SeaWorld Orlando

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

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Park design

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

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Key West at SeaWorld

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

Shamu's Happy Harbor

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

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The Waterfront at SeaWorld

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

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Rides and attractions

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

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Rides

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

Animal exhibits

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

Combined attractions

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

Live entertainment

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

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

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

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Animal Inventory

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

Beluga Whales

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

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Atlantic & Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

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

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

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

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

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False Killer Whales

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Whale & Dolphin Stadium - Jozu (F)

Orcas

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

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Pacific Walruses

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

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

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Polar Bears

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

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Notes

External links

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

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Affiliate Summit Seaworld Adventure — mgrayflickr @ Flickr

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