'Sesame Street' Theme Park Coming To San Diego In 2021
Sesame Street is set to make a splash in San Diego. SeaWorld and Sesame Workshop announced the plans to build a new Sesame Street theme park at SeaWorld San Diego, making it the first Sesame Place on the West Coast.The LA Times reports that everyone's favorite street will be putting down new paving in San Diego. SeaWorld Entertainment, which has had a long-running licensing agreement with Sesame Workshop, is developing a Sesame Street theme park in SeaWorld San Diego, converting the park's Aquatica water slide venue in Chula Vista into a new Sesame Place theme park. The park will open in 2021.
The first Sesame Place on the West Coast will feature "tame roller coasters, carousels and other family-friendly rides; the street made famous on TV" as well as a parade, live shows, and other character interactions, according to park president of SeaWorld San Diego Marilyn Hannes. According to Deadline, the new Sesame Place will feature 11 water attractions and a 500,000-gallon wave pool, along with seven kid-friendly rides. The companies also said that the theme park will open as a Certified Autism Center, like its Sesame-themed sister park in Pennsylvania, which has been open for decades.
The rebranding "is a significant investment for the company," Hannes told the LA Times. "This is the first new Sesame Place park in 40 years."
The new theme park comes out of necessity for SeaWorld Entertainment to uphold its deal with the Sesame Workshop, which required the company to open a second Sesame Place theme park in the U.S. by 2021, the LA Times reported. The original Sesame Place opened in Langhorne, Pennsylvania in 1980, and is expected to serve as the basis for the new San Diego version of Sesame Place; the original has 18 land-based rides, such as Elmo's Cloud Chase and Oscar's Wacky Taxi Coaster, and nine water rides.
SeaWorld San Diego is primed for a Sesame Street theme park, having previously opened Sesame Street Bay of Play in 2008. And that's not all the Sesame Street parks out there: SeaWorld Orlando also recently opened Sesame Street Land, which featured six themed rides, a parade, and more. Plus, SeaWorld San Antonio also has a Sesame Street land. So this new park will be a new addition to a large family.