SeaWorld San Antonio

History

Sea World of Texas was developed by Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich (now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Built for $170 million, it opened on Memorial Day weekend in May 27, 1988 and welcomed 75,000 people during the grand opening. It had 3.3 million visitors in its first 12 months of operation, placing it among the Top 10 attractions in Texas. At the time of the park's debut, it was billed as "the largest educational, marine-life theme park in the world."

In 1989, Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich (heavy in debt and fighting a hostile takeover) sold its SeaWorld and Boardwalk and Baseball theme parks to Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Plans to build a Boardwalk and Baseball park adjacent to Sea World of Texas were immediately abandoned.

On 26 November 1988, Kayla (stage named "Baby Shamu") was the first killer whale born at SeaWorld San Antonio. She now resides at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.

Under Anheuser-Busch ownership, SeaWorld San Antonio closed less popular attractions such as the Texas Walk, the U.S. Map Plaza, and the Garden of Flags and added its popular Budweiser Clydesdales to the park.

In 2008, Anheuser-Busch merged with InBev; soon after, the newly merged company sold the SeaWorld parks to Blackstone Group.

In March 2016, SeaWorld Entertainment inc announced that the current generation of Killer Whales at it parks would be the last. SeaWorld San Antonio currently houses 5 Killer Whales, one of which is pregnant and due in April 2017. It was also announced that theatrical Killer Whale shows would be phased out and replaced with more naturalistic Orca Encounters. SeaWorld San Antonio's Orca Encounter is expected to open sometime in 2018.

Shows

Exhibits

Sesame Street Bay of Play

Formerly Shamu's Happy Harbor, the Sesame Street Bay of Play (opened in March 2011) is an interactive children's play area based on the long-running television series Sesame Street.

Rides:

Activities:

Shows:

Dining

Snacks

Entertainment

Killer whales

SeaWorld's main attraction is its killer whales, which are housed in the 7-million-gallon habitats that are known in San Antonio as Shamu Theater. Shamu was the name of the first killer whale brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s. "Shamu" is now used as a stage name for adult killer whales in performances at SeaWorld parks. The killer whales all have real names.

The killer whales at San Antonio are Kyuquot (M), Takara (F), Tuar (M), Sakari (F), and Kamea (F).

A female orca, Unna, died on December 21, 2015.

Takara, a female killer whale at the park, is pregnant and is expected to give birth in April 2017. Her calf will be the last killer whale to be born at any SeaWorld park since the company's decision to end killer whale breeding.

Dolphins

There are several species of dolphins at SeaWorld San Antonio: Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, Pacific Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic/Pacific Bottlnose hybrids, and Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

The 21 Bottlenose dolphins are either residing in the Animal Care pools or at the new Discovery Point facility. The Animal Care pools were a part of the temporary Dolphin Walk attraction, a tour that took guests to the back area of the park to view the dolphins and other species of animals that the SeaWorld-Busch Gardens Conservation Fund cares for whilst Discovery Point was being constructed. The park's Pacific white-sided Dolphins reside at Beluga Stadium and are part of shows there.

Animal Care: Yoyo (F), Gilly (M), Mattie (F), Fathom (M), Brady (M), Alice (F), Cisco (M), Ansley (M), Haven (F), and Yuri (F).

Dolphin Lagoon (Discovery Point): Punta (F), Notchfin (F), Nacha (F), Nikki (F), Brie (F), Neelee (F), Donley (M), Capri (F), Blyss (F), Koko (F), and Nala (F).

Bottlenose Dolphins are often transferred between Discovery Point and the animal care pools.

Beluga Stadium: Pacific white-sided dolphins: Betty (F), Catalina (F), Avalon (F), Hailey (F), and Bolt (M)

On February 5, 2016, Dart (M) a pacific white sided dolphin died. His cause of death is unknown.

Belugas

The Beluga whales at San Antonio are Natasha (F), Martha (F), Crissy (F), Imaq (M), Luna (F), Oliver (M), Samson (M), and Kenai (M). The park's belugas regularly participate in Azul and Ocean Discovery shows/presentations and Beluga Interaction Programs.

On April 17, 2011, Imaq, an adult male beluga from Vancouver Aquarium, arrived to Sea World San Antonio on a 5-year breeding loan. This is the 3rd of three beluga whales on a breeding loan from Vancouver Aquarium to SeaWorld: Nanuq, Allua, Imaq.

In 2009, Nico, Maris, and Natasha from the Georgia Aquarium were moved to SeaWorld temporarily to keep them away from the worst of the noise during construction at the Georgia Aquarium. Nico died on 31 October 2009. A preliminary necropsy was unable to determine if Nico's death was caused by the move or by something else. On 3 March 2010, Maris and a new male, Beethoven, were returned to the Georgia Aquarium while Natasha was paired with a potential mate and remained in San Antonio.

On July 9, 2013, Luna gave birth to a male calf, sired by Imaq. On July 26, 2013, Crissy gave birth to a female calf, also sired by Imaq. The calf was named Stella, but on November 13, 2015, the whale died. On June 20, 2015, Martha gave birth to a female calf.

Martha gave birth prematurely to a female calf on June 20, 2015, it has since died.

Luna gave birth on August 11, 2016 to a calf. The calf is a male and has been called Kenai.

Discovery Point

Discovery Point is a tucked-away oasis within SeaWorld San Antonio. There, an expansive Dolphin Lagoon is home to a playful pod of bottlenose dolphins. Guests can watch them from its sand-swept shores, or go deeper at a Dolphin Underwater Viewing area. Guests can even reserve Discovery Point's Signature Dolphin Swim – the only place to swim with dolphins in Texas – or discover the thrill of swimming alongside Beluga Whales at Beluga Bay or Sea Lions at Sea Lion Shallows. You’ll also find Explorer’s Reef, home to several species of sharks, many of which are endangered, along with exotic fish and a living coral reef.

Discovery Point officially opened to the public on May 21, 2016.

Aquatica

Aquatica is a water park that was formerly a section of SeaWorld under the name, Lost Lagoon. Lost Lagoon opened in 1993 and closed on September 5, 2011 to be replaced by Aquatica San Antonio, a separate gated water park based on the original Aquatica Orlando that opened on March 1, 2008. Some water attractions like The Sidewinders tower (with 4 tube slides and 2 large bowl slides) were re-themed, painted and renamed Tassie's Twister. The splash attack play structure stayed but it was renovated with new theming, new slides, new interactive elements, new landscaping, and a new zero-entry pool that is named Walkabout Waters. The activity pool stayed but was also renovated with new theming, new interactive elements, new pool updates, new landscaping, new beach lounge chairs, inviting waterfalls and a renaming. Those four existing water attractions were kept during the Aqautica San Antonio re-theming. The new park opened on Memorial Day weekend May 2012.

Separate ticket gates for SeaWorld and Aquatica were added at the beginning of 2016. Before they were added, Aquatica's entrance was located inside of SeaWorld, thus obligating Aquatica guests to pay for SeaWorld admission in order to enter the water park unlike the other Aquatica parks in Orlando, FL and Chula Vista, CA which are separate from SeaWorld. The separate gates now give guests the opportunity to visit each park individually just as their other California and Florida counterparts do.

Wild Days

An event that features special shows and presentations by locally and nationally known conservationists including Jack Hanna accompanied by many animals, some endangered. The 2017 event will occur every weekend in March and all of Spring Break. The lineup is SeaWorld Live, Flying High, Jungle Jack Hanna, and finally the new Texas Untamed. The event includes activities for children such as a scavenger hunt passport which is used to get stamps at stations around the park. The Sesame Street show "A" is for Africa and Sesame Street Breakfast is also offered at the Bay of Play.

Run for the Fund

An annual fun run event around SeaWorld San Antonio that benefits the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. Everyone who registers for the run enjoys free admission to the park for the whole day.

Seven Seas Food Festival

Guests are invited to set sail on a culinary voyage during the annual Seven Seas Food Festival. Throughout the park, festival goers can sip and savor delicious international foods, unique wines and craft beers and cocktails representing 12 countries near the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, North Pacific, Pacific Ocean and South Atlantic. The Seven Seas Food Festival offers bold flavors for every taste on Saturdays and Sundays. The festival is open from 11:00 a.m. to park close on all event days.

Summer Soak Party

Summer Soak Party (debuted 2016) is a summer event at SeaWorld San Antonio that offers extended park hours, a splash zone, giveaways, nightly shows, and fireworks. Shows include Hydro Power 2.0, Shamu's Celebration: Light Up The Night, Sol Celebration and nightly showings of two day shows, "Sea Lion High" and "Azul." Summer Soak Party is not currently listed as returning for 2017 on the park's website, however there is are banners in the park's main entrance plaza announcing that it is returning for 2017.

SeaWorld's Halloween Spooktacular

SeaWorld's Halloween Spooktacular is an annual children's Halloween event that takes place at all three SeaWorld parks on October weekends. Activities and attractions include trick-or-treating, photo opportunities, a hay maze, and a kiddie train called SeaWorld Express. The event ends at 6 pm as the park prepares for Howl-O-Scream which begins at 7 pm.

Howl-O-Scream

Howl-O-Scream is an annual Halloween horror-themed event that takes place at Busch Gardens Tampa, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and SeaWorld San Antonio. The main icon for the event at SeaWorld San Antonio would be Jack-O-Lantern, a Pumpkin Head who takes over SeaWorld San Antonio around Halloween Time. The event is primarily aimed for teens and adults as the park advises that the event is not recommended for those under the age of 13. In 2013, SeaWorld San Antonio announced that the event would be 'evolving' and changing, sporting a new theme every year. The following is a timeline of the themes Howl-O-Scream had every year since 2013.

The event always ends with a dance, pyrotechnic, and light show called Jack is Back which is held at the park's main arches. The show's theme, choreography, and music is changed every several years to suit the music and material that is viral at the time. For example, in Howl-O-Scream's early years the show featured classic rock music and was changed to pop/party anthem music several years after. In 2015, The set was changed to look more sinister and the music and choreography was changed to a mix of pop and dub-step.

SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration

SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration is an annual Christmas event that takes place at all three SeaWorld parks during Christmastime on select dates. The event offers Christmas themed areas, shows, and attractions. SeaWorld San Antonio broke the record for the largest Christmas light display in Texas by over 5 million lights in 2016. A new themed area based on the TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer called Rudolph's Christmastown was also introduced to the event in 2016. Rudolph's Christmastown offers photo and dining opportunities with Rudolph and Friends, small retrofitted midway games, a sweet stand, the SeaWorld Express train re-themed to the Island of Misfit Toys, and a 27 foot tall Christmas tree light show synchronized to the Rudolph soundtrack.