President Jon Peterson Goes on the Record for SeaWorld Orlando's Electric Ocean 2026: Three Nighttime Animal Shows Join "Hydro Surge" Cirque and "Club SeaGlow" DJ Party

Published May 14, 2026 at 11:25 PM EDT

SeaWorld Orlando put park president Jon Peterson on the record today about its Electric Ocean summer 2026 lineup, naming three nighttime animal presentations alongside the cirque show and DJ dance party that the park first teased last week. The two new entertainment formats, "Hydro Surge" at Nautilus Theater and "Club SeaGlow" at Bayside Stadium, run as part of Electric Ocean, which returns June 12 and continues through September 7.

SeaWorld Orlando Electric Ocean. Photos: Dani Meyering / SeaWorld, via Attractions Magazine.

The headlines:

"Hydro Surge": a new cirque-style show with acrobats, dancers, and a live drummer, staged inside Nautilus Theater.
"Club SeaGlow": a family-friendly DJ dance party at Bayside Stadium.
Three nighttime animal presentations: Shamu Celebration: Light Up The Night, Sea Lions Tonite, and Dolphins: Touch the Sky.
A new drone show (hundreds of drones, ocean-themed scenes) leads into the return of the Ignite fireworks finale.
The full Electric Ocean run: June 12 through September 7, 2026.

What Peterson said

SeaWorld Orlando president Jon Peterson framed the summer programming directly: "Electric Ocean is bigger and better than ever and we are introducing three nighttime animal presentations featuring our orcas, sea lions and dolphins."

The on-the-record framing matters because last week's Electric Ocean return announcement focused on "Hydro Surge," "Club SeaGlow," and the new drone-into-Ignite handoff. Today's WFTV piece adds Peterson's on-record statement formally introducing the three nighttime animal presentations: Shamu Celebration: Light Up The Night, Sea Lions Tonite, and Dolphins: Touch the Sky.

The full Electric Ocean 2026 lineup

Shamu Celebration: Light Up The Night: nighttime orca presentation.
Sea Lions Tonite: nighttime sea lion presentation.
Dolphins: Touch the Sky: nighttime dolphin presentation.
Hydro Surge: cirque-style show inside Nautilus Theater with acrobatics, dancers, and a live drummer.
Club SeaGlow: family-friendly DJ dance party at Bayside Stadium.
Drone show: hundreds of drones, ocean-themed scenes, plus the new pre-finale segment leading into Ignite.
Ignite: the fireworks finale returns around the central lake.

How it stacks with what else is happening

Electric Ocean 2026 is the headline summer programming, and SeaWorld has been telegraphing it as a Q2 attendance driver since last week's United Parks Q1 earnings call. The pieces line up:

June 5 - August 8: Discovery Cove's Paradise Nights adults-friendly after-hours event returns for the first time in eight years, select Friday and Saturday nights, with a new four-act dinner show themed around Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.
June 12 - September 7: Electric Ocean runs at SeaWorld Orlando with the named show lineup above.
"Coming this Spring": Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice (the new film and story for the Mack Rides flying theater that opened as Expedition Odyssey in May 2025) is still pending a firm opening date. The earnings release flagged it as a near-term opening, but as of this morning the official SeaWorld page still reads "Coming this Spring" with no specific date.

What it means for trip planning

Two practical takeaways:

SeaWorld's summer evening pivot is real. The Hydro Surge cirque show at Nautilus Theater + Club SeaGlow DJ party at Bayside + nighttime animal presentations + drone show + Ignite finale gives guests a full nighttime entertainment stack from roughly dusk through closing. The in-park per-capita spend (which hit a Q1 record $40.62) is the metric to watch heading into Q2: more evening programming typically means more food and beverage purchases.
Pass holders should plan around Pass Member benefits. Last month's SeaWorld May 2026 Pass Member News blog flagged free Quick Queue and SeaWorld Bucks promotions; expect similar Pass-targeted promotions to bridge Electric Ocean evenings.

Quick planner notes

Electric Ocean runs June 12 through September 7. Plan visits around the after-dark window. Hydro Surge and Club SeaGlow programming will be on a schedule (likely 30-45 minute show cycles); confirm times in the SeaWorld app on the day.
Stack with Discovery Cove Paradise Nights. If you're visiting in June or July, a daytime SeaWorld + evening Electric Ocean day pairs with a Friday or Saturday Discovery Cove Paradise Nights night for a strong United Parks weekend.
Watch for the Fire & Ice opening date drop. The official page still says "Coming this Spring." Whenever the date lands, it will likely be the natural next news beat.
Seven Seas Food Festival still runs Thursdays through Sundays until May 17, after which the park transitions into its standard summer schedule and the Electric Ocean ramp-up.

Sources

Image credits: Dani Meyering and SeaWorld, via Attractions Magazine.

Pteranodon Flyers Spotted Testing on the Jurassic Park Track at Universal's Islands of Adventure: First Public Sign of Life Ahead of the May 22 Reopening

Pteranodon Flyers, the elevated suspended glider that has been one of Islands of Adventure's most-missed attractions during a months-long refurbishment, has been spotted cycling on its track today, the first public test sign before its scheduled May 22 reopening. The reopen lands on Epic Universe's one-year anniversary, with Blockbuster Summer 2026 launching across the resort the following day, May 23.

May 15, 2026 News

Today is the Last Flight for Soarin' Around the World at EPCOT Before Soarin' Across America Opens May 26: Last Takeoff is Tonight, Passholder Previews Land May 19-20

Soarin' Around the World takes its final flight at EPCOT tonight, closing after today's 9 p.m. operating hours. The ride goes dark May 14-25 for the changeover to Soarin' Across America, the bi-coastal United States 250th-anniversary version of the attraction. Annual Passholder previews land Tuesday May 19 and Wednesday May 20 via standby queue only. Public opens Tuesday, May 26.

May 15, 2026 News

Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle Announces Retirement After a 36-Year Disney Career: From Magic Kingdom Engineer in 1990 to Running America's Largest Single-Site Workplace

Walt Disney World Resort President Jeff Vahle announced his retirement on Monday afternoon, capping a 36-year Disney career that started as a Magic Kingdom engineer in 1990. He'll depart in late July 2026. No successor has been named yet. The exit completes the post-Iger leadership cascade that started with Josh D'Amaro becoming Disney CEO in March and Thomas Mazloum taking the Disney Experiences chair on March 18.

May 13, 2026 News

Hogwarts Castle Emerges from Six Weeks Behind Scrim at Islands of Adventure: Fresh Paint, New Two-Tone Towers, and a Reveal Closing in Ahead of Epic Universe's First Anniversary

The scrim is coming off Hogwarts Castle at Universal's Islands of Adventure. After about six weeks behind construction wraps that went up in March without prior public announcement, the castle is being uncovered in pieces, with WDWNT reporting painting will "hopefully wrap up within a few weeks," timing that would put the reveal close to Epic Universe's May 22 first anniversary and the May 23 launch of Blockbuster Summer. The refresh includes pale-gray repainting on the towers, a pale-yellow base coat on the crest, and an aged-stone texture technique on the faux walls where crews place moss-shaped elements, paint over them, and peel them away.

May 13, 2026 News

United Parks Q1 2026: Revenue Slips on Weather and International Drop, In-Park Spend Hits a Quarterly Record, Discovery Cove and Pass Sales Called Out as Bright Spots

United Parks and Resorts (parent of SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, and Discovery Cove) released Q1 2026 results this morning. Revenue $278.3 million, down 3% year-over-year. Attendance 3.22 million, with roughly 140,000 guests lost to weather and another 80,000 to declines in international visitation. The bright spots: a record in-park per-capita spend of $40.62, pass sales up around 10% in Q1 (about 12% through April 30), and Discovery Cove pacing a double-digit percentage ahead of 2025.

May 11, 2026 News

Tonight is the Final Performance of Universal's Horror Make-Up Show After Nearly 36 Years: Wristband-Only Access at the Pantages Theater Before the "Reimagining"

After nearly 36 years of fake blood, audience volunteers, and reliable gross-out laughs, the original Horror Make-Up Show at Universal Studios Florida takes its final bow tonight. The Pantages Theater goes dark tomorrow (Tuesday May 12) for a "reimagining" that Universal says will return later this year. Access tonight is wristband-only, first-come-first-served, with no standby queue.