The Rise and Fall of SeaWorld Orlando (Part 1) | A Complete History

Have you ever wondered about the history behind SeaWorld Orlando? It's not documented very well and I think that people would be surprised to find out how different the original park is from today. After completing my Rise and Fall of Busch Gardens Tampa video last year where I chronicled the fascinating history of that park, it seemed like SeaWorld Orlando was the next step as it's the flagship of the SeaWorld parks. However, coming by information on the history of this park is incredibly difficult and so after many hours of cross-referencing news articles, video, brochures and other sources, I bring you the first part of what will be the definitive video that chronicles its entire history.
The Rise and Fall of Busch Gardens Tampa (Part 1) | A Complete History: • The Rise and Fall of B...
The Rise and Fall of Busch Gardens Tampa (Part 2) | A Complete History: • The Rise and Fall of B...
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[@solosorca]

Oh no, I’m here to point out some inaccuracies in the orca histories 😂 Namu and Shamu never lived at Marineland, they were at Seattle Marine Aquarium (basically just a sea pen in Seattle harbour). Marineland’s first orca (called Wanda) was captured before Namu but only survived 2 days in captivity. Their next Orca (who survived just over a year) was Orky, then Corky (who survived around 2.5 years), then they had Kenny, Patches (both also short lived) and finally got their longest residents Orky 2 and Corky 2, who were moved to Seaworld when Marineland shut down (Corky 2 is still alive)

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

For trying to make the "definitive" history video, that's a pretty big and embarrassing thing to get factually incorrect. I'll pin your comment so that people can see the correction though.

[@Bald_Sauerkraut]

@@PoseidonEntertainmentI love how accountable you are, even with your fantastic videos it builds trust that you can admit fault even if unintentional.

[@jwprimetime9795]

@@PoseidonEntertainmentnow I love you even more amigo! Most would have avoided this comment. Props!

[@be-noble3393]

Run by a private equity firm. You could have stopped right there but I’m glad you added the details.

[@kotor610]

Private equity, the death blow to any company.

[@NicEeEe843]

I mean a lot of companies wouldn’t have continued to exist if they hadn’t had other groups investing money into them

[@dragonknight8280]

It's so funny this video was made right after SeaWorld had one of its most popular days of the year, giving out absolutely insane pass holder discounts and rewards for free that almost no other theme park gives out, incredibly lower prices for a theme park compared to other parks. Yep, definitely greed. And again, one of the most popular days of the year for Christmas, in FLORIDA. Not the peak summertime when there's usually a peak, which shows its consistency.

[@JonathanGilbert-cb4bl]

yeah i definitely would say this would need a positive part 2, although a lot of things are gone they're gone for a reason, no other place does these things anymore, its standard policy and there's laws against this, nothing to do with greed, infact seaworld is still king of inclusivity and kindness in prices and treatment the disabled and of course treat their animals better than any other

[@galaga2x808]

A POSEIDON AND DEFUNCTLANF VIDEO OTHE SAME DAY!! it is christmas, thank you so much for all the great content you make !!!

[@dorkyska]

Right? Haha. The two best. I never thought Kevin Perjurer would have competition, but Poseidon showed up and has really been incredible all along.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

@@dorkyska I'm not competition until every video has a guaranteed million views lol

[@after-worknetwork6095]

@@PoseidonEntertainmentSo modest, you'll get there bro. Keep up the great work!

[@Canadian_Guy_82]

So I’m currently at SeaWorld Orlando as I type this waiting for the dolphin show to start. I’ve never been here before so have no basis of comparison to what it used to be like.. but honestly.. I’m really enjoying myself. The park is very clean and doesn’t feel like anything’s rundown. It’s all decorated for Christmas and there’s a super festive vibe about the place. The coasters have all been great (thank god for Quick Queue pass lol). I’m sure people have issues with the park but from a first timer I think it’s pretty great.. I’m having a blast! Busch Gardens Tampa in 2 days 😄

[@Imnotaplayerimagamer]

Can't believe you and Defunctland posted videos on the same day! You guys should definitely collab on a future project, it would make the theme park historians so happy lol

[@missykae4538]

8:11 absolutely wild that they regularly let small children sit on the whales. Myself included when I was like 6.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, that and the trainers sticking their heads into the orca's mouths lol

[@csbluechip]

I agree with you. "Animals in boxes/ponds" is heart breaking. But Sea World exists, and it's nice that someone (you) is putting this much effort in to a pragmatic documentary on its history. Thanks.

[@cmaden78]

I went to Sea World from about 1980-2000. I still have the pearl necklace I got as a lil kid from the pearl divers! For the longest time I thought that was just a dream I had growing up until I saw it online as an adult lol. It was so exciting when they first had the alligators and then the penguins and the manatees I'm happy that I wasn't going by the time blackfish came out because I would have been really upsetting. And sadly I haven't taken my kids... But my oldest to get the your pasta Busch gardens and SeaWorld and just go for the rides and say it's really great I haven't been on anything since mako. Great video thank you

[@alexandriabowser6105]

Love your videos! Thank you for all your hard work and research!

[@binguspingus2461]

Sea world was one of the staples of my childhood, it is so sad to me to see the state that it is in with some classics like journey to Atlantis basically falling apart and many of the great animal shows and exhibits no longer exist

[@katwernery6505]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg was staple of mine in the 80s, but mainly my teen years in the 90s. I have so many great memories of that park.

[@dragonknight8280]

I would say the state of JTA(Journey to Atlantis) is exaggerated here, I definitely feel like the grime is part of it as the theming, as recently going through it, it's very much fine and felt thematic, nothing was damaged or broken and was definitely recently painted and refurbished in alot of areas, the boats themselves too.

[@Global_Thrills]

Your videos on Busch Gardens were some of my favourites you’ve done. With how Seaworld mirrors Busch, being owned by the same company etc, I clicked on this one so fast!

[@Soggywafflecakes]

I work here it's alot of cost cutting and hidden fees they recently raised the price of parking to 38 dollars was 35

[@dragonknight8280]

​@@SoggywafflecakesRegular inflation with the theme parks in the area, all of them did that. Orlando times for theme parks are getting higher and higher, especially with Universal's Epic Universe coming soon, it'll increase in demand again.

[@skycreeper0173]

That was a super fun and informative video. Thank you for taking the time to research and produce this video, as someone who visited SeaWorld San Diego often many years ago, it is fascinating to see the history of the Orlando park.

[@MrBrick1981]

Anytime a new video drops it makes my day

[@Floridapanthers2020]

I am very excited for the rest of parts. This past summer i have really been looking at the history of the park and this video couldn't have been more perfect timing.

[@fireflyfox93]

The golden years for Busch Gardens and Sea World was when the Bus h family owned the parks. I've heard so many stories about how well they cared for the parks and the animals. It makes me so mad to see how the parks have been mistreated since then.

[@jasonbyl8695]

Those parks are still great. They have some of the best coasters in the country. I do get why many see them as declining as they have shifted from an animal theme park to a more generic amusement park with big coasters

[@graffiti.777]

did you mean the bush family?

[@michaeledwards1664]

​@jasonbyl8695 Yes, the coasters are great. Of course, low-paid employees afford horrific ops at these parks. For example, I stood in line for Journey to Atlantis for an hour once, and the ride operators just walked off the ride platform, told everyone to leave, and didn't bother giving anyone a return pass. They didn't chain the area to others going into the queue, so people kept piling in and circling back around. Iron Gwazi, Cheetah Hunt and Phoenix Rising with all their shutdowns and one train ops show a consistent pattern with cutting corners. This is an ongoing thing at both parks that you'd never see at Disney where the lines actually move with 10 times the riders. Even Cedar Fair parks have parameters in place (clearer what-to-do directions, count downs, updates etc.). I bought Disney, Fun Spot and Universal passes and haven't returned to Seaworld. I'll go back to Busch Gardens on their slower days, at least until my Gold pass expires.

[@swampsagacity4685]

@@jasonbyl8695It’s not just the coaster factor. The shows are terrible. The food is horrible and very expensive. The cocktails are like frat party garbage. The plants and flowers are dying. The park is filthy. Most employees are dismissive and often rude.

[@5aiv.]

@@swampsagacity4685 this is the absolute opposite of my experiences, i actively go to the parks and i know dozens of people who work there, as well as family members who work there and this is absolutely not the case 😭😭 the shows are incredibly well done, the christmas events are very well done, the food is quite good, the environment is beautiful, the employees are most certainly not rude, and it is not that expensive, if anything, all parks have higher prices regardless, and it's most definitely not filthy

[@ThornAmidstRoses]

I went to Sea World on a family trip in 1997 - at the time, the sea lion show was hotel themed, which I can guarantee you I literally only remember because I was the kid they picked from the audience for the show we attended. Kind of wild in retrospect that they just picked random kids to come up and touch/interact with the animals.

[@eeefeefeffasdf]

I was honestly saying to myself yesterday while scrolling for something to watch on KZbin, "man Poseidon Entertainment hasn't put out a video in a while..." Not going to take credit for you putting this video out, but I will say I'm definitely looking forward to watching it ;)

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Did you miss this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX7Kd5eLlqh-qLc

[@iced_latteZ]

Although I don't agree with the orcas being held in a captivity I do have to say that those shows were super impressive.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah I agree. Without having a spotlight shining onto the issues with holding orcas in captivity, no matter how well they're treated, those shows were incredible.

[@AlexaSmith]

poseidon and defunctland on the same day omg....love ur vids u slay. i went to sea world for the last time a few summers ago in san antonio. i took my little sister and did a lot of roller coaster firsts for her. it was so fun. seeing the orcas made me depressed. i think of it as a goodbye trip to a nostalgic fave. i hope they turn around soon and focus on more aquarium type stuff or even just theme parks. they got sesame street ip i wish they used it more. and thats all my thoughts on sea world.

[@joniwilliams9148]

I remember going in the 1980’s for the first time after we moved to FL. And fed those dolphins and sea lions quite a lot. Worked there in 1998-2004. We have annual passes off and on after to bring our kids lots of memories throughout the years. Still love the park even though some things are not what they used to be.

[@emilypawlack819]

It's always interesting to hear people try to pronounce deceiving names of places in Ohio (like Geauga Lake) XD Loving the video so far though!! Thank you for another great one ^-^

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I make some really obvious dumb mistakes in videos occasionally and this is another one that will haunt me. At least I can re-record the line for an eventual super edit of this video though.

[@emilypawlack819]

​@@PoseidonEntertainment It's all good! Granted, I'm only familiar with it since my family is from the area and am still somewhat local myself lol. Don't feel bad though! It's quite a common problem for many a place in Ohio because they don't actually sound like how they are written (i.e. Bellefontaine = Bell-Fountain not Bell-fon-tayn, Lancaster = Lane-cuh-ster not Lan-caster, etc). Regardless, thank you for all of the awesome research and content!

[@narfii7302]

As someone who grew up near Aurora, Ohio, your pronunciation of "Geauga" had me do a doubletake 😂 great video tho!! Having a Sea World here was always wild to me

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, I'll have to fix that for the eventual super edit

[@gabrieldally6044]

Amazing video, I really hope you talk about blue horizons and believe in the video because those are some of the best theme park shows ever made

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I'll see the direction the script takes, but I'm not sure how much more I'll cover the shows going forward.

[@BenthicWaters]

​@@PoseidonEntertainment I highly suggest watching "Beneath The Waves of SeaWorld's Evolving Orca Shows || Mini Documentary" if you're interested in knowing the shows that SeaWorld created within their story! (Note: SeaWorld Orlando has updated their Orca Encounter set back in early March of 2024, and the video only talks about the shows from the early 2000's to the present day while sort of being dated)

[@tbbcoachron]

I LOVE SeaWorld. Always busy...Busier than Disney usually.

[@SchnookieC]

Last time i visited in 2022, the park was essentially empty, absolutely glorious experience

[@graffiti.777]

That's not true lol

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I don't often go on weekends, but when I do, yeah they can get pretty busy. Of course, the bad ops might just make it appear busier than it really is. Their attendance is significantly lower now than what it was 15 years ago.

[@JahPoope]

definitely less than disney but when we went it was absolutely packed went during wintertime recently and during the summer both during peak and there was max capacity during summer and near during christmas

[@hellboundchaoscommand7567]

I personally still love Seaworld to this day because the animals are still the most entertaining aspect of the park (and the reason why Animal Kingdom is my favorite Disney park) I do wish that they had a different company make the rides though. The height limit of 6’4 for all rides in the park is annoying for tall people like me

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I didn't know they had a height limit. I'm 6'3 so I've never had an issue with SeaWorld specifically (other than how tight the Icebreaker trains are), but I see how that's frustrating.

[@hellboundchaoscommand7567]

@ Yep every single ride they still have has one. Also Universal has it too I think they use the same construction company so basically I can only ride the transformers and Spider-Man rides over there. The fun of being 6’5

[@JahPoope]

i have a friend thats a little overweight and couldnt ride but on the opposite side of the spectrum i have an insanely tall friend that came too who is 6'5 and they allowed him on everything is this height requirement real? he was clearly 6'5 pushing 6'6 and clearly was a giant

[@hellboundchaoscommand7567]

@ I am 6’5 and not overweight and I did not fit. (It could also be that most of my height is in my legs which are nearly always the problem)

[@Anynom]

Was there in 1994 before thril rides and such feels so different now

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

It seemed like a completely different place up until the late 90s when Busch started to change so much. Its design made sense for its time though.

[@5050clown]

Grew up near Orlando in the 80s. My family went to see world regularly from 85-95. Some of my deepest memories are tied to Seaworld.

[@NISSANZ33]

Grew up in the 90s with San Antonio as my home park. Those Anheuser Busch days were awesome

[@Soggywafflecakes]

Love your history videos please make more 🙏

[@stephenraeburn3263]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS PE!! Hope you have a jolly good time and a wonderful 2025! ❤

[@lordofwar1441]

Another great video! Someday I hope you will make a video in the format about my home park, Hersheypark! It has a very interesting history, in my opinion. And I think it would make a good video topic for you.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, it would be interesting for sure. It's a place I want to revisit first before producing a video though.

[@lordofwar1441]

@PoseidonEntertainment as long as it's on your radar, I'm happy! I'll be looking forward to it. PS if there's any chance of that happening in 2025, let me know, and I can get you tickets. I work at for Hershey Entertainment.

[@LuckyPierre789]

Pre Blackfish I lived in Orlando and often would go to Sea World, grab a beer and just sit in Shamu Stadium enjoying the beer and watching the whales swim around between shows. Good times long gone.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think that's how SeaWorld is best experienced. I wish they'd also put real restaurants in the park like they tried with the Mediterranean Harbor 20 years ago.

[@MrEforEveryone]

Part 2 will be so nostalgic for me

[@AlexanderHughey]

great vid, intro card got a little loud

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Ah, sound mixing is always a challenge. What did you watch the video on?

[@AlexanderHughey]

@PoseidonEntertainment just headphones. The music just gets a little loud compared to the voice over when you transition to the PoseidonEntertainment title card. Once again great vid, didn’t harm my enjoyment at all.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

@@AlexanderHughey Ah okay, that's useful to know

[@IRDeady]

8:41 I hate to be that guy but the second G in Geauga is a hard G sound. You did better than most people do though.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I was going off of how I've heard it pronounced before. However, I realized that I'm pretty dumb because the footage in the video is from an old ad which directly pronounces the name of the park.

[@IRDeady]

@PoseidonEntertainment eh, I only know it because I grew up there. It's a word nobody knows how to pronounce off the bat.

[@bdayactor]

8:41 Came here to say this exact thing! Phonetically it would look something like -- Gee-aw-gah Lake

[@benrust81]

jee · aa · guh layk Love your videos, just lived down the street from it as a kid haha

[@kalzium8857]

I think that one big reason why people are so hyped about epic universe is that the competition seems to stagnating. Aside from Universal which theme park chain is still ambitious? I think we can still expect more rise and fall of various themeparks episodes.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I feel like you have to go to Europe to see parks that still actually care. I haven't been to Dollywood in 15 years, but it seems like people still like Herschend a lot.

[@CarolinaMouse]

When it comes to Orlando, Disney is always first to me but second is SeaWorld Orlando. I've always loved visiting it.

[@louisnemzer6801]

I went to SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens on a trip recently. A very different vibe compared with the other parks. A lot more relaxed and very cool animal exhibits. But alot of stuff was closed.

[@JodieWithanIEOfficial]

Went there when I was a kid in the mid 90s. I remember the Orca show and being deathly terrified of the shark tunnel. I kept asking my dad if he was sure they weren’t gonna break the glass and eat us. Ah, to be seven again.

[@romana34]

So long, and thanks for all the fish 13:44

[@PatrickFloto]

I'm an Orlando photographer that regularly shoots at the parks. I barely ever shoot the animal shows because it's the same thing over and over again, but holy hell would I do anything to be able to shoot those water ski shows and the Orca shows with trainers in the water.

[@srhaney]

(the second G in Geauga is hard)

[@JakeCoasters]

Thankful to have grown up in the AB days

[@eyaury28]

Me and my family go to SeaWorld every year and we love it. It has a lot to offer and prices are amazing. If it rains you get a rainy day pass to come back within the year. I understand there’s a lot of activist that don’t agree with animal captivity. But we don’t see any harm being done to the animals and they conduct research that actually allows us to help animals at the wild. Yes they have their problems and are short staffed but the food is great and my kids love it .

[@FirstNameBunchANumbers]

20:54 I can smell this image

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Have you been to the new penguin exhibit? It's so much worse without the glass

[@5050clown]

@@PoseidonEntertainmentdid they really….jeeeeez

[@FirstNameBunchANumbers]

@@PoseidonEntertainment oh my gosh I can't imagine 🤢 Good thing they're cute!

[@thefergyfilms]

It's crazy how the only people I know talking about the horrific state of SeaWorld parks are GP. Every single time somebody I know who isn't a coaster enthusiast goes to one they end up complaining to me about how half the rides were closed, or that it was understaffed, or that random rides were upcharge attractions for no reason, etc. I get so depressed when I think about the Busch gardens parts in specific because they are the closest thing we have stateside to a European coaster park where they actually have theming and attention to detail, but just take one look at Pantheon's station or ride area and you'll see that they are glorified Six Flags parks nowadays.

[@AziaXtremeNFinity]

I would love to see a Disney/Universal-style SeaWorld park in the future

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

As in, something that's highly themed with a lot of dark rides? If Busch hadn't been dissolved, I think those parks might have evolved into something like that by now.

[@angelbagel3786]

I have heard that the animal exhibits are the best in Seaworld Orlando compared to the other US Seaworld parks. I’ve never been to SW Orlando but I would like to one day

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, it's definitely a lot better than the other SeaWorld parks. It's debatable whether it's better than the Busch Gardens parks though.

[@General_Belu]

Ahh Sea World. I have sparse memories about visiting the location in San Antonio (I live in Texas near Houston). It was odd. I have memories of the wave pool and uncomfortable swimming trunks while watching one of the shows. Speaking of the show, in that moment, I also feared the supports would give way and the roof structure over us would collapse over us. Heh. Maybe they should pour some investing in robotic animals. The Chinese are doing it. I’m sure they can. Might not be a real animal, but it sure would be just as cool. Ironically enough, the Blackfish documentary has caused me to create a sub section of a story universe I’m working on, which involves a planet that’s supposed to be one giant artificial ocean. Either ways, my views on SeaWorld itself is mixed. But great video overall. Probably because SeaWorld is the only theme park I visited as a kid (I’m still a minor, 16), I feel a bigger connection to it than either Universal, Disney or Six flags. Weirdly enough, I’m not sure about the other Parks, but you can visit the San Anton location on Google Maps streetview.

[@thefly7331]

I went recently with my friends. I did enjoy it a lot but the biggest and most massive issue was how long queue times. It wasn’t normal there weren’t a lot of people in line but rather I believe it was a lack of maintenance or staffing. I don’t blame the staff but there would be little to no one in front of you but it would take forever.

[@klitersemson5482]

Theme parks were never meant to be dominated by roller coasters. They were supposed to be a different breed from amusement parks. Emphasis on the word THEMING. Art, architecture, dark rides, shows, hands on interaction. A mix of “rides” vs one type. Old school Sea World was nothing like it is now. I’m all for coasters but they’ve gone overboard and are slowly destroying the entire concept of a THEME park.

[@MegsTravelLife]

Is part two going to talk about Jaws breaking in???

[@topgunjoeicdbko]

This should be the rise and fall and rise again the park is outstanding and making money plus expanding at a rapid rate. The park is better than any disney park right now even.

[@johnfarmakis8518]

They now have two of the coolest roller coasters in the world right now

[@gagemauldin1411]

Love this video. Opening volume is WAYYYYYYY TOO LOUD though.

[@j.sterling9167]

Any place that charges $30.00 to park a car, more depending on the vehicle type, on their parking lot is greedy, they make you walk long distances to the entry point. Once there, they search you with magnetometers and hand wands, similar to the airport. Made the mistake of going to this place in 2022, to say the least it is a RIP OFF. We got admission tickets thru AAA and the price was still too high and not worth it. Half the attractions there that day were shut down and the food is greasy and makes you sick if you eat it. Overpriced junk shops and long walks between areas take away from its intent. This is not even educational about sea life and it's creatures and there is too much focus on the worthless amusement park aspect of it. These poor sea creatures are penned up and forced to swim inside fiberglass tanks that are not close to their natural habitats in the ocean, you can see they are unhappy being there. I have experienced a better marine life aquarium in Mystic Connecticut, at least there, it was educational and worth the admission price. This place should be shut down and the live sea life released into the ocean.

[@IRDeady]

Dang, I assumed my visit was just an off day. The place just felt weird. Hardly anyone there, a lot of stuff was closed including mako, which was the main reason I wanted to go. The food was abysmal. Like bad day at the grade school cafeteria level bad food.

[@doc2w534]

As a kid I didn’t understand the Erica issues surrounding animal keeping. Especially large animals. Having worked there in 2022 it was and continues to decline. They even had posters in the employee cafeteria stating orca shows would end by end of year. They definitely didn’t keep their word.

[@richevers5288]

Great video, but please crank up your audio track a bit.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Everyone else thought it was too high lol

[@ddespair]

I was gonna say, wow, this guy finally goes after someone besides Disney, but 1 minute in he takes a shot at Disney lol. He must really hate disney.

[@cobblewobble]

i'll preface this by stating i'm saying this as a marine biology/zoology major with my studies/research focusing on cetaceans (especially orcas). a major problem seaworld has (ESPECIALLY orlando) is pretending it's cetaceans do not exist. blackfish and the aftermath of that happened, but there are still people that go to seaworld for their animals, and seaworld needs to stop pretending they aren't there. seaworld orlando opening a coaster every year to try and take away the spotlight from their animals (specifically their orcas) and compete with disney is only doing more harm in the long run and leading to a lot of disappointment from customers. i've had multiple friends tell me that prior to the recent remodeling of orca stadium, parts of the set were in really bad shape and nothing was being done with it because of all the funding and attention going towards coasters. seaworld HAS the potential to make changes to their animal habitats, but this doesn't get done because seaworld has been too afraid of PETA for a decade at this point. san diego only recently brought back killer whale themed treats. c'mon. you're a family park. let little timmy have his shamu bar. oh, and seaworld orlando just has messy management in general/ tldr seaworld has to accept that people are gonna hate the fact they have animals and stop hiding the fact that they have them in the first place buy building a bajillion coasters. they have to focus on their animals again. at least much more than they are now.

[@chrisblake4198]

I don't for a second believe you're a cetacean expert who believes an entertainment company should be the business of acquiring and trending large sea mammals for public presentation. There's no overlap in the Venn diagram of 'do it right' 'do it ethically' and 'do it profitably'

[@cobblewobble]

@@chrisblake4198 I think you may be misinterpreting what I'm saying. I never said they need to capture (I'm assuming this is what you mean by acquire?) new animals, I said they need to take the focus off their coasters and channel those investments into their animal exhibits, as well as stop being afraid of backlash from groups such as PETA and acknowledge they have those animals, because that's what SeaWorld is and always has been known for, whether people like it or not. My point with including the bit about being a marine bio major was that I was trying to say I'm a marine biology major and not a business major, but I must've had a lapse in thought and thought I had already put that bit, apologies, it was 2 am when I wrote that.

[@mytangerine]

my mom worked at hbj at this time. she has a story about a day they found out a baby whale was being born so they all left the office to watch 😂

[@Mindfuljourneywithme111]

I remember watching the orca show with trainers in the water. While spectacular to see it was also very wrong to keep such amazing animals in this zoo environment. I hope one day seaworld stop the orca shows for good

[@Brundelkarf]

The most I know of Sea World Parks comes from Jaws 3. And there I learned that the management is willing to risk people getting mauled by sharks for a few bucks. Maybe it's accurate... I don't know.

[@ziggywonka50]

Shout out wet n wild man! Best park ever

[@tecdtd2tecdtd273]

I wouldn't say it fell off but it did get more expensive

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

The park wasn't busy today, but I walked past some queues and saw some ridiculous wait times. There's a lot of easy things they could do to fix that, but it requires not pinching every last penny.

[@Lunacrystal97]

No mention of Jaws 3D? 0/10

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I planned to write it into the script, but it got kind of lost. It's a pretty decent way of seeing clear footage of the old park though.

[@SuperBrainSandwich]

I've never been to Sea World because I've never liked the idea of using animals in theme park entertainment. It just seems cruel to me. It's the same reason I despise circuses. I greatly prefer zoos and aquariums; they're more about education and animal welfare.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

The orcas, since at least the 80s, were taken care of relatively well. I think the issue is that they just shouldn't be in captivity at all because you'll never meet their space requirements. SeaWorld has treated its animals well for a very long time and along with its rescue program, is still providing a better standard of care than most zoos and aquariums.

[@colinf2316]

Seems like the Orlando park is having a kind of rebirth. They're just replacing all the animal exhibits with rides and coasters that are ocean themed.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Is something like Penguin Trek worth a 60 minute wait when the park has low crowds though? Rides are great, but not when bad operations and underpaid staff get in the way.

[@krishnar1182]

I'll defer judgment until watching the second part, but from my perspective things are so much better now than they were 10-15 years ago. During holidays and weekends the park can be as busy as WDW and Universal, and there is so much more to do. My wife and I visited on a weekday in November 2014 and the place had a horrible "dead mall" feel to it. I've been on and off season since and once they moved past the Blackfish controversy and focused more on rides and entertainment things got much better in terms of attendance. The Sesame Street land has been so much fun for my young daughter. I miss the animal shows too but realistically there is not enough demand for them and the costs are high while the rides are much more profitable. In very recent years there has been a bit of a slump but so have other theme parks. It seems to me that SeaWorld Orlando knows where it wants to go and what it wants to be.

[@johnappleseed9546]

POSIEDONNNNN YEAHHHHHH

[@chanhjohnnguyen1867]

My grandma got her first job working there. She was Asian enough so she was sent to work in the japan themed pearl store lmao

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, that sounds like SeaWorld

[@cal6137]

After Blackfish i don't understand how people still give this company money

[@rosarolli]

From what I recall a lot of thing were false but a lot of the stuff was true as well

[@cal6137]

@rosarolli wow. so specific. the animals are dying and are not living their natural lives. even in zoos they don't treat them well so it's more believable that this for-profit company is building coasters instead of caring for these caged animals

[@Stagnant_Gravy]

Because some of the practices they claimed were deemed false (but not all), and they started focusing on rides instead of animals. Now they're more successful than they were before Blackfish.

[@Nr15121]

Blackfish was full of blatant lies and misinformation and seaworld does a ton of good

[@allen9099]

I have family that have done vet care in Seaworld. It is the gold standard and blackfish was misinformation and a lot of propaganda. Seaworld takes good care of its animals more than any zoo or aquarium. The interactions with orcas was to study and understand to help Orcas in the wild. So much misinformation. 😡

[@elisomers9597]

I cant do gee-ah-ja lake. Gee-ah-ga is how we say it

[@hayleywaalen2612]

Instead of Orcas, You get Dolphins.

[@JoeyAnimate]

You mispronounced geauga lake many times

[@womblestacker7993]

We go for rides now mor then animals

[@todayisanewday7]

Was just at seaworld yesterday and it was busy

[@DylanPorto45]

i miss being a young naive kid because the shows where they would ride the Orcas were honestly amazing…until they werent

[@dillontrainvids25]

Blackfish did a number on this place

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, but I think it was also one of many other large factors that have led it to where it is now.

[@MaadXXX]

My favorite memory of SeaWorld being associated/owned by Frito Lay is how they would always pass out free snacks on the way out of the park.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

They probably had a sponsorship deal or something, but they were never owned by Frito Lay. After Anheuser-Busch, they were thrown around to different private equity firms.