60 Years of SeaWorld

Perhaps no set of theme park experiences has been more beloved and yet more controversial than SeaWorld, which commemorates its 60th anniversary this year. Visited by millions of people, we look at what has resonated with so many over the decades. We also look at how the disputed care of its orcas has in many ways led to greater understanding of these mammals and even protections. We talk about each of these parks, their offerings and how they have evolved. I also share my memories of visiting these parks for some five decades. There is so much that has been charming, and yet many things that separates the park from what really makes it succeed. Join us as we look back on 60 years of SeaWorld, and even consider the future of these parks.

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Milestones

• Before 1964: Four UCLA graduates including George Millay seek to build an underwater restaurant & marine show.
• SeaWorld San Diego opens on March 21st, 1964.
• Orca is captured and brought to San Diego in 1965 and is named Shamu.
• SeaWorld Ohio opens seasonally in Aurora in 1970.
• First Orca dies and is 1971 but name continues with other orcas
• Marine Mammal Protection Act is signed in 1972 but SeaWorld is given an economic-hardship exemption.
• George Millay works through Dick Nunis to put a park on WDW property. Card Walker turns down the idea.
• SeaWorld Orlando opens in 1973.
• George Millay is ousted in 1974. He goes on to build Wet ‘n’ Wild.
• Harcourt Brace Jovanovich purchases SeaWorld in 1976.
• Shamu Stadium opens in 1984.
• In January 1986 Epcot’s The Living Seas opens.
• Marineland of the Pacific in 1986. Mammals are moved down a few weeks later overnight.
• SeaWorld San Antonio opens in 1988.
• Anheuser Busch purchases SeaWorld in 1989.
• Atlantis, part boat ride and coaster, opens in 1998 in Orlando. Kraken follows two years later.
• Discovery Cove opens in 2000.
• SeaWorld Ohio sells to Six Flags in 2001.
• Tokyo DisneySea opens in 2001.
• Aquatica opens in 2008.
• After a merger of Anheuser with InBev in 2008, the park is sold to The Blackstone Group.
• Replacing Shamu’s Happy Harbor, Sesame Place opens in 2008 first in San Diego.
• Shamu as a brand is eventually retired after the 2010 death of Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld Trainer. Trainers are no longer allowed in the water. It is now referred to as Orca Encounter. The documentary Blackfish documents this.
• In 2017, Blackstone sold its stake to China’s Zhonghong Group. It has defaulted in its ownership. Three CEOs have been put in place over the last several years and the entire entity is now known as United Parks and Resorts. This includes not only the SeaWorld parks but Sesame Place attractions in San Diego and Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and the Busch Gardens parks in Williamsburg, Virginia and Tampa. 
• SeaWorld Abu Dhabi opens in May of 2023 without orcas.
• As of 2024 SeaWorld has saved some 41,000 orphaned and injured animals to include sea lions, dolphins and sea turtles. This has included partnering with entities such as The Living Seas at Epcot.

SeaWorld San Diego of my Youth

• What stands out is that SeaWorld of San Diego sits along Mission Bay, and is technically connected to the ocean.
• The park was intimate. Like other parks it is poorly designed for flow.
• The current dolphin stadium was the original Shamu Stadium
• Shamu had show names like “Shamu Goes Hollywood”, “Shamu for Mayor”, “Shamu Goes to College” and “Shamu the Yankee Doodle Whale”.
• In early days you could pet Shamu and feed the whale fish like you could with the dolphins.
• Brands like Starkist, Borden and Hawaiian Punch were synonymous with the SeaWorld San Diego park.
• Not one but two amazing dolphin shows, the Dolphin Lagoon and the Starkist Theater of the Sea.
• Atlantis Restaurant connected by skyway
• Sparklett’s fountain show
• Murata Pearl Japanese Village

My experience as a youngster visiting Sea World inspired me to do a dolphin science project in school. It was impressive enough that I was asked to go to visit other classrooms to share my passion for dolphins.

Later, a 1980’s return to the park showed a misdirection that was defined by a BMX show set in a New York street set. For me, this is when SeaWorld San Diego had “jumped the shark”.

SeaWorld today has 11 attractions to include 5 major coasters.

SeaWorld Ohio

This park struggled with weather. But it did have many of the kinds of exhibits known to SeaWorld parks at that time. That said, the park was eventually sold and evolved to other diminishing forms.

SeaWorld San Antonio

Also known as SeaWorld Texas, this park struggled with attendance especially in earlier years. Its location was far away from the rest of the San Antonio tourist district. The park suffered from design issues in terms of pedestrian flow. Originally, HBJ added oversize books that people would walk past to inspire reading. Since then there is an Aquatica water park and a Discovery Point, a much smaller Discovery Cove.

Sea World Orlando

• The original SeaWorld Orlando was made famous in part by Jaws 3 in 1983.
• Real growth came post Epcot when Shamu Stadium was built.
• Some aspects really mar the potential of this park:
  • Sprawling and poor pedestrian design
  • Too many roller coasters
  • Misplaced themes like Sesame Place and
  • Inconsistent theming and too often–The “Icee” look
  • Terribly expensive and poorly offered food
  • Struggling marine animal shows that do not connect emotionally. Horizons was a high point and the nighttime Shamu Rocks show was a low point.
• There are some real gems with this park:
  • Foundation of great landscaping
  • Intimate sea life aquariums like
  • Impressive Marine Animal Exhibits like the Manatee, Sea Lion, and Polar Bear, and Dolphin Lagoon
  • Christmas Holiday Shows
• Today, this park’s real threat is Epic Universe being built close by to this park.

Note that all SeaWorld parks are members of AZA, Association of Zoos and Aquariums

SeaWorld Orlando has 19 rides to include 6 major roller coasters.

Sea World in the World of Abu Dhabi

Key aspects of this new park:

• The park is owned by another firm, and the brand is licensed to that organization.
• It sits in Abu Dhabi next to Ferrari World, but most famed attractions are in Dubai. It is not far from the Indian Ocean on Yas Island.
• This park is the first one to not have Orcas.
• Originally this park was intended to be on a man-made island that would be in the familiar Shamu logo shape.
• It isn’t about rides as there are only six, to include one serious roller coaster.
• Because of desert heat, it is almost entirely indoors. It is labeled as the world’s largest indoor marine life theme park
• Hypersphere 360 offers the first dome ride theater.
• A 360 screen serves as the park’s hub and offers three running films.
• Endless Ocean is the world’s largest multi-species aquarium, with 6.6 million saltwater gallons and 1,800 species including sharks and rays.

Want to visit Disney by Land or by Sea?

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ZanollaTravel.com
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