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SeaWorld Orlando: General Discussion
- Thread starter Danny
- Start date
MakoMania
TS Member
Sorry for the double post but in this news interview there are some new animated renderings of Infinity Falls and the surrounding area, it looks fab!
Sort of reassures me construction wise as well, it seems like the vast majority of work for this ride will be at ground level.
They had crews on site 24hrs a day to get Mako ready, so hopefully this will be the same.
Sort of reassures me construction wise as well, it seems like the vast majority of work for this ride will be at ground level.
They had crews on site 24hrs a day to get Mako ready, so hopefully this will be the same.
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Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Loving those renderings on Infinity Falls! I am really excited to see how it turns out and getting on it whenever I next return to Florida, rapids rides are just so much fun!
EDIT:
A good aerial photo from bioreconstruct showing progress on Infinity Falls:
EDIT:
A good aerial photo from bioreconstruct showing progress on Infinity Falls:
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John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I've not really been paying much attention to this thread as Sea World doesn't really interest me all that much (if it wasn't for Mako I'd be tempted to skip it entirely on my next Florida trip), but from the photo at the top of the page I thought I'd somehow missed the announcement of a single rail coaster of some kind.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
The photo above is of Ray Rush, the new water slide opening this summer.
SeaWorld is worth it for Mako alone, in my opinion. Stunning coaster. Really smooth, tons of airtime; you'll love it! I also found that SeaWorld strangely had a very nice, chilled atmosphere when I visited.
MakoMania
TS Member
For me it's the best park in Florida, but I can totally understand why it's not everyone's cup of tea.
As Matt said, the laid back atmosphere in many areas of the park is a great change from a day at Universal or Disney.
I do think it's fairly normal to drop parks on a Florida visit once you've been a few times though. I don't visit Disney anymore as for me, they are the weakest parks in terms of things to do in my age range.
This year in fact, I don't think I'll be doing Universal either. I'd rather spend more days at SeaWorld and BGT
As Matt said, the laid back atmosphere in many areas of the park is a great change from a day at Universal or Disney.
I do think it's fairly normal to drop parks on a Florida visit once you've been a few times though. I don't visit Disney anymore as for me, they are the weakest parks in terms of things to do in my age range.
This year in fact, I don't think I'll be doing Universal either. I'd rather spend more days at SeaWorld and BGT
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
SeaWorld is a great park (in my personal Florida top 3) and as I said above, it is definitely worth a visit if in the area for Mako alone. But it didn't quite beat IOA for me because IOA has stunning theming and a stunning atmosphere along with some great rides. Even though SeaWorld's trio of B&Ms beats IOA's duo of B&Ms (when I visited it was still a duo) because Dragon Challenge was awful, I still prefer IOA as a park because of the theming and the fact that it has a variety of attractions for everyone. Don't forget that my 2 top water rides (Jurassic Park and Bilge-Rats) and my number 2 and 3 dark rides (FJ and Spiderman) are also in IOA, whereas I didn't find SeaWorld's water and dark rides anything overly special other than the animal exhibits within them, which were excellent. The point I'm trying to get across is that I can understand why someone would rank SeaWorld as the best, but for me, someone who isn't hugely enthused in marine biology like @MakoMania clearly is, I personally wouldn't rank SeaWorld as the best in Florida. Possibly the 2nd best, but I think Animal Kingdom needs a revisit to determine that.
P.S. Sorry for the long post.
P.S. Sorry for the long post.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
They're still a person. So it's OK.Yeah, I think I must be the only enthusiast that ranks SW as #1, I have heard some GP saying that SeaWorld was their favourite however, not sure if that helps or damages my argument
Austin Towers
TS Member
According to screamscape the VR was removed from Kraken for insurance reasons. The VR hardware mounted to the trains was not approved by anyone including B&M.
Hope it stays the way it is !
Hope it stays the way it is !
JackFitzy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- I once went on a Go Gator that was pretty cool I guess...
I believe theirs was approved unfortunately @MakoMania
stealthyjim
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Montu
The reduction in VR availability on Galactica is definitely a step in the right direction. The re-theme was a great idea as space travel goes hand in hand with the flying coaster concept. The VR isn’t needed to immerse riders and it only stops them from experiencing the portal!
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Reduction in VR availability? Are they doing it as certain rows only in 2018? If they are, then I will be picking a non-VR row!
MakoMania
TS Member
SEAS CEO Joel Manby is out, he is temporarily replaced by John Reilly, former president of SeaWorld San Diego and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Manby helped to begin the repositioning of the brand of the SeaWorld parks from Killer Whale shows towards animal conservation and rescue. That has had positive results, but not fast enough clearly.
It is not certain what strategy the company will take next, but I am sure that we are going to see agressive investment in new rides, animal exhibits and other attractions.
Interestingly though, the company beat their own EBITDA forcasts for the year of 2017 and have had a strong start to 2018.
Manby helped to begin the repositioning of the brand of the SeaWorld parks from Killer Whale shows towards animal conservation and rescue. That has had positive results, but not fast enough clearly.
It is not certain what strategy the company will take next, but I am sure that we are going to see agressive investment in new rides, animal exhibits and other attractions.
Interestingly though, the company beat their own EBITDA forcasts for the year of 2017 and have had a strong start to 2018.
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Rick
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Crux
I do wonder a little about their strategy. The whole 'We don't do whales anymore' approach is interesting. Specifically because I don't think you will ever convince PETA and others that what you're doing is right until you close up shop entirely.
Their current approach is seemingly an admission that they have now concluded what they have been doing for decades is wrong.
Plus, so many of the folks who are 'against' the company in this debate only have a deep affection for these animals after seeing them in captivity.
Their current approach is seemingly an admission that they have now concluded what they have been doing for decades is wrong.
Plus, so many of the folks who are 'against' the company in this debate only have a deep affection for these animals after seeing them in captivity.
It's a shame to seem Joel Manby go. He comes across well in Undercover Boss and I enjoyed his book on leadership, Love Works. I know a reality TV show and his own book are going to be one sided, but he certainly comes across as a caring and enlightened leader. Hopefully we'll see him pop up somewhere else in the theme park industry. I certainly don't think this is good news for the parks. Normally a major company puts a lot of thought into succession planning at the top with a transition process to take them between leaders. For the CEO to suddenly go will make a bumpy road a bit bumpier. On top of that they have an interim CEO, so they may well be another change in leadership not too far down the line. Each time you have a change in leadership, particularly without a transition process, things can lurch in a new direction. This can mean that projects get abandoned wasting precious resources, and new ideas get hurried through.
I don't think the issue is trying to attract PETA. Sea World has seen a significant slide in visitors, and I don't think that's because all the PETA members stopped visiting. The reality is that quite a lot of people are against that kind of thing, which is why all the dolphinariums in UK closed down and none of the travelling circuses have performing animals anymore. Sea World stands on the wrong side of changing public opinion. Having said that, I can also see that a lot of the people who are against performing orcas would also be against performing dolphins and captive beluga whales. At the moment it might seem like a compromise that doesn't really appeal to either side.
It certainly will be interesting to see what can be done to salvage the company. I wouldn't be surprised if they do go through some kind bankruptcy like Six Flags did.
I don't think the issue is trying to attract PETA. Sea World has seen a significant slide in visitors, and I don't think that's because all the PETA members stopped visiting. The reality is that quite a lot of people are against that kind of thing, which is why all the dolphinariums in UK closed down and none of the travelling circuses have performing animals anymore. Sea World stands on the wrong side of changing public opinion. Having said that, I can also see that a lot of the people who are against performing orcas would also be against performing dolphins and captive beluga whales. At the moment it might seem like a compromise that doesn't really appeal to either side.
It certainly will be interesting to see what can be done to salvage the company. I wouldn't be surprised if they do go through some kind bankruptcy like Six Flags did.
MakoMania
TS Member
SeaWorld's problem is not the fabled changing public perception about cetaceans in captivity: there are many locations that house cetaceans in the US, Europe and elsewhere that are enjoying record breaking attendance levels.
SeaWorld's main issues are the unforgiving competitive environment in Orlando (although SWO has managed to increase its attendance so far in 2018) and their relative inability to utilise IP based attractions in a tourist market.
Blackfish has undeniably had an impact (most significantly in California), however thankfully this is beginning to subside and San Diego attendance is also up so far in 2018. PETA have never and will never like SeaWorld, regardless of the movie.
I also think the notion that "SeaWorld is trying to get away from Killer Whales" is misleading. Killer Whales live for a long time and there are some real youngsters within the SeaWorld system, they will be present at the parks for decades to come. What SeaWorld is trying to get away from is the glitzy glam theatrical shows that just don't match well with the current brand repositioning. It's not a question of welfare as animal care practices and training will be unaffected, it's merely the style in which the shows are performed that is changing.
It's also worth remembering that Joel is assisting in the transition to ensure that it is smooth and efficient. He has done some great things for SeaWorld and was someone who I think really appreciated the dedication of the zoological teams. I would certainly argue that he has left the parks in a stronger position, with a much clearer direction than when he took over in 2015.
I am more confident than ever that we will see improvements in trends across the company in 2018, early signs are encouraging and the only parks that do not have a new attraction or event are Discovery Cove, Water Country USA and Aquatica San Diego.
SeaWorld's main issues are the unforgiving competitive environment in Orlando (although SWO has managed to increase its attendance so far in 2018) and their relative inability to utilise IP based attractions in a tourist market.
Blackfish has undeniably had an impact (most significantly in California), however thankfully this is beginning to subside and San Diego attendance is also up so far in 2018. PETA have never and will never like SeaWorld, regardless of the movie.
I also think the notion that "SeaWorld is trying to get away from Killer Whales" is misleading. Killer Whales live for a long time and there are some real youngsters within the SeaWorld system, they will be present at the parks for decades to come. What SeaWorld is trying to get away from is the glitzy glam theatrical shows that just don't match well with the current brand repositioning. It's not a question of welfare as animal care practices and training will be unaffected, it's merely the style in which the shows are performed that is changing.
It's also worth remembering that Joel is assisting in the transition to ensure that it is smooth and efficient. He has done some great things for SeaWorld and was someone who I think really appreciated the dedication of the zoological teams. I would certainly argue that he has left the parks in a stronger position, with a much clearer direction than when he took over in 2015.
I am more confident than ever that we will see improvements in trends across the company in 2018, early signs are encouraging and the only parks that do not have a new attraction or event are Discovery Cove, Water Country USA and Aquatica San Diego.