SeaWorld San Antonio to Reopen June 19th + SeaWorld Parks to Reduce Operating Days

© SeaWorld San Antonio

SeaWorld San Antonio has announced that it will reopen to guests on June 19th.  It will join neighboring Aquatica San Antonio, which reopened to guests for fun in the sun this weekend.

The park will join the SeaWorld Entertainment parks in Florida (which open on June 11th) with similar safety standards in light of COVID-19.  This include temperature screenings, the mandatory use of face masks, limited capacity and plenty of other changes.  The park has a FAQ guide for guests located here.  To visit the park, ticket holders of all types must make a reservation ahead of time.

The park had already opened the Texas Stingray, a brand new wooden roller coaster, before the park temporarily closed due to the pandemic.  Fans are sure to want to race to the park to get either another or their first ride on the coaster!

© SeaWorld San Antonio

Another big change is that SeaWorld San Antonio is planning on staying closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the entire summer, until they move to weekend-only operations in August.  While we didn't cover it here yet, SeaWorld Orlando is doing something similar this summer, with their schedule showing the park closed every Tuesday and Thursday for the rest of the year.

I have a feeling that SeaWorld Entertainment is waiting to see how much guest demand there is for visits, and making sure to control costs and keep the parks operating profitably by closing a couple days a week.  I also have a feeling that if demand is shown to be high enough they will add back those operating days in a flash.

It is an interesting plan that we haven't seen with other park operators, though really on Six Flags has started to open or announce park openings so far, not Cedar Fair. 

Right now you can reserve a visit to Frontier City as soon as tomorrow (though with very limited entrance times left) and to both Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Fiesta Texas the first day they are open to non-pass and members (this is true for day-tickets, I did not test as a pass holder).  Hopefully this isn't a sign of less than anticipated demand for the parks, if so perhaps Six Flags will switch to closing some days mid-week as well.  Or maybe Cedar Fair will even opt to open that way from the start.  We'll see soon enough.