Set Sail with SeaWorld’s Food Festival!

Orlando excels in festivals. In fact, it’s hard to be here when there isn’t a celebration of one kind or another. And, with February firmly on the horizon, here comes SeaWorld with their annual highlight of the Seven Seas Food Festival.

For the next several months, starting January 31, this exciting park is home to a vibrant mix of tastes and sounds to make the day go with a swing. From a relatively quiet start in 2017, this has become one of Orlando’s must-try celebrations, and this year’s will be no exception.

With a record number of dishes to try, new live entertainment and an extended concert series, we fully expect this to be the best time to set sail on the Seven Seas in the event’s nine-year history.

What IS the Seven Seas Food Festival?

In simple terms, this festival is a park-wide celebration of unique food and beverage tastes from around the world. They take the form of a series of kiosks, or Culinary Markets, with regional and national dishes from the likes of Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

In many ways, it is like the autumn Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT park, with a strong focus on innovative regional cuisine alongside a tempting array of wines, speciality cocktails and both local and international craft beers.

There is also a strong live entertainment component to the Festival, featuring live concerts each weekend from international artists that cover the spectrum from classic rock to hip hop and Country music. This year, the bands include classic rockers ZZ Top and Molly Hatchet, as well as popular Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi. The concerts happen on weekends only, but the food kiosks are open every day.

Crucially, there is no extra fee for the event; it is all part of the regular ticket price. There is obviously a charge for the food and drinks, but the concert is also just part and parcel of the entertainment (although you can pay for the best seats).

What’s new for 2025?

Running on select dates from January 21 to May 4, SeaWorld kicks off 2025 with the return of its signature Food Festival, bigger and better than ever. Guests will be able to indulge in more than 190 internationally inspired dishes and an electrifying new lineup of live concerts. And, for the first time, the Festival will expand its popular live music concert lineup to include select Friday night performances, in addition to Saturdays and Sundays.

This year’s event introduces an all-new array of flavours to savour while exploring the park’s award-winning attractions and captivating animal presentations. With a menu spanning delicacies from Ireland, Mexico, Germany, Asia and beyond, it offers a true global culinary adventure. The full palate-pleasing lineup of Markets welcomes an appetising array of new delights from SeaWorld’s worldwide markets:

At the Caribbean Market, guests can partake in the following all-new dishes:

• Jamaican Jerk Chicken – Seasoned Jamaican Chicken Leg with Celery Micro Greens. • Pork Pincho – Grilled Pork Skewer with Tangy BBQ Sauce and Grilled Cuban Bread. • Island Rice and Peas – Yellow Rice Garnished with Red Beans and Green Scallions.

The Italian Market will feature a range of new, original tastes of Italy, including:

• Garlic Toast Chicken Parmigiana – Pan Seared Thick Garlic Toast Topped with Breaded Chicken, Marinara and Mozzarella Cheese. • Tiramisu – Topped with Chocolate Ganache.

The Indian Market also features its own array of new offerings, such as:

• Veggie Samosas – Potato & Pea Samosas with Indian Red Pepper Hummus. • Cardamom Chocolate Torte Cake – A harmonious balance of bittersweet cardamom infused ganache cake.

At the Irish Market, the new-for-2025 options will include:

• Rueben Egg Roll – Corned Beef and Sauerkraut Eggrolls with Thousand Island dipping sauce. • Guiness Chicken Sausage – Grilled Chicken Sausage, Roasted Potatoes, Vidalia Onions and Chicken Gravy. • Strawberry Pouffe – Shortcake Stuffed with Berries and Cream.

There are also a range of innovative and refreshing cocktails on this year’s menu, allowing visitors to sip and savour their way around the world. Notable new tastes include a Negroni and Orange Crush, as follows:

• Frozen Golden Margarita – Tequila, Lime, Sweet and Sour. • Island Time – Rum, Pineapple Juice, Grenadine and Club Soda. • Blueberry Whiskey Smash – Whiskey, Lemon and Blueberry topped with Lemons and Blueberries. • Atlantic Breeze – Gin, Grapefruit Juice, Lemon Juice and Seltzer Water. • Negroni – Gin, Campari and Sweet Vermouth. • Orange Crush – Vodka, Candied Orange, Triple Sec and Orange Juice. • Lychee Bliss – Vodka, Lychee Liquor and Lime.

Top Tip – Get A Lanyard

Look for the Seven Seas Food Festival Tasting Lanyard, which provides the best value to explore an extensive variety of food and drink combinations throughout the day. A 10-sample lanyard at the price of $75 provides 10 full tastes at the markets for an average of $7.50 per taste. When you consider some items can be $10 or more, that offers a distinct saving. A couple can also share one lanyard, and make it last all day. You can also take it up a notch with the fan favourite 15-sample lanyard for $90, for the best savings yet ($6 per item; great for a family of four). SeaWorld Pass Members also get the exclusive perk of being able to purchase an 18-sample lanyard for the price of 15.

The Headline Concert Series

This year’s concert series brings even more excitement with the addition of Friday night concerts, alongside Saturday and Sunday performances. The concerts are held at the Bayside Stadium and the 2025 lineup features Pop, Rock, Latin, Reggae and Country. All performances are included with park admission. Most concerts take place at 7pm, but the tribute bands are on stage at both 5 and 7pm. The full lineup has yet to be announced, but the confirmed dates so far are:

Feb 1: Boys Like Girls (pop-rock) Feb 2: Sara Evans (country) Feb 8: Expose (pop) Feb 14: Turnstiles: Billy Joel Tribute Feb 15: Molly Hatchet (rock) Feb 16: Absolute Queen Tribute Feb 21: LeCrae (hip-hop) Feb 28: The Bee Gees Now! Tribute Mar 1: Warrant (rock) Mar 7: Starship featuring Mickey Thomas (rock) Mar 16: ZZ Top (rock) Mar 23: Luis Fonsi (Latin) Apr 26: Mitchell Tenpenny (country)

More concerts will be revealed in due course, but that’s a pretty good list to start with! See all the latest details on this link: https://seaworld.com/orlando/events/seven-seas-food-festival/.

Have you been to SeaWorld’s Seven Seas Food festival in the past?