The magic of Sesame Street is coming to America's Finest City, as the second location of Sesame Place theme park will open in San Diego in 2021.
The original Sesame Place opened in Langhorne, PA on the outskirts of Philadelphia in July 1980 and has been a premiere destination for families across the country for almost 40 years (I used to go there as a child). Officials with SeaWorld Entertainment and Sesame Workshop announced today they are opening the country’s second Sesame Place park in San Diego in spring 2021. The announcement continues a pivot by Orlando-based SeaWorld away from live animal shows, after the documentary Blackfish, which detailed the tortured life of the orca Tilikum, caused a global outcry and protests. SeaWorld’s Orlando park opened a Sesame Street section earlier this year.
"We want to engage and educate families," commented Steve Youngwood, president of media and education and chief operating officer of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street. "We mutually respect each side’s expertise and we collaborate together to make it work.
The new 17-acre Sesame Street Place will install in the space occupied by SeaWorld-owned water park Aquatica San Diego, which will have its final season next year. Many of the water park's attractions will be incorporated into the new park. The San Diego park will be slightly larger than the Sesame Street park outside Philadelphia and will feature roller coasters and other family friendly rides, as well as a daily parade, live shows and character interactions. Construction will start in Aquatica’s offseason and resume after Aquatica closes for the season next year. The park’s opening in San Diego will open the Sesame Street experience to the western United States, as well as to visitors from south of the border, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.
Sesame Place will be located at 2052 Entertainment Circle in San Diego's Chula Vista. For more information about Sesame Place San Diego, visit sesameplace.com/san-diego.
