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SeaWorld & Aquatica San Antonio

MakoMania

MakoMania

TS Member
Ok, so I don't believe that we have a thread dedicated to the SeaWorld & Aquatica location in San Antonio, Texas yet. It was only a matter of time before I made one :p

Just to give a start of topic summary, this is the largest of the 3 SeaWorld parks but gets the least attendance. The park has masses of undeveloped land for expansion and is currently undergoing a period of significant investment with large new attractions having opened in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

A few fun (or not) facts:

-SeaWorld and Aquatica San Antonio actually share the same car park, with guests for both parks entering under the main arches and then seperating off.

-As of February 2018, SeaWorld San Antonio is home to the largest zoological population of Beluga Whales in the United States.

-Wave Breaker, a double launch family coaster which opened in June 2017, was the first Intamin jet ski coaster in North America.

-The park's current president Carl Lum previously served as the park president of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

-The park has a fantastic partnership with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network to rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals in need with the goal of releasing them back into the wild.


Anyway, enough of the introduction, here are a couple of pieces of recent news:

1)New for 2018 at Aquatica San Antonio is Taumata Racer, a new waterslide attraction. The park recently confirmed that the ride will open on March 10th!



2)In the last few days, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that Tyonek, a rescued Beluga Whale calf under rehabilitation in Alaska, will be relocated to SeaWorld San Antonio in the near future. Tyonek stranded as a very young calf towards the end of 2017 with a very poor chance of survival. He had a collapsed lung and was suffering from pneumonia. Staff from the Alaska Sea Life Center (not Merlin), SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium and Shedd Aquarium all pitched in and now Tyonek is in a much better condition. However, NOAA determined that Tyonek is unsuitable for release due to his age, lung issues and social development. It was also decided that SeaWorld San Antonio would be the best plave gor him to go as there are other young male and adult female Beluga Whales that will help his social development.

 
Here is a short video of the new Sesame Street Party Parade that has opened at SeaWorld parks in San Antonio & San Diego.



It looks fantastic, obviously not Disney but for a reigonal park it's pretty good, I look forward to seeing it at the Texas park this summer :)
 
Construction walls have been flying up over the past few weeks inbetween Rio Loco and Shamu Theater.

I'm quite excited because I actually have no idea what is coming :p
 
Do we reckon it'll be yet another awesome coaster from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment? Or are we reckoning something different? I'm reckoning something different, as they only got Wave Breaker in 2017. Maybe something similar to Submarine Quest/Ocean Explorer in San Diego?
 
There is another coaster in development for SeaWorld San Antonio, however I'm not sure if it will be opening in 2019 or later. A coaster is a definite possibility though, as is a dark ride or animal habitat. (Or a combination)
 
MakoMania said:
There is another coaster in development for SeaWorld San Antonio, however I'm not sure if it will be opening in 2019 or later. A coaster is a definite possibility though, as is a dark ride or animal habitat. (Or a combination)
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Ooh! I wonder what it could be! I have high confidence in SeaWorld that it will be something good, whatever it is!
 
Sorry for double posting, but I've just made a discovery that I'm surprised @MakoMania hasn't discovered yet regarding the future of SeaWorld San Antonio! According to Behind the Thrills, SeaWorld San Antonio is rumoured to be receiving a large expansion over the next couple of years. Here's what they have to say about it: https://behindthethrills.com/2018/07/rumor-mill-seaworld-san-antonio-getting-massive-expansion/
If you don't want to read the link, they've essentially said that:
  • 2019 attraction is rumoured to be San Antonio's take on Turtle Trek in Orlando, but with a few upgrades on the Orlando version.
  • Roa's Aviary is rumoured to be closing at the end of the season in Aquatica San Antonio due to low interest.
  • Blue World might possibly be being revived in San Antonio.
Certainly sounds like the future of SeaWorld San Antonio is bright! While Turtle Trek definitely isn't my favourite dark ride, it's a nice support attraction and is simple but effective, in my opinion, and a plussed version so to speak would be a brilliant fit in San Antonio, in my opinion.
 
^There is some truth in this, but some things are not going to happen.

Behind the Thrills post lots of rumours, very few of which end up happening, I would be very surprised (but thrilled) if Blue World happened in Texas, although they are correct about a new Killer Whale show coming, it will debut in 2020 if all goes to plan.

A new coaster will be coming to San Antonio sooner than that article suggests.

They said that Roa's Aviary might be closing at the end of this season. It is already closed :p
 
MakoMania said:
^There is some truth in this, but some things are not going to happen.

Behind the Thrills post lots of rumours, very few of which end up happening, I would be very surprised (but thrilled) if Blue World happened in Texas, although they are correct about a new Killer Whale show coming, it will debut in 2020 if all goes to plan.

A new coaster will be coming to San Antonio sooner than that article suggests.

They said that Roa's Aviary might be closing at the end of this season. It is already closed :p
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Oh right. So not all of that is true. Is the bit about Turtle Trek true, out of interest?

I wonder whether this 2019 investment will be San Antonio's next coaster, then. I could definitely see something from B&M working at the park; maybe a wing coaster or dive coaster? Or maybe a Sky Rocket II, like Electric Eel at SeaWorld San Diego, because isn't San Antonio's attendance the lowest out of all the SeaWorld parks bar Sesame Place, correct me if I'm wrong?

And when you say that Roa's Aviary is already closed; hate to be nosy, but are you in San Antonio at the moment? As I seem to remember you saying something about being in San Antonio in another SeaWorld-related thread. Shame about Roa's Aviary, though; seemed like an interesting idea that really fitted with SeaWorld's beliefs.
 
^I was in San Antonio up until a few days ago :)

I have no idea what's coming in 2019 (Sorry!). I was talking to Carl Lum a couple of years ago and I did mention that something like Turtle Trek would work well in Texas :p. I know the staff have always wanted to display Turtles as well.

SeaWorld have a great relationship with B&M, however as you've said San Antonio gets the lowest attendance of the 5 major SEAS theme parks, so they may not have the budget to afford B&M, whereas Orlando, Tampa and to a lesser extent Williamsburg often do have that kind of budget to play with.

The birds from the aviary are in BTS areas at the park, awaiting transport to Orlando, likely to Discovery Cove. The company aren't selling the birds, so there isn't a cost saving to closing Roa's Aviary other than a single supervising staff member. If I were to bet I would bet cost saving isn't the reason for closure, especially since San Antonio has had it's operational budget increase for 2018.
 
I reckon a B&M wing coaster would work well in Texas; they could theme it to a plaice or something, as plaices are wide, flat animals!
 
Screamscape have uncovered the following permit description:

"SITE WORK ONLY INCLUDING UTILITY, DRAINAGE AND GRADING FOR FUTURE AQUATIC ANIMAL EXHIBIT POOL, RIDES AND PLAZA".
 
Oh! Sounds like we could potentially be getting an area like Ocean Explorer (isn't that what it's called, @MakoMania?) at SeaWorld San Diego, which would be a nice addition! I say that because the term "rides" implies that there will be a whole area of rides, and if animal exhibits are in there too, then an area like San Diego's would make sense, in my opinion.
 
It would be an odd decision to invest in an ocean explorer style area considering it did little for attendance in San Diego, unless of course they think they can market it differently.
 
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