Before Wonder Woman became my go–to costume, there was another character I was known for cosplaying: Avatar Korra from The Legend of Korra, which is the sequel series to Avatar: the Last Airbender, for anyone who isn’t familiar. If you’re not, when you’re done reading this, you should really go watch it, because it’s amazing. I have always wanted to wear my Korra costume to SeaWorld to take pictures, but their advertising for Spooktacular, SeaWorld’s Halloween event, has always specified costumes are allowed only for kids of a certain age. This year, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. I mean, when the advertising changed to mention kids and adults.
Naturally I had to go.
SeaWorld’s Spooktacular event is unique in that it is one of the few Halloween events in Central Florida that is included with theme park admission. It only runs on the weekends though, which means it’s hard for me to have time to go, and this also means it has high attendance levels.
We had to be there early enough for the special Halloween edition of Pets Ahoy, because it only runs twice- once at 10:00 am and 11:30 am, because they also use the Pets Ahoy stage for a Sesame Street “Countdown to Halloween” show, later in the day. I understand they’re using a set they already have, but I wish they’d put it in the empty Nautilus Theater, instead of taking away my favorite show.
Jay and I made it to the park a little after 11:00 am, so we headed straight for Seaport Theater where Pets Ahoy is held.
Thankfully most guests were headed to the trick or treat trails that had just opened, so the theater was mostly empty. We grabbed seats and sat down to wait. Unfortunately, cell phone signals aren’t great in there, so trying to catch Pokémon to kill time didn’t go very well.
The Spooktacular version of Pets Ahoy is the same show it always is, just with a different soundtrack. Instead of “Rock This Town on a Saturday Night” we got “The Time Warp”. I’m honestly perfectly okay with this since Pets Ahoy is already my favorite show at SeaWorld, though I was a little disappointed the trainers were wearing their usual outfits instead of costumes.
Whales seem easy to train. I don’t know how you get a cat to do anything.
Now that our only time sensitive mission was out of the way, Jay and I were free to wander Spooktacular so we headed towards the treat trails, and actually one on the way before we got there. There was a random one just outside the Seaport Theater handing out Nerds candy, that we missed on the way in because we were in such a hurry.
All of SeaWorld’s seasonal events are generally in the same area. There’s a pathway that leads to Bayside Stadium that they can close and open as they need to for events, so almost all of the Spooktacular stuff was down that way, but a few things were sprinkled in the main part of the park.
We got a few weird looks for being adults going through the treat trails without any kids, but that’s never stopped us.
There were a bunch of Spooktacular characters scattered throughout the trail. I stopped to take my picture with a “hammerhead” shark and a stingray.
We hit all nine of the treat spots at least once, and went back for a second round at the Oreo Candy Bar station. There were pay to play games, but we skipped those despite how cute the plush prizes were.
Finally, at the end of the treat trail by Wild Artic, was the real reason I had wanted to go to SeaWorld in costume.
In Legend of Korra, Korra’s best friend and method of transportation is a creature called a polar bear dog. Well, outside Wild Artic is a giant polar bear statue. I have been wanting this picture for five years, FIVE YEARS, and I finally got to take it today.
Yes, it was everything I dreamed it would be. Climbing up on the statue was little harder than I expected, however. I really need to invest in new boots.
SeaWorld’s Spooktacular event is definitely aimed more at kids than some of the other Halloween events in the area. I can’t speak for the Halloween shows other than Pets Ahoy, but I’m certain they’re on par with the rest of SeaWorld’s fantastic shows. Since this event is included with admission anyway, it’s a great addition to a day at SeaWorld if it works with your schedule. Beauty of having an annual pass, all of the SeaWorld events are included!
Cost: Admission to SeaWorld. A one-day ticket starts at $94.18 after taxes and fees with advance purchase.
Value: I wouldn’t buy a ticket to SeaWorld necessarily just for Spooktacular unless you have kids, but if you’re a passholder it’s a 10/10.
Duration: A few hours out of a full day at SeaWorld.
Add Ons: They have games you can pay to play, and a Sesame Street character meal.
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