SeaWorld 2024: Great New Coasters, Bad Operations (and a Fire Hazard)

[@mattshaffer6882]

That penguin exhibit is such a disaster now. It was extraordinarily claustrophobic in there, to the point of feeling extremely unsafe, that I went to exit through the bypass hallway, which was the main exit for a while, as the sliding door had a wait. When I got to the other side, I got screamed at by a team member asking if I could read and saying that was for emergency exits only and to go back. I just exited and decided that hey, it’s time to let my pass expire. They really need to work on their operations.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I didn't know there was a bypass, but if you're trying to leave a room because it's too crowded and full of people, that seems like an emergency to me. If I didn't make money from the occasional SeaWorld/Busch video, I would probably let my pass expire too

[@flipcoin6301]

There’s plenty of room, as long as the staff manage the entrance queue. The exhibit has limited entry/exit to keep the cold in.

[@Rexini_Kobalt]

​@flipcoin6301 dunno when youve been last, but the penguine exhibits are almost always packed full. the other artic enclosures do _not_ suffer the same problems, as a matter of fact, the polar bear pathing is probably way too big, people dont ever seem interested in certain exhibits anymore

[@batshtcrazy5293]

​@@Rexini_KobaltOr maybe they just don't want to see animals in cages, pools, and small enclosures anymore. 🤔

[@Rexini_Kobalt]

@batshtcrazy5293 im not debating the ethics or morality of enclosed artic creatures (of which im sure we actually agree on every point), im only talking about it from a park and crowd management perspective. im fully aware of how small and cramped it must feel for the animals enclosed there; but in this instance, mismanagement has poorly utilized the space for _humans_ as well, which is actually remarkable considering the fact that the rest of the artic exhibit is, like i said, _pretty much empty_

[@liamdude5722]

Call the fire marshall. That was ridiculous for a major theme park

[@joelewis1776]

Totally, it’s definitely better to be over-cautious about something so potentially dangerous. We need to hold entertainment companies accountable for treating attendees as cheap commodities

[@DSoto-nf8je]

Kinda insane to call sea world a "top tier" and "theme" park lol

[@0dylan]

​@@DSoto-nf8jein the us it is. Most parks in the us are cedar fair and six flags, sea world is a step above those.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

The next time I go through, I'll make an effort to take a pic and escalate it if this is still an issue

[@DSoto-nf8je]

@@0dylan true thats kinda sad lol

[@OfficiallyOfficiallyUnofficial]

Got turned around in one of their houses at Howl O Scream last year and ended up going down a backstage hallway. We came into a room with two hallways, one to the left and one to the right and both were draped with the same black cloths. Room also had no scare actors or cast member blocking the backstage hallway. Nothing was set up to indicate that we were going the wrong way, until we were face to face with a cast member watching some monitors behind a folding table. Needless to say we were all equally surprised and laughed it off. As we were walking back to the correct path, we had to notify other guests that were making the same mistake we made that that was the wrong way. These parks would be way better with better operational management for sure.

[@orange_turtle3412]

Fire hazard in the penguin habitat is wild

[@adamxcix1620]

If Seaworld parks don’t their act together they are going to be toast when epic universe opens

[@jonny-b4954]

Yup, my family is not renewing our Seaworld/Busch passes. Had them for 6-7 years. But, we just always seem to find something to complain about when we go now. Maybe we're just debbie downers but still. Meanwhile, everytime I go to Universal, it's busy as fuck, but, there's just SO much to do. If it's hot, they have 10 indoor attractions. If we don't feel like riding, they have an entire area of shops and restaurants that's constantly evolving. If we want intense attractions, they've got those too now. Add in Epic Universe? Which, hopefully, is included in the season passes (though will make them Disney price....) I'm just gonna stick with Universal season passes.

[@Julian-um2om]

@@jonny-b4954agreed hard. Went to sea world last year and although kraken, manta, and the sea life shows were great, the line for icebreaker being absolutely atrocious and mako being closed really soured my memory of the day. Couldn’t imagine 6 years of that bs

[@ECDT1089-EtheLamborghini]

Especially considering how close the parks are. Just a 10 min drive

[@PaddletailPhilly]

Apparently Busch Gardens does nightly fireworks shows in the summer. _But why??_ I know it's a big park, but last I checked, fireworks are pretty loud. Even Disney had the right idea to never have fireworks in Animal Kingdom because it'll stress out the animals. Is this a decision from current management? How long has this been going on?

[@crownwreath59]

Seaworld also has nightly firework shows in the summer. 🤔

[@sewardpyrotechnics9426]

​@@crownwreath59and yes good point, Busch is only Fridays Saturdays and Sundays whereas Seaworld Orlando is actually nightly

[@jonny-b4954]

Hmm, didn't know Busch had a fireworks show. Never heard of that. To be fair, I'd never ever consider staying until closing since it's an hour and a half drive home.

[@sathalel4084]

I mean I can tell you why. I worked there in food service a couple years back. The fireworks shows were great for the park... liquor sales were through the roof whenever they were about to start. They make the park a shit ton of money and management does not give a fuck about the animals

[@greggingell5786]

@@jonny-b4954I’ve never stayed either and I don’t even live that far away. By the time fireworks are happening I’ve pretty much been standing in the open in Florida for 5+ hours and I just wanna leave.

[@ZeroTsar]

perfect timing. i needed something to watch with breakfast

[@Persephonova]

Woah me too

[@carlitapatricia]

I am also watching over breakfast

[@flameshinobi9733]

Last time I was at bush Gardens in early June of this year, half of the park wasn't running. All the attractions from the Egypt area through Nyrobi were offline. They were down the entire day i was there and they had staff members positioned at the entrances of the areas to drive park guests away from the areas. I believe it might have been a major electrical problem that brought those areas offline. It's ridiculous that the maintenance staff is so cut down that they cannot maintain entire portions of the park.

[@todayisanewday7]

Who runs the maintenance department hires who they know not based on what you know. Its all about who you know to get a job mostly. That leaves you with a maintenance crew that has no idea what there doing and lazy. If the company hires someone and the crew doesnt know them they feel threatened and treat them like trash until they quit.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

That's actually not too uncommon an occurrence for parks though. It happens a few times a year to all the parks in Orlando and I've heard of this happening at fair few times at Busch as well. There's a lot of things to complain about there, but outages are often out of their control.

[@CoasterUniverse]

@@PoseidonEntertainmentI was there when it happened in June and we were on month and the train just stopped and we had to be let off. They said the power was out and they didn’t know when it would be fixed

[@ilikerollercoasters4757]

I live in the Tampa area. Electrical problems are very common for Busch gardens and adventure island. I’ve been to both parks many times and a handful of those times I saw areas and attractions closed for electrical issues. I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that Busch gardens was literally a beer brewery in the middle of a city with almost no plan to become a gigantic park like it is now. There is probably just not enough infrastructure to support the park.

[@FloriDUH_JBot]

The chaos of exiting Penguin Trek and trying to get out of the damn building must be seen to be believed. You couldn't design a plan so ill-conceived if you tried. Just another example of the "race to the bottom" mentality at United Parks.

[@weegeeetime843]

you SHOULD contact the fire marshall.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

If it's an issue whenever I go through next, I'll definitely take a picture lol

[@weegeeetime843]

@@PoseidonEntertainment please do!!!!

[@FloriDUH_JBot]

United Parks has a poor record of maintaining their queue and station effects. So those cool LED displays and on-board audio effects are destined to rot one day. I can see those LED displays covered up with a printed graphic like it has already happened.

[@jonny-b4954]

Yeah, Mako's queue's screen barely work half the time.

[@sarah.weaver]

​@@johnparker273 are you implying there is something wrong with people on the spectrum???

[@_lunartemis]

Tell the fire marshall about that. They can order a normal exit be placed between the exit queue and the entrance of the penguin exhibit. You might even be able to get paid for unlawful inprisonment (they forced you into an area you didn't want to go; the penguin exhibit)

[@ThisIsDownstate]

unlawful imprisonment lol so dramatic

[@M50A1]

​@@ThisIsDownstateGo ahead, lemme lock you in a room that's on fire

[@DemC92]

I'm surprised a ride with only one train even offers a quick queue. At that point it feels like there should only be one general purpose line to keep things fair.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, I agree. That said though, while I typically avoid these parks on busy days, I did get the impression that not a lot of people even purchase Quick Queue.

[@Brody423]

I get emails almost daily from SeaWorld with “Limited Time Sales”, where tickets are essentially half off. I’d rather pay the full amount for tickets and have the parks be appropriately staffed so that it is enjoyable. A lot of potential with the parks, if they do it right.

[@MrMac1138]

Same is beginning to happen at Universal. The whole $199 for the rest of the year (mostly) is because their attendance is really taking a hit and Epic isn't going to fix it. Epic will be well attended while IOA and especially Studios will be empty.

[@cruiseandthemeparkguide]

You just said in this video what I have been saying about SeaWorld for years.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I've said in this video what I've been saying about SeaWorld for years lol

[@daviboye]

Perfect I can watch this while getting ready for work lol

[@btverse]

This video is spot on. We recently got a fun card. Coming from a Disney AP, seaworld is 3rd class as far as customer experience. Employees that are not friendly, in no rush to load trains efficiently, and rarely have multiple trains running. Add to it that 1/2 the park doesn't open right away.... Food prices are higher as well. We experienced the same issue exiting penguin trek. It's insanity.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

It's frustrating, because the bones of a good park are there. I remember really liking SeaWorld in 2018 and 2019, bar hopping around the park, going on the occasional coaster, walking through the animal exhibits. It was a relaxing, laid back experience that was very different from the other Orlando parks. If they had more family attractions, acceptable operations and reasonable, non-deceptive pricing, the park wouldn't need to try to compete with Disney or Universal and could stand as its own thing.

[@goinginsaneorelse]

I've been to a butterfly exhibit that used the same "pack everyone in a room" for the entrance and exit so that the butterflies couldn't escape (as nobody could leave until the employee was sure there were no hangers-on). Maybe the penguins were still escaping through the revolving door??

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

The issue with the revolving door was that it was automatic and you could only go one person at a time or else the sensors would stop it. People wouldn't or couldn't read the sign and now with directing a ride dump into this area, it was just never going to work. There's a lot of different solutions that SeaWorld could have chosen, but they somehow made it worse.

[@MythicalHomeworldFox]

Funny timing I was eating breakfast and getting ready to go to SeaWorld lol

[@dennisd9804]

As a former SeaWorld passholder, I have been very aware of the operational headaches that have become ever-present over the past 3 years. The penguin exhibit hazard was extremely concerning. However, I have been very impressed by both Penguin Trek as well as Phoenix Rising from a theming and layout perspective. DarKoaster is a good attraction, plus Ice Breaker + Pipeline have been good additions. Solid analysis as always! I can always rely on you for detailed analyses and your honest opinions.

[@lordsquidy133]

SeaWorld has so much potential as a more affordable secondary destination for visitors coming to Epic Universe in the next few years, but if they continue to neglect investing in their operations and their staffing they're going to continue building a bad reputation of a park that's more of a headache that's not worth the price for a family's admission. And I'm seeing lots of ads for Seaworld - if they want to really make an impact they need to focus on improving the park experience.

[@dr.spookybones3965]

I visit all the parks often and while I love SW for the animals (ethics issues aside) and the availability of thrill rides, the overall park experience is abysmal - besides the underpaid, overworked employees. Everything is SO expensive - please tell me how alcohol costs more here than at Disney??

[@adamcohen9297]

I 💯 percent agree with you i dident think of the fire hazard thing i just felt i was being forced into a second atraction that i dident ask to see and frankly wasent prepared for clothing wise being told to wait before i can exit the pinguine exhibit was equally frustrating pinguine treck for what it is is a great ride i think enough people will complain about soon enough

[@ScofieldStudios]

I actually went to SeaWorld San Diego yesterday. Every line was at least an hour long. And the operations were very slow. I think one reason is fast passes. The people with fast passes get high priority. It's fine that Disney has fast passes because their operations are fast and they have a lot of rides, but SeaWorld doesn't, so it just makes things slower. I also went on Journey to Atlantis, and only one station was open. The other two were unused. So stupid.

[@ryancarter2959]

Man this channel never misses with its content

[@kobeathris4552]

I was at Busch Gardens a few weeks ago when the heat index was 111. The internal spaces barely had cold air conditioner. It wasn't off, but it was very hard to cool down by going inside. They also really need to add more misters and shade anywhere they can.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I did notice last summer that they had massive fans, misters and new shade structures in some areas of the park. I only really went for Phoenix so I didn't walk around much, but I did notice that some misters and fans were missing from what I saw last year

[@galaga2x808]

I love poseidon entertainment so much, always quick with these great topics

[@sydneypadgett3548]

I’m a SW/BG passholder and the biggest issue they both have is staffing. But the cause behind that is PAY. I work at Disney part-time and make the company’s minimum, which is 18/HR. When I lived down the street from SeaWorld, I thought I’d pick up a job there as a side hustle. I applied for “Animal Educator” which is way outside the scope and expectations of my job at Disney. They wanted to pay me $12.50. If the EDUCATORS are being paid less than $13, what are ride operators being paid?!

[@mrcedar]

i’m an animal educator at swo and yeah the pay sucks 😭😭 ride ops get $14/hr i think? could be wrong

[@TAddy-wq3hg]

My Dad and I rode Kraken just after it first launched and it was AWESOME. I don't remember much about that trip since it was nearly 20 years ago, but I remember Kraken. Too bad they've never made the best business decisions.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Kraken is really underrated. It's one of the best coasters in Florida and no one really talks about it lol

[@sarah.weaver]

​@@PoseidonEntertainmentI love Kraken! It's like Hulks brother up the road 🤣

[@spinba11]

10:28, don’t wonder if you should, do it ASAP

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I thought of doing it after I left the park but realized I should have taken a pic. You can kind of see it in the footage I took, but I didn't focus on it. Apparently a lot of other people did escalate it though.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Great video. Thanks for posting this. Have a nice day.

[@Pop_Candyz]

Went on Penguin Trek today. It had a pretty solid layout, I liked the launches, and the beginning dark ride-ish section was pretty cool. Although you were right about the exit being weird. My friends & I thought we got lost until someone working there told us we were going the right way. But the penguin viewing area became really crowded.

[@johnparker273]

Everything you mentioned in this video is true. There is no emphasis on training for any department. I was astounded at how inexperienced many of my colleagues were. Some were actually just stupid. The ride management is really bad. Spotty compliance at best. Fortunately, SWO has installed many B&M coasters that are "overbuilt" and can be maintained by fairly simple minds. Be careful.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I've seen ops at Tigris send a train with people on it without checking lap bars. Yeah, I only trust the B&Ms.

[@Dolphanatic]

I think the reason why there's so little emphasis on training is because it hardly matters when the turnover rate is as bad as it is for SeaWorld's employees right now. Why bother training ride operators when they're not even going to stay with the company for more than a few months at most? SeaWorld's HR department is absolutely horrible and would rather get rid of employees than properly accommodate them. They never let write-ups expire, they blatantly play favorites when it comes to promoting people, and I've even seen them fire someone over a knee injury. It's insane, and that sort of unprofessionalism from HR is scaring people away from working at SeaWorld, especially in San Diego, since Belmont Park and the San Diego Zoo both offer higher wages for the same sort of work. If you want a firsthand account, just ask me. My experience working for the company in 2023 went about as well as you'd expect. I was hired as a ride operator for Electric Eel at SeaWorld San Diego, and during my time with the company, pretty much everything HR could've messed up, they did. Ambassadors are normally given dark blue SeaWorld uniforms to be easily identified by visitors, but when I was hired, there weren't any proper SeaWorld uniforms available for me, so they gave me a bag with a bright yellow Sesame Place shirt that made me look completely out of place in my position. It was borderline humiliating. After I was given a very basic overview of the various positions in the station and queue line, I was tested on my knowledge of the ride's terminology (launch profiles, stators, etc.). It was then that I realized I was never properly taught about all of the terms listed on the paper that I had to fill out, but fortunately, because I'm such a huge roller coaster nerd, I passed the test regardless. However, I could only imagine how clueless most normal people would've been in my position, and I doubt the test would've even been passable if I only knew what I was taught by my supervisor. Anyway, here I was, standing in front of Electric Eel's entrance with a Big Bird-colored Sesame Place shirt on, wondering when I'll finally look and feel like I belong in my entry-level position as a ride operator while being tasked with dealing with visitors asking me where the restrooms are, and after pointing a confused visitor in the right direction, that was all it took for me to lose my job. No write-ups, not even any sort of verbal or written warning, just an instant removal from my position. Why? Because I had the audacity to walk a dozen steps away from the ride's entrance for a few seconds to help someone find the nearby restrooms. I was accused of "abandoning my high-security position" despite still having my eyes on the entrance and never going too far away, but because my supervisor couldn't see me from the ride's station, I apparently broke the rules. After that, I was basically demoted to washing food trays at the nearby Calypso Bay restaurant for the next few months before HR eventually found an excuse to fire me over something else they forgot to teach me. Once again, they gave me no write-ups or warnings. They just went straight to firing me. Keep in mind that I'm someone who really cares about SeaWorld and doesn't want to see it fail. These parks mean a lot to me, and despite all of the hazing I endured, I still did everything I could to optimize the visitors' experience by always being courteous and having a smile on my face, yet the only reward I got for my effort was a few months of employment before being shown the door. If that's how SeaWorld's HR department treats the company's most dedicated employees, it's easy to see why there's hardly anyone left in the parks who still cares. Simply put, everyone who actually tries to be a good employee gets fired, so why bother putting in any effort? That's the lesson HR is inadvertently teaching SeaWorld's employees now, and it's destroying the company from the inside out.

[@ckbarry]

Thanks for making this. I don’t go to Orlando very often- live on the West Coast. I’m thinking about going this year in November w/my daughter and son in law (they go every year to visit his family). We go to Disney and Universal, but I’ve wanted to visit Busch Gardens for the coasters. Son in law said he loved it when he was a teen. Sounds like it’s gone downhill and might not be worth the visit. Appreciate your time and insight

[@blueydsniper]

9:43 that’s a similar issue with artic rescue at San Diego. The exit line dumps you into the main entry walkway for wild artic, which yeah is fine if you wanted to go there after you ride, but with seemingly only one entrance into wild artic which is also the attraction and ride entry points, it gets congested when wanting to leave after you ride

[@HummingbirdInAHurricane]

Is SeaWorld ultimately TRYING to be Marineland II long-term with the huge fire hazard? Gawd! 🙃

[@ernaeh9923]

2:28 Yes! This! I just went to Sea World Orlando last Friday and everything had a wait of at least an hour with just one train running on most of them and two on some. It was horrible! We (my partner and I) pretty quickly bought Quick Queues because otherwise we would've been standing in lines all day. When we went to buy them, the lady in the store told us that we apparently "picked a good day to come" and that it wasn't "too busy today". Girl. If this "not too busy" I really don't wanna know what a really busy day looks like. The only thing that was empty for some reason was funnily enough Pipeline. The second newest coaster in the park. It was basically a walk on when we decided to ride it at the end of our day (we left around 6 pm) and were able to ride it twice. Don't know what was up with that. But yeah. Sea World operations are the worst imo. Edit: 8:45 Also this! The only time there was someone sorting people into rows was in the Quick Queue line for Kraken and into the Infinity Falls rafts. Everywhere else there was nobody. Which was especially bad for rides, where the QQ and normal lines meet a the station like Icebreaker for example. The QQ people just kept pushing the normal people out of the way at the station trying to ride first. I felt really bad for them. Also that just inflated the wait times even more. There needs to be someone sorting people into the rows! Otherwise it just doesn't work.

[@ECDT1089-EtheLamborghini]

This ride had an hour wait time each day I visited back in July. It's a nice ride honestly.

[@NormSnook1011]

I think they should have had the load and unload sides of Penguin reversed. The penguin viewing should be it's own experience, not forced upon the coaster riders after they get off. That window that looks into the exhibit, could be part of the queue, much like the aquariums with Manta. If the exit was on the load side, they could route guest outside, without waiting in a second, undesired line to exit the ride, as that wall is an exterior wall. Monitors could display the ride photo under a small pavilion/shelter along the exit path with signage directing guests to the new giftshop for their photos and other merchandise. I have a feeling the way the guest are routed through the ride exit will change in the not too distant future.

[@robertbarga3694]

I went to SeaWorld and BG last year and Pipeline actually shocked me with how much fun it was. The operations weren't terrible at SeaWord or maybe I didn't notice because the park wasn't super busy. BG on the other hand WAS busy and the operations were terrible. Montu had one train running and I waited over an hour. Cheetah hunt was about an hour wait too. Kumba however was a 5 minute wait and they were loading people quickly. I had a blast on that one.

[@bethfrompa]

Great analysis and review!

[@WeTheCoasters]

So I did Penguin Trek on Thursday during a crazy crowded day at SeaWorld Orlando I liked the ride a lot and yes the exit experience is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever witnessed And I can confirm they did block the exits which is even more dumb. Amazed OSHA also hasn’t got involved in that part too I don’t want to see more of the penguin exhibit I want out of there. And you don’t get that at all. I also did have aggressive team members too that day and to say I was upset about that is an understatement Management there needs to get their heads out of the glaciers and fix that problem right away

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I had heard that other people had reported the issue with the fire exit, but if it's still occurring, I'll try to get a picture the next time I go through.

[@neogeo1999]

So I used to work at Seaworld (as of yesterday) and got pulled to the Penguin Trek exhibit my last day. I was shocked how they force people to merge with the exhibit getting off the ride. I was forced to tell people that it was the only exit even if they were claustrophobic. A lot of the doors don’t work and had to manually open them by hand to crowd people in a small room. I don’t blame people for being irate. But I would take it up with management and not the individual workers who constantly get yelled at by guests which in turn makes the workers irate. I hope they will eventually change how people exit, but Seaworld made a horrible design decision.

[@cyclicmusings2661]

As much as I like SeaWorld Orlando, their ride operations leave much to be desired. There are many coasters that can run multiple trains at once but they only seem to run one train at a time even when it's busy. Dispatching the trains takes a fairly long time too, but I won't blame the employees mainly because the company didn't hire enough of them to do the job quickly and efficiently. Getting into the aisles at the end of the line is a free-for-all and I usually see multiple empty seats on any given coaster train, further making things worse than they have to be. Whenever I visit, my MO is waiting at rope drop and rush through all the rides for the first couple of hours, and then watch the shows later, and maybe re-ride a couple of rides if I'm still in the park in the evening.

[@TherealHK-47]

I actually worked in construction back in 2012 and I worked on the Rockwork project to make the glaciers for the penguin exhibit. One night when we were working overtime getting closer to deadline, after they had lowered the temp way down in the exhibit area and brought in the penguins, we had to pause for a while because one of the male penguins had made a break for it and gotten loose lol Now I’m a fire inspector funnily enough but I no longer work in the SeaWorld jurisdiction. But yes any exits being blocked or made inaccessible is a violation of fire code

[@deldavis5457]

As much as I love SeaWorld, the ride operations is hands down the WORST in Orlando. Even on a slow day my blood boils with how terribly slow things move. Mako is the only ride that “gets it.” You are spot on with this video!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I often see Mako running one train on days when it's not busy. It sometimes turns a 5 minute wait into half an hour or more.

[@bjvincent8786]

Great Video!!! I have never gone to Sea World and/or been on Penguin Trek's but it sounds like they should reconsider the current exit setup. Giving people the option to wait to see the penguins or exit through another door that takes you right outside to the lockers. It sounds frustrating to have to wait to exit after each ride; give them the option to exit through another door that takes you right outside to the lockers.

[@gggrand]

Was very impressed with all the detail about the different coasters but even more impressed with the insights about safety concerns and poor staffing issues.👍

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

So many channels talk about the different elements and stats of coasters, but I think it's a lot more interesting to speak about how they work into the overall park experience

[@RayBcv1030]

As someone who loved SeaWorld. This is pretty devastating to see.

[@Nygon08]

i went on penguin trek during platinum early access so it was a walk and even then it took me 20 minutes to leave who knows how bad it is now

[@looneytoastywolf]

I haven't been to Seaworld for YEARS (isn't my fav park either lol) crazy what a fire hazard that penguin area is x_x! This video was amazing btw!

[@ThemeParkAvenue]

You hit the nail on the head. I rode Phoenix Rising on a preview day and I think it’s a great addition. It has some decent theming and was certainly an improvement over Wild Mouse and Phoenix, two rides with similar capacity issues that were far less enjoyable. The operations will definitely be an issue on it, so busy days could be rough for the ride, but it is fun and accessible for most ages.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I'm actually still a little annoyed that Sand Serpent was demolished and not relocated to somewhere else. I love a good wild mouse lol

[@ThemeParkAvenue]

@@PoseidonEntertainment I like some Wild Mouse coasters, that one was not my favorite.

[@DeepVeinThrombonus]

SeaWorld Ambush Gardens sounds awesome

[@Tiger-fv3nl]

I don't know what you're talking about. I love SeaWorld! It's hardly ever crowded and the bang for your buck is great!

[@btb4122]

I remember visiting Seaworld a bunch after Empire of the Penguin initially opened, having been in the perfect demographic range of; young and obsessed with penguins to be enamored with the ride and exhibit. Which resulted in times where I would just spend over an hour looking at the penguins. I recall hearing from one of the attendants at the time, that part of the function of the old ride was also limiting the amount of humidity that guests would bring in with them, as it could mess with the climate controlled, open aired habitat. While I have not been to Seaworld since Penguin Trek opened my guess is that since the coaster is open aired, guests that rode it cannot be dumped straight into the exhibit and must go through the "climatization" process I presume that those just wanting to see the exhibit are going through. Though this has obviously been implemented in a confusing and half-measured manner creating the chaotic and potentially hazardous layout. I imagine that having a standard line into the habitat also isn't helping matters as that massively increases the arrival rate into the exhibit which was designed with the amount of people getting off the ride cars in mind. I imagine that most guests with the old ride would stay at most 10 to 15 minutes, not wanting to tolerate the literally freezing air for too long. With the ride and its line creating a buffer that would lessen the chance of overcrowding the viewing area, but with people filing into the exhibit much faster than they leave, it's obvious that this is no longer the case.

[@Julian-um2om]

last time I was there along a walkway was a crazy small section for flamingos fenced off. Not only was it crap themeing but like jeez there was so little room for that many flamingos

[@thepoorhistorian2325]

A neat coincidence! I bought seaworld tickets before getting on my plane, and then got excited because I could download and watch the new Poseidon entertainment video on the flight. The video bummed me out honestly, but I went to SeaWorld yesterday nonetheless. I think all of their roller coasters were so mind-blowing! Maybe it's because I'm used to small and unthemed roller coasters like those at Michigan's Adventure, But the time I spend at SeaWorld was amazing! I was able to go on 4 coasters (It would have been five, but I was too tall for pipeline), And I was so incredibly impressed with how differently themed and constructed each one was. I didn't get bored going from one to the next, and the different design for each kept me excited! However, I totally get what you're saying with the exit to Penguin Trek So So I can and the little elevator thing, but I was really impressed with the exit overall anyway. Honestly I don't think I would have ridden Penguin Trek if it wasn't for your video, but I'm glad I did. I had a much better time at Sea World than I did at Magic Kingdom in Winter and Islands of Adventure last year. I think it's my favorite Orlando Park.

[@Markimark151]

The company that owns SeaWorld is going through a restructuring, they’re not well managing SeaWorld parks, even in San Diego which my sister’s friend who used to work there was laid off, they made her and other park operators redundant. It’s those corporate people who ruin the theme parks.

[@grilledcheese4696]

i remember going on empire of the penguin a lot when i was younger, one particular time i’ll never forget is when i had to cover my younger brother’s, my cousin’s and my own eyes because 3 couples of penguins were uh…mating

[@kevinbarnard3502]

Bet Morgan & Morgan has a rep standing just outside the penguin exhibit/ride exit just chomping at the bit for something to happen and be there ... for the people. :P

[@richiephillips1038]

I honestly love pipeline. The feeling of airtime while standing up is something I hadn't experienced before. The back seat was crazy.

[@jonny-b4954]

It's all right. Kind of a boring ride, in my opinion. Though the standing airtime is cool, it only happens 3 times. And I'm not sure what B&M was smoking when they designed the layout like that for the style of coaster.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think Pipeline is a love or hate it kind of thing. I find it to just be a weird novelty and I wouldn't be surprised if B&M never built another. At least the ride is interesting for being unique

[@Gabezcube]

I haven't been to both SeaWorld & Busch gardens in years. Last time with Busch gardens was back in 2015, & SeaWorld back in 2019. So I haven't been catching up to date on how those 2 have been doing Not surprised to see more coasters over the years, but I didn't expect to see how poorly managed the parks have been getting lately. Idk which one of the 2 got it worse, but I know for sure something ain't right with management with the two parks

[@whocares-f7w5g]

As someone that use to work in the cooperate office of Seaworld, I have no idea how any of those places actually run.

[@matthewkunze503]

great video. We took our family there just for this ride on a weekday.. great ride.. absolutely horrible experience. They were running 2 trains, but so under staffed that we saw many trains leave with 4 or more open seats each time. We waited over 30 min to get out of the freezing penguin exhibit. Both my kids were so cold they almost cried. People were pushing us and yelling at everyone. There was one 16 year old kid with an attitude working the exit and it kept breaking down. People just started leaving through the emergency exit. We only did it one time the whole day.. even though we had preview passes and could go as many times as we wanted. I spoke to the team leads and they told me that "management is forcing everyone to go through the penguin exhibit". Absolutely unacceptable and completely avoidable.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Going through my footage of just the exit shop, you can hear people coming out and complaining about that whole process lol. The next time I go through, if the fire exit is barricaded, I'm definitely escalating it to legal authorities

[@noneyun9943]

I agree! I also hated the fact that I had to be forced to freeze in the penguin exhibit just to leave the ride. It was crazy because why would people wanting to see penguins want to be trampled by everyone wanting to exit a coaster. I don’t understand why they were forcing people thru the exhibit because there was an exit outside, and most people didn’t want to see stinky and cold penguins just to get outside. I would have rode the coaster again if it wasn’t for the freezing exit.

[@rebbekahcannons9805]

I've never been to any kind of theme park or on a coaster (I think NZ only has Rainbow's End which i'm told is awful) but I find these vids fascinating :D

[@snakes1470]

Rode Phoenix on Thursday for my AP preview, more forceful than I thought but man we were all dripping sweat in that line. No shade what so ever, it was 98 degrees out that day with heat index of 104. Good luck to the tourists in that line.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, I agree that additional shade structures are definitely needed. I was lucky and only waited in the covered part of the station on my two rides.

[@DisneyMomma]

Sesame place is up near us in PA. We have season passes - check out the reviews from this summer - it’s horrific. Most of the water rides not opening - park has been filthy - the ownership for SeaWorld/ bush / sesame has to go - they are awful

[@AkiDave]

Great video!

[@iamdigbick4675]

I feel like they rushed to get these rides ready. There are still footer holes in the ground around Phoenix rising making me think that the ride remains unfinished, at least to a certain extent. I think they'll be able to work out the kinks with Penguin Trek, but I am positive that Phoenix Rising will always have one of the longest wait times in the park. The fact that it can't run two trains is crazy to me. They send out maybe 16 riders per train, because the train hardly ever leaves out of the station completely full. It's going to be a nightmare. They both are more fun than I expected them to be.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

They definitely rushed Phoenix Rising lol. Judging from how quick the announcement was, to how they changed the previews, I'm pretty sure that it opened before they were really ready to do so.

[@madalyn5761]

my family and i were seaworld and busch gardens pass holders for YEARS (from 2016-2022). but, we stopped going at the beginning of 2022 because of how downhill the parks went. the last time we went there were for the passholder preview for iron gwazi, which was a couple of weeks before my 16th birthday, actually. the coasters they kept on making haven’t been fun for us because my family in general all love the crazy rollercoasters and they keep on making family coasters that we just don’t feel excited enough to go and ride. so, we just go to universal now because of the quality of their rides and it feels like you’re actually getting your moneys worth there. i’m not suprised to see a literal fire hazard there though, i think these parks need some major help. :/

[@jonny-b4954]

Yeah, 2 out of 4 of Busch's newer coasters have been family coasters, Cobra's Curse and Phoenix Rising, but honestly, they REALLY needed some family coasters.

[@chanti4786]

Welp, i was debating buying annual passes for seaworld orlando last night and this video made me change my mind lol

[@greedy.rodent_billionaire]

2:48 during my previous trip to Busch Gardens Tampa I saw that most souvenirs had their price tags blacked out with sharpie

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yup

[@queenofdisaster3480]

2:00 I worked at a Sea World park and let me tell you, the employees are treated like dog shit. If your management responded to concerns of employees fainting with free dollar store popsicles, didn’t even provide enough backstage areas for you to walk in and out of work without being accosted by guests, and often barely trained you on things like park layout and offerings, resulting in you looking dumb as hell on the regular, I don’t think you’d be a happy camper either!

[@JakeCoasters]

Phoenix Rising is the superior coaster, a huge surprise I agree that Penguin needs a non-exhibit exit

[@jjrunning6125]

Currently waiting in a 90 minute line for penguin trek

[@jonny-b4954]

5:40 Yeah, nothing like running your park so poorly you forget to send a maintenance guy in once a week to run a ride and charge the vehicle batteries that ends up destroying a $15-20 million ride that you built a few years ago. SO ABSURD. Sadly, even after 3 years of continuous coasters being added, they're all mediocre coasters, in my opinion. It'll be the last year I spend $450 to get Busch and Seaworld and the water parks. I'm just going to pay per day as the last 2 years, I've only gone 3-4 times. Which, doesn't even break me even. 13:00 Can't even paint or theme the freaking bare concrete "trench." So pathetic man. Let alone Phoenix Rising only having 1 train is borderline criminal hahah.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I actually disagree. Ice Breaker is wild for how small it is. I agree that Pipeline is really mediocre, although its novelty train makes it interesting and while I also agree with Penguin Trek, it still fits the family niche that the park needed.

[@tjmthegreat4009]

When I went for my previews they had us use the emergency exit to get out of the building or choose to go see the penguins.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I heard some days were like that, but with others, they were instructed to force people to exit through the exhibit. I guess I could have moved the barricade and exited, but I was curious to see how everything was set up.

[@kevinbhieey9188]

Excellent points. I'm sure Universal sees what's happening here as well and may be keeping an eye open on buying NotSeaWorld in the future. It's really the only reason I can come up with as to why they bought land that gets them literally within a quarter mile of SeaWorld property. Seriously, they own a parcel between Destination Pkwy and 528 that is only 300-feet wide! In fact, from Stella Nova/Terra Luna, they own a mysterious narrow strip of land that leads straight to Aquatica. And why not? This would be an easy way to get a 4th park and 2nd water park into the Orlando resort. And Universal has shown they want to expand into new regions. Britain, Dallas, Vegas. Why not San Antonio, San Diego and Williamsburg too? The promised new attractions/parks offer different experiences, so the SeaWorld parks would fold in nicely (with some Universal-level retheming). Every one of these parks has animals, so they could easily be renamed with the same animal-based name. Like Universal Zoodios Orlando, Universal Zoodios Tampa Bay, Universal Zoodios Williamsburg... You're wellcome! Universal needs a second "brand" like "Universal Studios". With all the coasters, they would have the opportunity to tie them all into Islands of Adventure. Worlds of Adventure, Lands of Adventure, Seas of Adventure, Archipelago of Adventure, what have you. (Or Islands of Excitement, Islands of Peril, Islands of Imagination...). That said, if you've got a lot of parks all over the place, they need the city in the title. So it's obvious that Universal Zoodios is the ONLY option. Do it NOW, Universal! DO IT!!!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

While I do think that SeaWorld needs new owners, I doubt that Universal is interested or would even be the right party. In my opinion, I think that Herschend would be the right buyer.

[@MCLegoboy]

Yeah, in the past year, I've been able to visit SeaWorld twice, and I have been shocked at how poorly managed the loading process is for the rides. I've seen nobody present to direct guests to proper seating so that the trains is filled to capacity or at least make sure that families and friends stay together, and even a huge backup that only leads to the front seats that some guests may not even be aware is holding them back, but that does vary ride to ride. On the one hand, it's kind of nice to have carte blanche seating because I don't want to be stuck in the back getting lurched over crests, but also, the free for all is chaotic and probably holding up the line because you only have one person checking to see if everyone's seated and strapped in and don't have things they shouldn't once everyone's settled down, and not having someone efficiently assigning seats and giving advanced warning for loose items, small kids, and whatever else. I haven't experienced poor layout in exiting a ride, but to have someone get lost and feel like they would be trapped in case of an emergency is a serious problem. I'd love to see some penguins, too, but if it's too high traffic and then also a chaotic path just to exit, something is seriously wrong because it's never just one guest who will likely have this problem.

[@TooningIn2008]

Seaworld should rehire Joel Mamby. Not only does he seem like a pretty ambitious guy, as shown through the scrapped plans for the Seaworld and Busch Garden parks, but he also seems to actually care about ensuring the park experience is well managed and taken care of

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

SeaWorld should, but they won't, because the goal is not a good park experience.

[@Matthew-dd6kp]

They seem to have resolved the fire issues it seems I just went today

[@carminecdinoproductions]

I want the new Penguin Trek ride to have an exit gift shop adjacent to the penguin exhibit!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

They actually have two

[@AlexaSmith]

SeaWorld was really what got me into theme parks as a kid and I agree that they have so much potential as a solid family park that just happens to have good rides. I’ve only been once as an adult and the orcas that were left there were so heartbreaking and sad looking but I think there are so many ways they can continue the SeaWorld theme without exploiting giant animals. There are so many small fish that i think are perfectly fine to keep in tanks and there is so many themeing options without live animals too. Idk they have so much potential plus they have freakin sesame street characters. Its not the main muppets but any jim henson property is fun for me to see and i wish they’d do more with them. There’s so much potential with sea world but it seems like they are too scared to really do anything interesting and fun lol. I think they should even keep the water shows but just do the human stunts or see if they can buy those old kite tails kites hahaha

[@jonny-b4954]

Yeah, the animal shows depress the hell out of me. Part of me doesn't care honestly, and wants the old Shamu show back. But, another part of me, is constantly depressed seeing how small the cages are. I dont' get why they dont' make the central lake a salt water lake and let them swim out there. Imagine seeing dolphins in a small salt water lake while crossing the over the water bridge at Seaworld? That'd be amazing. But expensive, no doubt, to maintain a salt water lake.

[@vivianepadilla1692]

wake up babe!!! poseidon entertainment just posted!!!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Well, kind of

[@PurppCalx]

My wife and kids are waiting for me to pick them up at the store, but sorry family, I gotta watch my mans POSEIDON new drop 😭🔥

[@drumhead89]

My final straw with SeaWorld was when I went to the pass holder preview of Pipeline and was denied a ride because of my size, even though I fit in the test seat perfectly fine. Which is fine, I’m a bigger guy, I understand I may not fit. But then later on I saw they let a KZbinr ride, who I know for a fact is bigger than me, with the assistance of a belt extender. So either I was denied a ride because I’m not a source of free advertisement, or they put that KZbinr in a dangerous situation also for free advertisement.

[@Spessforce]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is having the same problems with slow coaster station operations causing far higher lines and waits.

[@rct800]

It is just an incredibly weird decision to not design phoenix rising with two trains and at the same time buy three trains for penguin trek.

[@kmccurdy21]

I get only buying two trains. But one? That’s crazy..

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think Penguin Trek is only capable of running two. Phoenix though doesn't even appear to have a maintenance bay from what I could see, so definitely not even any room for a second train.

[@Idonthaveahandle-6969]

I JUST ENTERED SEAWORLD

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Good luck

[@c-tha-man9463]

Not surprised about Busch/Sea World parks. Hell...they "charge" to ride their sky rides. Enough said....

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, that's absurd. I can't imagine that they're even really making money off of that.

[@ThemePark_Nerdo]

Last time I went to SeaWorld Orlando, Kraken had ONE TRAIN OPS!!!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I've never not seen them do one train ops lol

[@robertparker6280]

Penguin Trek is a fun ride, good for starters and kids. But being forced to the Penguin Exhibit is the dumbest idea ever!

[@351wmustanggt]

You forgot to mention the intensity of Iron Gwazi.

[@gdlorenzodm5664]

One time me and my brother went to Infinity Falls and the queue, despite being only a 1-file line (and being short), took 1 hour for us to get to the ride. I felt like screaming at the ride operators and having a mental breakdown because the queue was at a snail's pacing.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

What was holding them up?

[@gdlorenzodm5664]

@@PoseidonEntertainment dunno, probably the lack of employees

[@addisons.991]

I visited Busch Gardens Tampa last year in October as I had never been prior. I got in for free, but I would be hard pressed to ever return. I am a coaster nerd and love trying new ones, but I thought Iron Gwazi was nowhere NEAR Velocicoaster (remember those comparisons and lots of hype as both came out same year). The lack of seat assignments, overpriced food (even for theme parks), and roughness of some of the coasters (Kumba was HORRENDOUS, as was Tigris) made me extremely turned off from ever returning. I went solo and would only consider going with a group as a social activity. I haven’t been to SeaWorld yet, but I am inordinately excited to try Penguin Trek as those are my favorite animal. However, your review of the load/exit procedure dissuades me. I’ll probably get there eventually, but I appreciate this video for keeping my expectations in check. Love the vid!

[@elainehill5931]

We visited BG Tampa last year. We’re from VA and passholders of BG Williamsburg. I couldn’t wait to leave BG Tampa. Too much is out in the direct sun. We love BG Williamsburg. Lots of shade!😎

[@coltonsupergame]

Yeah the lack of staff is absurdly bad. I went to Seaworld 2 days ago and the lines for Guest Services took almost half an hour. Also when we were in line for ice breaker we witnessed people just walking into the quick queue line and nobody was checking their passes so not only were people in the regular line getting cut, but also if you had paid the 80-100 dollars that quick queue costs then your pass was kind of worthless on this ride.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I did get the impression that most of the time, you can just use quick queue and no one will check. I've never done it, but I've heard people bragging about it.

[@tmntleo]

100% call the fire marshal about it, better to do it now than regret it later when people die.

[@FhangMedia]

I really want to try Penguin Trek but being disabled I can't see how I can, unless they have elevators to get to the overpass across the track.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I have to imagine that they are required to be ADA accessible to even open. I didn't see an elevator, but I wasn't looking for one either. I did notice signage at Phoenix Rising for ADA accessibility up near the exit though, so Penguin Trek is likely the same.

[@blotto5]

Can confirm that when I went to SW Orlando back in March to ride the new surf coaster the ride operations and queue layout was horrendous. Extremely tight lanes and nobody managing the queue so everybody bunched up and bottlenecked trying to go for the first 2 rows that nobody could get by to the back rows and several trains were dispatched with empty rows in the back due to nobody being able to move up to get in those lines. Extremely frustrating and an absolute 180 compared to Disney and the way they manage their queues and row assignments. To add to the disappointment, several keeper talk events that were on the park schedule just never happened with no warning so you'd waste time standing around waiting. The keepers who did end up showing up were super nice and knowledgeable and definitely seemed to have a passion for and believe in what they do. So my conclusion is that these people are just overworked and taken advantage of for their passion.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

SeaWorld parks do have great people taking care of the animals, but I'm sure that they have awful working conditions. The only thing that probably keeps them there is knowing that the animals would not receive the care they need if they left.

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

Not having anyone to direct riders is a horrible experience. That was the case at Dollywood and it was awful getting just a few people on the same train. There was a lack of line definition and no limit to how many people wanted to cram onto the platform at once.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Ah, I haven't been to Dollywood is a long time, but I didn't realize that this was the case.