Sunny Day
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet
Can you tell me how to get?
How to get to Sesame Street…
Opening day at Sesame Street at SeaWorld Orlando didn’t start off sunny. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong winds were present for the 9am debut of the new 6-acre land in the area of the park formerly known as Shamu’s Happy Harbour.
Despite the weather, the neighborhood opened as people with ponchos and umbrellas walked along the famous street we all grew up on television. Seeing it in person was something different and exciting!
There it was, Hooper’s Store!
The famous 123 stoop!
Is that Big Bird over there?
Hold on… Elmo? Elmo is looking out his apartment window!
I took some time to walk around Sesame Street taking in all the fun, interactive things designers put around the land to keep youngsters busy. You can see some of these in more than 50 photos and a video walking tour of the land by clicking here.
But I was here for the parade! The first parade in SeaWorld Orlando’s history was set to step off and march down Sesame Street at 2pm.
The sun did chase the clouds away, but about a half-hour before the parade was supposed to start, an announcement was made that “due to unforeseen circumstances, today’s parade will be shortened.”
Bummer!
The reason? Well, some of the floats used in the parade feature giant inflatables, including a huge inflatable Elmo. The high winds grounded those parade floats and the threat of rain kept the residents of Sesame Street off the pavement and on the floats themselves safe from puddles and raindrops.
The full parade has the characters coming down off the floats and into the street where they interact with the audience and dance to the music.
This wasn’t happening today.
However, it didn’t discourage hundreds of people lined up along the curb to stay put and see their favorite Sesame Street characters make their debut at SeaWorld.
Unfortunately, the opening day 2pm and 4pm parade only lasted under four minutes, as compared to a 15-minute “party” in the street. But hey, this is Florida and Mother Nature calls the shots here.
Check out the video below to see the weather-shortened version of the Sesame Street Party Parade: