SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

Maybe an unpopular view here, but is it not possible that SeaWorld is simply on the wrong side of history?

This is just my opinion but honestly, no. I think people are trying to turn this into something it's not to make themselves feel like they're fighting for a cause that's much more important than it actually is. They're trying to draw parallels to things that are infinitely worse than this will ever be (like slavery).

Animal cruelty is horrible and should be and is treated very seriously. I just don't think what SeaWorld is doing could be considered "Animal Cruelty" in any way, shape or form. Based on that response that was posted a few pages back and a lot of other responses that have come out over the last few weeks it seems like they treat the animals very well. The fact that the pro-SeaWorld people are acknowledging criticism from anti-SeaWorld people while the Blackfish people have no interest in even hearing the other side of the story leads me to believe that the pro-SeaWorld people are much more credible.

I honestly feel like people are just starved for attention and want to feel like they're doing something important even though they're really not. If they wanted to make a difference there are a million better causes they could be supporting but they wouldn't get the same amount of attention since this is the issue CNN has decided to make a big deal about and report on.

we all know the truth that the whales aren't happy at Seaworld, they would be much more happier in the ocean.

First of all, I'm not sure why you felt the need to post that when it's posted a couple of pages back giving proper credit to the person who wrote it:

http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1390664#p1390664

Secondly, if you would have read anything over the last few pages you would have learned that it is a FACT that if those orcas are released back into the ocean, they would die.

I think you need to READ some of this thread and do a bit of self-educating before you post on a subject.

Thank you.

--Robb "Watching a movie does not make you an expert on a subject." Alvey

The fact that the pro-SeaWorld people are acknowledging criticism from anti-SeaWorld people while the Blackfish people have no interest in even hearing the other side of the story leads me to believe that the pro-SeaWorld people are much more credible.

This. Exactly. Well said.

One of my friends who works closely with SeaWorld trainers wrote me this, and I think it sums up things perfectly:

Fact. The blackfish side is strictly focusing only on the problems of the past. SeaWorld is strictly focusing on the solutions of the future. That's the difference between haters and lovers.

I am still waiting for CNN to compare whales to a baby stroller or something.

Martin Savidge is the lead reporter covering SeaWorld and Blackfish for CNN. He turned in some pretty good, well rounded pieces on the issue right up until the film's airing, but after that it switched over to fluff pieces, like the bands cancelling and the girl getting her school to cancel the field trip.

So Mr. Savidge, who I usually respect, posted this yesterday on his twitter account:

Martin Savidge ‏@MartinSavidge

@chrisbellows we make money from all the news we report. It's a business. Just as is SeaWorld.

Then, there's this HUGE error he made (on another subject), which he and CNN had to apologize for.

Ah, CNN. The network that told us there were three shooters in the Washington Navy Yard and they were all Muslim.

Please bring back the integrity.

Sooooo...how 'bout that Kraken, eh?

No? Maybe Manta, then? ....anyone?

I am still waiting for CNN to compare whales to a baby stroller or something.

That's more of a Fox News type of comparison, to be honest, haha.

All of this Blackfish nonsense really seems to have hit its fever pitch. I predict it will soon leave the public eye when the armchair (uneducated) activists find something else to rabble about. Like the latest Duck Dynasty.

Sooooo...how 'bout that Kraken, eh?

 

No? Maybe Manta, then? ....anyone?

...they're both pretty good coasters...um...

Any 2014/15 rumors?...anyone?...

I don't see SeaWorld, any zoo, Circus, or animal performance for that matter, being around in 50 years, and here's why. It can often be more damning for someone to hit a dog than to hit a person, or for cattle to be treated, well, like cattle.

I do. And I think that it is ridiculously important that these sorts of things stay around.

I'll preface this by saying that I've only been to Sea World once, it was Sea World Ohio back in the day, and I only vaguely remember it.

But things like Sea World, Zoos, Circuses and so on are where we help to introduce animals to the world. I have a three year old son. He regularly claims that he wants to be an elephant keeper when he grows up (and a baseball player too). He has a cheetah poster in his room, and he loves going to visit them at the zoo. He talks about giraffes regularly. He can tell you the difference between a monkey and an ape. It's amazing.

He also wants to go visit these animals in the wild. He asks questions about what types of places these animals live.

He wouldn't give a flying fart about the wild animals if he couldn't see the animals at the zoo. There is a HUGE difference between seeing them on the TV and seeing them in real life. And maybe (probably) he won't be an elephant keeper when he grows up... but maybe he'll save money to go visit Africa to see real wild elephants, helping to save those animals with his tourism dollars. Or, maybe he'll donate $5 toward saving the rain forest in the future because he cares about the apes *like the ones he sees at the zoo* so their well being becomes something that he is personally invested in.

In a day and age where so much of our lives is becoming more and more digital, finding the real things that we can connect to is insanely important, and these animals are truly ambassadors for their species. If it isn't for them, who knows what happens to them.

Without Sea World and institutions like Sea World, the world would have a lot less money for the saving of these creatures, and a lot less people who care if we do or not. While making sure that they are treated as humanely as possible will continue to be a challenge, it will be done because those people really truly do care about these creatures.

Love it love it love it! I do not agree with this movie. Anyone with common sense would see that Seaworld, zoos, and many other nature centers/experiences all do wonders for what we learn from the world around us.

Not sure of the validity of it, but according to a story on Facebook, blackfish was voted one of the 10 worst films of the year.

Not sure of the validity of it, but according to a story on Facebook, blackfish was voted one of the 10 worst films of the year.

Well you gotta admit as a movie it's really bad. One-sided plot. Over-exaggerated fluff. Over-dramatized moments. And its sole purpose is to drum up hate and angst amongest stupid people at any company that doesn't agree with their narrow-minded short-sighted viewpoints.

A 90 minute shot of a jar of mayonnaise would be more entertaining.

When do the petitions begin to stop supporting businesses that only pay minimum wage versus a living wage?

 

We could easily shut down 90% of companies.

Why don't all these people fight for something that is actually a problem?

I'm never a fan of this argument. It is based on opinion what a problem is. I'll list a few problems off of the top of my head:

Lack of fair wages for women

The raping of women in African nations

Child sexual abuse

Poverty in the United States

Killing of dogs and cats and other animals via gas chambers and heart sticks in shelters

Ok, so there are 5 things that are probably agreed upon to be legitimate problems in the world (at least 3- 4 of them depending on your views). I may be an animal activist, but here are other things I also do with my time:

Advocate for fair working wages for all genders

Donate to organizations committed to ending rape in African nations

Donate to the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Toys for Tots

Started a non-profit animal rescue, ended gas chamber usage in 3 rural shelters, and speak out against the use of gas chambers and other forms of euthanasia through out the United States (some people don't consider this animal activism because these are domesticated animals)

I am in the process of starting a non-profit organization to help provide money to men for therapy who were sexually abused as a child. I'm also going to be working with a local amusement park to have a day for these men to go and have fun and enjoy a day like a child, like they may not have been able to do during their childhood. As a victim of child sexual abuse from the time I was 3-12, and psychological abuse until about 17, this is a case dear to my heart.

So, although animal rights are very dear to me as well, it is not the only thing that I give all of my time to. And YES I do consider the inhumane treatment of animals a PROBLEM. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, or if they think I am wasting my time. Not all animal activists "waste" their time on this problem 100% of the time. I believe a lot are like me and care about many causes, and don't just sit on their asses and actually do something (I'm not hyping myself up or saying I am more moral or holy than anyone else by making that comment, I'm just bothered by people that sit around and do nothing for the world other than fill airspace with their complaints and don't do anything about what they are complaining about).

I'm going to quote my friend again because I just think it sums up, at least my thoughts on this whole thing, perfectly....

Fact. The blackfish side is strictly focusing only on the problems of the past. SeaWorld is strictly focusing on the solutions of the future. That's the difference between haters and lovers.

Sooooo...how 'bout that Kraken, eh?

 

No? Maybe Manta, then? ....anyone?

 

 

...they're both pretty good coasters...um...

 

Any 2014/15 rumors?...anyone?...

Hello, everybody!

I love SWO and would hope that a launch comes to SWO in 2016.

-Jon

Having been to a Sea World Park (Busch Gardens Williamsburg) I can say that Sea World in general cares more about their animals than most other places. As an example, I found the wolf habitat at Busch Gardens to be better than what is found in the zoos I visited. Anyways, Blackfish is just another political brainwashing film with many inaccuracies in order to fool morons to follow their political agenda and ruin the fun for the rest of us.

Edit: Also why is this film picking on Sea World and not Marine World, they are known for abusing their animals and actually got inspected by the Canadian government for doing so.

^ Its easy to pick on the most well known and largest organization. Presumebly if you bring them down, you bring them all down. Though their efforts seem misguided.

At this point they might as well re-theme their Penguin ride to a SeaWorld saving animal themed ride.

^It couldn't be any worse than it is now.

^It couldn't be any worse than it is now.

What do you mean?

^Among people who have been on similar rides, trackless rides, or other great dark rides they feel it is quite underwhelming. With such amazing technology and subject matter many were expecting a lot more. Even a lot of the general public seems to be let down by the ride.

At this point they might as well re-theme their Penguin ride to a SeaWorld saving animal themed ride.

The Blackfish fans would still find a way to complain. Once they identify a villain, it's almost impossible to change their minds, no matter how many facts to contrary are presented to them.

Then the media conglomerates who are generally ignorant of theme parks and over-hype any story related to the industry are all too happy to pick it up and run with it. Just look at the Texas Giant incident and how they handled that.

Maybe an unpopular view here, but is it not possible that SeaWorld is simply on the wrong side of history?

 

This is just my opinion but honestly, no. I think people are trying to turn this into something it's not to make themselves feel like they're fighting for a cause that's much more important than it actually is. They're trying to draw parallels to things that are infinitely worse than this will ever be (like slavery).

 

Animal cruelty is horrible and should be and is treated very seriously. I just don't think what SeaWorld is doing could be considered "Animal Cruelty" in any way, shape or form. Based on that response that was posted a few pages back and a lot of other responses that have come out over the last few weeks it seems like they treat the animals very well. The fact that the pro-SeaWorld people are acknowledging criticism from anti-SeaWorld people while the Blackfish people have no interest in even hearing the other side of the story leads me to believe that the pro-SeaWorld people are much more credible.

 

I honestly feel like people are just starved for attention and want to feel like they're doing something important even though they're really not. If they wanted to make a difference there are a million better causes they could be supporting but they wouldn't get the same amount of attention since this is the issue CNN has decided to make a big deal about and report on.

I don't think its animal cruelty either. I don't think I would have the appreciation and respect for wild life that I do now if I hadn't spent so much of my youth at SeaWorld Ohio. I was simply trying to make a point about a film that couldn't have gotten the attention it did without at least some broader support of its message. And I agree with the point that there are a million other things, challenges faced by our own species, that need to be worried about before we worry about hurting a whale's feelings.

As far as documentaries go, it was absurdly one sided, partially because they couldn't get many people still associated with SeaWorld to talk, and partly because it didn't care about being one sided. There is no question in my mind that it was wrong to capture whales out of their pods and put them in tanks, and to moreover show a whale that had a history of maiming and killing trainers. Still, beyond that message, the film didn't even attempt to delve into SeaWorld's positive aspects, its merit in getting people to appreciate and more importantly respect nature, or the fact that we can think we know what a whale is thinking, but we can't. Nor did it ever delve into the failure of releasing Keiko, the successes of apparently "happier whales," etc.

It was provocative, and I don't see SeaWorld fading from the scene soon. I still think it will face challenges in the future when these views inevitably go further into the mainstream, just as the views of PETA, the ASPCA, the WWF, and other organizations that once weren't more than a bunch of raving hippies did.

Thank-you, SeaWorld!

"Our Animal Rescue Team today rescued a male manatee from the St. John’s River Electrical Authority’s (JEA) District II outfall near Jacksonville."

Link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10152670614272565&set=a.98758532564.110236.63617892564&type=1&theater

^ Huzzah! Quick, let's see how many news outlets are making it front page news!

:::5 minutes later:::

^ Huzzah! Quick, let's see how many news outlets are making it front page news!

 

:::5 minutes later:::

 

Well, at least the comments on the photo are all pro-Sea World. It shows that not all of the GP are so easily swayed by garbage documentaries.