SeaWorld, Aquatica ready to be open 7 days per week again

FILE- In this Jan. 31, 2017, file photo, the entrance to Sea World is seen, in Orlando, Fla. Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment jumped Tuesday, May 8, 2018, after the company topped Wall Street expectations and reported a boost in attendance during the first quarter. The stock gained $1.35, or 8.5 percent, to $17.22 in morning trading on the key attendance boost during the first three months of the year where most of its theme parks are still closed. The company has been trying to rebuild its image and boost attendance since 2013, when the documentary "Blackfish" suggested that the company's treatment of animals may have led to the deaths of trainers. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) — John Raoux / AP
FILE- In this Jan. 31, 2017, file photo, the entrance to Sea World is seen, in Orlando, Fla. Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment jumped Tuesday, May 8, 2018, after the company topped Wall Street expectations and reported a boost in attendance during the first quarter. The stock gained $1.35, or 8.5 percent, to $17.22 in morning trading on the key attendance boost during the first three months of the year where most of its theme parks are still closed. The company has been trying to rebuild its image and boost attendance since 2013, when the documentary “Blackfish” suggested that the company’s treatment of animals may have led to the deaths of trainers. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

By Dewayne Bevil | dbevil@orlandosentinel.com | Orlando Sentinel

PUBLISHED: August 24, 2020 at 12:56 p.m. | UPDATED: August 27, 2020 at 5:07 p.m.

SeaWorld Orlando theme park and Aquatica water park are returning to a seven-days-per-week operating schedule. The attractions have been gradually increasing their hours since reopening from the coronavirus pandemic in early June.

SeaWorld and Aquatica still will require that date-specific reservations be made for all visitors, including annual passholders. Reservations can be obtained through SeaWorld’s official website.

The seven-day schedule is set to last through Oct. 5, SeaWorld says, and the attractions will continue to operate with limited capacity and other pandemic-related restrictions, including face coverings and temperature screenings.

In addition, SeaWorld is adding more days and longer hours for special events currently underway. The Craft Beer Festival, previously held on Saturdays and Sundays, is expanding to Fridays beginning Aug. 28. The event runs through Sept. 20 and operates throughout the theme park from 3-10 p.m.

The park’s Electric Ocean Remix, which includes the “Light Up the Sky” fireworks, recently was expanded to a Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule through Sept. 6. Entry to the beer festival and Electric Ocean is included in regular park admission.

SeaWorld also is holding a Flicks and Fireworks event with park and view drive-in movies on Fridays and Saturdays, through Sept. 6. The cost is $50 per vehicle.

The expansion of SeaWorld’s schedule means that all seven Central Florida theme parks are open on a daily basis. Walt Disney World parks require daily reservations; Universal’s theme parks do not. Disney water parks Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach have not reopened. Universal’s Volcano Bay water park has been open daily since early June, but it will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Sept. 8.

SeaWorld San Diego has announced that some elements of its theme park will reopen as of Aug. 28. The California park’s “Zoo Days” will include access to open-air animal exhibits and presentations, and the attraction also will host a craft beer and barbecue festival.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. Want more theme park news? Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters or the Theme Park Rangers podcast at orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-podcast.