After filing plans for a 504-room hotel near its Orlando theme park, SeaWorld has revealed plans for another new hotel at Discovery Cove.
Via the Orlando Business Journal, the 250-room hotel on the east side of the Discovery Cove theme park would be located on land that is mainly used for guest parking.
This information was revealed in a development plan review request filed by SeaWorld on 12 January in Orange County.
The plans, dubbed ‘Project Canopy’, outline a six-storey, 288,637-square-foot property with a 10,667-square-foot spa, nearly 7,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 7,208-square-foot restaurant named ‘Tree Top Restaurant’.
New 250-room hotel in Orlando
SeaWorld has been planning to introduce a hotel for some years. During an earnings call in November 2023, CEO Marc Swanson said: “As we mentioned last quarter, we are refining our design planning on our first hotels, and we expect to begin opening in 2026.”
In 2022, he said: “We continue to make progress with our plans to design and build hotels to complement our park offerings.
“We have engaged multiple consultants and industry resources to evaluate a number of site and facility concepts as we further develop our strategies.”
Unlike Disney, Universal and Legoland resorts in Florida, SeaWorld Orlando does not have a hotel. Its other theme parks across the US do not offer hotels, either.
SeaWorld’s planned 504-room hotel, known as the ‘Starboard’ project, would include restaurants and retail space.
According to a developmental plan review application filed with Orange County, the hotel would be constructed on a 29-acre lot behind the theme park‘s southeast corner along Central Florida Parkway and International Drive.
In more news, SeaWorld Orlando is opening the new Penguin Trek coaster in spring of this year. The park’s first family launch coaster is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M).
Images courtesy of SeaWorld
