SeaWorld San Diego is reopening the immersive Shark Encounter exhibit this Friday after 10 months of renovation. The park is also rolling out daily $1 beer and seltzer promotions starting Saturday through Aug. 16, betting that nostalgia—sharks in the spotlight
By the time SeaWorld’s doors swing open this Friday, a lot of people will already be thinking about one thing: where the sharks went.
“Everyone has been asking where the sharks went. ” Tracy Spahr. director of public relations at SeaWorld. said as the park put the finishing touches on the attraction. After 10 months and millions of dollars invested in the project—Spahr would not disclose the exact amount—the immersive Shark Encounter exhibit is set to reopen.
For SeaWorld San Diego, the change isn’t just about bringing people back. The park is leaning into the kind of old-school spectacle visitors remember, but updating it with a sharper education mission and a new set of promotions designed to land during the busiest stretch of the year.
Danielle Castillo, zoological curator of aquariums at SeaWorld San Diego, said the exhibit emphasizes education and understanding. “Our mission is to make sure that people understand how important sharks are, that they’re not all scary great whites. There is so much more than that.”
Inside, the messaging is built around what visitors can actually watch. Castillo pointed to a zebra shark slowly sweeping across the window. “It’s chubby cheeks,” she laughed. “He’s so cute.”
The exhibit is designed so guests can see more than the idea of a shark—they can see how the animal behaves. With its mouth agape, it can look toothless to the untrained eye. But zebra sharks don’t rip and tear prey. Castillo said their suction-capable mouths vacuum-clean crustaceans and mollusks off the sea floor.
Guests will be able to watch that from the exhibit’s 180-degree view aquarium, where sharks are visible from above and below at the same time.
The exhibit itself dates back 34 years. It has not seen a renovation until now. Much of the basic infrastructure remains the same, but an old “coral reef wall” has been replaced with a mini drawbridge.
Under that bridge, 11 different shark species and a gigantic grouper swim beneath visitors’ feet.
During the day, SeaWorld educators will throw buckets of—sometimes frozen—chum into the tank so guests can watch the sharks feed.
For $49.99, visitors can also buy a VIP ticket to feed the sharks themselves on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
There’s new signage, LED lights and immersive footage in the Shark Encounter exhibit. Some of the renovation isn’t obvious at first glance, but SeaWorld is framing it as a major upgrade for the animals.
Castillo said SeaWorld added a new surge pump to mimic the ebb and flow of the ocean, “providing enrichment for the sharks.” She added that it’s important to change their environment, to make it as natural as possible.
While the exhibit was being renovated, SeaWorld transported the sharks to a holding tank across the park.
The reopened exhibit will have more than 30 sharks and will showcase 11 different species, including sand tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks and the endangered Australian leopard shark. Sandbar sharks are a new addition to the tank, Castillo said.
Sharks are getting their moment again. But this time, they’re coming with beer.
Outside the new exhibit, concession stands will sell cheap—though not free—beer starting the day after the Shark Encounter opens, Saturday. The promotion runs daily through Aug. 16.
For $1, Spahr said guests can “buy the cheapest beer in San Diego.” The $1 lineup includes SeaWorld’s Emperor Hazy IPA, Shipwreck Rapids Lager, Arctic Rescue Blue Seltzer and Jewels of the Sea Kölsch.
The park is calling the Shark Encounter its biggest renovation, but Spahr said it won’t be the only draw. “We’re doing a bunch of new promos,” she said, aimed at keeping momentum during the season when the park expects to be at its busiest.
SeaWorld San Diego Shark Encounter sharks $1 beer Emperor Hazy IPA Shipwreck Rapids Lager Arctic Rescue Blue Seltzer Jewels of the Sea Kölsch Tracy Spahr Danielle Castillo VIP ticket sand tiger sharks Australian leopard shark