Depending on what time of year you visit, there are fun seasonal offerings at SeaWorld San Diego. During summer, the park has a new take on an evening light show: Electric Ocean takes its inspiration from the ocean phenomenon bioluminescence, where the ocean glows in the moonlight. The nighttime show, which runs through Labor Day, also features dance music, a DJ, and costumed sea creatures taking to the dance floor.

Come September and October, SeaWorld Spooktacular (weekends from late September through October) invites kids to dress in costume, mingle with strolling characters, and go trick-or-treating in the park. Don’t miss the Halloween-themed sea lion and otter show, Clyde & Seamore’s Big Halloween Bash. After dark, the park offers something more intense for teens and adults: Howl-O-Scream features haunted houses,  lights-out rides on the park’s roller coasters, and zombie- and creepy-clown-lined scare zones, each one more blood-curdling than the last. Shake off your willies at a DJ dance party, or have drinks at the park’s ghoul-infested bars.

When the holiday season gets into full swing, the park takes on an ocean-meets-Santa’s-Workshop ambience. SeaWorld Christmas Celebration (typically running from mid-November to around New Year’s) includes a Santa’s Christmas Village, Rudolph’s Christmastown, and holiday-themed shows, such as Dolphin Island Christmas and Clyde & Seamore's Christmas Special, starring the popular sea lion and otter.

During the holiday season, the O Wondrous Night show tells the Christmas story using 30 carols and a variety of live animals. Stay through sundown to catch the nightly lighting of the 40-foot animated tree and to see how the park’s main landmark, the 320-foot Skytower, looks with its holiday lights.