Theme park festivals in flux
Major local attractions go “all in” on festivals and special events.
It’s been a growing trend for years, but 2019 may well be the year that theme parks go “all in” on festivals and special events. A major sign was SeaWorld Orlando’s decision to have outof-the-ordinary experiences every weekend of the year. That maneuver steals away the Forever Festival crown away from Epcot, which has a long dry spell, fest-wise, during the busy summer season.
There are other changes, including events moving significantly earlier on the calendar.
SeaWorld starts with its Festival of the Three Kings, which debuted in 2018. It has a holdover or two from the Christmas season, including the “O Wondrous Night” stage show, but there are some fresh elements, such as papas rellenas, bacalaitos and frozen mango margaritas on the menu. Three Kings runs through Sunday. (The Sea of Trees is still in place, too.)
The next two SeaWorld festivals will be new offerings. On weekends between Jan. 12 and Jan. 17, the park will have Inside Look, featuring rare behind-the-scenes access to its animal operations. Then, Feb. 2-3, it’s Elmo’s Birthday Weekend, a sort of appetizer for the Sesame Street area that’s scheduled to open in the spring.
Other SeaWorld events for 2019 include Seven Seas Food Festival (Feb. 9-May 5), another round of Inside Look from May 11-19, Electric Ocean (May 24-Sept. 1), Craft Beer Festival (Sept. 7-29), SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular (Sept. 21-Oct. 27), Praise Wave Christianmusic concerts (Nov. 2-17) and the Christmas Celebration (Nov. 23-Dec. 31).
These are included in regular SeaWorld admission, although there are opportunities to spend beyond the food kiosks. The park offers plans that include reserved seating and meal deals.
Early starters
Rock the Universe is on the move. Universal Studios’ Christian-music event will be held Feb. 1-2, a departure from its traditional early September slot. Among the performers for the separate-ticket event are Lecrae, Skillet, Matthew West, Bethel Music and Francesca Battistelli.
Also moving up in Universal’s calendar, although not as dramatically, is Halloween Horror Nights. The after-hours scare fest kicks off Sept. 6, which in years previous would have been a Rock the Universe date. That schedule was a little awkward with the Christian music fest going on while some decorations for HHN were already in place.
But now Rock the Universe will go back-to-back with Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration, which one could argue might need the same amount of thoughts and prayers. Dates for Mardi Gras are Feb. 9 through April 4.
Horror Nights will run on select (but not yet specified) dates from Sept. 6 to Nov. 2.
Epcot parties on
First up on the Walt Disney World fest front is the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, which begins Jan. 18. Its Disney on Broadway concert series will now happen on a daily basis, starting with Kerry Butler (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”). Ten other singers with Disney musical resumes (“Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” “Mary Poppins”) are scheduled for run of the event.
As with other Epcot fests, there are food options. Some of this lineup sounds fancy: Smoked salmon and cream gateau with egg yolk cream, paddlefish caviar and microherbs or sous vide chicken roulade with apples and sage served with warm brie fondue, blueberry and beet gel and garnished with apple and beet chips (gluten-free), for instance.
Don’t worry, there’s still funnel cake for sale.
The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs March 6-June 3. Dates have not been announced for Epcot’s food and wine festival or its holiday programming.
So not happening
Two annual events are off Orlando’s calendar.
• Night of Joy, the long-running Christian-music festival at Walt Disney World, is no more. Its last time was 2017.
• Universal Orlando will not be hosting A Celebration of Harry Potter, which had been held in January for the past few years. dbevil@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5477; Twitter: @ThemeParks