SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

[Haymaker]

^I live in Nashville as well and have been safety shamed for wearing a mask. Honestly, I don't care. I just happily go my way and think pleasant thoughts to myself. Like, "hopefully this person will contract COVID and die. One less dipshit donald supporter that I have to tolerate."

 

And here I am wearing a mask for the opposite reason... I dont want to get hassled so its easier to just wear it then deal with people.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Haymaker

[cparkes92]

^I live in Nashville as well and have been safety shamed for wearing a mask. Honestly, I don't care. I just happily go my way and think pleasant thoughts to myself. Like, "hopefully this person will contract COVID and die. One less dipshit donald supporter that I have to tolerate."

 

And here I am wearing a mask for the opposite reason... I dont want to get hassled so its easier to jist wear it then deal with people.

 

I'm in the camp that even though I don't like to wear a mask, I'll wear it if I'm in a large public space (such as at Meijer, Walmart, Sam's Club, the local grocery store, etc.). When I go to a theme park this season, I'll go ahead and wear a mask, even though it might be uncomfortable.

[prozach626]

People love to lose their shit over nothing. Whether I think it's right or wrong, I wear a mask if I'm required to do it. I follow the rules. People have a problem with being told what to do with anything, anymore.

 

My opinion about the COVID issue is unpopular with a lot of people, but if I don't want to comply with a park's rules of policies, I just don't go. I don't bitch about it or voice my opinion. I'm sure it would be the same way if a park made everyone wear sunglasses. Even the people who were wearing them to begin with would be outraged that they were required to wear them.

 

Honestly, the reservations, electronic queuing, and limited capacity seem to be way more inconvenient than simply wearing masks. Those are the main buzz kills for me. If all I had to do was wear a mask and have everything else back to normal, I'd be booking trips.

[robbalvey]

People love to lose their shit over nothing. Whether I think it's right or wrong, I wear a mask if I'm required to do it. I follow the rules.

THIS!

 

Honestly, the reservations, electronic queuing, and limited capacity seem to be way more inconvenient than simply wearing masks. Those are the main buzz kills for me. If all I had to do was wear a mask and have everything else back to normal, I'd be booking trips.

ALSO THIS!!!

 

Someone responded to our report on Facebook saying they waited 40 minutes for one of the SeaWorld coasters WITH QUICK QUEUE! So I can't even imagine how long the actual line really was.

 

Wearing the mask has been the LEAST intrusive out of all the restrictions put into place. We are sitting right now on two different WDW Resort Reservations, but not knowing if we will actually be able to get a date to visit the parks based on uncertainties.

 

And then if we DO get to visit, we don't know how long those lines are going to be either.

 

All of those things... IMO... more annoying than wearing a mask, which I am so used to at this point because I've been wearing it every day for the past 3 months now, that I sometimes go to take a drink forgetting that I have it on!

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by robbalvey

[805Andrew]

I hope SeaWorld and Busch Gardens get their act together on this issue, I expect better from them. I hope Universal has been doing a better job enforcing masks and social distancing.

[Guy T. Koepp]

^I've heard mixed reactions about how things are going over at the Universal properties. Robb, have you and Elissa been over there yet? I would love to hear your take on things.

[SharkTums]

^Not yet. Robb has a pass but mine is expired and we're trying to decide if we want to renew or not. We have also heard positive things though from park people and non-park enthusiast friends

[pianojohn]

^I've heard mixed reactions about how things are going over at the Universal properties. Robb, have you and Elissa been over there yet? I would love to hear your take on things.

 

I've been to Universal twice and both times everyone wore a mask. There are signs everywhere, and people just seem more willing to obey the rules.

My one visit to Sea World last week was a different story. Saw a few groups of people either wearing it wrong or just taking it off completely since they felt they were away from people. So selfish and stupid.

[Haymaker]

^ Ive never been to SWO, is it a different clientele than the other parks, or all about the same?

[robbalvey]

^ Ive never been to SWO, is it a different clientele than the other parks, or all about the same?

It's hard to say because without most of our "tourists" in the area, the clientele is mostly locals which is a VERY different group of people than we are used to. But to give you an idea, a SeaWorld pass with no blockout dates is $96 for the year and a Universal Pass with no blockout dates is $359. My feeling is that the local clientele at both parks most certainly reflects in their pricing.

 

Hope that answers your question.

[Haymaker]

Sure does. Its like SF/CF, Walmart or target, etc.

[JJnCFL]

Sure does. Its like SF/CF, Walmart or target, etc.

After visiting Universal & SWO/BGT last week it's more like Dollar General vs Gucci....

[coasterbill]

We love SeaWorld but they're boxing themselves into a strange situation. I don't want to bring up politics on a theme park site unnecessarily but it's clear to see what they're doing. They're pandering a bit to right leaning crowd since so many people on the other side of the aisle have a less-than-favorable view of them. They go out of their way to salute the troops before each Shamu show for no apparent reason, they do the Waves of Honor thing, their concert lineup heavily skews towards country music, their Christmas Shamu show is about Jesus which is hilarious, they've diversified the Christmas event in general in Orlando by laying in heavy on the religious side of things while nobody else does, they have the Praise Wave music series. They then preach to that crowd about saving the planet which... LOL. I get why they need to pander to the people that they're pandering to because the other side doesn't generally like them (again, with exceptions of course) but that group is generally less likely to wear a mask in a theme park because mask wearing has become politicized because our country politicizes everything.

 

The whole thing is a bit weird.

Edited June 15, 2020 by coasterbill

[A.J.]

We love SeaWorld but they're boxing themselves into a strange situation. I don't want to bring up politics on a theme park site unnecessarily but it's clear to see what they're doing. They're pandering a bit to right leaning crowd since so many people on the other side of the aisle have a less-than-favorable view of them.

I wasn't comfortable getting into it either but now that you have, I can say that I've also been noticing that, and it IS weird! Some people I know actually kind of frown on me for having a SeaWorld pass for that reason.

[Hilltopper39]

Has anyone been to Aquatica yet? I don't recall anyone posting pictures or tweeting from Aquatica (or BGT's water park), so was just curious how things went there after the reopening.

[coasterbill]

We love SeaWorld but they're boxing themselves into a strange situation. I don't want to bring up politics on a theme park site unnecessarily but it's clear to see what they're doing. They're pandering a bit to right leaning crowd since so many people on the other side of the aisle have a less-than-favorable view of them.

I wasn't comfortable getting into it either but now that you have, I can say that I've also been noticing that, and it IS weird! Some people I know actually kind of frown on me for having a SeaWorld pass for that reason.

 

I almost didn't post it and I'm trying really hard to keep from injecting my politics into it in hopes that nobody else will, I really just think it's weird that they're targeting the niche-iest of niches and you can't NOT talk about it because it's just so weird.

 

"Hey, do you want to make America great again but also learn about only eating sustainable seafood, fighting climate change and saving sea turtles by purchasing re-usable straws? We have just the place!"

Edited June 15, 2020 by coasterbill

[sfkk]

We love SeaWorld but they're boxing themselves into a strange situation. I don't want to bring up politics on a theme park site unnecessarily but it's clear to see what they're doing. They're pandering a bit to right leaning crowd since so many people on the other side of the aisle have a less-than-favorable view of them. They go out of their way to salute the troops before each Shamu show for no apparent reason, they do the Waves of Honor thing, their concert lineup heavily skews towards country music, their Christmas Shamu show is about Jesus which is hilarious, they've diversified the Christmas event in general in Orlando by laying in heavy on the religious side of things while nobody else does, they have the Praise Wave music series. They then preach to that crowd about saving the planet which... LOL. I get why they need to pander to the people that they're pandering to because the other side doesn't generally like them (again, with exceptions of course) but that group is generally less likely to wear a mask in a theme park because mask wearing has become politicized because our country politicizes everything.

 

The whole thing is a bit weird.

 

I think you also might be underestimating just how religious many Latin American people are. These people make up a huge group that is still in the SeaWorld camp as well. Most hispanic tourists (not necessarily hispanic Americans) are also far more right-wing than many would believe as well. Abortion is illegal in all but three Latin American countries, except for in cases to preserve health or save a women's life. (https://reproductiverights.org/worldabortionlaws?country=ARG) The entire Three Kings Celebration, based on Hispanic traditions centered around the arrival of the three wise men, was created with them in mind. SeaWorld has always saluted the troops at the Shamu shows long before keeping whales in captivity was even 1000th on the list of controversial things. I think it's more so that SeaWorld just does not see a need to change who they have always been.

 

As for people not wearing masks... all I'll say is...we'll see how Six Flags does.

 

Edit: This wasn't meant to be confrontational, just wanted to point out another core constituency of SeaWorld Entertainment and point out what they have been doing to cater to them as well. You did give some good points and insights. It certainly is a one of a kind mix of people that go to SeaWorld. The exceptions are interesting though, particularly the few extremely environmentally conscious people that like seaworld. It's almost like the conservationist community as a whole is still split on seaworld/zoos and aquariums on the whole.

[coasterbill]

I don't understand you point. I know that there are a lot of conservatives to market to. My point is that they're targeting a really small niche of conservatives who are conservative but want to go somewhere and be preached to about saving the planet all day.

 

It just seems like they're walking a weird tightrope and not really sure what they want to be or who they want to attract.

Edited June 15, 2020 by coasterbill

[sfkk]

I think in SeaWorld's mind, they are trying to skirt the line to attract everyone. I think they believe the conservationist messaging alone will be enough to eventually attract the left. They appeal a bit more culturally to the right just to give those people a reason as well. They want conservation to be an inclusive movement, not an elitist exclusive one. Not saying it's a good strategy, but if I had to get inside their head, that's probably at least close to their train of thought. Free beer is the big one though... everyone likes when they do free beer.

[robbalvey]

I think in SeaWorld's mind, they are trying to skirt the line to attract everyone. I think they believe the conservationist messaging alone will be enough to eventually attract the left. They appeal a bit more culturally to the right just to give those people a reason as well.

I'm sorry but wearing a mask should not be a "political" thing. That's so insanely stupid. I wear a mask because it helps the good of everyone. I don't give a fuck if they are "left" or right" and anyone that thinks that way really has other issues that I'm not sure how could be addressed.

 

It's honestly a shame that asking people in this country to do something simple for the good of everyone was way too much to ask. We were just talking tonight how Japan, after the 2011 earthquake, all got together and voluntarily shut off lights and other electronics for "power saving" and it worked. We can't even come anywhere close to that level of respect for others.

 

I mean, this sums up my feelings exactly:

[Garet]

^ South Korea is another mask-wearing culture and their deaths are 277 without a lockdown or closures.

[sfkk]

I think in SeaWorld's mind, they are trying to skirt the line to attract everyone. I think they believe the conservationist messaging alone will be enough to eventually attract the left. They appeal a bit more culturally to the right just to give those people a reason as well.

I'm sorry but wearing a mask should not be a "political" thing. That's so insanely stupid. I wear a mask because it helps the good of everyone. I don't give a fuck if they are "left" or right" and anyone that thinks that way really has other issues that I'm not sure how could be addressed.

 

It's honestly a shame that asking people in this country to do something simple for the good of everyone was way too much to ask. We were just talking tonight how Japan, after the 2011 earthquake, all got together and voluntarily shut off lights and other electronics for "power saving" and it worked. We can't even come anywhere close to that level of respect for others.

 

I mean, this sums up my feelings exactly:

 

Hey Robb! When talking about appealing culturally to the right, I think the bulk of the conversation was centered around first of all the fact that SeaWorld still calls it "Christmas Celebration" and not "Holiday In the Park" or "Winterfest". Additionally the shows within, such as O Wondrous Night, contain strong religious overtones. In addition to that it was noted that SeaWorld makes a very strong point to thank military members before Shamu shows and offer free admission to veterans. I agree masks should not be political, but they are. Not following park policy is not an option. Choosing whether or not the park makes masks a policy requirement is an option that the parks get to make, however. We have seen some parks require and others not. I'm curious what you think of Fun Spot's policy and if you have visited or plan to visit them during the pandemic.

[robbalvey]

Hey Robb! When talking about appealing culturally to the right, I think the bulk of the conversation was centered around first of all the fact that SeaWorld still calls it "Christmas Celebration" and not "Holiday In the Park"

Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?!

 

Now "Christmas" is a political thing??!?!

 

Can you please just stop posting to our forums? I'm not joking.

[KarlaKoaster]

When Seaworld did their presentation to Orange County last month, they said masks would be mandatory and social distancing measures would be in place. If this continues not to be enforced, could Orange County take measures against the park? For example fining them or telling them to temporarily close?

 

In the UK (not a model template in dealing with coronavirus, for sure) companies have to be 'covid secure' prior to reopening and can be fined/closed if they don't follow guidance. I was wondering if it was the same in the US as I'm not really sure how these things work there.

[thepoint4life23]

I know people that say I will not wear a mask. Then get on Facebook and get mad that everything is canceled. Just wear a mask to do your part and this will all get back to normal sooner.

 

I am waiting for you to go back and see how Sea world is this week or next.