SeaWorld San Diego at Christmas: A Timeline of Lights, Traditions, and Holiday Entertainment
Today, we’re diving into the history and evolution of the holiday season at SeaWorld San Diego. If you want the bigger-picture backstory on SeaWorld’s origins and how the park fits into the broader United Parks story, be sure to go back to our episode from August 15th 2025, where we cover how Busch Gardens, Sesame Place and SeaWorld are All United.
Today, though, as we are right in the middle of the holiday season, we’ll look at how the holiday experience at SeaWorld San Diego has evolved over the decades and what traditions still live on.
1964–1971: Opening years and a holiday icon-in-the-making
Alright – so SeaWorld San Diego opened in 1964, and when you look at how theme parks celebrate the holidays, one of the first questions is always: when did “holidays at the park” become a thing — you know… when do we go from a park that happens to be open in December to an actual seasonal tradition?
Here’s the honest truth: we could not find reliable, detailed public documentation that clearly outlines what SeaWorld did for Christmas in the first few years of operation, or what internal discussions took place — and with whom — that led to a more formal holiday offering.
And I’m saying that out loud because it matters: some of these things just aren’t well-documented. And you know we always state our sources in our blog articles that accompany our episodes. So when we don’t have strong sourcing or we find conflicting information, we have to call it like it is.
As always – if you can fill in the gaps with any information, first-hand accounts, or photos, you are welcome to share them with us over on our private Facebook Group: Where In The Park Explorers!
Anyway, one of the early additions to the park was the SkyTower, which opened in 1969. This 320-foot tower can be seen from miles around as you drive toward the park on any given day, but during the holidays, the tower is adorned with 24 strands of lights, affixed to the top of the tower all the way to the ground, becoming a “Tree of Lights”.
What’s interesting about the “Tree of Lights” is that there is a discrepancy as to when it was first installed. A number of sources online say that the first year was 1969, all quoting a 1973 CBS8 video where they speak with Roger Copeland, a SeaWorld representative, who says "the tree has been a tradition in San Diego – it’s been around for the last 4 years now."
However, in Chapter 12 of George Millay's biography by Tim O’Brien called The Wave Maker, the section “A Grand Old Tree, A Yearly Tradition” recounts the story of a conversation from George to Doc Lemmon in 1971. Doc was the first general manager of Magic Mountain, which SeaWorld owned at the time as it was being constructed. Doc told George he wanted to string lights from the top of that park's tower, to make the top segment look like a Christmas tree. George liked the idea, then went to Bill Riley, head fabricator, and Hank Kotch, head electrician, and Bill suggested just going all the way down to the ground with the lights. Again, those series of events were in 1971, 2 years after the initial reports from other sources we found.
In 1973, the U.S. faced a major energy crisis, and conservation became part of national messaging. President Richard Nixon’s public remarks on energy policy referenced eliminating “unnecessary lighting,” reflecting the era’s push to reduce consumption. Locally, CBS 8’s archival reporting that I alluded to earlier addressed concerns about the tree being lit during this time. Per Roger Copeland in the interview, SeaWorld was already going above and beyond the required 10% mandate to lower energy consumption by reducing lighting to 50% capacity before the tree was installed. The park received feedback from the city to keep the tree up, even at a reduced capacity and schedule. We’ll be sure to link the interview in the references section of our blog at witp.com/podcast.
In any case, we can say with certainty that today the “Tree of Lights” has become one of the park’s holiday landmarks, enjoyed by millions both in the parks and the surrounding Mission Bay area of San Diego.
Early 1970s: SnowWorld
Another seasonal fan favorite in the early 1970s was SnowWorld – a mountain of snow in which guests could make snow angels or have a snowball fight in a location just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.
In referencing The Wave Maker again (and the same chapter), Jan Schultz, who was Senior Vice President of Marketing at the time, and later became President of SeaWorld San Diego in 1986, came up with the idea for SnowWorld and found a section of the park that had a 14-foot berm. 400-tons of snow was shipped in daily to create the snow mountain Jan envisioned. While initially some thought this idea far-fetched, they quickly realized its potential when a mile-long line of kids in winter gear was eagerly waiting their turn in the snow. They created an immersive experience with festive music and sold hot apple cider. There is a great photo on page 100 of the book that features Carlo Mosca, SeaWorld’s first Director of Education, riding a sled during SnowWorld in 1972. The Wave Maker book ended its section here by stating “It became a yearly tradition at SeaWorld for more than a decade,” though the exact timeline of SnowWorld could not be definitively determined, nor officially why it was discontinued.
Late 1970s–2009: ???
After the early 1970s, the historical record becomes harder to verify in a clean, year-by-year way. That does not mean SeaWorld stopped doing holiday programming; it means detailed public documentation is not consistently available in sources we can verify today.
What we can trace with more confidence is the continuity of the park’s holiday identity: large-scale lighting, seasonal atmosphere, and a mix of entertainment and family-friendly experiences.
2011: SnowWorld Returns?
By 2011, it had become much easier to verify what a SeaWorld San Diego holiday season included, because mainstream and tourism outlets began listing the seasonal components in greater detail.
So, the next piece of holiday news in our timeline comes from a CBS News article from December 2011 talking about “For the first time ever, SeaWorld has a huge park filled with real snow for families to build snowmen, dig caves and have an old fashion snow ball fight.” That’s right – SnowWorld had returned – but while it certainly wasn’t the first time ever, perhaps it was the first time in a long while. But here again – we have questions! For how long was it back? Was it the same as the 70s, or did they add anything new? Again, if you have any information about this, definitely let us know in our Where In The Park Explorers Facebook Group.
In addition to SnowWorld, the coverage from the San Diego Tourism Authority during this time also lists multiple named shows and experiences, including:
• Christmas Tails, a holiday-themed “Pets Rule!” show
• Breakfast with Shamu and Santa (which was a dining add-on)
• Shamu’s Christmas show
• Clyde & Seamore’s Night Before Christmas show
• A Polar Express 4-D experience
2014: Shamu’s Christmas
Starting in 2014, Shamu’s Christmas show ran for only two years, when it then switched to Shamu Christmas Miracles – the latter of which was already a yearly tradition at Orlando and San Antonio. The shows were discontinued in 2017 due to public pressure of the park’s orca program. Today, you’ll find more educational-focused programming rather than theatrical performances.
2015: A Sesame Street Christmas
In 2015, a new show came to Mission Bay Theater called A Sesame Street Christmas, in which the character Abby learns through stories and songs about the celebration and traditions of the Christmas season and discovers the true meaning of Christmas.
2017: “O Wondrous Night”
In 2017, SeaWorld San Diego introduced an all-new live Nativity musical, “O Wondrous Night, The Greatest Story Ever Told,” performed at the Nautilus Amphitheater. This production started in the Orlando location back in 2011 and continues on today. The show featured more than 30 carols, storytelling puppets, and live animals as part of the performance to bring the Christmas story to life “from a new point of view: through the eyes of the animals”. While the show is no longer at SeaWorld San Diego, you can still find them at SeaWorld Orlando and San Antonio during their holiday season. There are a number of YouTube videos available of the show over the years, but we suggest going to check it out in person if you are in the San Antonio or Orlando area.
2019: Winter Wonderland On Ice
For the 2019 season, a new nighttime spectacular called “Winter Wonderland On Ice” came to the Nautilus Amphitheater featuring skilled ice skaters performing amazing technical moves to classic holiday songs. This show debuted in SeaWorld Orlando in 2009 and has been a fan-favorite year after year. From what we could gather, though, this show has only been at SeaWorld San Diego for just one year in 2019.
2020: The modern “Christmas Celebration” comes to light (literally)
By 2020, we start to see the “Christmas Celebration” of today start to take shape. Many media outlets covered the theme park industry, especially during this time, as they started to rev back up in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the Christmas festivities in 2020, SeaWorld described the event as spread across more than 100 acres of outdoor space, with a number of new experiences with entertainment, food, characters, and activities that still met social distancing guidelines of the time, such as
- The Rudolph’s 4-D Movie Experience: This experience took place at the Orca Encounter theater, with their 140-foot screen featuring a retelling of the classic story, complete with snow, wind, and mist effects. There was also a character meet-and-greet after the show.
- The dolphin and sea lion shows had a holiday overlay and theme
- A Sesame Street Christmas Village meet-and-greet area
- New Kwanzaa festivities
- A new Stocking Stuffer Christmas Trail for younger guests, and
- A new Christmas Treasure Hunt for explorers of all ages.
2021- Elmo’s Christmas Wish
A number of new offerings came in 2021 with:
- Elmo’s Christmas Wish – in which Cookie Monster, Rosita, Grover, and Zoe help Elmo find his Christmas wish.
- A new tree-lighting ceremony, and
- A new twist to Clyde & Seamore’s Christmas Special
2022- O.P. Otter’s Holiday Sing-A-Long
2022 saw a brand-new O.P. Otter’s Holiday Sing-A-Long at the Mission Bay Theater, in which O.P. Otter sings and dances to classic Christmas tunes.
2025-2026 Christmas Celebration
Fast-forward to what SeaWorld San Diego is highlighting right now. This year, the Christmas Celebration is running daily from Nov. 14, 2025 – Jan. 4, 2026. Throughout the park, you’ll find live entertainment, holiday food booths, seasonal zones, and (of course), the SkyTower Tree of Lights.
This year, the park is pulling out all the stops with new ways to surprise and delight guests while keeping with tradition and bringing back fan-favorite offerings. The park has significantly increased the number of lights used throughout the park.
The park has introduced all-new holiday entertainment options, including
- Clyde & Seamore’s Christmas Special
- A new show called Toymaker Trouble with Mrs. Claus and the Elves, and
- A musical group called the Jingle Squad sings holiday tunes
Returning shows such as:
- Happy Harbor Holiday at the Mission Bay Theater with fan-favorite Sir Winston the Walrus
- A Stocking Full of Soul at the Nautilus Amphitheater
- Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Parade with new floats
- Donner and Blitzen’s Lazer Light Show at the front of the park
- Of course, the tree lighting ceremony!
- Meet Santa at Santa’s Village (located at SkyTower Lawn), as well as two of his reindeer!
- Over at Arctic Plaza (the area in front of the penguins and Wild Arctic) is currently home to the Holly Jolly Marketplace and Rudolph Christmastown, complete with food and drink booths, Rudolph-themed photo ops and meet-and-greets.
- Both SkyTower Lawn and Arctic Plaza also have snowfall!
They also have what they call “Snowflake Seekers: A Christmas Quest,” where you go around the park finding snowflake icons, mark them as found on your special map, and turn it in for a prize. It’s been around for a few years now, but you know we love a good seek-&-find experience, so if you’re at the park this season, be sure to check that out!
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So that’s the historical arc we can document with confidence: a holiday identity anchored by SkyTower’s ‘Tree of Lights,’ shaped by broader cultural moments like the 1973 energy crisis, and gradually expanding into the multi-zone Christmas Celebration structure we recognize today.
But there are still open questions that we are still searching for solid answers to, like
• What did the holidays look like in those earliest years after opening?
• When did specific traditions formally begin, and when and why were some of them phased out?
If you have any details, stories, or photos from the holidays at SeaWorld over the years, we’d love to hear them! Share with us in our private Facebook group: Where In The Park Explorers.
Until next time, we’ll see you somewhere in the park.
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Articles referenced in this episode:
• Amusement Today (see page 17) – Christmas Spotlight 2011
• Attractions Magazine – New holiday shows at SeaWorld for 2009
• California Staycation Blog – SeaWorld Christmas Celebration starting Nov. 21, 2015
• CBS 8 News – SeaWorld Christmas tree lit up during 1973 energy crisis (note – the first 29 seconds of this video has no sound)
• CBS News – A Guide To SoCal's Tree-Lighting Ceremonies – Nov 2011
• CBS News – Holiday Road Trip to SeaWorld – Dec 2011
• IdeaWiki – SeaWorld San Diego
• IdeaWiki – Shamu (SeaWorld Show)
• In Park Magazine – SeaWorld San Diego adds new shows and experiences for its holiday celebrations - Nov 2021
• LA Theatre Beat – Southern California Theme Park Roundup Winter 2017 - Steve Zall and Sid Fish
• Macaroni Kid – SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration Tells the Greatest Story Ever Told (2017)
• MomRewritten.com – SeaWorld San Diego Christmas Celebration
• MouseInfo.com – SeaWorld San Diego 2020 CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION relies on outdoor charms, adds new entertainment offerings – Joey Ingo, Nov 2020
• SanDiego.com – Explore San Diego’s Christmas Tree Trail 2025
• SeaWorld.com – Celebrate Christmas at SeaWorld San Diego – Nov 2025
• SeaWorld.com – Christmas Celebration is Here! Make the Most of Your Merry Moments at SeaWorld – Nov 2020
• SeaWorld.com – Christmas Shows & Entertainment – Orlando
• SeaWorld.com – Christmas Shows & Entertainment – San Antonio
• SeaWorld.com – Your Guide to SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration! – Nov 2017
• Shaun Tuazon – O Wondrous Night (SeaWorld San Diego) 2017
• United Parks Investor Relations – SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration Returns -- Bigger, Brighter, and More Enchanting Than Ever – Oct 2025
• Visit Anaheim – SeaWorld San Diego Welcomes the Holiday Season – Nov 2023
