When San Diego's Sesame Place opened last year, I asked SeaWorld San Diego Park President Jim Lake what the new park might mean for the long-standing Sesame Street Bay of Play area across town at SeaWorld.
"As we open Sesame Place here, we are continuing to evaluate Sesame Street IP in our SeaWorld park, and we'll make a decision as we move forward which way we want to go with that," Lake said then. [See Why Make the Change to Sesame Place?]
Today, we got an answer. SeaWorld San Diego has announced that it is retheming the former Sesame Street Bay of Play to... Rescue Jr - an "interactive play area dedicated to marine animal rescue and conservation," according to the park's press release.
That's right. SeaWorld's new IP to replace Sesame Street in San Diego is SeaWorld itself.
In the revamped area, visitors will be able to meet SeaWorld Rescue Team members in person and hear about ongoing efforts to rescue and rehabilitate animals at the park. In addition, the land will include:
The land also will have new names and themes for its three carnival rides:
"Rescue Jr is a fun and exciting way for our younger guests to learn about the animal rescue that our dedicated teams do every day, 365 days a year," Lake said. "No matter how young, my hope is that all guests come away with a better understanding of how important it is to be a part of protecting the animals around us and maybe we can be the spark that ignites a passion in kids to become animal rescuers, scientists, veterinarians or conservationists."
Rescue Jr will open later this spring. For discounted tickets, starting at $68, please visit our partner's SeaWorld San Diego tickets page.
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They absolutely should double down on “sea world rescue”. I remember growing up in Australia every news report about a marine environmental disaster, whale beaching, etc was accompanied with the words “sea world rescue centre” or words to that effect (yes, I know it’s a different sea world). It’s the natural counter programs to blackfish style concerns.
Rescue Jr ?? Where did that name come from ??
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Obviously this needed to occur with Sesame Place taking over Aquatica, and I actually liked the new-ish "Sea Rescue" area at Sea World San Antonio. That area features 2 flat rides, a small, but nice animal exhibit with sea turtles, and Texas Stingray across the way. If Sea World does a similar makeover in California by smartly integrating rides with a few animal habitats and learning opportunities, it will be help lessen the loss of the Sesame Street IP.
Now, where Sea World circa 2023 still understands how to do this will be the big question.