Holiday decorations have vanished from the Undersea Christmas Tree, and the Scout Elves need help. The Sea Star Search runs Nov. 20 through Jan. 3 and is included with admission at SEA LIFE Orlando.

Somebody has been very naughty at SEA LIFE Orlando. Ornaments from the aquarium’s Undersea Christmas Tree have gone missing, and so has the most important piece of all: the Christmas Sea Star that sits at the very top. Nobody is pointing fins just yet, but Santa isn’t taking any chances.

Enter the Scout Elves. The Sea Star Search with The Elf on the Shelf, a brand new interactive holiday adventure, arrives at SEA LIFE Orlando on Nov. 20, 2026, and runs through Jan. 3, 2027. Best of all, it’s included with general admission, so there’s no extra holiday upcharge to save Christmas.

The Sea Star Search Mission: Rebuild the Christmas Sea Star

According to SEA LIFE, Santa dispatched his trusted Scout Elves from The Elf on the Shelf Santaverse to track down the missing decorations. They’ve found them. The problem is they need some help from young holiday explorers to finish the job and get everything back on the tree.

Here’s how it works. When you arrive, each participant gets an activity booklet and a lanyard with an empty sea star template. From there, you head into the aquarium to find six interactive challenge points scattered throughout the habitats.

Complete the activity at each stop and you’ll earn one arm of the Christmas Sea Star to add to your lanyard. (Yes, six arms. This is apparently a very festive and slightly overachieving sea star.) Finish all six, and you walk away with a complete Christmas Sea Star ornament to take home.

Kids who complete the full search also earn the title of official Christmas Star alongside the Scout Elves, along with an exclusive The Elf on the Shelf Christmas Star Certificate to prove it. Expect that certificate to end up on the fridge next to the report cards.

A New Global Partnership

The Sea Star Search is part of a new collaboration between SEA LIFE and The Lumistella Company, the folks behind The Elf on the Shelf and its Santaverse. The idea is to bring the holiday tradition that millions of families already know (and that millions of parents scramble to stage at 11:58 p.m. every December night) into SEA LIFE’s underwater environments, blending storytelling with a little marine discovery along the way.

Should You Go?

If you have little ones who are already counting down to Christmas, this is an easy add to a holiday visit. A scavenger hunt with a take-home ornament and a certificate is exactly the kind of thing that turns a regular aquarium walkthrough into a mission, and the fact that it costs nothing beyond your regular ticket makes it a solid value. It also gives the kids a reason to actually stop and look at the exhibits instead of sprinting toward the exit.

If you’re a group of adults without kids in tow, the event probably isn’t a reason to make a special trip on its own. That said, if you’re already planning to visit, nobody is going to stop you from collecting your own sea star arms. We certainly won’t judge.

A couple of quick tips: the holiday weeks right around Christmas and New Year’s tend to be the busiest stretch of the year in Orlando, so if your schedule allows, visiting in late November or early December should mean a more relaxed hunt. And since SEA LIFE Orlando sits at ICON Park on International Drive, it’s easy to pair with dinner or other attractions in the area for a low key holiday evening.

Sea Star Search: Event Details

• Event: The Sea Star Search with The Elf on the Shelf
• Dates: Nov. 20, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027
• Location: SEA LIFE Orlando
• Admission: Included with general admission tickets
• Website: SEA LIFE Orlando: The Elf on the Shelf

For more theme park-related news and information, visit MSM News.

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