Our whole family loves Seaworld and we try to visit at least once during our stay in Florida. Purely by chance on our trip in October 03 (covering the school half term), we decided to visit Seaworld on a weekend. When we arrived we found that for a couple of weekends (including the day we visited and the following weekend), Seaworld was hosting a Halloween Spooktacular.
The kids were delighted, because Seaworld had been transformed and it was like visiting for the first time. Everywhere we turned, there were cauldrons, pumpkins, witches, cemetaries, and lots and lots of skeleton pirates. The kids faces were a picture and the photo opportunities were endless.
As an added bonus, Trick or Treat Treasure Trove stations were located all over the grounds and the kids were given a goody bag and a treasure map at the Treasure Trove station and were directed to follow the map and present their goody bags at each station, where more treats (mainly candies) were dropped into their bags (we missed the first station, but you could start the treasure hunt from any of them). The people at each of the stations were dressed up in different themes and interacted with the kids. The atmosphere was brilliant and lots of Americans had obviously planned ahead and had come in full costume (some of which were simply stunning).
There were the usual shows and attractions, but lots of them had been given a Halloween makeover:
Clyde & Seamore’s Ghostly Pirate Cruise, Creepy Creatures at Pets Ahoy, Spooky Kid Star Theater , Monster Mash Costume Parade etc. We found it hard to drag the kids away, but finally struck a bargain with them that we would bring them back the next weekend to see the evening attractions. (We had a four park Orlando Flexticket, which meant we had unlimited access for 14 days)
The evening events were just as good, and everything looked different in the dark - very spooky. As well as the boys collecting their goody bags, we saw Shamu’s Haunted House of Douse, a fantastic evening show – Shamu is such a star! - and ended off the evening watching ‘A Halloween Thriller’ a very cheesy Pirate battle, with lots of audience participation, which ended with a fireworks display (not up to Disney standards, but still good)
This was a real treat for us all, and nothing extra to pay for the Halloween entertainment.