SeaWorld San Diego is opening its summer programming on Friday with two major additions: a nightly drone show called Ocean of Dreams and a new Shark Encounter exhibit. The park says the new lineup is built to draw guests after dark, with one show in the sky and another taking visitors under the waterline.
Ocean of Dreams uses 600 synchronized drones in a 12-minute display that features sea otters, sharks, dolphins and an orca, set to a soundtrack inspired by marine life and ocean conservation. Tyler Carter said the park is bringing its ocean story to the sky in a way that is meant to inspire the next generation to protect it, and added that SeaWorld is the first and only California attraction offering a nightly drone show for guests and the San Diego community.
The show begins its nightly run on May 22 and continues through Aug. 9 before moving to a weekend-only schedule through Sept. 7. SeaWorld says Ocean of Dreams replaces the firework shows that had been popular but also controversial, a shift that reflects how the park is trying to reshape its nighttime entertainment without losing the scale or spectacle that families expect.
The new Shark Encounter debuts Friday as well, replacing the original exhibit built in 1992 after more than a year of construction. The underwater experience features 11 species, including sand tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks and the endangered Australian leopard shark. Visitors can upgrade their tickets to feed more than 400 sharks in the exhibit, watching feeding practices and learning about shark behavior, diet and the role sharks play in ocean ecosystems.
The path through the exhibit is designed to change how guests see the animals. It begins with a new entrance framed by lush foliage that opens into a coastal beach scene, then moves from above-water viewing into an underwater perspective where sharks glide overhead. The journey ends at a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with dynamic LED multimedia technology, and includes a shark tunnel with a moving walkway through a transparent passage surrounded by sharks.
Tyler Carter called the all-new Shark Encounter an awe-inspiring experience that brings guests face to face with some of the ocean’s most powerful and misunderstood predators. Danielle Castillo said sharks play a vital role in keeping ocean ecosystems healthy and balanced, but many species are facing growing threats in the wild. SeaWorld says several species in the exhibit are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The message behind Friday’s rollout is clear: SeaWorld San Diego is betting that conservation can share the stage with entertainment. If the park can make that case to families on a crowded summer night, Ocean of Dreams and the new Shark Encounter could become the template for how it wants to tell its story from here.
