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SeaWorld San Diego's resurgence as a summer concert venue could change within the next five years if the San Diego City Council bans fireworks shows at the theme park.
The San Diego Planning Commission met on Thursday and voted unanimously to approve the park's long-range development plan for the first time in over 20 years. The commission had just one caveat: replace all fireworks shows with drone light shows.
"Fireworks shows are outdated and dangerous," Commissioner Daniel Reeves said at the meeting. "And for a city and a partner to the city that's so focused on environmental stewardship, there's a disconnect for me that there's such a commitment to a technology that is harmful when there is such a push to evolve along with the world to eliminate harms to the environment."
Fireworks have been a part of SeaWorld's summer programming since 1968. The 2002 Master Plan permits the park up to 150 fireworks shows per year, with each show launching between 250 and 1,750 combustible shells.
The California Coastal Commission will ultimately have the final say on whether to continue permitting fireworks at the park. In April, the agency approved a yearlong pilot program for SeaWorld to evaluate drone shows, the San Diego Tribune reported, and the park plans to launch 78 shows with up to 1,000 drones during the period.
During Thursday's meeting, Tyler Carter, park president of SeaWorld San Diego, told the Planning Commission that the park could not commit to a phaseout of fireworks until the study was complete. Transitioning to drone shows could cut down on noise and bird strikes and protect Mission Bay's water quality, but the park still wants to understand any technology challenges.
"A 10-minute storytelling show in the sky is extremely popular," Carter said at the meeting. "Concerns that we have to be aware of on drone technology in general is the unknown future on the technology side. So, there have been incidents around, not just in the U.S., but the globe where drones have struck people, buildings, other pieces. We have not experienced any of that, or else we would not be flying still."
If, after the study, the California Coastal Commission permits the long-term use of drones, the Planning Commission recommends that the decision automatically trigger a five-year phaseout of fireworks.
"We don't want to put SeaWorld in a position where just nothing can happen at night - that's not the intention," Reeves said. "That's why I think a five-year phaseout following some triggering event … a long-term permit or long-term permission structure to do nightly entertainment using drones or other similar technology that's more environmentally supportive than fireworks, I think that I feel good that that protects SeaWorld."
In 2025, the San Diego Coastkeeper sued SeaWorld, accusing the theme park of polluting Mission Bay with its fireworks shows and violating the Clean Water Act.
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