SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

A ride plus penguins, it's a perfect combo plus the whole thing looks impressive. It would be a miracle if they really did figure out how to get rid of the penguin smell!

Love in the video how he says "there's no land preditors for penguins... well... some birds will eat the chicks" totally made me laugh!

It's really looking great. Hopefully I'll be able to visit sometime in the future.

Interesting to see the Non-Disney parks in Orlando really make a push to be relevant and competitive in a tough market. This thing looks really awesome and I love the giant penguin rock entrance.

Great photos. Could Penguin land be the Harry Potter land destroyer? Seriously, I can't wait to see the final product. I need to start planning my next Orlando trip like NOW.

Great photos.

Agreed, nice report!

Seems like a great expansion to what is already a high-quality park.

I have confirmed, those cinder blocks did indeed come from Home Depot. Great in depth coverage.

^Good thing I didn't bet on Lowe's.

The more I see of this new attraction, the more impressed I am with it. This should be a huge improvement over the old penguin exhibit (which was a big deal when it was built).

Shamu has really upped his game with Manta and now the Antarctica area. I know my little one is very excited about it opening soon. She always loved going into the old penguin area and watching them. It should be a really "cool" addition.

Looks like they are putting a TON of detail into this. Can't wait to see the final product.

Great photos. Could Penguin land be the Harry Potter land destroyer? Seriously, I can't wait to see the final product. I need to start planning my next Orlando trip like NOW.

Well... Penguins are much cooler than Harry Potter. And this is coming from a pretty intense HP nerd here.

The ride system sounds high tech but not as much as however they're going to get the penguin poop smell out of this area.

They are going to tape potpouri to every penguins butt!

^Some of the "ice bergs" will actually be enormous Air Wicks.

The water for the penguins to swim in will actually be Febreeze.

The engineering nerd/theme park nerd in me totally just had a major gasm and I might need some more tissues. Seriously, great detail photos of everything this ride has to offer. All the planning that it looks like is going into this ride, it's going to make this ride and whole area AMAZING! I can't wait to get back out to Florida to tackle penguins. Can you tackle penguins in this new area? Can you pet them or feed them? If not, it's still going to be an incredible expansion!

Jimmy "More tissues" Bo

Today Theme Park Review was invited to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Aquatica Orlando! The day's festivities were brief but fun with some dancing, some animals, cake, raffle prizes for the general guests and much more! Be sure to watch the video below for a look at the "birthday" ceremony, a Laughing Kookabura laughing (yes, it reads exactly as I mean it to) and an interview with Park Vice President Bryan Nadeau.

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Aquatica_5th_pat1[/coastertube]

This was a public celebration, so the park's guests were included in the festivities, starting with lots of dancing.

It wouldn't be an Aquatica event without some awesome animals!

New SyFy B-Movie in the making: Mini Croc!

Followed by Mini Croc vs. Mega Croc vs. Sharktopus!

Ever heard a Laughing Kookabura laugh? Watch the video and you too can joining me in saying that I have.

The Laughing Kookabura wanted to get in on picking raffle tickets for the guest prizes!

There was even a celebratory sale going on in the park's main gift shop.

In the spirit of the park's fifth anniversary, let's take a quick look at the park and some of the improvements that have been made since our last visit.

Shade structures have been added over the queues for Whanau Way and Omaka Rocka.

Roa's Rapids is still one of the neatest water attractions in all of Central Florida!

Taumata Racers is still one of the most thrilling...

It was a gorgeous day to be celebrating at Aquatica!

Hooroo Run never fails to produce some amazing facial expressions.

A Haystack Dryer was recently added to the park.

I've always been a fan of the way Tassie's Twisters were placed in the park.

And the star of the show is Dolphin Plunge, sending guests underwater into a tank featuring Commersons Dolphins.

I had another amazing day at Aquatica today! I've made it a point to revisit the park every year as it continues to grow and get even better!

If you haven't been yet, or haven't been in a while, come by to check out Aquatica Orlando--you won't be disappointed!

Those people were brave as it certainly wasn't 'water park weather' yesterday or this weekend!

Five years already? Wow! I guess I should go back sometime.

I can't believe it's been five years already! The park is looking good though. One of these days I'll have to visit during the warmer months so I can go.

KidTums is older than Aquatica!

I really have to upgrade my annual pass to include Aquatica, looks awesome!

SeaWorld is doing an excellent job with these Antarctica updates.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-seaworld-profits-triple-20130326,0,899239.story

Annual profits soared more than 300 percent last year at Orlando-based SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., even as the company weighs a possible public stock offering this spring.

 

The owner of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens theme parks earned $77.4 million in 2012, according to updated regulatory filings, more than triple the $19.1 million it made in 2011.

 

Total revenue rose 7 percent to more than $1.4 billion at SeaWorld, which owns 10 amusement parks in the U.S., including five in Florida.

Ticket sales climbed 7 percent for the year to $884 million. SeaWorld said the primary driver was higher ticket prices, particularly at SeaWorld San Diego, where the company opened a variation of its hit Manta attraction, and at SeaWorld San Antonio, where it opened an Aquatica water-park area.

 

But the company said attendance also grew during the year — to more than 24 million visitors chain-wide. It singled out the San Diego and San Antonio marine parks, as well as SeaWorld Orlando, which opened TurtleTrek in 2012, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, which opened a roller coaster dubbed Verbolten.

^Good to hear! Last year was definitely big for BGW and the rest of the chain.