SeaWorld San Diego

[Capt.Barnacles]

And surely enough... Boom. Premier Rides Sky Rocket II.



EDIT: SeaWorld have also posted this video on their Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SeaWorld/video ... 474652565/

[MakoMania]

Looks great! Can't wait! SeaWorld have a real habit of announcing projects pretty early on now which is great, allows me to plan well

Will be a great addition to SWSD, a much needed high thrill coaster and a brand new eel aquarium in one!

No words for this video, just pure magic and wonder: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another interesting thing is that a new Killer Whale virtual reality experience will debut this year alongside the new Orca Encounter attraction.

SeaWorld San Diego will in fact delve into the virtual reality realm when it introduces this year a “one-on-one” experience with the killer whales that relies on VR goggles and footage of the park’s whales. There will be an extra fee for the experience.

“Think of it as a five-minute movie where the guests can go virtually under water and above water with the whales, with a headset and up-close images of these animals,” Morrow said. “The test footage is breathtaking.”

The Killer Whale VR experience will be an extra fee attraction.

[MakoMania]

So yesterday at 4:30 was the last ever One Ocean show at SeaWorld San Diego. It was packed, I've literally never seen anything like it. It is being replaced by the all new educational presentation, "Orca Encounter" which looks very different to what we're used to, but just as incredible. Change is good sometimes:

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[MakoMania]

SeaWorld San Diego's park president, Marilyn Hannes, and SeaWorld Entertainment creative director Brian Morrow have recently released more information about the four new attractions coming to the park this summer; Orca Encounter, Ocean Explorer Realm, Electric Ocean and the Killer Whale virtual reality experience. I'll quote some of the best bits here to summarise what was said:

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

[MakoMania]

Some sort of teaser/cryptic clue (nobody really knows what it is) has been set up by SeaWorld San Diego. Visit oceanradiance1.com

[lewis97]

Looks like oceanradiance2.com and oceanradiance3.com are also a thing, with the videos found at those URLs teasing 'the next generation sea life experience' in summer 2017.

[MakoMania]

Ocean Explorer update credit to Screamscape:

[MakoMania]

The park has a busy few weeks ahead as both Ocean Explorer and Orca Encounter will open on May 27th! Then, the new Electric Ocean event will begin on June 17th

[MakoMania]

Here's a sneak preview of Orca Encounter, opening in just one week!

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[MakoMania]

Here's some images of Orca Encounter & Ocean Explorer that opened today (credit to Stand With SeaWorld on Facebook)

[ThemeCrafter264]

I feel very sad to say this but shows do really need to stop at Sea World parks as soon as possible. You cannot justify having a show, trying to trick you into thinking Sea World (as a company, rather than the trainers themselves) properly care for the animals. A show with a larger focus on the animals doing tricks, is just as bad as a show with some videos of the animals in the oceans and the animals doing the same tricks. I just watched a video of the new Orca Encounter show and I certainly haven't changed my views on the cruel shows, which Sea World continues to do. (I'm sorry if I've offended anyone but Sea World cannot promote their 'amazing' animal welfare, with a 'new' show, showing the same old tricks, like they have done with Orca Encounter).

[MakoMania]

ThemeCrafter264, with respect, you are not a marine biologist, have no experience in marine mammal veterinary medicine, behaviour or positive reinforcement techniques. Personally I prefer to believe the people who do have the relevant knowledge, both from SeaWorld and other independent organisations. The facts prove that SeaWorld is a world leader in animal welfare which is why respected organisations such as WWF, the American Humane Association and AZA have all endorsed SeaWorld and their work.

The overwhelming majority of claims made by SeaWorld's opponents can be debunked by using scientific research and real facts. Believing PETA (who have been cited for animal cruelty according to Virginia state records) or the producers of Blackfish (who have not contributed a single dollar to animal conservation) is like believing the Daily Mirror in their sensationalist "horror" headlines about Alton Towers.

You say "tricks", but every behaviour seen in Orca Encounter are natural behaviours that Orcas perform in the wild. No disputing that as it's a fact so I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to with the word "tricks".

The allegation that the park's presentations are "cruel" is absurd. Training methods such as physical punishment or food deprivation are illegal and would compromise the health and well being of the animals which is something that the dedicated trainers that I know would never dream of doing. SeaWorld truly has the most dedicated and passionate staff I have ever seen, who truly take pride in their work which has helped to change the perception of Orcas from beasts to be feared all the way to incredible creatures that must be treasured and protected.

Just some of the many independent, scientific individuals and organisations that have thrown their expert support behind SeaWorld's amazing work:

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Scripp's Institute of Oceanography
AZA
EAZA
HSW Research Institute
The American Humane Association
Humane Society of the United States
IMATA
AMMPA
Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Conservationist Julie Scardina
Conservationist Bindi Irwin
Animal Expert and zoologist Jack Hanna
Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission

I know that some people have a midless vendetta against SeaWorld and what we as the marine conservation community stand for, but we will resist and will be here to educate the public about the oceans and protect animals in need for decades to come.

[Burniel]

Oh god, here we go ...

I'm aware MM just posted something far more accurate than me, but I just spent ages writing this, so I'll offer my view on it anyway. Having visited a SeaWorld park myself, I can tell that the animals appear happy. You may tell me that they're trained to appear happy in shows and aren't like that backstage, and you may have a point, but many of their animals (admittedly not quite so much in the case of orcas) are not just visible within the shows. Take, for example, the wide range of animals that can be seen throughout the parks, a perfect example of which is in the exits or queues of some attractions. You cannot simply force an animal to appear happy for 14 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Documentaries such as Blackfish have done an effective job of painting the worst possible light of the parks, but these are obviously biased and, as has been proven, frequently inaccurate. Meanwhile, both SeaWorld themselves and fans of the parks consistently post about the good news of an animal, who would have lived a fairly short life in the wild, being saved by the chain and living to far beyond the life expectancy in the wild. You could say that this, too, is biased, so I'm left leaning towards whichever side of the story my personal experiences support. As such, I'm fairly satisfied in saying that, to the best of my knowledge, these animals live no worse lives than any others in captivity (in fact, they likely have it better). We all throw shedloads of cash at Merlin, operators of SEALIFE centres, so it's hard to single out SeaWorld personally when I boil it down to its basic principle, which is captivity, generally for conservation. I think the wonderful experiences provided by SeaWorld parks, alongside other parks in the chain I've been lucky enough to experience, such as Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove, outweigh the slight possibility that all the evidence I've seen to suggest that the animals are properly cared for is false.

[MakoMania]

I hate to bring this picture up but I think it illustrates the situation quite well:

[ThemeCrafter264]

Submarine Quest is such a disappointing attraction. I was at least expecting a dark ride that had some animatronics. Instead, all we got is the people mover with a video game, with a lacklustre finale (just screens and an octopus appearing in them). Maybe my expectations were too high but even Laser Raiders is more impressive as a ride. At least, the surrounding area is better themed.

[MakoMania]

Agreed, whilst the realm as a whole looks great, I do feel that Submarine Quest is too dependent on the on board screen. It became apparent a few months ago that this is what was going to happen, but then again we are not the target audience, kids will probably love it!

I think it could be described as a high tech Squirrel Nutty :P

[Owen]

Electric Eel has received approval from the California Coastal Commission to be built!

[MakoMania]

Kasatka, the matriach Killer Whale at SeaWorld San Diego passed away yesterday (Aug 15th) after a long battle with a bacterial lung infection, which is the most common cause of illness or death in whales and dolphins both in the wild and in zoological facilities. She was euthanized by the park's expert veterinarians who determined that her quality of life would suffer if the disease was allowed to progress further. Kasatka was around 42 years old, so she lived a long life. She was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and leaves behind 3 children in San Diego; Nakai, Kalia & Makani. She will be missed by everyone.

Learn more:
https://seaworld.com/san-diego/sitecore ... 17/kasatka

[MakoMania]

I can't believe it's been over a week since Kasatka passed away, I still can't believe it even though we've been expecting it for some time. The park posted a facebook video as an update on the 10 remaining Killer Whales in San Diego who all thankfully seem to be doing well:



I never got to see or interact with Kasatka as I have never been to San Diego and so I haven't been as emotionally impacted as when Tilikum & Kyara passed away but you can clearly see the love that those who knew her had for her.

Just a bit of little known info, the Orca in the opening video of the One Ocean show is actually Kasatka back in 2011.

[MakoMania]

SeaWorld have announced that as of summer 2018, Aquatica San Diego will be going solar with about 90% of the park's electricity being provided by a brand new on site solar plant. If successful, it is hoped that this scheme can be gradually rolled out into the company's other theme parks and water parks.