SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Sea World does tons of enrichment programs with all their animals. They really make the animals lives full of fun and activity.

[Diamondbacker27]

I think what he's getting at is this: The ones born in the park have never been exposed to the wild, therefore they don't miss it.

 

You only know what you're raised with. Watch some backstage videos of the trainers interacting with them. They are clearly happy.

Exactly.

[Gnome]

^ I think feral children are perfect examples of this.

[Cyrbuzz]

Seems to me all the hoopla generated by this movie only made the turnstiles spin that much more. At the end of the day these activists only hurt their own cause.

[Diamondbacker27]

^ I think feral children are perfect examples of this.

[Spideyfreak]

^He's right. Watch "Secret of the Wild Child" from NOVA. It's basic sociology.

[Invertalon]

Some photos from my visit to the park last week:

 

Had a great time.... Crowds were light and the B&M's were running amazing. Manta just keeps ranking higher and higher in my books. I much prefer it to Tatsu and any of the SUF clones (naturally).

 

Park was clean, employees friendly... Great visit all around. Well worth the $50 ticket promo going on which was awesome.

[DJeXeL]

^Thanks for sharing. I particularly like this photo.

 

[aCoasterStory]

Just came across this, which I present without comment:

 

http://www.cracked.com/article_20957_6-awful-realities-behind-scenes-at-seaworld.html

[COASTER FREAK 11]

LOL!! How can you even read let alone trust an article when it has lines written like this

 

"...completely sanitize the entire room several times a day with a harsh compound comprised of abrasive chemicals and the tears of interns."

 

And its blaming the sun for causing cancer and saying its Seaworld's fault?!?!

 

And the last two things aren't even about Seaworld!

 

This whole thing is bloated from the start, HAHAHA.

Edited March 19, 2014 by COASTER FREAK 11

[coasterfreak101]

^It's a Cracked article. The entire purpose is to inform with sarcasm. Like this gem, my personal favorite from this article regardless of whether it's all totally true or not:

 

"That's like hitting a hobo with your car and cheerfully explaining that, for every homeless person you run down, you donate six action figures to Toys for Tots.

 

Seriously the best site out there.

[Miracleman]

My favorite part of the article is when it links to an ad for the Australian Sea World when describing how it advertises. Nice "research" for your "article." It's a blog post with an agenda. Take with a grain of salt. I'm not saying that working at SeaWorld is a dream, but seriously, what job is?

[jcrouse]

On Friday, March 21, Jacqi and I attended SeaWorld's 50th Anniversary Media Event -which was the kick off for their 18-month "Sea of Surprises" campaign. The campaign is centered around random, unscheduled events throughout the park that will include animal encounters, entertainment experiences and prizes from the "Surprise Squad" - and bubbles, lots and lots of bubbles. To experience elements that are a bit more regularly scheduled, SeaWorld has overhauled the SEA Garden (just outside of the old Hospitality House) - there are additional animal encounters here as well as larger than life sculptures of sea life made entirely of recovered beach trash.

 

SeaWorld promised that there would be many more new surprised to be added as this celebration goes along. The Shamu show will re-open in April and in June, SeaWorld will debut a new nighttime Shamu show "Shamu's Celebration: Light Up the Night".

 

On to the photos...

Here is the SeaWorld's 50th logo and icon for the "Sea of Surprises"

Media Credential? Check!

The main entrance lighthouse now has the new logo.

As does the the SkyTower cabin.

The media was greeted by Animal Trainers and Entertainment Performers.

But watch out for this mime guy.

Here was the main stage for the kick off show. Most of the show featured video clips detailing a lot of the good things SeaWorld has done over the years in Animal Research and Rescue. They are responsible for the rescue of over 23,000 animals.

These brightly colored people are the "Surprise Squad" - they'll pop up randomly with gifts, reserved show seating, exclusive access to rides and surprises like behind the scenes encounters. So when in the park, you should keep your eye out for these guys.

That's Park President, Terry Prather - holding a penguin during the show finale.

The new logo is absolutely everywhere...

There is a merchandise shop at the front of the park full of 50th logo gear.

And there are cool historical photos all around - like this one of the main entrance on opening day in 1973.

And this one - the Superhero Water Ski show from the 70s

And now on to the random encounters - this guy drives around in his wacky bubble making vehicle. Once he finds a place to park, he creates bubbles of all sizes and encourages guests to help him create even more bubbles.

Here's another look at the bubble car.

Did we say there were a lot of bubbles?

Another random entertainment experience - the "Splash Dance" crew does a high energy, guest participation show that involves a lot of water. Guests are sprayed with sprinklers, garden hoses and even backpack lawn sprayers as the team dances around.

Back in the SEA Garden, you will see the beach trash sculptures.

Red Trash Octopus. Sadly, there were no trash sharks. (that we're aware of...)

SeaWorld will expand their animal encounter back in the SEA Garden area, allowing guest to meets all kinds of animals - like this really cool owl.

Work continues on Shamu Stadium. The Shamu show is scheduled to re-open in April. A new nighttime show "Shamu's Celebration: Light Up the Night" will debut in June.

[frozenflames]

This may be a stupid question, but wasn't 1973 (the date listed as the park opening in the pictures) 41 years ago? Why are they celebrating the 50th anniversary now, instead of in nine years?

[Diamondbacker27]

Because it's 50 years of Seaworld parks. San Diego was opened 50 years ago.

[frozenflames]

Oh, so it's like the Year of a Million Dreams that Disney did, where all the parks are celebrating. Got it. Either way, the pictures of the offerings look really great, and the park just gave me more reasons as to why I want to go there.

[coasterbill]

That logo is outstanding.

[cfc]

Oh, so it's like the Year of a Million Dreams that Disney did, where all the parks are celebrating. Got it..

 

That's what thought, too. In fact, the "Surprise Squads" sound very similar to what Disney did a few years ago.

[Meteornotes]

^Since it's at SeaWorld, it should be Surprise Squids.

 

dt

[cfc]

^Wrapping you in Tentacles of Fun!

[bbomser]

Tentacles of Fun?

 

That's an image i'll never be able to get out of my head...

[thesman]

This may be a stupid question, but wasn't 1973 (the date listed as the park opening in the pictures) 41 years ago? Why are they celebrating the 50th anniversary now, instead of in nine years?

 

They were just showing historical pictures it doesn't mean that its from the opening season

[Philrad71]

We were there on Friday and had no idea that this media event was even happening. Overall a really great day, although that wrap prevented me from getting some great shots from the Sky Tower!

 

PS - I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any Christmas ornaments in any of the gift shops we visited. Has anyone ever seen them at the park before? I wanted a Shamu or Manta ornament, darn it!

[_koppen]

This thing is pretty bad-ass!!

 

I love the look of the tower!

 

Source

Source

[Diamondbacker27]

NUMB

SeaWorld Whales Use Benzodiazepine

 

Mike Aguilera/SeaWorld San Diego, via Getty

According to a document obtained by BuzzFeed, trainers at SeaWorld treat their famous whales with benzodiazepine, which is in drugs like Valium and Xanax. “The veterinary records show that orcas at SeaWorld are given psychotropic drugs to stop them from acting aggressively toward each other in the stressful, frustrating conditions in which they’re confined, instead of funding the development of coastal sanctuaries—the only humane solution,” said Jared Goodman of PETA. While critics like Goodman argue the medication is used as a result of the captivity, SeaWorld responded, saying, “The use of benzodiazepines is regulated, and these medications are only prescribed to animals by a veterinarian. Their use for cetacean health care, including killer whales, is limited, infrequent, and only as clinically indicated based on the assessment of the attending veterinarian." SeaWorld has faced widespread criticism for the past few years from activists about its treatment of its whales, as well as a recent documentary Blackfish, which is about a whale that killed three trainers.

 

Buzzfeed and DailyBeast.com wrote an article about this, I'm sure it could only cause more drama. Poor Seaworld