SeaWorld Orlando might soon be joining its Central Florida rivals in offering an on-site hotel for its theme park guests.
The park has filed a Development Plan Review with Orange County for a 504-room hotel that it wishes to build on nearly 30 acres of back-of-house land at the corner of International Drive and Central Florida Parkway.
With the project name "Starboard," the 15-floor hotel would include 747 parking spaces and nearly 43,000 square feet of conference meeting space. It also would include a rooftop terrace bar. Hotel guests could access the theme park via an elevated boardwalk across landscaped grounds that would enter into the park next to the Nautilus theater.
SeaWorld long has talked about developing hotels for its theme park properties, which also include SeaWorld-branded parks in San Diego and San Antonio, as well as Busch Gardens-branded parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Virginia. The company's Central Florida rivals - Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and even Legoland Florida - all have multiple hotels on their properties, putting SeaWorld at a competitive disadvantage in booking guests who would have SeaWorld as their primary base for an Orlando-area vacation.
The approval process for the proposed hotel will carry into 2024. There's no timeline yet on when the hotel might open, should it be approved.
Sources:
www.fox35orlando.com
The park has filed a Development Plan Review with Orange County for a 504-room hotel that it wishes to build on nearly 30 acres of back-of-house land at the corner of International Drive and Central Florida Parkway.
With the project name "Starboard," the 15-floor hotel would include 747 parking spaces and nearly 43,000 square feet of conference meeting space. It also would include a rooftop terrace bar. Hotel guests could access the theme park via an elevated boardwalk across landscaped grounds that would enter into the park next to the Nautilus theater.
SeaWorld long has talked about developing hotels for its theme park properties, which also include SeaWorld-branded parks in San Diego and San Antonio, as well as Busch Gardens-branded parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Virginia. The company's Central Florida rivals - Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and even Legoland Florida - all have multiple hotels on their properties, putting SeaWorld at a competitive disadvantage in booking guests who would have SeaWorld as their primary base for an Orlando-area vacation.
The approval process for the proposed hotel will carry into 2024. There's no timeline yet on when the hotel might open, should it be approved.
Sources:
SeaWorld Orlando planning new 504-room hotel with direct theme park access, documents show
The SeaWorld CEO said on an earnings call last month that the company plans to open not one, but two hotels, starting in 2026.
SeaWorld Orlando files plans for its first hotel
www.themeparkinsider.com
