San Antonio is celebrating its 300th anniversary in 2018 with an array of openings that will appeal to family travelers. What can you expect to find deep in the heart of Texas next year?
New Attractions for Kids
- A Sesame Street parade, a waterslide, a summer celebration, and a beer festival are among the new experiences coming to SeaWorld and Aquatica San Antonio in 2018. SeaWorld will also expand its existing event offerings, packing in more dates and a lot more fun for 2018, including a Wild Days celebration, the Seven Seas Food & Wine Festival, Howl-O-Scream, Christmas Celebration, and more.
- SEA LIFE Aquarium, touted as the world’s biggest aquarium brand will open in the Shops at Rivercenter in 2018.
- Also opening in the shops will be a new LEGOLAND Discovery Center will be the ultimate indoor LEGO® playground and will offer a range of themed LEGO play areas, creative workshops with LEGO Master Model Builders, exciting LEGO-themed rides, party rooms for birthdays and other celebrations, as well as the popular MINILAND exhibit which will reflect the buildings and skyline of San Antonio.
- The world’s first single-rail coaster will premiere at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 2018 as the park completes its DC Super Hero Trilogy of Rides with the first-ever Wonder Woman-themed coaster.
- The 33-acre San Antonio Botanical Garden has added eight acres that will bring dramatic new opportunities for guests to explore and connect with nature and discover the value of plants, water, freshly grown food, and the outdoors. Major additions include a discovery complex, culinary garden and outdoor kitchen, family adventure garden, and more.
- The Witte Museum recently debuted its once-in-a-century transformation, bringing more than 170-thousand square feet of renovated and expanded exhibition space to the banks of the San Antonio River.
Festivals for the Family
- 2018 will mark the first of the annual Botánica Music & Arts Festival. Featured musical acts include Major Lazer, Logic, Deftones, Alessia Cara, and many more. More than 40 performers will be showcased at the two-day festival at La Cantera in the Six Flags Fiesta Texas parking lot, March 3 and 4.
- April is host to one of the most popular festivals in the Alamo City, when the streets of San Antonioare filled with music, confetti, and fun for Fiesta. Fiesta is one of the nation’s premier festivals with an economic impact of more than $340 million for the city. The week-long festival, April 19 through 29, has grown into a celebration of San Antonio’s rich and diverse cultures with events, concerts, parades, and more.
- San Antonio’s only locally-grown music festival, Maverick Music Festival, will be returning for its sixth year in April 2018. Details for next year are still to come, but past performances include Bastille, Carla Morrison, The Naked and Famous, De La Soul, and more.
- The joy and pride of San Antonio will vividly come to life during the Tricentennial Commemorative Week. From May 1 through 6, the days will be filled with educational, artistic, and entertaining events that showcase the collective essence of San Antonio.
- A free, two-day art, music, and performance festival in November, Luminaria brings together an inspiring mix of local and international talent of multiple art disciplines to exemplify San Antonio’s more than 300-year history of a being a crossroads between diverse cultures.
- A three-phase renovation project will enhance the downtown San Antonio experience by bringing additional open park space, activities, restaurants, and more to Hemisfair Park, the home of the 1968 World’s Fair. The Viva Hemisfair event on April 6-8, 2018, will mark 50 years to the date since the grand opening of the 1968 World’s Fair. For three days, the district will be filled with cultural zones, music performances, public art, historical exhibits, and throwbacks to the 1968 Fair.