Monday, October 21, 2019

Sesame Place San Diego Announced For Spring 2021 Opening



SeaWorld Entertainment has finally named the second location for a Sesame Place theme park, and much to the surprise of many it will be located in San Diego, California.

The 17 acre Sesame Place San Diego will be a theme and water park opening in 2021, and will be a new park built off the bones of the current Aquatica San Diego, also one of SeaWorld Entertainment's parks.  The location is in Chula Vista, California, and currently serves as a secondary park to SeaWorld San Diego.

© Sesame Place San Diego
Work on the new park will commence this off season, and Aquatica San Diego is scheduled to operate for one final season in 2020.  More work will continue after it closes in the fall of 2020, and then Sesame Place San Diego will open in 2021.

When complete visitors will find a property that offers both mechanical and water rides, starting from the entrance area that is seen in the above concept art.  The design is somewhat similar to the Sesame Place park that has operated outside Philadelphia, but will use many of the existing parks facilities.

© Sesame Place San Diego
Visitors will also find a full replica of Sesame Street once inside the park, and it's said to have interactive features like those added at SeaWorld Orlando and Sesame Place Philadelphia this past season.  There will also be live shows featuring the Sesame Street gang, and a daily parade which has proven a huge hit at the existing Sesame Place park for decades.

Sesame Place San Diego will also open its doors as a Certified Autism Center, providing "staff-wide autism sensitivity and awareness training that will be completed prior to the park’s debut, and robust pre-visit planning resources, including a park-specific sensory guide will be featured on its website, making it easier for parents to plan activities that satisfy their child’s specific needs and accommodations.  Designated quiet spaces with adjustable lighting and comfortable seating will be incorporated into the park’s design."

© Sesame Place San Diego
While Aquatica San Diego was purely a water park experience, there will be seven mechanical rides added to the park when it reopens as Sesame Place San Diego.  Located throughout the park, it appears from the concept art that there will be a family swing ride, swirling submarine ride, balloon tower, carousel, an Elmo themed spinner, kid-powered climb tower and a family roller coaster, which looks like it will be themed to Super Grover.

© Sesame Place San Diego
If you click this image you can see more details of this great aerial concept art of Sesame Place San Diego.  The park's press materials state that it will have 11 water slides and attraction, and judging off of the current Aquatica map it looks like only one slide tower will be removed.  That is the tower with the tall high speed body slides, which indeed do not fit in a Sesame Place, and the concept art shows a new amphitheater in its place.  You can get an idea how the rides will be spread out around the property, and the Sesame Street neighborhood will go up in the corner of the park bordering the entrance area with the parking lot to its back.

The Sesame Place San Diego website is already live, offering more details on what will be offered when it opens in spring 2021.  Check it out at this link.


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