SeaWorld Christmas Celebration Walkabout Day One 2021 Photos

The SeaWorld Christmas Celebration Sampler Lanyard is a great way to save money when purchasing food at the festival.

The SeaWorld Christmas Celebration Welcome Booth (tent) is located on the right hand side. It's also referred to as the "Holiday Cheers" kiosk.

The Sliders that Sleigh food booth is located just outside the Nautilus Theater.

The Hot Chicken Slider featured Crispy Chicken (yes), a Pretzel Bun (yes), Pickles (yes), and an Apricot and Serrano Glaze???? Not so sure about the last one... if it was on there (and I did see them squirt something liquidy on the slider), then the Apricot and Serrano Glaze is more or less... sweetwater.

This is the "Hot Chicken Slider" that features Crispy Chicken, Apricot and Serrano Glaze, and Pickles on a Pretzel Roll.

And the winner of my little "Battle of the Sliders" is this Pork Belly Slider featuring Roasted and Seared Pork Belly, Sauerkraut, and Mustard Aioli.

At $11, the Pork Belly Slider is a little pricey for what it is... but if you're using a 10 Sampler Lanyard, the price breaks down to being $5.33, which is about right for this tasty little slider.

The new "Sounds of the Season Performance Series" takes place inside the Nautilus Theater once or twice per festival day. Please check the schedule to see more info about show times and who's performing.

It's Darlene Love, in concert, at SeaWorld! If Darlene looks familiar, it might be because she performed the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on the David Letterman show once a year, for a total of 27 years, right around Christmas time — from 1986 to 2014, which is when the show went off the air. (In 2007, there was a writers strike, so a rerun of Darlene's performance was shown instead.)

The song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was on the holiday compilation album, "A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector".

Darlene Love has performed backing vocals on many of the biggest hits of the 1960s including "Be My Baby", "Johny Angel", "Monster Mash", and even Frank Sinatra's "That's Life".

The Sounds of the Season Performance Series included a full band and background vocalist... and I gotta say, it really was "national leve". This was a great show!

The Sounds of the Season Performance Series was around a hour long and while it did feature mostly holiday music, a few of Darlene's songs (like "He's a Rebel") made it into the set as well.

Darlene Love is on of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers... and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

I hope I get to see a couple more of the new "Sounds of the Season Performance Series" shows this year at SeaWorld.

The "Braised Short Ribs And Smoked Gouda Mac And Cheese" from the "Christmas Comforts" booths gets a solid recommendation from me.

The Christmas Comforts booth has several Mac & Cheese bowls. Pictured here is the Braised Short Ribs & Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese Bowl.

There's all kinds of different street performers here and there during the Christmas Celebration, and they're all so fun. The skits are simple and not usually very long, but it's cool to just stop and watch as you're waling around.

Yay!!! She made it to the top of the tree and placed the "Santa's Hat Finial Dobra" where it belongs!

Soooooo many cute ornaments in the various shops. I mean, who doesn't love baby penguins wearing scarves?

Hey bear-deer.. or deer-bear. I'm sure this little guy has a name, but I'm not sure what it is. He looks a little Canadian to me though. I think I'll call him Arthur... Arthur the deer-bear.

I found these trees in the "Shoppes at the Waterfront", one of the main gift stores near the front of the park. They all have a different theme, and all the ornaments on the tree have little UPC code and prices, so I'm assuming you could purchase any of the ornaments, right off the tree!

It's Rudolph and Clarice! There's quite a few Rudolph themed ornaments at SeaWorld.

Here's two more Rudolph ornaments that feature the Bumble!!!

Ahhh... the snowman in Rudolph is not Frosty, but "Sam"...narrated by Burl Ives.

They even have a wood carved Rudolph! He's so cute!!!

The "O'Christmas Sea... Food Delights" booth is located in the same space as the Panini Shore Cafe. It's worth the extra effort to find though... especially if you like Scallops.

The menu boards at the "O'Christmas Sea... Food Delights" booth are well hidden, behind the registers and positioned quite high. If you're just standing a few feet away from the booth, you really can't see them, because the Panini Shore Cafe awnings block the view.

Here's the Seared Scallops served with Pumpkin Seed and Serrano Pesto and Mushroom Risotto from the "O' Christmas Sea... Food Delights" booth.

Unless you really dislike scallops, give this one a try. This really was a sit-down, table-service quality item. At $11 out of pocket... it's maybe priced a little high, but at the Five Sample Lanyard price of $7.46, it's priced about right. The AP 12 Sample Lanyard breakdown price of $4.45 for this dish is a really good deal.

Dusk at SeaWorld can be so pretty, especially when they turn on all those trees on the lagoon!

The Sea of Trees can be seen from just about any location that's near the water. The centerpiece is a 40 foot tree that has a few more lighting effects than the other, smaller trees around the lagoon.

The large tree in the center has many different "looks" and is synced to holiday music that plays every now and again.

Near the entrance of the park, there's a large tree that's perfect for taking photos with! If you get there before the posted park close time... you stand a pretty good chance of getting a photo with just your party in it!