SeaWorld Orlando's Future Plans

[UniversalRBLX]

You just explained why Sea World wants a hotel…I think everyone understands that. What you’re missing is why a customer would choose a Sea World hotel. I’m sure they’re out there, but are there enough to fill a hotel 365 days a year for years on end?

If they put up a hotel that could have been copied & pasted from I-Drive/US-192, then there's no point... but there is a draw for a hotel that is branded to SeaWorld, offerings aquariums, unique perks... and most importantly the Sesame Street brand. I can assure you there will be huge demand for Sesame Street-themed suites and character breakfasts.

I don't think we should see this hotel as a competitor to Disney/Universal onsite hotels, but SeaWorld is a brand that is recognizable and could at least draw interest.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

If they put up a hotel that could have been copied & pasted from I-Drive/US-192, then there's no point... but there is a draw for a hotel that is branded to SeaWorld, offerings aquariums, unique perks... and most importantly the Sesame Street brand. I can assure you there will be huge demand for Sesame Street-themed suites and character breakfasts.

I don't think we should see this hotel as a competitor to Disney/Universal onsite hotels, but SeaWorld is a brand that is recognizable and could at least draw interest.

That’s fair…didn’t consider the Sesame branding (if Lego can support a whole resort I guess Sesame could as well).

 

[UniversalRBLX]

That’s fair…didn’t consider the Sesame branding (if Lego can support a whole resort I guess Sesame could as well).

Yup - if Legoland can convince people to travel down I4 for Lego-themed rooms... SeaWorld should do just fine with the Sesame characters.

 

[Thatguyoverwhere]

From seeing the hotel concept art created for SWO and the videos from SeaWorld Abu dhabi, I think there's plenty that they can do to make any hotel of theirs appealing from a branding perspective.
View attachment 19285View attachment 19286View attachment 19287 It'll probably never be as elaborate as either of those things, but even a scaled down version could be really interesting, both with original ocean themes and Sesame Street branding. I could see rooms having a variety of themes:

• underwater 'sea pods'
• Sesame Street
• Atlantis
• Nautical/old fishing village
• pirate ship
• Key West or other tropical island style

But I also don't think it will even come down to that to get people to stay there. I think the biggest factor is going to be the appeal of it being an onsite hotel and the convenience and perks that come with it. I'm not sure who all will be most interested in the 'SeaWorld bubble' but I suspect if the company is looking this seriously into a hotel then they've probably already run the estimates and gotten the feedback indicating it'd be a good investment... I vaguely remember taking or hearing about multiple surveys over the past few years gauging interest in a hypothetical hotel.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think the biggest factor is going to be the appeal of it being an onsite hotel and the convenience and perks that come with it. I'm not sure who all will be most interested in the 'SeaWorld bubble' but I suspect if the company is looking this seriously into a hotel then they've probably already run the estimates and gotten the feedback indicating it'd be a good investment... I vaguely remember taking or hearing about multiple surveys over the past few years gauging interest in a hypothetical hotel.

They don't want (nor do they need) to create a bubble... just a hotel that happens to be next to their park with their logo/name attached to it. They're competing with the Rosens/Holiday Inn/etc. not Cabana Bay.

 

[GAcoaster]

From seeing the hotel concept art created for SWO and the videos from SeaWorld Abu dhabi, I think there's plenty that they can do to make any hotel of theirs appealing from a branding perspective.
View attachment 19284View attachment 19285View attachment 19286View attachment 19287 It'll probably never be as elaborate as either of those things, but even a scaled down version could be really interesting, both with original ocean themes and Sesame Street branding. I could see rooms having a variety of themes:

• underwater 'sea pods'
• Sesame Street
• Atlantis
• Nautical/old fishing village
• pirate ship
• Key West or other tropical island style

But I also don't think it will even come down to that to get people to stay there. I think the biggest factor is going to be the appeal of it being an onsite hotel and the convenience and perks that come with it. I'm not sure who all will be most interested in the 'SeaWorld bubble' but I suspect if the company is looking this seriously into a hotel then they've probably already run the estimates and gotten the feedback indicating it'd be a good investment... I vaguely remember taking or hearing about multiple surveys over the past few years gauging interest in a hypothetical hotel.

I don't see anything more elaborate than some tanks in the lobby. The new airport store they built in Terminal C is probably about the same level of theme a hotel is getting.

 

[ParkRumors]

SeaWorld has filed a preliminary plan with the Orange County Development Review Committee for a project code named Starboard. Details are very scarce at the moment, but the application lists Atkins as the primary contact and references a 14 acre parcel of land behind the park. That parcel of land is currently used as BOH support/infrastructure, so it’ll be interesting to see what the plan entails. There should be more documents available in the coming weeks as the project moves through the review process.

So after doing more research, it seems that SeaWorld CEO Marc Swanson mentioned in this month's earning call that SeaWorld was planning on opening two hotels in the coming years (one in 2025 and a second in 2026), with others currently being planned.

I went back to the 2015 earnings call and found this map of their resort strategy:

I decided to look up the other parcels of land highlighted in yellow to see if there was any activity on them, and lo and behold, there was another preliminary plan filed with the Orange County Development Review Committee on the same day as the Starboard filing. This project is codenamed Canopy and sits on a 1-ish acre plot of land behind Discovery Cove:

So if I was a betting man, I'd wager these are the locations of their first two hotels, codenamed Starboard and Canopy.

Seems both these projects are moving forward. SeaWorld filed demolition permits for both the Starboard and Canopy projects in early December. And today, they’ve filed the Development Plan for Starboard. There aren’t many details yet, but the filing at least confirms the Startboard project is a 504 room hotel. We should see the Development Plan for the Canopy project in the next few days, so I’ll keep and eye out for anything new.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I originally questioned the location, but it makes sense for it to be across Discovery Cove and quick access to the back portion of SeaWorld. I wonder if they're hoping to get this done by 2025/26 to take advantage of Epic.

 

[IzzyB]

I originally questioned the location, but it makes sense for it to be across Discovery Cove and quick access to the back portion of SeaWorld. I wonder if they're hoping to get this done by 2025/26 to take advantage of Epic.

I think it makes a lot of sense because they could have views into Discovery Cove which is probably a pretty park, but also more quiet than Aquatica/Sea World. I honestly am shocked they never did hotels in the past, I mean even Legoland has hotels. They can make some money on package deals into their parks including Discovery Cove.

 

[ParkRumors]

Site plan was filed today. Hotel will be 15 stories with the top floor being a bar and outdoor terrace overlooking the park. The outdoor amenities look absolutely amazing, and there will be an elevated boardwalk that connects into the park next to Nautilus theater!

https://x.com/behindthrills/status/1735438605030425010?s=46

 

[GAcoaster]

Wow-- 15 stories will be much taller than anything around it. Almost as tall as Aventura. I think the hotels on the opposite corner are about 8 stories.
Looks good though, and nice to see the parking garage as part of the plan.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I wonder who is their partner on this? No way SeaWorld is doing this on its own. The outdoor pool area is very impressive and the hotel's design looks very nice, much better than the standard rectangle-shaped hotels.

 

[IzzyB]

This would be a huge win for Sea World and adding a conference center and that entrance will be a huge win.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

This would be a huge win for Sea World and adding a conference center and that entrance will be a huge win.

Barely 5 minutes down the road from the convention center and "in the middle" of Orlando's tourism... it'll be a huge win if done properly.

 

[IzzyB]

Barely 5 minutes down the road from the convention center and "in the middle" of Orlando's tourism... it'll be a huge win if done properly.

100% agreed. The work conference I attended I looked at what hotels they had blocks in a bunch were by sea world, so this new hotel will for sure be in the mix for convention people. But also having their own convention center will bring in smaller conventions that want some fun activities because they can buy parts of Sea World for the evening and have easy access to their buyout.

The plans look amazing, lets see if this gets built based on the plans though. I honestly never understood why they didn't have their own hotel with their own perks for people staying at them. It always seemed like a miss to me. That area can handle new hotels especially unique ones with unique perks/access.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

100% agreed. The work conference I attended I looked at what hotels they had blocks in a bunch were by sea world, so this new hotel will for sure be in the mix for convention people. But also having their own convention center will bring in smaller conventions that want some fun activities because they can buy parts of Sea World for the evening and have easy access to their buyout.

The plans look amazing, lets see if this gets built based on the plans though. I honestly never understood why they didn't have their own hotel with their own perks for people staying at them. It always seemed like a miss to me. That area can handle new hotels especially unique ones with unique perks/access.

SeaWorld has a vast amount of property, even with all of the land sales over the past decades, they have the land to create a resort somewhat like UOR (excluding a 2nd park) with resorts and even an entertainment district.

 

[Magic-Man]

So uhh, where are employees going to park now? That lot is pretty necessary for overflow parking.

 

[IzzyB]

So uhh, where are employees going to park now? That lot is pretty necessary for overflow parking.

I thought they parked across the street? Overflow always seems to go across the street when I have seen it on super busy nights.

 

[Magic-Man]

I thought they parked across the street? Overflow always seems to go across the street when I have seen it on super busy nights.

Across the street is pretty bad. Employees shouldn't have to park at Aquatica or Discovery Cove to work at SeaWorld.

 

[IzzyB]

Across the street is pretty bad. Employees shouldn't have to park at Aquatica or Discovery Cove to work at SeaWorld.

No it is near the HR building and the garage, not the side of discovery cove or Aquatica. The parking lot they are getting rid of is pretty small. They also used to run trams when they used the parking near HR building, but they haven't done that in ages. They do pay police to allow for safe crossing of the road when they use that overflow lot. I have had to park there as a guest before.