Sesame Street, SeaWorld are park pals again
ORLANDO, Fla. — There are plenty of sunny days to sweep the clouds away where SeaWorld is opening its next theme park.
Officials with SeaWorld Entertainment and Sesame Workshop announced Monday that they are opening the country’s second Sesame Place park in San Diego in spring 2021. The first Sesame Place theme park opened almost 40 years ago near Philadelphia.
The announcement continues a pivot by Orlandobased SeaWorld away from live animal shows.
The new 17-acre Sesame Place will be located south of SeaWorld San Diego. The space is currently occupied by a water park, Aquatica San Diego, which will have its final season next year.
Monday’s announcement is part of an expanding partnership between SeaWorld and Sesame Street, which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. SeaWorld’s Orlando park opened a Sesame Street section earlier this year. Officials wouldn’t disclose the cost of the park.
Steve Youngwood, president of media and education and chief operating officer of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, said the two brands have commonobjectives.
“We want to engage and educate families. We mutually respect each side’s expertise and we collaborate together to make it work,” Youngwood said.
SeaWorld announced the end of its breeding program in March 2016, after years of pressure from animal rights advocates and shifting public opinion about orcas being held in captivity. The protests intensified after the release of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.”
The company in the past year, though, has seen a reversal of fortune. Attendance was up 8.6% during the 2018 fiscal year, as was revenue. For the first half of this year, attendance was up 1.7%.