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SeaWorld Orlando: General Discussion

Queue times are not bad generally, but ride wise it is mainly coasters. I went in August and longest I waited was 30 mins, at some points queues showed higher than that but they settled down (ie manta shoots up not long after open (ie 70+ mins) due to being by the entrance. They have all of the shows as well but as they are moving to a more ride based park some non coaster filler rides are what is needed.

There are other issues at Seaworld, operations are not the best and the ridiculous food and drink prices (and generally poor quality. After visiting many times decided not to visit on my next trip, had a poor trip to Busch in August 2022 and didn’t bother going this year.
 
James5696 said:
Hi, I’m going to SWO next year, and I’m just curious as to what you mean by this. Do they have excessive queue times, or could they just do with padding out their lineup?
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Aside from the coasters there’s not a great deal to do, and there aren’t that many coasters in the first place for an American amusement park. They need a greater variety of attractions to experience to make the place more than a half-day activity.
 
A recent guest survey has gone out which indicates some projects they are considering next-

1- a full refurb of Atlantis and resorting it’s back to how it was when it opened Inc story and effects etc.

2- a family friendly experience based on jellyfish and pre Jurassic sea creatures. Sounds like a possible family friendly slow moving dark ride experience

3- new coaster- the description sounds like it’s a Mack Striker. Vertical launch, dynamic layout with unique elements, a unique start to the ride and 4 across and 4 rows of open air ride cars.
 
Maelstrom said:
A recent guest survey has gone out which indicates some projects they are considering next-

1- a full refurb of Atlantis and resorting it’s back to how it was when it opened Inc story and effects etc.

2- a family friendly experience based on jellyfish and pre Jurassic sea creatures. Sounds like a possible family friendly slow moving dark ride experience

3- new coaster- the description sounds like it’s a Mack Striker. Vertical launch, dynamic layout with unique elements, a unique start to the ride and 4 across and 4 rows of open air ride cars.
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They don't really need option 3 right now.

Seaworld has enough coasters but needs some other things to do.
 
Is the new flying theatre from Brogent? I could have sworn I heard that Brogent and Vekoma were somehow linked…

Putting a potential Brogent/Vekoma link aside, I can’t think of anything Vekoma manufactures other than roller coasters. Aside from the odd Madhouse, I can’t think of any non-coaster rides Vekoma has manufactured in recent years.
 
As it turns out, Vekoma actually offers a wider range of non-coasters than I thought they did: https://www.vekoma.com/attractions

As well as a wide range of flying theatres and “media-based attractions”, they also offer the Madhouse, as well as a Suspended Dark Ride and a “Beat It Interactive Boat Ride”!

So if SeaWorld have contracted Vekoma, they aren’t necessarily automatically building a coaster as I’d previously thought!
 
On their recent survey one proposed attraction sounded like a family friendly dark ride themed to under the sea and jellyfish and prehistoric sea creatures. The suspended dark ride system could work this this theme.

the other two proposals were a makeover Atlantis (Mack rides) and the new thrill coaster proposed sounded like a Mack Striker based on the description.
 
I visited SeaWorld Orlando for the first time today since 2022, and here are my general observations:

Pipeline is really rather good! The ‘seating’ is more comfortable than expected with having free vertical movement throughout the experience, except it’s a touch tight on the shoulders. The ride itself is a lot of fun and it’s so bizarre experiencing airtime whilst standing up, especially as the negative Gs throw your seat upwards too.

Penguin Trek is a better use of space than that trackless dark ride ever seemed to be (I never rode it but it looked balls). The launch is punchy but the layout is underwhelming, threatening some air time but not delivering.

And as for Expedition Odyssey, the new Mack AIRIFIC (flying theatre), I seriously hope they improve. The ride system is incredibly basic with barely any movement, the screens are tiny and if you stretch out your hands or feet the projections will clip. They have 2 screens and seem to be able to seat 30 people per side, so they’d be good for small parks with lower budgets and guest figures, but they fall wide of the mark for a park like SeaWorld who should be striving for excellence.
 
Burbs said:
I visited SeaWorld Orlando for the first time today since 2022, and here are my general observations:

Pipeline is really rather good! The ‘seating’ is more comfortable than expected with having free vertical movement throughout the experience, except it’s a touch tight on the shoulders. The ride itself is a lot of fun and it’s so bizarre experiencing airtime whilst standing up, especially as the negative Gs throw your seat upwards too.

Penguin Trek is a better use of space than that trackless dark ride ever seemed to be (I never rode it but it looked balls). The launch is punchy but the layout is underwhelming, threatening some air time but not delivering.

And as for Expedition Odyssey, the new Mack AIRIFIC (flying theatre), I seriously hope they improve. The ride system is incredibly basic with barely any movement, the screens are tiny and if you stretch out your hands or feet the projections will clip. They have 2 screens and seem to be able to seat 30 people per side, so they’d be good for small parks with lower budgets and guest figures, but they fall wide of the mark for a park like SeaWorld who should be striving for excellence.
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Good post. We had an excellent day there a few weeks ago.

Totally agree with you about Pipeline. We loved it. Had two rides on it, one on the very back row and another on row 2. Loved both rides.

Penguin Trek was good fun for a family coaster and has the added treat of seeing the penguins in their enclosure as you exit. Although I do wish it was a larger enclosure for them. They are majestic animals and deserve a bit more space on land as well as just in the water.

The flying theatre was naff I agree. Felt completely pointless with zero thrill or excitement.

Mako absolutely blew me away. Couldn't get enough of those airtime hills.
 
dave___ said:
Looks like the previous thoughts were right and it is a suspended dark ride they’re building for next year. Worlds first, hoping it will be open when I’m there in August..

SEA Quest

seaworld.com seaworld.com

It’s reminding me of Subnautica
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Park definitely needs more family rides. We loved our recent trip there as thrill seekers but I can imagine families probably struggle somewhat. There isn't a massive amount to do outside of the animal shows for people who don't like coasters.
 
Benjsh said:
Park definitely needs more family rides. We loved our recent trip there as thrill seekers but I can imagine families probably struggle somewhat. There isn't a massive amount to do outside of the animal shows for people who don't like coasters.
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It strikes me at the moment as a park that doesn't really know what its direction is. I am not sure they will ever find their direction until they finally get rid of the albatross around their neck that is Shamu. I remember years ago when I first went, when they had just built Journey to Atlantis and Kraken that it felt like the first step of them moving away from being animal-focused to being ride-focused.

What I do find ongoing and interesting though is how many people don't like the animal ethics of Sea World yet elbow each out of the way to go to Discovery Cove which is owned and run by exactly the same people.
 
The Killer whales obviously belong in the Ocean. There's no doubt at that. We still went to watch the show though. Does that make me a bad person or hypocrite?

And despite the bad PR they get.....Sea World do a hell of lot of good work in the oceans and beaches which barely ever gets a mention.
 
Benjsh said:
The Killer whales obviously belong in the Ocean. There's no doubt at that. We still went to watch the show though. Does that make me a bad person or hypocrite?

And despite the bad PR they get.....Sea World do a hell of lot of good work in the oceans and beaches which barely ever gets a mention.
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I think people went a bit crazy dogpiling on them after all the issues they had with Tillikum. My personal thought is that I will see the shows if I happen to be there and I have seen the shows in the past, but I am pleased that they committed to ending their captive breeding programme so that at some point in the probably not too distant future the orca shows will naturally fade out of existence so the direction of the park might naturally change.

I don't know what to make of dolphin shows or the places like Discovery Cove where you can pet and ride with them. They are just as intelligent as orcas, if not more, but because they seem "nicer" it's more acceptable to use them like this for some reason.
 
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