Sharks and beer: SeaWorld is giving the people what they want

SeaWorld is giving the people what they want: sharks and beer.

Starting this summer, SeaWorld is reopening the immersive Shark Encounter exhibit and offering $1 beer, seltzer and IPAs, among other new promotions, aiming to grow attendance.

Few San Diegans can remember the heyday when, under the leadership of Anheuser-Busch Co., guests - 21 and older - were offered free beer while they watched orcas flip and dip.

Ownership changed, and the park did, too. Now, SeaWorld’s parent company, United Parks & Resorts, is taking a note of nostalgia, updating old traditions.

Sharks!

“Everyone has been asking where the sharks went,” said Tracy Spahr, director of public relations at SeaWorld.

After 10 months and millions of dollars - Spahr wouldn’t disclose the exact investment - the attraction will open Friday.

This exhibit emphasizes education, said Danielle Castillo, zoological curator of aquariums at SeaWorld San Diego. “Our mission is to make sure that people understand how important sharks are, that they’re not all scary great whites. There is so much more than that.”

She pointed to the zebra shark slowly sweeping across the window. “It’s chubby cheeks,” she laughed. “He’s so cute.”

Its mouth agape, they look seemingly toothless - zebra sharks don’t rip and tear prey, rather, their suction-capable mouths vacuum-clean crustaceans and mollusks off the sea floor.

Visitors can watch the sharks do just that from the exhibit’s 180-degree view aquarium.

The original Shark Encounter exhibit was built 34 years ago and has not seen a renovation until now.

The basic infrastructure of the exhibit remains mostly the same, though an old “coral reef wall” was replaced with a mini drawbridge.

Under the bridge, 11 different shark species and a gigantic grouper swim beneath your feet.

During the day, SeaWorld educators will throw buckets of - sometimes frozen - chum into the tank so guests can watch them feed.

For $49.99, one can buy a VIP ticket to feed the sharks yourself on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays.

The Shark Encounter exhibit has new signage, LED lights and immersive footage. Much of the renovation is not obvious to the eye, but it represents a huge upgrade for the sharks.

SeaWorld added a new surge pump to mimic the ebb and flow of the ocean, “providing enrichment for the sharks,” said Castillo. “It’s important to change their environment, to make it as natural as possible.”

While SeaWorld was renovating the exhibit, it transported the sharks to a holding tank across the park.

The new exhibit will have more than 30 sharks, showcasing 11 different species, including sand tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks and the endangered Australian leopard shark.

Sandbar sharks are a new addition to the tank, Castillo said.

Beer!

Outside the new exhibit, a handful of concession stands will sell cheap - not free - beer starting the day after the Shark Encounter opens, Saturday, and will continue daily through Aug. 16.

For $1, guests can “buy the cheapest beer in San Diego,” said Spahr.

The park will offer its Emperor Hazy IPA, Shipwreck Rapids Lager, Arctic Rescue Blue Seltzer and Jewels of the Sea Kölsch for just a dollar.

The shark exhibit is SeaWorld’s biggest renovation, but “we’re doing a bunch of new promos,” said Spahr. “Just in time for our busiest season.”

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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 7:14 PM.