I always enjoy celebrating my Latino culture and love hearing the music I grew up listening to, eating food I love, and seeing others celebrate the beauty of our culture. It’s not often I do this outside of our own home, but a couple weekends ago, I attended the Viva la Música festival at SeaWorld Orlando and shared in the joy of our culture with park attendees.

Viva la Música at SeaWorld Orlando is an annual event which honors Latino culture through food, music, and art, all included with park admission to SeaWorld. Isn’t that great?! Here’s more of what you can find at SeaWorld’s Viva la Música festival.

5 Reasons to Love Viva la Música at SeaWorld Orlando

1. Weekly concerts from popular Latino artists – we saw reggaeton star Daddy Yankee the day we attended.
2. Delicious Latin and Caribbean food spear-headed by SeaWorld Orlando’s Executive Chef, Héctor Colón. I love that the Executive Chef for the park has first-hand knowledge and experience with the Latin food he’s serving, having grown up eating it before becoming a professional chef.
3. Cultural art and merchandise available for purchase. There is plenty of beautiful artwork on display, plus cultural merchandise available to celebrate each individual Latin American country.
4. Domino tables set-up throughout the Viva la Música festival area, ready for you to sit down and play a fun game.
5. Lots of music! Plus, a dance area near a second stage where local bands play salsa, merengue, and bachata.

You still have time to catch the fun of Viva la Música at SeaWorld Orlando as there are two more Saturdays left before this annual festival ends for the year. This coming Saturday, April 27, you can catch merengue group Grupománia live in concert, and the following Saturday, May 4, you’ll be able to see classic salsa band El Gran Combo. I noticed that folks line up 2-3 hours before the concert begins in order to get good seats at the stadium, so you may want to consider upgrading your concert seating by purchasing VIP seating (starting at $14) or the Viva la Música VIP Package, which offers reserved seating plus a meal (starting at $24).

As I mentioned, all the fun of the Viva la Música festival at SeaWorld is included with daily park admission or if you have a Fun Card or annual pass. In fact, with a SeaWorld Fun Card, you can pay for a day and then enjoy unlimited admission to the park for the rest of 2013! That’s perfect for you and the kids to go back when Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin opens up on May 24.

What do you enjoy most at SeaWorld Orlando?

Disclosure: Our family was provided a complimentary 1-day visit to SeaWorld Orlando to experience Viva la Música. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™

We recently attended SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration and enjoyed the beautifully decorated park and fun Christmas-themed attractions. My favorite part of SeaWorld at Christmas is the Sea of Trees – a lake full of Christmas trees that make for a wonderful view at night. My kids enjoy O Wondrous Night, a live show retelling the story of Christmas with songs, puppets, and even live animals.

There’s a lot more to see at SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration – here’s what you can find:

• O Wondrous Night: This show features more than 30 carols, angels, and live animals. New this year, you can take photos with some of the animal stars from the show.
• Winter Wonderland on Ice: a Christmas-themed ice skating show with towering water fountains and fireworks
• Shamu Christmas…Miracles: A night-time show with seasonal music accompanying the whales.
• Clyde and Seamore’s Countdown to Christmas: Clyde and Seamore, famous sea lions, plus otters, an elf, and a walrus or two, search for Santa.
• A Sesame Street Christmas: Great for toddlers and preschoolers, this show features Elmo, Telly Monster, Abby Cadabby, and more Sesame Street friends. Kids will love the singing and are sure to laugh along.
• Holiday Reflections: A choreographed light and firework show set to holiday music.
• THE POLAR EXPRESS Experience: Based on the film, this is a fun attraction that takes you through a bit of the story. You can also meet Santa Claus and see polar animals in this exhibit.
• Sea of Trees: My favorite, this display features more than 100 trees on a lake, each sparkling, lighted and choreographed to holiday music.
• Santa’s Fireside Feast: Not included with park admission, this add-on let’s you enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet-style Christmas dinner. The kids will love seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus! Reservations are required for dinner and include reserved seating at select holiday shows.

Except for Santa’s Fireside Feast, all of the above is included with regular park admission and the rest of what SeaWorld has to offer. It really is a great bonus experience, taking place select dates through December 31, 2012.

Want to head out to SeaWorld with the family? We’re giving away a family four pack of single-day admission passes to SeaWorld Orlando! See below for giveaway details.

SeaWorld Orlando Giveaway

We want you to enjoy the holiday season at SeaWorld Orlando and see all that SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration has to offer. Enter below to win a family 4-pack of single-day passes, good through December 31, 2012!

How to Enter

Required entry: If you’d like to enter this giveaway for a family four pack of single-day admission passes to SeaWorld Orlando simply leave a comment letting us know what you think you’ll like best about SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration.

Extra entries (optional):

Each of the following will count as 1 extra entry. You’ll need to leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Follow @modernmami on Twitter.
2. Tweet the following (1 time only): Win a family 4 pack of @SeaWorld #Orlando passes from @modernmami to see #SWOChristmas! http://bit.ly/SWOChristmas #giveaway
3. Receive post updates by subscribing to our RSS feed. You can do so either via email or through a RSS reader. Leave a comment saying you did so or are already a subscriber.
4. Write a blog post on your own blog sharing the details of this giveaway. Be sure to include a link back to this post. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. You must be 18 or older and a U.S. resident. No purchase necessary. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.) Winner will have 24 hours to respond and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Prize will be provided and fulfilled by giveaway sponsor and modernmami™.com is not responsible for lost or damaged goods. Tickets are valid for one-time use before December 31, 2012.

Disclosure: We were provided complimentary admission to SeaWorld Orlando in order to experience SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration.

Christmas is a special time for Central Florida theme parks – each park hosts Christmas events and is adorned in beautiful holiday decorations. Walt Disney World, of course, is no exception and hosts Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. This special night-time event is not included with regular Magic Kingdom admission, but is an event that you and the kids will love.

We were able to enjoy the festivities again this year via a media invitation to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Baby boy was able to enjoy a lot more this time since he’s now walking and able to partake in the fun. He and his big sister enjoyed riding several rides, meeting some characters, and of course, snacking on cookies and hot chocolate. I always enjoy seeing Magic Kingdom decorated for Christmas and just walking around taking in the sights. Christmas and Disney World make a good combination, don’t you think?

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party began on November 9 this year and continues through December 21, on select nights. A very family-friendly event, this Magic Kingdom Christmas party includes various holiday-themed fun:

• Cinderella’s Castle is decorated with Christmas lights that change color.
• Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade will be enjoyed by the little ones and they’ll love seeing Santa Claus at the end!
• Exclusive holiday fireworks – Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season - can be seen during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
• Special shows and entertainment featuring Disney characters are scheduled each night of the party.
• Disney characters dressed in their holiday best are available for pictures and autographs. Special characters also tend to make an appearance that normally are not in the parks, such as Donald Duck’s Uncle Scrooge.
• Complimentary cookies, apple slices and hot cocoa are provided throughout various locations in the park.
• Walking down Main Street, U.S.A. with “snow” falling on you is always fun, especially for the kids!
• Several of the Magic Kingdom rides and attractions are open for you to enjoy with less lines.
• Kid-friendly dance parties with a DJ and Disney characters dancing too!

If you’re local to the area or plan to visit Walt Disney World this December, consider attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party; you still have time as the event will be held several nights in December this year and goes from 7 p.m. until midnight. Several other holiday events are also happening throughout other Walt Disney World parks – see Disneyworld.com/holidays for more information!

What do you enjoy most about Christmas at the theme parks?

Disclosure: We received complimentary admission to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party to experience the fun as a family.

We had fun at SeaWorld Orlando’s Halloween Spooktacular earlier this month! Check out a bit of our day!

The park is decorated with fun, whimsical, nautical decorations. There are bubbles just about everywhere along the path way, which the kids love of course!

Trick-or-treating is included with various stations set up throughout the park. Bags are provided too for the kids to collect their candy.

My baby girl wore her Scary Scarlet costume from Walmart and met up with a local blogger’s daughter for some trick-or-treating fun!

We also got to experience the new TurtleTrek attraction for the first time since it opened earlier this year.

SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular is included with park admission and is going on for two more weekends in October, so if you’re in the area you still have a chance to check it out with your family!

What do you like the most about SeaWorld?

Disclosure: We were provided with complimentary park admission in order to experience SeaWorld Orlando’s Halloween Spooktacular. No compensation received.

Photos © ModernMami.com
SeaWorld Halloween Spooktacular logo provided by SeaWorld Orlando.

Fun at SeaWorld’s Just for Kids festival – SeaWorld Orlando

Dancing with Shamu

Hula hoops gone wild

LazyTown Live on Stage

Disclosure: My family and I received complimentary admission to SeaWorld Orlando to experience the Just for Kids festival. As always, all stories and opinions are my own.

Video by John Frost. Used with permission.

Editor’s Note: Please welcome Kristen, a new contributor to ModernMami.com, who will be sharing occasional book reviews/giveaways, as well as local Orlando events and attractions.

A wonderful new experience just opened at Discovery Cove – SeaVenture! It’s an add-on to the Grand Reef area which opened in June. SeaVenture is a light version of scuba diving, and easier than snorkeling! Guests participate in an underwater reef walk without all the heavy equipment. It is one of the most fun, memorable experiences EVER!!!!!

When I arrived, I was greeted by a concierge in a beautiful lobby! A small group of us were escorted to the Grand Reef area where the SeaVenture experience takes place. The walk to get to this area is serene, loaded with flowers and surprisingly enough, not a lot of people! A private cabana awaits the group filled with soft drinks, water, and snacks. We were fitted with wetsuits (not my favorite part, since you can’t hide much in them) and then we went through a short orientation and safety presentation which was informative, and would help an apprehensive person feel at ease. That would not be me; I could not wait to get in the water!

Normally, four people at a time experience the “walk” together. However, for our trip, there were only two of us. It would be perfect for a family of four, though. Here’s the cool part: you climb down a ladder until everything is submerged but your head. The water temperature is 72 degrees, which is the reason for the tight-fitting wet suit. You then wait for a white helmet to be placed on your head (it feels very underwater-astronaut-like). There is an endless supply of oxygen provided and the weight of the helmet is what keeps you on the sandy bottom. Three divers are with you at all times and we were taught hand signals so we could communicate. A doodle board was also around so we could write underwater and share species’ names. Kids will love this part!

Finally, we were underwater – it was so clear and easy to see everything around us. Immediately, a huge spotted ray swam over my head followed by schools of yellow and blue fish. The guide showed us various beautiful marine animals; I even got to hold a Cowrie which looks and feels like a huge slimy snail. My boys loved hearing about that part! We also saw sharks and a lion fish separated only by underwater glass. Our guide, Steve, brought fish food with him and he fed fish so we could see all the different varieties.

The whole time I was underwater, I wanted my kids to be part of the fun, as well. As a parent, I would be perfectly comfortable allowing my kids the chance to experience the up-close undersea wonders that are offered with SeaVenture. Guests must be at least 10 years old to participate, which seems like the perfect age to get the most out of the experience, since the helmet might be too heavy for smaller children. My daughter is eight, an excellent swimmer and would love the experience, but the helmet on her might be overwhelming. If you have children that are younger than ten, they can experience the Grand Reef which is connected to the SeaVenture lagoon. There are also viewing bridges and very shallow tidal pools where you can see some of the action.

I recommend booking the experience in advance or immediately upon entering Discovery Cove. SeaVenture is being limited to only 100 people a day. Once word gets out about how special this add-on is, I’m sure it will completely book every day.

The experience lasts about 20-25 minutes. Truthfully, I didn’t want the experience to end. I can’t wait to go back and take my family. Discovery Cove is great for couples, families and anyone who wants up-close encounters with sea life. Unlimited food and drinks are provided with each admission. The SeaVenture experience is one I won’t ever forget. I plan for my next trip to also include a swim with dolphins!

Disclosure: Kristen was provided a complimentary visit to Discovery Cove to experience SeaVenture. No compensation received.

Photos by Kristen