SeaWorld Orlando

SeaWorld Orlando
Location	Orlando, Florida
Website	SeaWorld Orlando
Owner	Busch Entertainment Corporation
Opened	1973
Previous names	SeaWorld Florida
Operating season	All Year
Area	200 acres (0.81 km2)
Rides	10 total 4 roller coasters
Slogan	As real as it gets.

SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and the Aquatica waterpark, it forms a larger entertainment complex devoted to Earth's oceans and the array of life that inhabits them.

In 2008, SeaWorld Orlando hosted an estimated 5.9 million guests, ranking it the seventh-most visited amusement park in the United States and #12 in the world.^[1] However, SeaWorld's owners have challenged the estimated figures in the past; in 2007, the estimate was 5.8 million guests, while the park's internal data, normally not released to the public, was closer to 6.2 million guests.^[2] A spokesman for Busch Entertainment Corporation again disagreed with the report, saying, "They are wrong across the board."^[3]

Park design

Unlike most other theme parks, SeaWorld Orlando is not divided into "lands" or sections. There are, however, some distinct areas within the park.

Key West at SeaWorld

Key West at SeaWorld is designed to mimic the appearance of the city of Key West, Florida. Exhibits in this portion of the park include stingrays, dolphins, sea turtles, manatees, and alligators. The stingray and dolphin habitats offer opportunities for guests to feed the animals.

Shamu's Happy Harbor

Shamu's Happy Harbor is a children's play area hosted by Shamu, the park's killer whale mascot, that features family rides and a play fortress.

The Waterfront at SeaWorld

The Waterfront, the newest section of the park, resembles a seaside Mediterranean village and contains shops and restaurants, as well as the park's iconic Sky Tower ride.

Clydesdale Hamlet

A signature component of the Anheuser-Busch theme parks is the stables of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Adjacent to the stables is the Hospitality House, where adult guests used to be able to sample Anheuser-Busch products and learn about the beer-making process.

Rides and attractions

SeaWorld Orlando has a vast array of attractions, including rides and animal exhibits. Two of these attractions actually combine the two, with both a ride component and a separate animal exhibit.

Rides

• Kraken, a floorless roller coaster.
• Journey to Atlantis, a boat ride with roller coaster elements themed to the mythical Atlantis.
• Shamu Express, a junior roller coaster with cars themed as Shamu.
• Sky Tower, 400-foot tall rotating observation tower, built in 1973.
• Sea Carousel, a carousel themed with caricatured marine mammals and fish.
• Jazzy Jellies, a tea cup style ride that lifts up and spins controlled by riders with a disk
• Swishy Fishies, a teacups ride themed as fish.
• Ocean Connection, a rockin' tug ride.
• The Flying Fiddlera kiddie crab themed freefall atraction
• Pirates' Net, a play area with nets and fun things.

Animal exhibits

Dining with the sharks at the Sharks Underwater Grill

• Penguin Encounter, an indoor exhibit that also includes puffins and murres.
• Shark Encounter, which features an underwater tunnel and a wide array of sharks, rays and venomous fish. At Sharks Underwater Grill, guests can dine while observing the sea life in the main exhibit tank.
• Pacific Point Preserve, home to the park's sea lions and seals.
• Dolphin Cove, an outdoor exhibit where you can feed and touch Bottlenose Dolphins.
• Turtle Point, an outdoor exhibit that features rescued sea turtles.
• Manatee Rescue, home to rescued Florida manatees.
• Stingray Lagoon, a covered exhibit where you can touch stingrays.
• Dolphin Nursery, a covered exhibit where new-born Bottlenose Dolphins reside.

Combined attractions

• Manta, a flying roller coaster and aquarium exhibit featuring rays, sea dragons and other species.
• Wild Arctic, an indoor exhibit featuring polar bears, beluga whales, and walruses that is designed to resemble a research station in the Arctic Ocean. Guests can take a motion-simulated helicopter journey to the exhibit, or may bypass the ride and watch the film without the motion and proceed directly to the exhibit. During the Christmas season, Wild Arctic is replaced by the Polar Express Experience, a temporary overlay based on the popular 2004 feature film.

Live entertainment

Kalina at SeaWorld Orlando in 2002

SeaWorld Orlando hosts a number of live shows, many featuring trained animals. During peak seasons (such as summer), the park will offer special shows in addition to the main performances.

• Shamu Stadium is the seven-million gallon home to the park's killer whale performers. The park's current production is Believe, which is joined by Shamu Rocks during busier seasons.
• The Whale and Dolphin Theatre features dolphins, false killer whales, macaws and even an Andean condor in Blue Horizons, which also adds human acrobats and divers.
• The Sea Lion and Otter Stadium hosts "Clyde and Seamore," a pair of California sea lions in the comical presentation Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island. During the summer months, the pair lampoon the park's other shows during Sea Lions Tonight.
• Bayside Stadium formerly hosted water skiing shows on the park's central lagoon. Today, the stage is used for SeaWorld's numerous music concert series and other special events.
• The Nautilus Theatre is home to A'lure, an acrobatic show similar in style and presentation to the works of Cirque du Soleil.
• Seaport Theatre features dogs, cats, and other animals that have been rescued from local animal shelters in Pets Ahoy!.

During peak seasons, SeaWorld offers a nightly fireworks presentation. The newest production is Reflections, a multimedia show featuring fireworks, dancing fountains and mist screens that is inspired by the musical soundtracks of the park's shows and attractions.

Animal Inventory

The following is a current list of animals at the SeaWorld Orlando park, as based on an October 2008 Marine Mammal Inventory Report received from the NMFS:

Beluga Whales

Wild Arctic - Aurek (M), Juno (M), Klondike (M), Maple (F)

Atlantic & Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

Animal Care - Beetle (M), Madison (F), Naia (F), Sabrina (F), Cosmo (M), Peanut (F)

Whale & Dolphin Stadium - Alejandro (M), Baretta (M), Bubba (M), Clyde (M), Jensen (M), Marble (M), Phil (M), Starbuck (M)

Dolphin Cove - Ajax (M), Alpha (M), Bailey (F), Bossa (F), Calla (F), Damara (F), Hekili (M), Gala (F), Jackson (M), Jag (M), Jenever (F), Lagos (M), Neo (M), Oscar (M), Potter (M), Scott (M), Tiger (M)

Dolphin Nursery - Alia (F), Ariel (F), Dash (F), Griffith (F), Kendall (F), Kendall's calf (F), Lily (F), Starkey (F), Starkey's calf (?), Tasha (F), Tasha's calf (?)

False Killer Whales

Whale & Dolphin Stadium - Jozu (F)

Orcas

Shamu Stadium - Katina (F), Kalina (F), Tilikum (M), Taima (F), Kayla (F), Trua (M), Nalani (F), and Malia (F)

Pacific Walruses

Sea Lion & Otter Stadium - Bruiser (M), Slowpoke (F)

Wild Arctic - Dozer (M), Garfield (M)

Polar Bears

Wild Arctic - Johnny (M), Klondike (M), Snow (F)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Orlando Sea World

• SeaWorld Orlando Photos of SeaWorld in Orlando published under Creative Commons License
• Aquatica Website

Coordinates: 28°24′39″N 81°27′45″W / 28.41083°N 81.4625°W / 28.41083; -81.4625