Description of the Business and Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 29, 2020 Guest	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) Business	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) Business Guest Segment	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Number of theme parks owned and operated | Business		12		12
Number of theme parks opened for a portion of the year | Business				7
Number of reportable segment | Segment				1
Long term deferred revenue		$ 11,577		$ 11,577		$ 10,000
Revenue		$ 106,117	$ 473,666	277,704	$ 1,100,233
Impairment of other long-lived assets				0
Goodwill, impairment loss				0
Impairment of other indefinite-lived intangible assets				$ 0
ZHG Stock Purchase Agreement [Member]
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Type of Revenue [Extensible List]		seas:FoodMerchandiseAndOtherRevenueMember	seas:FoodMerchandiseAndOtherRevenueMember	seas:FoodMerchandiseAndOtherRevenueMember	seas:FoodMerchandiseAndOtherRevenueMember
Revenue		$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 1,700
Other Liabilities [Member]
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Long term deferred revenue						10,000
Middle East Project [Member]
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Long term deferred revenue		10,500		10,500		10,000
Deferred costs incurred under Middle East Project		5,700		$ 5,700		$ 5,000
Scheduled completion year of the project				2022
Pass Products, Admission or In-Park Products or Services [Member]
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Long term deferred revenue		$ 1,100		$ 1,100
State of Virginia [Member]
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Attendance capacity restriction for guests | Guest				1,000
State of Virginia [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Business Description And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]
Estimated increase in capacity of number of guests | Guest	4,000