We’re LIVE from the grand reopening of SeaWorld Orlando to see how crowds, entertainment, health and safety procedures are looking.

SeaWorld, like Disney World, is requiring an advance reservation in order to enter the parks. Therefore, guests knew prior to entering that they’d be spending the day at the park. Now, let’s head inside together!

While we don’t usually report from SeaWorld, we want to see all of the processes so we can give you even more insight into what your Disney World theme park experience might be like.

We will continue to update this post throughout the day, so be sure to check back! 

Parking

When we arrived around 9:55AM this morning, there was a pretty hefty line of cars waiting to enter.

But, the traffic moved rather quickly.

Once we parked, things moved even more smoothly in terms of speed. Team members were parking guests in every other space and cones were placed in the spots that were to remain empty.

Entering the Park

Like Disney World and Universal, SeaWorld is requiring that guests undergo a temperature screening prior to entering the park. The line was very long this morning, but it did move quickly.

SeaWorld is using contactless forehead thermometers like Disney and Universal.

Learn the science behind this method of temperature checks here!

Masks are required and we spotted a team member with disposable masks at the temp check. These were being offered to guests who did not have a mask. There are also masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer for sale.

The gloves are on sale for $2.99. The masks start at $9.99 and they were also offering a buy-3-get-1-free deal.

SeaWorld’s entrance is divided into three zones.

And there was a bit of a wait to enter the park.

SeaWorld had signs out informing guests that their park maps were now digital.

The entrance line was marked with physical distancing stickers to give guests their distance. The opening seemed a little more crowded than it did at Universal, but that may have just been the way the crowd was arranged.

Merchandise and New Shopping Protocols

We stepped into one of the stores to see how they were managing. You can see that the stores had distancing stickers on the ground, too.

Interestingly enough, SeaWorld was actually selling shirts themed around the health measures and the reopening.

There were a few different options in men’s and women’s sizes.

They even had a particularly PUNny one with this “Whalecome Back” shirt.

Animal Exhibits and Viewing Areas

Most of the animal viewing areas were available, so we got to wave a flipper at the dolphins and the flamingoes.

Some exhibits had distancing stickers to make sure that guests were viewing the animals safely.

We all know the exhibit we REALLY care about though is the Shark Tunnel.

On your way into many attractions, there is hand-sanitizer available.

Once inside the Shark Tunnel, you’ll see that there were more physical distancing stickers to pace guests.

The Shark Tunnel itself has a conveyer belt so the markers had to be a little different than the typical stickers.

Instead, SeaWorld is using painted shark shapes to remind guests to keep 6′ of distance.

We were super interested to see how distancing would be handled at the Orca Show since it has amphitheater-style seating.

The benches had signs posted to block off entire sections and individual rows.

All of the Orca trainers were wearing masks, too.

But, those friendly killer whales didn’t seem to mind!

Attraction Wait Times and Health Measures

SeaWorld’s big-ticket Mako Coaster was up to a 55-minute wait by the time we made it over there.

The Manta Ride was closed when we passed.

Food and Beverage

We stopped by a drink kiosk to see if SeaWorld had any changes to their refillable cup policy.

They WERE still selling refillable cups.

The only change was that there were signs on the machines asking guests to use disposable cups to get their refills instead of their reusable ones.

Just a reminder, we will be actively updating this post throughout the day! So be sure to check back for all the SeaWorld details! 

Are you planning to head to SeaWorld soon? Let us know in the comments below!