A new twist at SeaWorld Orlando’s Seven Seas Food Festival that might require a little more of your attention could also turn you into repeat visitor.
The theme park has added rotating menu items at several of its walk-up marketplaces. Some items now available at the fest, which began Jan 30, will go away at a predetermined (and published) date, replaced by other items that will, in turn, be bumped for a third option.
For instance, the Mexican Market stand currently offers tacos al pastor. As of March 9, visitors can purchase carne asada tacos instead, and then starting April 13, it’s chicken asado tacos. The timeframes are clearly indicated on menu boards, the park’s website and the printed festival guide.
And yet, in a cruel Hangry Statute of Murphy’s Law, your eyes might be drawn to a choice that’s not available.
Quick tip: On the in-park menu boards the rotating menu is within a yellow box. Only one of those choices within the box is for sale that day. Also: Deep breaths before shaking a fist at the heavens.
Signage shows rotating menu items for the Seven Seas Food Festival at SeaWorld Orlando. Mind the yellow boxes. (Dewayne Bevil/Orlando Sentinel)
But what’s up with that?
Amber Alloway, the newish vice president for food and beverage, explains.
“The idea was to be able to provide a better experience for our guests, to give them something new and exciting to come. Because if you come the one time and it’s all the same stuff, probably after the second or third time, you’ve probably tried everything,” Alloway said.
“So this gives them an opportunity to allow the creativity of our chefs and of our managers and staff to create something different,” she said. “That way you guys can come back out and really try their passion and their flavors with the different items.”
Sometimes the rotation includes similar dishes. At the Irish Market, we start with Guinness cheese nachos, which are replaced with corned beef nachos next month and pub nachos in mid-April. Others are more diverse. At the Polynesian Market the menu travels from huli-huli chicken to kalu pork to teriyaki chicken sliders.
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Proven fan favorites and other staples don’t go away.
“We’re never going to do that. That doesn’t make sense,” Alloway said.
Amid all the new offerings is Jon Peterson, park president, who’s had a bite of everything in the Seven Seas lineup.
“I taste everything before it gets into the park, every single item that’s out there,” he said.
“There’s two parts I’m looking at as the president,” Peterson said. “One, does it meet the standard that we expect in the park for our Seven Seas? Two, what is it to me and where should it go in the park? How’s the taste?”
He’s a fan of a returning favorite, the Chicago dog, found at Beats and Bites near the Pipeline roller coaster, as well as the chicken wings from the All-American Market.
Other intriguing-sounding menu options: Razzle Dazzle raspberry cupcake (at Old-Fashioned Milk Co. location), lobster mac and cheese (March 9-April 12 at All-American Market), gyro fries (after March 9 at Mediterranean Market) and bratwurst melt (after April 13 at German Market).
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What else is new?
There are other new offerings swirling around SeaWorld during the festival, including a “secret” menu at the park’s Sharks Underwater Grill. (OK, the type is tiny in the festival guide.)
It’s a three-course meal for $49.95 the guide describes as an “elevated escape” … And there’s seating, a valued theme-park commodity.
And then there’s Seas the Flavor, a five-course food and wine tasting on select nights starting Feb. 14 at the park’s Sea Harbor Pavilions.
“We’ll have a sommelier come out here, and we’ll have the chef talk about his food,” Alloway said. “Each course is about two to three bites with your wine pairing, and we’ll talk about how chef created them and how they pair with the wine.”
There’s also a musician on hand.
Tickets are $79.99 (SeaWorld admission also required). The price includes a five-punch festival sampling lanyard.
If you go
• The festival and accompanying concert are included with regular SeaWorld Orlando admission. The food and drink is for purchase.
• Sampling lanyards are $74.99 for 10 punches and $89.99 for 15 items. (Annual passholders can get 18 items for $89.99.)
• Grab a festival guide upon arrival. There’s a fold-out map in the center that’s helpful because there’s not an obvious place in SeaWorld for, say, the Brazilian, Mexican or Italian markets. There are 29 locations, although some sell beverages only.
• The festival runs select days through May 17. The schedule — and the concert lineup — appears at seaworldorlando.com. Bow Wow performs at Bayside Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.