Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sesame Place San Diego gets official opening date

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Sesame Workshop announced that Sesame Place San Diego theme park will welcome guests starting Saturday, March 26. The first to celebrate the park opening will be Season Pass holders who will be invited to exclusive grand opening events with character meet-and-greets, photo opportunities, collector items and more.

The new 17-acre park will be the only Sesame Place location on the West Coast and the second location in the country. The park will be open year-round with Sesame Street-themed rides and attractions, including 18 Sesame Street-themed rides and water attractions. Some highlights are a kid-friendly rollercoaster, a 500,000-gallon wave pool, a musical play area, an interactive Sesame Street Neighborhood complete with the iconic 123 Stoop, daily live character shows, parades and photo opportunities.

Photos courtesy of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.

“This is an exciting milestone for our company, as this is the second Sesame Place in the United States and the first new theme park we’ve opened since 2013. We are thrilled to debut this new park and add a premiere tourist destination to California that is so appealing to families,” said Marc Swanson, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment CEO. “Having spent part of my career with this company at the original Sesame Place in Pennsylvania and being part of its success, I’m looking forward to continuing the legacy on the West Coast and providing a fun place to visit where lifelong memories are created as fans experience what they love about the iconic show in a new way.”

“Since 1980, Sesame Place has been a key part of the Sesame Workshop extended family and mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder,” said Steve Youngwood, Sesame Workshop CEO. “We are thrilled to partner with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment to introduce the West Coast’s only standalone theme park based entirely on the award-winning educational program, Sesame Street. Sesame Place San Diego will offer kids and families an immersive opportunity to play and learn with their favorite furry friends, and continue enriching their experiences with Sesame Street.”

Storytime with Big Bird in the Sesame Street Neighborhood. Photo courtesy of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
Interactive Play All Day

Upon entering the new theme park, guests will walk into the Sesame Street Neighborhood, a replica of the well-known street complete with the iconic 123 Stoop. The Sesame Street Neighborhood provides a variety of physical and digital experiences where guests can connect to all of the fun, laughter and learning of the world-famous street through interactive activities. Interactive offerings include Elmo’s Window where Elmo’s bedroom window comes to life with special moments that allow guests to play, dance and sing with Elmo and friends; Bike Shop Tricycle Challenge, a motion-sensing digital game where kids use their body to control a virtual tricycle as they collect numbers before time runs out; and the Sesame Street Apartment Intercom, where guests can press the apartment number buttons to hear fun responses from Grover, Rosita, Abby Cadabby and more. In the center of the neighborhood lies the Sunny Day Carousel. The go-around features Sesame Street characters, music and horses along with Big Bird happily greeting fans and riding around and around at the bearing of the carousel.

Photos courtesy of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.

Whirling Rides & Splashy Waterslides

Surrounding the neighborhood and throughout the park are a variety of Sesame Street-themed rides and attractions. Each ride was designed with a Sesame Street character in mind such as Cookie Climb, where guests pull themselves to the top of Cookie Monster-themed towers; Elmo’s Rockin’ Rockets, that flies up, down and all around on an imaginary trip through outer space; Super Grover’s Box Car Derby, a family-friendly roller coaster full of hills, big turns and mini-dives, plus many more rides to choose from.

In addition, park visitors should plan to pack their swimsuits for heated pools and waterslides, including Bert’s Topsy Turvy Tunnels, Snuffy’s Spaghetti Slides and Oscar’s Rotten Rafts, plus Big Bird’s Beach, a family-friendly 500,000-gallon wave pool surrounded by a sandy beach; Big Bird’s Rambling River, a relaxing, inner tube adventure; and The Count’s Splash Castle, a multi-level, interactive, water play attraction with a 500-gallon water bucket drop.

Certified Autism Center

Sesame Place has partnered with The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a global leader in online training and certification programs, to be designated as a Certified Autism Center (CAC). Sesame Place Team Members will receive specialized training to ensure they have the requisite knowledge, skills, temperament and expertise to cater to all children, including those with autism and special needs. Training focuses include sensory awareness, motor skills, autism overview, program development, social skills, communication, environment and emotional awareness.

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