Last week I was able to visit Sea World to experience some new attractions and special events for me. Viva La Musica is a Latin music festival that takes place in the spring at both Sea World and Busch Gardens. Last year I went to Busch Gardens and got to try some great food, but missed out on the concerts. I made a point when this year’s schedule came out to make sure that I caught at least one concert between the two parks. I was beyond ecstatic when I discovered my favorite salsa band, El Gran Combo, was going to be playing at Sea World and Busch Gardens for Viva La Musica this year!
I scheduled my entire weekend around attending the El Gran Combo concert at Sea World on May 4th. The weather wasn’t exactly gorgeous when I arrived at the park, so I decided to see if I could do a few rides before grabbing lunch and waiting for the concert to start at 3pm. I really hadn’t done any of the rides at Sea World before and had mostly focused on the animals and shows on my previous visits over the past year and a half. It was far past time, so I made a beeline for Manta hoping the dreary and drizzly weather was scaring off the tourists. To my luck I was able to walk on to Manta, Kraken and Journey to Atlantis all in less than an hour. I had never been in the aquarium at the exit of Journey to Atlantis and loved it!
Like most special events at Sea World, Viva La Musica is focused around the Bayside Pathway between the entrance and Bayside Stadium, where the concerts are. Vendors setup booths with Latin American and Hispanic artwork and merchandise. Then there is my favorite part: the food and drinks! I love the variety of options for food that are different than the normal park food. I opted for a fantastic grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce and sweet plaintains along with a tamarind flavored shaved ice treat for dessert. The food was great and I loved sitting and listening to the warmup salsa band on the secondary stage and watching all the guests getting out on the dancefloor. You even had the opportunity to get your picture taken with Shamu and his friends in their Salsa outfits!
Since I know from experience the concerts at Sea World special events like Viva La Musica fill up early, I went directly to Bayside Stadium to get a seat as soon as I finished lunch. I got there about an hour and a half early, which is way earlier than I would usually, but when I noticed the steady flow of guests heading that way, I was glad I did. I have never seen the stadium as full as this for any events before. It was amazing! El Gran Combo took the stage after a warm up act by the Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders. The concert was one of the best I’ve been to in a theme park and it was fantastic performance by my favorite salsa band. I’ve never seen as many guests up and dancing in the aisles at any of the dozens of concerts I’ve been to in my life.
On the way out of the park I had to swing by the Dolphin Nursery, which is one of my absolute must dos each trip to Sea World. I had a great afternoon experiencing Viva La Musica. This special event is over for the season, but when next spring rolls around, make sure you don’t miss Viva La Musica, which takes place at Sea World and Busch Gardens! Have you been to Viva La Musica before? Which bands have you seen?
