A very Happy New Year from SeaWorld San Diego!

SeaWorld San Diego is a great theme park where you can see and experience up-close and personal a large and diverse variety of marine life, thrilling new rides and seasonal special events all included in the price of admission, with additional bonuses for annual pass holders. SeaWorld is one of the largest marine animal rescue organizations in the World. Their care team consists of hundreds of professional animal behaviorists, aquarists, zoologists, veterinarians and dieticians

Lately I’ve been staying at home on New Year’s Eve. I used to look forward to ringing in the New Year at that major theme park about 1-1/2 hours away, but all of their annual passes — even the top level (and very expensive) annual pass that I’ve had for years, no longer includes park admission from just before Christmas until after New Year’s Day.

Early on New Year’s Eve day I asked one of my neighbors if he and his family would be doing anything special for New Year’s Eve. He said he was, and then asked me about my plans. I said that I was going to stay home, adding that I sometimes used to go to that major theme park to celebrate New Year’s Eve, but that I stopped doing that when they started blocking out all levels of annual passes then. A single day, single park ticket for New Year’s Day at that theme park costs close to $200 — plus parking.

I then mentioned to him that for about the same price, last year — during their Fourth of July promotion, I bought a gold level ANNUAL pass to SeaWorld San Diego. That pass includes General Parking, four free guest tickets, generous discounts on in-park offerings, valuable Member Rewards (more about that later) and NO BLOCKOUT DATES! I added that SeaWorld San Diego would be having fireworks that evening.

He encouraged me to go to SeaWorld, instead of staying home and watching other people ring in the New Year on TV. I decided to go. That’s a big additional advantage of living only about half an hour away. I can and do go often, and because I have an annual pass with parking, I do not feel like I need to spend the whole day there to get my money’s worth. It is close enough that I can just about go there and back using electricity to power my Toyota RAV4 Prime — even if the free chargers are in use (the other theme park charges for theirs).

I set my DVR to record the ball drop at Times Square and arrived at SeaWorld San Diego at about 6 p.m., and stayed until after the fireworks.

During that time (from a distance) I observed Santa Claus in his cottage…

… enjoyed the holiday decorations and lights…

… was captivated by the penguins as they sometimes jumped clear out of the water as they sped along…

… in stark contrast to the California Moray Eels that barely moved…

… bought a discounted souvenir…

… watched the laser light show…

… and joined a large crowd of revelers to watch the fireworks.

Earlier I mentioned valuable SeaWorld San Diego Member Rewards for annual passholders. Last year I redeemed several of their $10 annual passes’ “SeaCoupons,” which were good for a same-day $10 discount on food and merchandise. Every year I look forward to trick-or-treating for a LOT of free candy on weekends leading up to Halloween (the only time of year where I treat myself to too much candy). There’s also a free, annual, SeaWorld Christmas ornament, and members get to skip the crowds when they first open a new ride.

Check out the annual passes, seasonal entertainment, marine animal presentations and everything else that SeaWorld San Diego has to offer at: https://seaworld.com/

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