I work as a scenic arts craftsperson at sea world orlando. And YES to all this. The Electric Ocean background music was OBNOXIOUS! And my department, the theming department, is packed with experienced experts in our field; we are highly skilled artists, a lot of us have master’s degrees and our starting pay is $15/hour! The turnover rate is obviously high. Also, I did a lot of stuff for Howl O Scream this year, and it was cool seeing some of my stuff in ur video. 😂
@@PoseidonEntertainment I think you’re gonna really like it. Three of the houses r almost the exact same, but the two new ones r awesome. The new scare zone is good and the changes we made to the frozen terror scare zone are phenomenal, I should know because I was responsible for implementing the frozen terror zone. 😂
Was at Seaworld eight or nine years ago. The human shows we saw were great! The landscaping was absolutely beautiful. I even thought the theme was nice. He did not particularly care for the way the large sea mammals were presented. This was before I was aware of blackfish, but it just kind of left me with an icky feeling interacting with the dolphins and seeing the small tank for the orcas. I agree there needs to be more dark rides or family friendly rides. The aquariums were great. Having the roller coasters is awesome for those who like roller coasters. Perhaps having a section of the park without rides, but maybe focus on the rehab of sea life would be better and more educational. but you really shouldn’t have a dolphin nursery right under a roller coaster. The optics of that are just bad.
1. More animal education, less shows. 2.Take a break from coasters and implement more dark rides, every single park in the chain needs one. 3. Keep adding/improving yearly events and festivals. They honestly have some of the best festivals in the country. 4. Quality of life improvements like refurbishing old areas, adding shade structures, benches, and more quality food items at dining locations. If they can focus on these things I think it’s a recipe for success. As a pass holder it’s still my favorite park to just grab a drink and hang out.
These parks desperately need no-height-reatrictions dark rides. You can't have a family park without rides that people who don't like or can't ride coasters, like grandparents or folks like me. There was no bigger disappointment than realizing I have to wait years to take my kid on the Yoshi ride at Epic Universe because of a height requirement.
@@neekMarieM14 Just looked it up and was shocked to see the height requirement wow. But yeah I agree, the whole family deserves to get out of the sun for a bit and enjoy a ride together. It’s something all the parks outside of Disney need to work on.
Busch williamsburg and seaworld orlando had family dark rides but both of them got closed. Darkastle got replaced with a coaster and Antarctica is pretty much dead even if Seaworld won’t admit it.
They will never go back into animal education or animals in general. And the biggest reason not noted in the videos is that the 3rd party company that rescued the animals for the shows went under during the pandemic. That’s why the animal shows like pet shenanigans are over/never coming back. I used to work marketing for them through a creative agency. We launched all their 2020-2022 projects.
One other cost-cutting maneuver was turning off the AC at a number of resturants and indoor viewing spaces. It's very difficult to cool down in the parks right now, which causes people to leave early. It's a ridiculous thing to do in the hot Florida weather.
@@PoseidonEntertainment At Busch Garden's in Tampa. The hospitality house and tiger viewing areas used to be air conditioned. Other places, such as Crown Colony, Dragon Fire Grille, and some of the gift shops used to be very cold and were great ways to recover from the heat. But now they have have chnage the AC settings so that it's usually in the lower 80s upper 70s inside. This is better for the environment for sure, but not great for someone who is overheated from the Florida weather.
Yeah the idea of underpaid not caring staff especially for rides is absolutely terrifying!!!!!!! How can they claim to have record earnings but pay their staff such a crap wage.... and expect things to run properly
You see it a lot in jobs that run the risk of other people's safety. I'm not shocked amusement parks are some of them. I really hope (highly doubt it though) with the lack of staff businesses will start to realize paying staff better wages is better for their profits
@@randomtinypotatocried thinking about it now i feel kinda dumb for thinking otherwise but for some reason i figured they would get paid at least a living wage. Min wage in canada is 15 i dont know if you guys have a simular system in the states lol
I had a platinum pass for nearly two years plus the all season quick que. We literary got chased off two rides at SeaWorld San Diego by staff that were overwhelmed by their assignments. Didn't intend for that to be our last visit; but the email came the next week reducing the benefits of our passes. Haven't been back since.
@@socal_haunts_and_parks wow as if they were so rude. They need to take better care of their staff. All the reports of staff getting injured is terrifying. As a kid these places seemed like dream jobs. Now its the stuff of nightmares.
I work in a hospital in America and a lot of people have to work Doordash or other side gigs to get by. Then they come to work tired and exhausted and they're the ones trusted to run the respirators for patients who can't breathe on their own or stick patients with needles to get blood. America cares more about profit over safety in all factors.
I grew up with Busch Gardens Tampa in my backyard (ok, 45 minutes away...), but rarely visit SeaWorld Orlando. I have received advanced degrees in zoo and aquarium studies, and have been in the industry for many years. I recently just visited SeaWorld San Diego, and I was actually shocked at the poor maintenance. I remember these parks as being beautiful, but this was just shocking. Do not get me wrong, their Animal Care is really good, and the enclosures were well maintained. but the walkways, the landscaping, the painting, they were all atrocious. it very much reminded me of six flags back in the late 90s/ early 00s. They need to step up their game if they plan to survive.
The contrast between the animal exhibits and general park operations is jarring. At least they have something positive to speak about in regards to the animals. Their care certainly seems better than most zoos I've visited.
as someone who worked over there in the summer, its cuz we get paid 15 an hour which isnt enough to deal with the shitty management . the guests are guests, but the supervisors / management is the real issue . in the culinary part anyways ..
I’m quite the opposite but have a similar take. I’m 30 minutes out from Orlando’s location and visited a few months back, Im not a animal expert but they seemed fine, issue I saw was everything felt aged like you said from walkways, signs, rides. The antartic ride looks abandoned as it practically is.unless your a coaster nut there’s no return value between now and 5-10 years ago. I felt I saw it all in one day back then and Resaw it all in 2 or 3 hours the last time I went and without more family rides it’ll be awhile till I’m back. A parks not all about the thrill rides.
I went to Discovery Cover back in 2019 with my daughter and her grandparents. I have I.B.S. and Barrett's esophagus long story short I ended up having a I.B.S. attack and had to sit in the car while my family enjoyed the park. When I returned home I wrote a email to SeaWorld explaining what happened, SeaWorld offered me and my daughter free tickets to come back. I could not believe they would do that for me. Compare that to Disney who nickels and dimes you.
Universal isn't great either at least historically, fell on a wet escalator and had to have my leg stiched up. They didn't even cover the ambulance that they called. Sea world had a better experience for me, fell in the stingray tank as a kid and got a free shirt and towel. Yes I am accident prone.
Disney used to be like that. Back when they used to do that 4 day park pas for Florida residents, they gave us a free day back after my mom contacted them, explaining that we had to leave early one day because my grandfather was in critical condition and ended up passing away while we were leaving to try and see him. They'd never do that nowadays.
I grew up with annual passes to SeaWorld San Diego in the 90's and 2000's and the park was kept immaculate. I hadn't been for about fifteen years or so, but recently went earlier this year and the park was in terrible shape, now I understand why.
They furloughed many of the longtime employees that kept the park afloat. The ones who actually fixed issues rather than let them be like broken nets, water quality, and facilities.
SeaWorld San Antonio is a shell of its former times. 90s/early 2000s was peek periods. It was difficult to find seating as the shows were always full. Currently few rows ever fill up and lots of sections will remain completely empty. The park and small food shops are mostly closed. Outside of Sesame Street portion, there are entire parts of the park that look like ghost town with few guest walking around.
Ex employee here who can confirm that it was the batteries getting damaged that led to penguins being a never-opening-again ride. Must have been some super expensive batteries @~@
I worked for SeaWorld for half a decade, and still hold it in incredibly high regard, both for their theme parks, as well as their conservation and animal education projects. One thing that has always stuck with me when I think of SeaWorld is the vibe, or at least the vibe it used to have. SeaWorld is a relaxing park, which is as perfect for an afternoon stroll and watching sea lions swim around as it is for thrills - if Disney is a preppy college student, and Universal is the counterculture punk rocker or metalhead, SeaWorld is the laid back surfer dude. So then, that laid back vibe is where they shine with their theming. Key West is one of my favorite themed lands in any theme park, and you touched on the steel drum music that sets the tone of the area. Discovery Cove and Aquatica also have a similar vibe, and all of their parks really feel like a counterpoint to the stress and planning of Disney, or the constant thrills and energy of Universal. This is how SeaWorld can set themselves apart, and become a true destination in their own right. Everything from the music to the landscaping to the lighting to the story told by the ride queues (typically the only place SeaWorld had a chance to tell a ride's story if they're only opening roller coasters) should have that calmer vacation vibe, and marketing should drive that point home.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg definitely has been struggling with staffing issues since the pandemic. It’s most obvious when you look at the food stall closures and long lines. There’s also been a lack of food options lately because of the closures. They definitely need to raise the wage for their employees and increase the number of staff to lessen the burden placed on those few who currently work there.
Do they have a program for foreign workers like Cedar Point does? I imagine there are a few internstional enthusiasts who wouldn't working there for a season.
I was curious about their operations there. Do you still think its worth visiting though? Its been so long since I've been, but I would be interested in going next year.
I cannot speak for ride operators etc but I have many friends that have had to leave the zookeeping field in order to find living wages. They never want to, as they spent lot of time and schooling and passion to have a degree certifying them to be Caregivers of Animals and to best improve their welfare. The schooling and job requirements unfortunately do not equal the "return on investment" to borrow corporate terms. As a caregiver, landscaper, educator, trainer, chef, cleaner etc. Many have to struggle with a loss of identity after they leave or incredible grief at the loss of an animal they cared for. Fear of speaking out for Keeper Welfare and getting blacklisted/replaced from a field they love and have worked hard in leads so many to not speak publicly about the growing issue.
@@jordanberndt4157 I’m not sure. I know that they tend to recruit locals from the Hampton Roads area through job fairs and targeted ads on Facebook. In their job postings, they seemed to be looking for high school students and recent grads.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I would say yes, but I feel like my opinion is slightly influenced by the nostalgia of visiting Busch Gardens as a kid. Overall, it is still an enjoyable experience to visit the park. The landscaping is beautiful and the newer rides are pretty enjoyable. The best experience I’ve had recently was at Christmastown as they had a lot of local vendors and smaller experiences throughout the park. During the summer, it was a little less enjoyable because of the crowds. I remember that on the day I visited all the parking lots became full. If you do visit, I would say just expect long lines & make sure to buy tickets when they are discounted.
I worked at SeaWorld Orlando as a photographer last year from May to December. It was a lot of fun working there but yeah there was problems especially in the higher ups. Also that Blackfish documentary still hung over like a shadow. Though it was fun as a photographer being able to interact with people all over the world who still came to the park as part of their Orlando vacation. One thing surprisingly that I found out from guests especially around Christmastime was that they really liked going to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens’ Christmas events because it was less corporate and a lot more family friendly being way cheaper and less crowded then the Christmas events at Disney and Universal. Also I don’t know where SeaWorld Orlando can put another roller coaster. They put Ice Breaker in a squeezed area between the Orca Stadium, the Waterfront and Bayside Stadium.
Have you been keeping up with the construction of the new coaster? It sits alongside the parking lot and will take up the pathway between The Sea of Power and The Sea of Delight.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I worked at SeaWorld when I was going to UCF. when I left SeaWorld I moved back home to Tampa for my final semester. I haven’t seen much about the park since.
God I love this channel. As soon as I see a thumbnail of a new video its like my whole nervous system lights up and I immediately click to watch. It's like feeling a huge pulse of energy start in my head and end in my right hand clicking the video.
I am so glad you mentioned the poor capacity!! I went to Seaworld about 2 months ago, and I had a great time but the fact riders had to get onto the ride themselves and the way the workers seemed they didn’t want to be there rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t blame the workers, it’s just I feel like if Seaworld treated their workers better and fixed the capacity issues it would be an overall improvement to the park.
I have often wondered if the true issue is "poorly treated employees" or "poor quality employees"? Would increasing wages "make better" employees or would they "bring in better" employees? I have been to parks with min wage employees that have been AWESOME and I have been to parks with above min wage employees that have been HORRIBLE. Most publicly traded parks are just trying to maximize profits to keep the shareholders happy and not maximizing the guest experience for longevity.
@@Azi_OS So would a shift to $15/hr. lead to the employees suddenly become "better" employees? Or would it lead to "better" employees coming to the job? Or would it lead to retaining "better" employees? Back when I worked Min wage ($3.75 was the starting "probation" wage with $4.25 being the Min wage) the employees didn't magically become "better" after the Min wage became $4.75 or $5.15. Now some employees had their hours cut, those employees eventually "left".
@@GLJosh "Retaining better employees" seems the closest to what would happen with a pay raise, but I also believe it could involve all three options. There are quite a few quality employees already at SeaWorld Orlando that are just unable to work well with the many understaffing situations. It is a job that deals with guest service, after all. Guest service can become a highly stressful job, especially when dealing with angry guests and specific ride operation procedures simultaneously. At only 12/hr, the stress of guest hostility can push away good employees who handle the situation right. A pay increase to $15/hr could encourage employees like these to remain employed at SeaWorld Orlando instead of going off to Universal. Staffing on most of the rides has seemed to run daily at the bare minimum, ex: Kraken having someone in the control room and two on the station platform, Journey To Atlantis losing a position outside at the second drop, and multiple Sesame Street attractions closed daily. Less staff will lead to more work split among fewer positions. $15/hr would bring in more people wanting to work to decrease the staffing issues. Honestly, I don't think SeaWorld Orlando seems to care too much about the guest experience as long as they see green for those shareholders, and this can also add to employees feeling undervalued. As stated previously, the current hourly pay at SWO for regular ops and workers is $12/hr (Universal Orlando is hiring at $15, I believe), even though the minimum wage in Florida is $11/hr. While Amendment 2 slowly leads minimum wage to become $15/hr by 2026, the current living wage for a single adult in Orange county (according to livingwage.mit.edu) is $18.19/hr, full time. SWO only offers part-time for their regular positions, so "SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment" doesn't have to pay benefits to many employees. SeaWorld isn't treating its employees with the amount of pay or respect they really should be, and the resulting quality and short staffing are a result. Increasing standard wages to $15/hr should increase available staff, while simultaneously improving morale among already quality employees by reducing their workload. Sorry for text wall, also what did you work for $4.25?
The King Tut walkthrough was so fun when it was running at 100%. Each room had narration and light queues that I loved as a kid, and you had to stay in each room as the story rolled out. Eventually, they just left the doors open and ran all the talking on loop, so no one could really get the experience unless you knew what you were looking for.
I vaguely remember being really young and being scared of it when each section would play out. I then remember being disappointed when I went when I was older and it was just a straight walk-through. IMO there's a lot of wasted space in Egypt, especially where Akbar's Tours used to be.
Egypt doesn't feel like Egypt anymore imo. It's like the coasters and carnival games bleed into the themed areas. And the colors; a "Violent visual experience" indeed [23:42] @@PoseidonEntertainment
I was an attractions attendant at SeaWorld Orlando. Management, higher ups and a lot of their policies were the biggest issue. They’re were some good ones but a lot of bad ones. The work environment was not good. If Ambassadors who worked at Mako, infinity, wanted a hot meal they would have to walk all the way to manta’s break room just to get a hot meal. And when we did do that, our supervisors would get mad at us for taking long. We did have a break area for those who were at the mako infinity side. Which was basically a 7-eleven. There was a few micro waves, sometimes we didn’t have plates to place our food in. Funny cause the break room is right BEHIND Infinity falls’ food place. Never really got why they couldn’t just give us hot food there. Park quality is almost ALWAYS understaffed. That’s why the park can look dirty a lot of the times. I have so much respect for my PQ folks because they’re in the heat all day being OVERworked. The rides can also be understaffed. There would be no greeter and for some rides like Mako and Icebreaker we can’t allow loose articles cause of safety reasons. So ultimately guests would come up with unusually sized bags and complain why they can’t ride which causes guest situations. The quality of life in the park is actual garbage. Imagine opening a new ride ADVERTISED for 48 inch kids and going back to 54 OVERNIGHT, YUP OVERNIGHT. And who had to deal with the guests? Not the higher ups lmao. Us baby. Folks at SeaWorld can’t even open a ride properly. And ofc they make it hard for us to accommodate guests. When there’s a guest situation there would never be enough or ZERO quick queues we can give to them. The quick queue station by ice breaker works EVERY NOW AND THEN. The lockers were another big issue that they don’t seem to care about. When lockers would get full at one ride we told guests that they should go to ANOTHER attractions lockers and come back. Once they do that, OOPS our ride is down sorry folks. Thankfully somethings have changed since I left. They now serve hot food, and the point system for employees is actually fair similar to universals. I’m glad I left.
I've heard some pretty similar issues from other people who have worked there. It's astounding that they even have enough people to operate at all, considering how poorly it seems to be run.
I worked as a ride operator at Seaworld San Diego after the pandemic. Morale among everyone was down for many reasons. Mainly, just knowing that zoo sky tram operators get paid over 3 dollars more an hour than ride shift leads at seaworld was frustrating. They also had very minimal staffing, leading to a very fast paced but inefficient load cycle. They also cheap out on parts for their rides, causing popular rides like Journey to Atlantis to break down very often, and leaving us to deal with sending angry guests out of lines. Just raising their wages would be helpful, more people would want to go to work and give better experiences to the guests.
This summer, I went to SeaWorld and I had a blast. I first rode Kraken and the last ride was Manta, both very fun coasters. Unexpectedly, it was crowded, even the orca show, which was a surprise to me. Due to the fact, that I didn’t know people still went to those shows after the tragic incident. Overall its a very good park and I like how they are now focusing on coasters rather than marine animals.
I went once during the summer and hated the experience. I know they're not making any money, but weekdays right now are actually fantastic, despite my complaints in the video. I've walked onto every coaster and there are essentially no people in the parks.
Hell no, I think it was better when SW was focusing on marine mammals. I mean why is it called "SeaWorld" to begin with? I worry that SW will cave in to the activists and phase out every animal that they have. 😬
Montu was actually yellow from the beginning (I went when it opened, when I was a kid). The "sandy" color was a result of massive fading. If you look at old promo footage or merch, you can see the signature yellow and purple color scheme.
I didn't realize that was the case. I just went and looked at video from the opening year and it's certainly a less contrasting shade though. I get what they were going for with the new shade, but I just find it really off-putting. The old yellow was more subtle it seems.
One thing as a photographer. Me and other photographers there at SeaWorld Orlando had to operate the cash register at the photo booths as well as take pictures. We made $12/hr. But… they have people in the position of photo sales that is their job specifically. They made a dollar more and hour then the photographers who were doing 2 jobs. Oh yeah the Electric Ocean music on repeat was really annoying!!!
Management of the parks seems so fundamentally broken. I understand needing to save on costs after the shut-down, but it shouldn't come from stiffing the employees.
SeaWorld while not on the same level as Disney or Universal as a must see destination for Orlando (and heavily surrounded by controversy), is still a fun place and a nice park to walk around. Hope something turns these parks around for the much better...
Wonderful soundtrack selection! I feel you did a great job expressing the feeling you want the parks to invoke with the music you selected. Keep us the great work!
Once SWOrlando gets the new roller coaster opened next year they really need to focus on theming, atmosphere, and ride ops like you said. It’s a solid park overall, just needs to be focused in the right direction.
I really enjoy your videos and I’m happy you’re verbalizing so many things that I’ve been concerned about. 1 correction, though - the indoor aquarium in the arctic area is actually open. You have to enter it from the gift shop (essentially going backwards from the exit of Wild Arctic.)
You are spot-on with your commentary - especially about the music. We were at Busch Gardens Tampa last week and felt most sorry for the animals. For example, the poor kangaroos and wallabies not only have to endure a crowded bare-dirt enclosure, but now have to put up with constant loud, bass-heavy music.
@@PoseidonEntertainment The animals on the Serengeti Plain have plenty of space - it should be the envy of every zoo in the country. But Kangaloom, not so much. Red kangaroos in the wild have a home range of 2 to 3 square miles. The half-acre or so they have to roam around in is not enough in my opinion, but they did seem content enough. Perhaps they could let them run around on the Serengeti every now and then...
I would just like to mention a few things, Wild artic’s animal exhibit is still open, just with a confusin entrance through it’s gift shop. Also, SeaWorld Orlando does have onsite accommodations and transport from them to the parks. They have a few hotels on offer, but they are nothing special really other than the fact you get free quick queue if you stay there.
The theming for Invadr vs Pantheon at BGW is like night and day. It's my home park, been going at least once a year since I was a little kid, and going tomorrow for the first time since Fall 2019 - will definitely be interesting to see.
As someone who worked in SeaWorld San Diego’s entertainment department from 2016-2020, yeah things are still bad over there today. Like current Disney, SW corporate is too scared to try anything new and constantly throwing out good ideas/pitches from anyone outside their circle (a coworker friend of mine had several great Joe Rohde-tier ideas for Lunar New Year Celebration, but they never gave him the time of day). Hopefully they’ll purge the excess yes-men and bean counters on their corporate board. Oh, and Submarine Quest should NOT have gone as far as it did from development to creation! Any competent engineer/creative designer would have killed it in pre-production.
Hi, Last year for Spring Break, a group of 12 of us went to Orlando and decided to go to Sea World. We all had a great time there. Disney and Universal were not an option because they were outrageously expensive. We bought the quick line unlimited pass but it turned out to be unnecessary because the park was surprisingly not crowded at all. I thought the coasters were great and the animal shows were entertaining. We also got the meal package, which was a great value, but it does limit where in the park you can eat , and which menu items you can order. But overall, it was a great experience and I would definitely love to go back one day.
This is my second year as a Anual pass holder to SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica, as well as my second year for UOAP. So far, I can see the desperate need for SeaWorld to add more theming around the park. I also seriously wondered what was going on with the wild artic and empire of the penguin simulator. I wish if SeaWorld opened those 2 dark rides, because it gives a chance for people to cool off in the heat, or a chance to escape the frequent rain. I would also love if SeaWorld started to focus more on indoor rides after this 2023 floor less coaster gets done building, but overall I still think their parks are worth going to, the quality is still there even if it is a little downgraded, and they aren't charging Disney prices either.
The potential is definitely there, but I'm afraid that the experience will continue declining. I agree that those two attractions should be open as well. I didn't care for them, but they weren't outright terrible either.
I recently went back to SeaWorld and attempted to go on Empire of The Penguins Attraction. Idk why it was closed. But the penguins are still good to see. Maybe the reason why it's down is because the ride was closed for nearly a entire year and the veichles are having trouble moving around?
I personally am a huge Zoo/aquarium fan and am currently working at the Bronx Zoo. I have been both to SeaWorld San Diego, and Busch Gardens Tampa. I love both the rides and the animals. The rides add a whole different perspective of the parks and adds to the zoo/aquarium (Which I was visiting for. Had no Idea they had rides before visiting lol) I personally wish that there were more experiences like the SeaWorld parks, Busch Gardens, and Animal Kingdom out there. (Off topic but I think the exhibits at animal kingdom are underrated)
I went to Orlando last year and SeaWorld was a really nice park and enjoyed it more than my San Diego version. I definitely would love to go back. Also BGT is such an amazing park. I really loved the animal exhibits and the drive from Orlando wasn't bad at all.
I think that if SeaWorld Orlando and BGT were switched, Busch would pull in higher attendance. I agree that the drive isn't bad, but I still think it closes off a lot of the tourist market. I'm curious if Brightline will make any difference in visitation though. There don't seem to be concrete plans as to where the Tampa stations will be, but one near Busch and USF seems like a lucrative opportunity.
I was a SeaWorld SD passholder up till a few months ago (so I was there pretty often through the introduction and failure of submarine explorer) and honestly, the park has gone absolutely downhill since they changed things post-blackfish. I was relatively young at the time but I remember LOVING the dolphin show they had before the current one. The story and minimal but well-executed props and enjoyable human acrobatics combined with dolphins and birds was truly one of my favorite things. They still have the same stage layout and even the platforms for the human acrobats. Also, the Ocean Explorer land took over the place of a really peaceful display/home for the animal ambassadors and other small animals (poison dart frogs and sloths being the main ones I remember) that was located in the old stables for the Clydesdale draft horses. It used to be a really great spot for me to see their saw-whet owl Ruby, who is now completely inaccessible unless you manage to catch the attention of and ask one of the caretakers behind dolphin stadium. The whole place had been a really cool exhibit and now its place has been completely taken by the abandoned show building of Submarine Explorer, which I rode once before it closed permanently and it was a HORRIBLE experience (the touch screens didn't work and were hard to see in the bright sunlight and the projection scenes didn't play until after the car moved past them) which is really sad to see since it took over one of the gems of the park. Also outside of the Ocean Explorer area and the entrance, a lot of the signage and decor has gotten really sad looking outside of the holidays and though I love the themeing of the Wild Arctic area from the viewing platforms for the belugas, walruses, and seals(that replaced the polar bears), the ride's been closed since the pandemic closudre and the few interactive "press button to play sound" objects by each of the viewing windows don't work. Its just really sad seeing things go downhill like this, and partially because of there being other nearby options and being bored of the park and partially because of the decline, I don't really plan on visiting again for a while, and the opening of Emperor hasn't really been a draw for anyone in my family.
I work culinary at seaworld San Antonio and yes to pretty much all of this video! We having a ride issue here too. Despite being the biggest seaworld park out of the 3. There isn’t much rides to choose from and room to put them in. The new swing ride tidal surge looks tacked on next to bayside stadium. With wave breaker, it made the once lovely lake a little crowded (at least IMO) I’m very interested to how seaworld will go in the future. I hope they add more stage shows, we have two theaters and we barely use them for anything anymore except for holiday related performances.
Out of my desire to visit San Diego and revisit Williamsburg, I have to admit that San Antonio is lowest on my list. A few of the coasters look alright, but I agree that it definitely needs more.
Went to SWSD and it was just sad and bad. The aquariums are run down, food service was inefficient and gross, the grounds were dirty, and the Orcas/dolphins were just really heartbreaking. We'll never go back. You can judge a park based on videos because they usually only want to show the good side.
I went to SeaWorld in CA in 2017. I left the park at dusk to miss ELECTRIC OCEAN. It is good to be there at night to hear hundreds of decibels of sound backed by the colorfulness!
I have many fond memories of SeaWorld Orlando from my childhood. The park was affordable enough that my single mom could get funcards for us, and we'd be able to go back sometimes on the weekends. I did a middle school field trip when Blackfish had first come out, but I was a little too young to watch the doc and see what it was all about. In 2018 I did another behind-the-scenes tour and was really impressed, not only with the facilities and the care for the animals but also with the educated employees who have so much to teach us about the exhibits. I'd love to see a little more care and theming put into the park, especially around Journey to Atlantis and the penguin exhibit. Maybe they could bring the puffins back, which I remember them having back in the day. The Wild Arctic pavilion is also in major need of some restructuring, the main building there was one of my favorites when I was a kid (belugas, walruses, polar bears!) and it's sad to see the building go mostly unused. Overall great insights, I'm planning another trip to SeaWorld in a few weeks and I'll definitely be keeping this video in mind while I'm there!
As a ride operator at Busch gardens Tampa, we take the no phone policy very seriously, we also don’t play around with anything that’s unsafe, if you ever see anything unsafe let a ride operator know that you want to talk to a supervisor and corrective action will be taken almost immediately
I'm a regular visitor from the UK and Sea World was always my favourite park to visit. Not so much this time, it felt like they were charging more money for less. The toilets were gross and not cleaned, the staff generally did not seem to care and looked miserable. What's happened to the shows? Now 15 minutes for orca encounter? Felt like a park that has run out of ideas so they build another roller coaster and revert back to the same old routine in some of the shows. This park has always held a special place in my heart and it felt like a part of it had been ripped out 💔
Yeah, as a cast member in Disney World, only paying 12/hr is laughably bad. Why would I ever work a job in Seaworld when I can work in Universal or Disney for 15/hr? And why would I ever work at Seaworld or Universal when I can work at Disney where they have strong, entrenched unions? 15/hr is not really enough to afford living in central Florida, but 12/hr? Forget it. You're going to get kicked out of your apartment because you can't afford rent.
I've known people who have worked for SeaWorld and even then, I've heard crazy things about their staffing. People are apparently expected to work less than 32 hours a week even if they're scheduled more and the burden is put on them to find a way out of their shifts.
@@PoseidonEntertainment That is ridiculous. If I'm scheduled more than 32 hours I'm not going to give those hours away. ESPECIALLY on such a low paying job as 12/hr. Forget it. If they try to fire me over it, I'll just say "Ok cool, I'm going to work at Disney. Bye." Employers don't realize that in the current economy, they can't treat their employees badly because there is an abundance of jobs, especially in central Florida. Disney is literally always hiring. And the unions are negotiating for hopefully better pay RIGHT NOW.
i love your videos! been watching you for awhile now and i hope you get even more fans, your content is so well researched and your videos are entertaining. the themepark niche on youtube is always so fun so i hope you gain notoriety through it! ❤
I have never been to Busch gardens howl o scream, but went to seaworlds last year and found it to be scarier than HHN. Maybe it was the fact they sent you into houses alone with just your party or that a lot of scare zones were in more desolate areas of the park and unexpected. The food was also pretty good from what I remember, but I haven't seen the parks during the day in a long time, and maybe the lack of upkeep also added to the creep factor lol
Howl-o-Scream is definitely a different type of experience. As much as I enjoy HHN, their house designs and highly scripted scares make them quite predictable. The ability to be more spontaneous and give a bit of agency to the scare actors allows Howl-o-Scream to be worth going to as a different type of haunt experience. Still, if you can get to Busch Gardens, I highly recommend it. I enjoyed SeaWorld's version for what it was, but the Busch Gardens event is much more ambitious. I'll be going to both, as well as Hollywood's HHN and Knott's Scary Farm. I'm thinking of producing a video next month comparing and contrasting the different styles and experiences that result from them.
I used to go to sea world San Diego growing up in the early 2000’s and went with my nieces just before the shutdown again, and it was honestly a depressing experience. I don’t know how they’ll be able to keep people coming in
Thank you for your videos. Find them very interesting and informative and agree with all your points. Our family went late Aug/early Sept and we have 2 young children. We enjoyed the shows and wasn’t crowded. We also stayed for the fireworks and had a great time.
I worked at Busch Gardens Tampa for a few years during college and it’s exactly like you said. The employees are very lazy and unmotivated. I felt like there was not much training and a lack of communication throughout the park
First time I ever went to SeaWorld, specifically Orlando, was back in the summer of 2008, when my family and i were doing a mixed Universal and SeaWorld week. We had only ever done Disney and sometimes Universal each time we went and we wanted a change. I loved what SeaWorld was back then, as i love aquariums and this felt like a massive aquarium park with some rides here and there. I didn't hardly even go on any rides. Just seeing the wildlife and how everything was set up, I was enthralled. And after I went to San Antonio in 2014 and then Orlando in 2016 and 2018. Each time I've gone since 2008, it has dropped in quality for me personally for the reason why I would want to go to it. As someone who is not big on super huge rides like Kraken and Mako, I see no reason to go back to a SeaWorld park after seeing the shrunken Exhibits. Even the ones that were expanded are not as amazing. The Shark exhibit feels much smaller than before, and while the Penguin exhibit was expanded, the actual focus on the animals are diluted by a horrible track less ride beforehand
I visited SeaWorld Orlando for the first time last year and really liked it. After spending three days at Universal, it was nice to be at a park where you could see some animals and ride some thrilling coasters. I've been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg a couple of times and think that park is spectacular.
I like the low-to-the-ground, high speed tight turns of Pantheon at Williamsburg, even if it is built on just a grassy field. Some Greek/Roman ruins and rockwork built around the tight weaving track would be all they need.
Someone may have already mentioned this, but the animal portion of Wild Arctic at SeaWorld Orlando (near Ice Breaker), with the beluga whales, walruses, etc... isn't actually closed at all. The entrance to the animal exhibits is now inside the gift shop, so a lot of people seem to miss it, but it's all fully intact and operating normally. Only the motion simulator part of the attraction is closed. Great video though! I live in central Florida and visit SWO and/or BGT at least a couple times a month. I learned a lot through this video, especially about the behind-the-scenes issues, and I agree with most of the positive and negative points you made about the current state of the parks. They're still great places to visit and I always enjoy my time there, but there's so much wasted potential, which is frustrating to see.
I’ve been to Sea World Orlando for the first time in 2005. Back then the Orca show was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was pure magic. To see the trainers jump out of the water standing on the top of an orca’s mouth, just wow, it was so awesome. We didn’t need to ride anything, just see the show. It was easily my favorite thing in Orlando. The next time we visited it was 2012 I think, it was after the horrible accident and thus the show was changed so people are not in the water with the whales. It was still a great show but it could never compare to the original. The OG show was like watching something out of this world, I sat there and couldn’t believe my eyes. Seeing that amazing connection between a person and such a giant animal, that level of trust. This was a long show and required so much skill from its cast while holding their breath and diving in and out of the water in such a well choreographed dance. You just had to see it to believe it. Since my second visit I haven’t returned yet, I love roller coasters but when I go to Orlando I have a limited amount of time and I can’t do everything, it’s just not worth it for me. I truly wish someone can find a way to bring back that amazing show while still keeping the cast safe. For me if that happens I’m going ASAP. Old Sea World was just so great.
I agree. That accident shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The marine animal shows should include some educational facts about the featured animals in addition to being entertaining so the shows could have some edutainment.
I remember Seaworld having this show called blue horizons and it was such a top tier show. Even on Disney level. I wish they kept it. Even just having the dancers and performers only and no dolphins wouldve still be amazing
I vaguely remember the show and liking it a lot. The new show is just titled "Dolphin Adventures" and is largely educational without any spectacle. While I appreciate that the show is interested in informing visitors about SeaWorld's excellent standard of care for the animals, it could certainly be a bit more exciting.
I loved Blue Horizons. But it lost some of its luster when the blue dolphin and condor died within months of each other. Those were my favorite parts of the show.
I enjoy Seaworld and have since I was little, but the abudance of thrill rides holds it back from being truly great. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind thrill rides existing and am happy that coaster enthusiasts get so much to enjoy. But there’s so many coasters and thrill rides that there’s virtually nothing for people like me who can’t handle coasters and thrill rides, and there’s definitely other people out there who feel the same way (The only non thrill rides at Seaworld are just flat rides, most of which are designed for little kids, and the rapids). On the bright side though, I do enjoy the atmosphere and the aquatic life
My very first job was at SeaWorld San Diego, in the AB hospitality center and then seasonally after that in Attractions, including Wild Arctic opening team 😅 Years later, living in San Antonio briefly and looking for an evening part time gig, I went to an entertainment audition for howl-o-scream at the San Antonio park and ended up working there that season, but had to quit thereafter - they did decide to keep/transfer me to another area (attractions) but it went…nowhere. The most disorganized, lackadaisical “training” process ever, no management anywhere to be found like ever, no proper introductions to this slew of kids I was supposed to be supervising lol….and that was a huge 👀😳 to me having just recently come from being a Disney CM. A hot mess I tell you, def was not like that in the late 90s, so i feel like if it is like that at a guest facing, regular employee level/perspective… 🥴 *edit* to add - that last part may be sea world in general, now, or it may be San Antonio theme parks as a whole because I can attest to SFFiesta also being a hot mess 😅
I get the impression that most SeaWorld parks are run like this from what I hear from others. That's the easiest issue to fix, which I think would really change the narrative around them. If they had invested staff, the park experience could be so much better, resulting in a stronger reputation and attendance.
One thing of note is that I feel Busch Gardens Tampa is in rather safe territory. I’m a regular there and every visit always felt clean and just fine. Now that doesn’t deny that there might be clear issues under the surface, as I’m really there for the coasters, but during the summer, BGT was packed. That park draws in regular crowds, and with Howl-O-Scream right now, the park is in a good area at the moment, in my opinion.
My home park is Six Flags Great America, so I am very much used to seeing lines at all of the attractions, but at my visit at SeaWorld San Antonio, I was shocked to see that the level of theming was the same, while the prices and food is much more expensive. However, there were no lines whatsoever, so I was able to get many rides on Texas Stingray.
I worked there for over a year, and honestly the worst part of it was leadership. The job itself was 10x more enjoyable than my job at Disney, where I was doing the same role. The mismanagement, the anti-worker decisions, and the keeping of large animals really hurt the company so much. The park is fun to visit, and the job I did there was so unique and interesting. I just wish they would pull it together from a leadership perspective, because I likely would have enjoyed working there for many years.
I remember visiting Sea World San Diego as a child just three years after it opened. My family enjoyed the animal and water fountain shows and especially the hydrofoil ride on Mission Bay!
You hit nail on the head when you mentioned SeaWorld closing attractions early without schedule. I have encountered that on a regular basis. Short staffing too. They never have enough people working to direct you where to be seated. I am definitely seeing what you are talking about. Bathroom cleanliness is an issue at their parks as well, due to short staffing I’m sure. I go to Universal and the restrooms are always clean and the park is fully staffed.
I've been to 2 SeaWorlds: one in FL and another in CA but not the one in TX. Extinct is the one in OH which turned into a Six Flags park south near a Great Lake.🐬
"This is terrible. Please stop this." :) SeaWorld has become a "at least one day every Orlando visit" park instead of a "maybe once every ten years park" to me. This may be more due to the decline of WDW, which I had been visiting since the 1970s. In the last few years, I’ve had my first ever annual passes to Universal and SeaWorld, and haven’t gone to WDW. The me from a decade ago would never believe it. I hope they make it.
They could be so great, they just need better leadership. SeaWorld Orlando is such a fundamentally good park. I was surprised by how much I like Ice Breaker, even though I'm otherwise not a fan of Premier's coasters.
@@PoseidonEntertainment The funny thing is, I *hate* that it is becoming just another roller coaster park. In our last three Orlando trips, I don’t think we’ve even ridden anything at SeaWorld - we’ve just enjoyed the tours, food festivals and the exhibits. I’ve never even visited my own local zoo, but I just love hanging out at SeaWorld.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I’d just like that sky tower to be open one of the times I visit. The last time I was on it, they were pointing out the construction of E.P.C.O.T. :). In 2007 and 2008, I skipped it because it had an upcharge and I’d already paid to get in to the park. #Regrets
I think part of the problem is SeaWorld is no longer a destination park for a lot of overseas tourists, and might never will be again. Like it or not, the orca shows were the biggest draw for probably the majority of long distance tourists, I remember visiting from the UK in 2000 and we primarily went to see the orca show, everything else was kind of a bonus. Following Blackfish, these tourists are probably never coming back, because it doesn't matter if SeaWorld fully recovers its reputation, for a family from Europe, or China, or wherever else, there's just not that much motivation any more to cram in SeaWorld next to Disney and/or Universal. Big roller coasters and aquariums are both things that can be found elsewhere, and having a great vibe is just not going to be enough for those who have flown from thousands of miles away. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure SeaWorld will still be a destination park for some overseas tourists, especially those who have been before, but I think it's going to be a struggle to persuade a family who probably has never visited Orlando or California before that SeaWorld should be on their itinerary nowadays. In the end, SeaWorld may just have to accept it's never going to regain its position at the elite tier of US attractions, and promote its parks more towards regional and US tourism than as a destination like Disney or Universal. It's lost its USP (well technically it hasn't yet, but the writing is on the wall) and now has to deal with competition from second tier theme parks. The massive coaster build out seems to be a response to this, not competing with Disney or Universal but Six Flags and similar parks. Perhaps that's the wrong direction, and I can see why it might do better as a second tier family theme park/zoo/aquarium as there is probably less competition. But it's still an expensive, painful transition that isn't over, and I think the worst may be yet to come, as it's unknown how much attendance might be impacted once the orca shows close for good.
Someone else pointed this out, but I've tried going multiple times over the last few years to find it closed. If it was open when I went to film, I didn't see a sign indicating that it was.
Grew up going to Busch Gardens. It has always been one of my favorite theme parks. Great coasters, theming and animal exhibits that stress education and conservation.
I agree. It’s currently my favorite theme park as well. I’d love to see Busch Gardens Tampa go wild with potential new expansions, new rides, new shows, and some new animal exhibits along with more theming for an impressive atmosphere.
I grew up in San Diego, and Sea World used to be awesome. They had great shows (my favorite was the domestic animal show), the Clydesdales, and a great kid's area with a huge net climbing ground, fountains, bouncy areas, and interactive areas. ETA: it was Shamu's Happy Harbor, they turned it into the Sesame Street thing by taking away the ropes courses and the like.
It sucks! That IP is a major oddball for the SeaWorld parks that was strangely added, but I might expect that IP get separate theme parks outside of the SeaWorld parks and some Bay of Play mini-lands inspired by the IP adjacent to the Happy Harbor sections instead of getting an entire land replacing the Happy Harbor sections! I didn’t want it to happen!
A friend of mine used to work at Discovery Cove as an aquarist with a whole biology degree taking care of animals and she was still paid 13:50. She also had to rescue someone from the reef cause the lifeguard was asleep. She was also hospitalised in the diving training. people get blackout and step on the stingrays every day it's literally awful.
I haven't been to Seaworld Orlando in at least 10 years and was disappointed when I found out the story had been removed from Journey to Atlantis. If anything that and the closure of DarKastle were serious warning signs that something was very wrong with the new management at the parks. I'm glad that they're at least putting a new family coaster in the old DarKastle space, and there's been hints a real story might return to JTA...
They seemed to turn the eyes of Medusa back on when I went. Still, the animatronics are all turned off or removed it seems. I think that projection tech could really bring the ride back to life though. It doesn't seem like it would be too costly.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Funny thing is, the original effects mostly WERE projections, with the exception of Hermes the seahorse and the one giant statue of Allura (that's her name, she's a siren not a Gorgon). It wouldn't take much effort to get the projections and those few "animatronics" back up and running.. the real challenge might be restoring the effects that were lost early on such as Allura's face in the mist on the second drop!
really interesting to hear about seaworld since i dont really know much about those parks at all- really sucks to see just how badly the pandemic messed up what could've been a great era for the parks
I think none of the companies really understand what the parks need to be--Sea World needs to be an aquarium writ large, Busch Gardens needs to be a zoo writ large, and Epcot needs to be a science museum writ large. Take advantage of grand scale, ability to incorporate dark rides, thrill rides, and shows, and immersive theming to do things that you can't do in their traditional equivalents. But that relies on them not being run by asset strippers...
InvadR is actually a family rollercoaster. it's the most tame full sized rollercoaster at BGW, billed as for kids and their families, but is still good for adults too
Growing up, we went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg several times. I loved it, and have fond memories. I took our family there in 2021. We managed a good time but the staffing/theme park operations were abysmal. We haven’t gone back as a result.
In going tk seaworld for the first time in over 10 years tomorrow. I was to chicken to ride kraken so I have a whole park of coaster credits. I also remember loving the aquarium attractions. Seaworld parks unlike many other parks I feel more personally about. Busch gardens Williamsburg gave rise to my love of coasters and I always loved the atmosphere. It’s nostalgic and formative for me so I want them to succeed.
I'm glad that orcas are being allowed to thrive in the wild, however it's also terrifying knowing that our generation will be the last ones to see them in captivity and that, should the species falter, there will not be any backups in aquariums or zoos to try and repopulate the species.
I'm unsure if breeding them in captivity can result in a restoration of world-wide populations though. It's my understanding that the orcas kept at the parks would be ostracized by the social groups of natural roaming orcas if introduced, likely resulting in a similar, lonelier fate to what they're experiencing in captivity. With the lack of hunting skills as well, they would obviously starve. Ironically, it's SeaWorld's conservation initiatives that are doing the most to help restore wild orca populations.
Some animals do very well for release. Others don't. Being in the Marine mammal training field has taught me a lot about their care in captivity and the ethics of it. We are always striving to do better for our animals and sea world is a place many zoos and aquariums try to be They do a lot right. But people will only see what they want to see and if they want to see unhappy animals in cages that's all they'll see even when it's the opposite m
I think things were heading this way but it really feels like, post covid, that theme parks are really trying to find any excuse to only focus on thrilling rides. Like it's the only thing that a park should focus on.
I definitely agree. Manby's shift towards a family audience seemed to go nowhere. Still, I would say that he wasn't really given the chance to execute his vision.
Growing up I went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg from the late 70s to late 80s. Have always loved that park. I've been to Busch Gardens Tampa a few times, most recently this past June. Granted it wasn't very crowded but it was raining off and on all day. I did visit SeaWorld Orlando last year and there was a sizable crowd.
Sea world like parks are more show than tell. This concerns me as we saw in Black Fish, are a lot of problems in caring for these animals that really belong in the ocean and not a glorified deep swimming pool - which, by the way is over chlorinated for both animals and humans. I questioned very much, the ethics of keeping these animals in captivity!
I went to Seaworld Orlando in June this year. Overall, our family had an amazing time. My oldest daughter loves rides, my youngest loves the shows and exhibits. Three rides were down when we wanted to ride them. One was roped off at the entrance, with a young guy worker sitting on the ground. I asked him if he knew when the ride would be open again. He said “come back in 30 minutes.” Then he immediately went and unclipped the rope to let 5 people in and clipped it back. I asked him what that was about and he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Also, the food passes were confusing. We only ate a small limited breakfast bar for the entire day. I bought the souvenir cup. One station said it was free to refill. The next station charged me $7 for the same drink refill. There’s serious miscommunication and unclear rules in the park. But, I will return because the laid back vibe of the entire park was better.
The experience isn't great, but there's just so much potential there. If they could be bothered to pay their employees better and hire better management, it could truly be a good contender for taking a day out of a Disney or Universal focused vacation. Still, the people running the company know nothing about the industry they're in, so it will continue to fail.
I might be a minority but I wish they would add back the animations at Atlantis. the ride is all still there including the monster siren who is just sitting there
You are spot on with your analysis of sea world. They seem to be trying to emulate six flags. Disney has gone the same way and is why my entire family no longer patronize them any longer. If I wanted six flags I would go. There and save a lot of money.
While it seems like just about every business is running with minimal staff these days to keep the lights on without raising prices too much and I'm generally pretty understanding of the economic realities behind it, anybody running a theme park needs to understand is that a lot of what people are paying for (and often paying well for) is a chance to escape from the unfortunate daily realities of the real world into a land of pure fun. I'd rather pay a few dollars extra for a ticket so that a park can take care of itself and its staff than have to be reminded that we're in a recession as I'm trying to ride a roller coaster. Cost cutting and immersion are simply at odds with each other.
went there yesterday. it was fun, but there are many issues. many staff seem to not care, dispatches are slow, rides have been abandoned like Antarctica. sea word orlando has lots of potential but it isn’t even remotely close to being on the level of universal and disney
I’d love to see the SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa parks in Central Florida become destination resorts with more attractions, plenty of resort hotels, and extra parks!
When I went to BG Tampa last year for Howl-O-Scream (before Gwazi), I also attended during the day and it was a VERY odd experience. I'm used to crowds and staffing at places like Universal and BG seemed almost abandoned. Very little traffic and lots of closed food trucks, though all of the shops seemed open. I began to panic that maybe the place was at minimal staffing and only a fraction of the rides would be open, but only Cheetah Hunt was down for maintenance, with everything else running with practically no lines. In a bizarre way, it was perfect, as I could just saunter up to any ride (except Cheetah) and board. As such, I had done everything, including the safari trek, by around 2:00pm. I was even able to get some lunch and see the circus-type show in the Stanleyville Theater (which was a lot better than it had any right to be). However, this completely changed an hour into Scream, when the park became packed. It was so bad that I almost ditched one of the houses, as the wait time had become absurdly long. BG Tampa is one strange park. Maybe I just lucked-out and the place is usually shoulder-to-shoulder, but on that day, I felt like I had the joint all to myself.
When I went to film the park for the video, I essentially walked onto all of the coasters, including Iron Gwazi. If you go during the right time, it absolutely can be a great experience with a dead park. I would probably also anticipate that Howl-o-Scream keeps the day time crowds away as the parks close early for the event. Howl-o-Scream is also very hit and miss though. Some nights are dead, other nights are like HHN crowds.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Kinda makes you wonder if those of us accustomed to Disney and Universal have been bamboozled into believing theme parks have to be packed like sardines in order to be successful. As it is now, it doesn't matter which day you choose at the "big two", as any and all will see enormous traffic. And that'll probably carry-over to Epic Universe. Maybe I need to give Sea World another chance, as the last time I went was over a decade. I'm sick of 60+ minute wait times while being pressured to buy expensive express passes, which in turn makes me so parched after standing in a hideously long line that I gladly spend $5 on a tiny soda that I've finished after two or three gulps. I then feel guilty for not staying the whole night since I spent almost $30 on parking, even though my body is screaming after standing and walking on concrete for the past five hours, as the precious few benches at the park are always occupied. And I still haven't yet bought the requisite overpriced shirt, lanyard, mug, and God only knows what else. I went to HHN on a Wednesday recently and the lines had gotten stupidly long just an hour into the event while the live show was damn-near standing room only. ON A WEDNESDAY! I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure I'd get a lot done and wouldn't have to put my knees in traction afterwards on a lousy Wednesday, but nope, Universal had completely different plans. I sometimes wonder if Disney and Universal know how blessed they are with enough people willing to endure navigating their asphalt-ridden theme parks at daily full capacity. It's no wonder they raise prices on this or that on a damn-near monthly basis.
It devastates me what the current ownership is doing to these parks. Someone at the top thinks they need to be more "exciting" which is what has led to the loud music and obnoxious paint colors. This is especially sad at Busch Williamsburg, which is slowly losing its designation as the world's most beautiful theme park as they strive to be more like Six Flags. Destroying the atmosphere, eliminating the entertainment, pushing alcohol every ten feet and focusing solely on roller coasters is destroying what were the best theme parks in the country.
It's been at least a decade since I've been to Williamsburg, but there's no animals there, correct? I would definitely like to see some zoological exhibits there, even if it's something like wolves or other animals found throughout Europe.
The SEAS chairman since 2019, Scott Ross, who owns something like 30-40% of the company, has been calling the shots. He's a classic New York private equity hedge fund type guy. The newest coasters have little to no theming, especially compared to those installed under Anheuser-Busch and pre-Scott Ross SEAS. He calls the shots, the CEO position has little room for individual thought or interpretation of the business under him, hence the revolving door until he gets a good yes-man. The 5% surcharge, pass price increases, less competitive (compared to other chains) wages, lack of theming budget, outsourcing the call center, devaluing the 2020-21 passes by keeping fully ready coasters closed for 2 years while the likes of Orion and Velocicoaster opened, all happened under him. On my summer 2021 visit to central FL, Universal / SWO was a night and day difference. SWO was filthy and understaffed, the few staff that were there seemed disinterested, and all the B&Ms ran one train. Universal was the polar opposite, more expensive yet a much better value just from the overall experience. The park that stands to suffer the most from Scott Ross' cutthroat management style is BGW, as that was the pinnacle of AB's theme park involvement imo.
So for reference for Orlando Wild artic is now permanently closed and has been since 2021 The artic exhibits have been open for guests since July. Edit 1: I was doing the SeaWorld camp this summer and oh my fucking god if I ever hear the music from electric ocean again I will break whatever radio it is playing on many of the other councilors said the same thing Edit 2: Empire of the Penguin is permanently closed because the batteries that powered the cars had an unfortunate habit of taking too long to charge and far more importantly one literally exploded during testing and after checking them all they realized that it could happen to any of them so they shut the whole thing down. On the upside you can now meet the king and rockhopper penguins in the old ride area
SeaWorld San Diego definitely has some aspects that seem to be hit or miss. I have noticed slow dispatches on Electric Eel, but the Manta and Emperor crew are usually on top of things. Same with the food. The barbecue food in the middle of the park, I forget the location name, was pretty good, but the sandwiches over by Shipwreck Rapids really went downhill. That place used to be my favorite food spot in the park. As with Emperor's nonexistent station... yeah that was kind of jaw dropping even as I knew they were having some payment problems. I got on Emperor during the passholder preview days, and I thought they'd surely, undoubtedly add a station building soon. Guess not!
I remember the only time I've really been to sea world orlando was to do the parks early 2000s marine biology camp. If I remember correctly, we slept inside the arctic exhibit one of the nights on the day we fed penguins and got to do the shark cages. Still remember riding journey to Atlantis (original and not the really sad version we've got today lol) about 10 times in a row with a nonexistent line. What a time!
16:29 the emperor ride was finished for two years just sitting there. When we all got to ride it for an employee preview I was confused and thought it wasn’t done yet. They’re building a new ride where the old wild arctic ride was and hopefully they add theme to it. Also we had to stop the 50% off discounts cause merchandise was loosing money. So much we upped the prices a lot. But orcas that were 50$ are now up to 80$
I work as a scenic arts craftsperson at sea world orlando. And YES to all this. The Electric Ocean background music was OBNOXIOUS! And my department, the theming department, is packed with experienced experts in our field; we are highly skilled artists, a lot of us have master’s degrees and our starting pay is $15/hour! The turnover rate is obviously high. Also, I did a lot of stuff for Howl O Scream this year, and it was cool seeing some of my stuff in ur video. 😂
I'll be going soon and I'm interested to see how it has evolved from last year.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I think you’re gonna really like it. Three of the houses r almost the exact same, but the two new ones r awesome. The new scare zone is good and the changes we made to the frozen terror scare zone are phenomenal, I should know because I was responsible for implementing the frozen terror zone. 😂
Was at Seaworld eight or nine years ago. The human shows we saw were great! The landscaping was absolutely beautiful. I even thought the theme was nice. He did not particularly care for the way the large sea mammals were presented. This was before I was aware of blackfish, but it just kind of left me with an icky feeling interacting with the dolphins and seeing the small tank for the orcas. I agree there needs to be more dark rides or family friendly rides. The aquariums were great. Having the roller coasters is awesome for those who like roller coasters. Perhaps having a section of the park without rides, but maybe focus on the rehab of sea life would be better and more educational. but you really shouldn’t have a dolphin nursery right under a roller coaster. The optics of that are just bad.
Staff happiness is key to these places. If they are not happy it will show everywhere.
$15/hour is *atrocious* for people with a master's degree tbh
1. More animal education, less shows. 2.Take a break from coasters and implement more dark rides, every single park in the chain needs one.
3. Keep adding/improving yearly events and festivals. They honestly have some of the best festivals in the country.
4. Quality of life improvements like refurbishing old areas, adding shade structures, benches, and more quality food items at dining locations.
If they can focus on these things I think it’s a recipe for success. As a pass holder it’s still my favorite park to just grab a drink and hang out.
These parks desperately need no-height-reatrictions dark rides. You can't have a family park without rides that people who don't like or can't ride coasters, like grandparents or folks like me. There was no bigger disappointment than realizing I have to wait years to take my kid on the Yoshi ride at Epic Universe because of a height requirement.
@@neekMarieM14 Just looked it up and was shocked to see the height requirement wow. But yeah I agree, the whole family deserves to get out of the sun for a bit and enjoy a ride together. It’s something all the parks outside of Disney need to work on.
Busch williamsburg and seaworld orlando had family dark rides but both of them got closed. Darkastle got replaced with a coaster and Antarctica is pretty much dead even if Seaworld won’t admit it.
They will never go back into animal education or animals in general. And the biggest reason not noted in the videos is that the 3rd party company that rescued the animals for the shows went under during the pandemic. That’s why the animal shows like pet shenanigans are over/never coming back. I used to work marketing for them through a creative agency. We launched all their 2020-2022 projects.
@@CrumsTheCreator I was completely unaware that this was the case, but that certainly explains it. What was the company?
One other cost-cutting maneuver was turning off the AC at a number of resturants and indoor viewing spaces. It's very difficult to cool down in the parks right now, which causes people to leave early. It's a ridiculous thing to do in the hot Florida weather.
Where did this happen? I didn't notice anything unusual with the buildings' AC.
@@PoseidonEntertainment At Busch Garden's in Tampa. The hospitality house and tiger viewing areas used to be air conditioned. Other places, such as Crown Colony, Dragon Fire Grille, and some of the gift shops used to be very cold and were great ways to recover from the heat. But now they have have chnage the AC settings so that it's usually in the lower 80s upper 70s inside. This is better for the environment for sure, but not great for someone who is overheated from the Florida weather.
Ridiculous. They do that in malls too. More like run them at 78-80 degrees. Who wants to shop in there???
@@Thehouseoffail i have not felt this in the past few times I've been there in the past months?
Not having AC should be criminal. Especially in Florida.
Yeah the idea of underpaid not caring staff especially for rides is absolutely terrifying!!!!!!! How can they claim to have record earnings but pay their staff such a crap wage.... and expect things to run properly
You see it a lot in jobs that run the risk of other people's safety. I'm not shocked amusement parks are some of them. I really hope (highly doubt it though) with the lack of staff businesses will start to realize paying staff better wages is better for their profits
@@randomtinypotatocried thinking about it now i feel kinda dumb for thinking otherwise but for some reason i figured they would get paid at least a living wage. Min wage in canada is 15 i dont know if you guys have a simular system in the states lol
I had a platinum pass for nearly two years plus the all season quick que. We literary got chased off two rides at SeaWorld San Diego by staff that were overwhelmed by their assignments. Didn't intend for that to be our last visit; but the email came the next week reducing the benefits of our passes. Haven't been back since.
@@socal_haunts_and_parks wow as if they were so rude. They need to take better care of their staff. All the reports of staff getting injured is terrifying. As a kid these places seemed like dream jobs. Now its the stuff of nightmares.
I work in a hospital in America and a lot of people have to work Doordash or other side gigs to get by. Then they come to work tired and exhausted and they're the ones trusted to run the respirators for patients who can't breathe on their own or stick patients with needles to get blood. America cares more about profit over safety in all factors.
I grew up with Busch Gardens Tampa in my backyard (ok, 45 minutes away...), but rarely visit SeaWorld Orlando. I have received advanced degrees in zoo and aquarium studies, and have been in the industry for many years. I recently just visited SeaWorld San Diego, and I was actually shocked at the poor maintenance. I remember these parks as being beautiful, but this was just shocking. Do not get me wrong, their Animal Care is really good, and the enclosures were well maintained. but the walkways, the landscaping, the painting, they were all atrocious. it very much reminded me of six flags back in the late 90s/ early 00s. They need to step up their game if they plan to survive.
The contrast between the animal exhibits and general park operations is jarring. At least they have something positive to speak about in regards to the animals. Their care certainly seems better than most zoos I've visited.
I visit the one in San Diego and the aquariums was inferior to other aquariums I visit, and they lack rides.
as someone who worked over there in the summer, its cuz we get paid 15 an hour which isnt enough to deal with the shitty management . the guests are guests, but the supervisors / management is the real issue . in the culinary part anyways ..
I’m quite the opposite but have a similar take. I’m 30 minutes out from Orlando’s location and visited a few months back, Im not a animal expert but they seemed fine, issue I saw was everything felt aged like you said from walkways, signs, rides. The antartic ride looks abandoned as it practically is.unless your a coaster nut there’s no return value between now and 5-10 years ago. I felt I saw it all in one day back then and Resaw it all in 2 or 3 hours the last time I went and without more family rides it’ll be awhile till I’m back. A parks not all about the thrill rides.
@@elibrooks69 same worked their last year and culinary operations are pretty disorganized
I went to Discovery Cover back in 2019 with my daughter and her grandparents. I have I.B.S. and Barrett's esophagus long story short I ended up having a I.B.S. attack and had to sit in the car while my family enjoyed the park. When I returned home I wrote a email to SeaWorld explaining what happened, SeaWorld offered me and my daughter free tickets to come back. I could not believe they would do that for me. Compare that to Disney who nickels and dimes you.
Universal isn't great either at least historically, fell on a wet escalator and had to have my leg stiched up. They didn't even cover the ambulance that they called.
Sea world had a better experience for me, fell in the stingray tank as a kid and got a free shirt and towel.
Yes I am accident prone.
Disney used to be like that. Back when they used to do that 4 day park pas for Florida residents, they gave us a free day back after my mom contacted them, explaining that we had to leave early one day because my grandfather was in critical condition and ended up passing away while we were leaving to try and see him.
They'd never do that nowadays.
I imagine the reason many companies do not do things like that anymore is because of how easily it can be taken advantage of
I grew up with annual passes to SeaWorld San Diego in the 90's and 2000's and the park was kept immaculate. I hadn't been for about fifteen years or so, but recently went earlier this year and the park was in terrible shape, now I understand why.
They furloughed many of the longtime employees that kept the park afloat. The ones who actually fixed issues rather than let them be like broken nets, water quality, and facilities.
SeaWorld San Antonio is a shell of its former times. 90s/early 2000s was peek periods. It was difficult to find seating as the shows were always full. Currently few rows ever fill up and lots of sections will remain completely empty. The park and small food shops are mostly closed. Outside of Sesame Street portion, there are entire parts of the park that look like ghost town with few guest walking around.
Ex employee here who can confirm that it was the batteries getting damaged that led to penguins being a never-opening-again ride.
Must have been some super expensive batteries @~@
I worked for SeaWorld for half a decade, and still hold it in incredibly high regard, both for their theme parks, as well as their conservation and animal education projects.
One thing that has always stuck with me when I think of SeaWorld is the vibe, or at least the vibe it used to have. SeaWorld is a relaxing park, which is as perfect for an afternoon stroll and watching sea lions swim around as it is for thrills - if Disney is a preppy college student, and Universal is the counterculture punk rocker or metalhead, SeaWorld is the laid back surfer dude.
So then, that laid back vibe is where they shine with their theming. Key West is one of my favorite themed lands in any theme park, and you touched on the steel drum music that sets the tone of the area. Discovery Cove and Aquatica also have a similar vibe, and all of their parks really feel like a counterpoint to the stress and planning of Disney, or the constant thrills and energy of Universal.
This is how SeaWorld can set themselves apart, and become a true destination in their own right. Everything from the music to the landscaping to the lighting to the story told by the ride queues (typically the only place SeaWorld had a chance to tell a ride's story if they're only opening roller coasters) should have that calmer vacation vibe, and marketing should drive that point home.
you know saying 5 years isnt metric right? its also less keys
and Busch Gardens is the adventurous safari explorer
Busch Gardens Williamsburg definitely has been struggling with staffing issues since the pandemic. It’s most obvious when you look at the food stall closures and long lines. There’s also been a lack of food options lately because of the closures. They definitely need to raise the wage for their employees and increase the number of staff to lessen the burden placed on those few who currently work there.
Do they have a program for foreign workers like Cedar Point does? I imagine there are a few internstional enthusiasts who wouldn't working there for a season.
I was curious about their operations there. Do you still think its worth visiting though? Its been so long since I've been, but I would be interested in going next year.
I cannot speak for ride operators etc but I have many friends that have had to leave the zookeeping field in order to find living wages. They never want to, as they spent lot of time and schooling and passion to have a degree certifying them to be Caregivers of Animals and to best improve their welfare. The schooling and job requirements unfortunately do not equal the "return on investment" to borrow corporate terms. As a caregiver, landscaper, educator, trainer, chef, cleaner etc. Many have to struggle with a loss of identity after they leave or incredible grief at the loss of an animal they cared for. Fear of speaking out for Keeper Welfare and getting blacklisted/replaced from a field they love and have worked hard in leads so many to not speak publicly about the growing issue.
@@jordanberndt4157 I’m not sure. I know that they tend to recruit locals from the Hampton Roads area through job fairs and targeted ads on Facebook. In their job postings, they seemed to be looking for high school students and recent grads.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I would say yes, but I feel like my opinion is slightly influenced by the nostalgia of visiting Busch Gardens as a kid. Overall, it is still an enjoyable experience to visit the park. The landscaping is beautiful and the newer rides are pretty enjoyable. The best experience I’ve had recently was at Christmastown as they had a lot of local vendors and smaller experiences throughout the park. During the summer, it was a little less enjoyable because of the crowds. I remember that on the day I visited all the parking lots became full. If you do visit, I would say just expect long lines & make sure to buy tickets when they are discounted.
I worked at SeaWorld Orlando as a photographer last year from May to December. It was a lot of fun working there but yeah there was problems especially in the higher ups. Also that Blackfish documentary still hung over like a shadow. Though it was fun as a photographer being able to interact with people all over the world who still came to the park as part of their Orlando vacation.
One thing surprisingly that I found out from guests especially around Christmastime was that they really liked going to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens’ Christmas events because it was less corporate and a lot more family friendly being way cheaper and less crowded then the Christmas events at Disney and Universal.
Also I don’t know where SeaWorld Orlando can put another roller coaster. They put Ice Breaker in a squeezed area between the Orca Stadium, the Waterfront and Bayside Stadium.
Have you been keeping up with the construction of the new coaster? It sits alongside the parking lot and will take up the pathway between The Sea of Power and The Sea of Delight.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I worked at SeaWorld when I was going to UCF. when I left SeaWorld I moved back home to Tampa for my final semester. I haven’t seen much about the park since.
Well, they're putting one in now, on the (former) festival pathway.
They gutted out festival pathway completely, and the new coaster is there.
God I love this channel. As soon as I see a thumbnail of a new video its like my whole nervous system lights up and I immediately click to watch. It's like feeling a huge pulse of energy start in my head and end in my right hand clicking the video.
Interesting take lol
I am so glad you mentioned the poor capacity!! I went to Seaworld about 2 months ago, and I had a great time but the fact riders had to get onto the ride themselves and the way the workers seemed they didn’t want to be there rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t blame the workers, it’s just I feel like if Seaworld treated their workers better and fixed the capacity issues it would be an overall improvement to the park.
I have often wondered if the true issue is "poorly treated employees" or "poor quality employees"? Would increasing wages "make better" employees or would they "bring in better" employees? I have been to parks with min wage employees that have been AWESOME and I have been to parks with above min wage employees that have been HORRIBLE. Most publicly traded parks are just trying to maximize profits to keep the shareholders happy and not maximizing the guest experience for longevity.
@@GLJosh they pay $12/hr right now.
@@Azi_OS So would a shift to $15/hr. lead to the employees suddenly become "better" employees? Or would it lead to "better" employees coming to the job? Or would it lead to retaining "better" employees? Back when I worked Min wage ($3.75 was the starting "probation" wage with $4.25 being the Min wage) the employees didn't magically become "better" after the Min wage became $4.75 or $5.15. Now some employees had their hours cut, those employees eventually "left".
@@GLJosh "Retaining better employees" seems the closest to what would happen with a pay raise, but I also believe it could involve all three options. There are quite a few quality employees already at SeaWorld Orlando that are just unable to work well with the many understaffing situations. It is a job that deals with guest service, after all.
Guest service can become a highly stressful job, especially when dealing with angry guests and specific ride operation procedures simultaneously. At only 12/hr, the stress of guest hostility can push away good employees who handle the situation right. A pay increase to $15/hr could encourage employees like these to remain employed at SeaWorld Orlando instead of going off to Universal.
Staffing on most of the rides has seemed to run daily at the bare minimum, ex: Kraken having someone in the control room and two on the station platform, Journey To Atlantis losing a position outside at the second drop, and multiple Sesame Street attractions closed daily. Less staff will lead to more work split among fewer positions. $15/hr would bring in more people wanting to work to decrease the staffing issues. Honestly, I don't think SeaWorld Orlando seems to care too much about the guest experience as long as they see green for those shareholders, and this can also add to employees feeling undervalued.
As stated previously, the current hourly pay at SWO for regular ops and workers is $12/hr (Universal Orlando is hiring at $15, I believe), even though the minimum wage in Florida is $11/hr. While Amendment 2 slowly leads minimum wage to become $15/hr by 2026, the current living wage for a single adult in Orange county (according to livingwage.mit.edu) is $18.19/hr, full time. SWO only offers part-time for their regular positions, so "SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment" doesn't have to pay benefits to many employees.
SeaWorld isn't treating its employees with the amount of pay or respect they really should be, and the resulting quality and short staffing are a result. Increasing standard wages to $15/hr should increase available staff, while simultaneously improving morale among already quality employees by reducing their workload.
Sorry for text wall, also what did you work for $4.25?
maybe the problem is that the leadership doesn’t check up or care for their teams. poor leadership makes poor quality employees
The King Tut walkthrough was so fun when it was running at 100%. Each room had narration and light queues that I loved as a kid, and you had to stay in each room as the story rolled out. Eventually, they just left the doors open and ran all the talking on loop, so no one could really get the experience unless you knew what you were looking for.
I vaguely remember being really young and being scared of it when each section would play out. I then remember being disappointed when I went when I was older and it was just a straight walk-through. IMO there's a lot of wasted space in Egypt, especially where Akbar's Tours used to be.
Egypt doesn't feel like Egypt anymore imo. It's like the coasters and carnival games bleed into the themed areas. And the colors; a "Violent visual experience" indeed [23:42] @@PoseidonEntertainment
I was an attractions attendant at SeaWorld Orlando. Management, higher ups and a lot of their policies were the biggest issue. They’re were some good ones but a lot of bad ones. The work environment was not good. If Ambassadors who worked at Mako, infinity, wanted a hot meal they would have to walk all the way to manta’s break room just to get a hot meal. And when we did do that, our supervisors would get mad at us for taking long.
We did have a break area for those who were at the mako infinity side. Which was basically a 7-eleven. There was a few micro waves, sometimes we didn’t have plates to place our food in. Funny cause the break room is right BEHIND Infinity falls’ food place. Never really got why they couldn’t just give us hot food there.
Park quality is almost ALWAYS understaffed. That’s why the park can look dirty a lot of the times. I have so much respect for my PQ folks because they’re in the heat all day being OVERworked. The rides can also be understaffed. There would be no greeter and for some rides like Mako and Icebreaker we can’t allow loose articles cause of safety reasons. So ultimately guests would come up with unusually sized bags and complain why they can’t ride which causes guest situations. The quality of life in the park is actual garbage.
Imagine opening a new ride ADVERTISED for 48 inch kids and going back to 54 OVERNIGHT, YUP OVERNIGHT. And who had to deal with the guests? Not the higher ups lmao. Us baby. Folks at SeaWorld can’t even open a ride properly.
And ofc they make it hard for us to accommodate guests. When there’s a guest situation there would never be enough or ZERO quick queues we can give to them. The quick queue station by ice breaker works EVERY NOW AND THEN. The lockers were another big issue that they don’t seem to care about. When lockers would get full at one ride we told guests that they should go to ANOTHER attractions lockers and come back. Once they do that, OOPS our ride is down sorry folks.
Thankfully somethings have changed since I left. They now serve hot food, and the point system for employees is actually fair similar to universals. I’m glad I left.
I've heard some pretty similar issues from other people who have worked there. It's astounding that they even have enough people to operate at all, considering how poorly it seems to be run.
i love this comment so much! i can’t imagine working at ice breaker without a greeter
I worked as a ride operator at Seaworld San Diego after the pandemic. Morale among everyone was down for many reasons. Mainly, just knowing that zoo sky tram operators get paid over 3 dollars more an hour than ride shift leads at seaworld was frustrating. They also had very minimal staffing, leading to a very fast paced but inefficient load cycle. They also cheap out on parts for their rides, causing popular rides like Journey to Atlantis to break down very often, and leaving us to deal with sending angry guests out of lines. Just raising their wages would be helpful, more people would want to go to work and give better experiences to the guests.
This summer, I went to SeaWorld and I had a blast. I first rode Kraken and the last ride was Manta, both very fun coasters. Unexpectedly, it was crowded, even the orca show, which was a surprise to me. Due to the fact, that I didn’t know people still went to those shows after the tragic incident. Overall its a very good park and I like how they are now focusing on coasters rather than marine animals.
I went once during the summer and hated the experience. I know they're not making any money, but weekdays right now are actually fantastic, despite my complaints in the video. I've walked onto every coaster and there are essentially no people in the parks.
Hell no, I think it was better when SW was focusing on marine mammals. I mean why is it called "SeaWorld" to begin with? I worry that SW will cave in to the activists and phase out every animal that they have. 😬
Montu was actually yellow from the beginning (I went when it opened, when I was a kid). The "sandy" color was a result of massive fading. If you look at old promo footage or merch, you can see the signature yellow and purple color scheme.
I didn't realize that was the case. I just went and looked at video from the opening year and it's certainly a less contrasting shade though. I get what they were going for with the new shade, but I just find it really off-putting. The old yellow was more subtle it seems.
as a former employee this was a must watch for me. Thanks for pointing out all of the things I noticed during a recent return visit.
One thing as a photographer. Me and other photographers there at SeaWorld Orlando had to operate the cash register at the photo booths as well as take pictures. We made $12/hr.
But… they have people in the position of photo sales that is their job specifically.
They made a dollar more and hour then the photographers who were doing 2 jobs.
Oh yeah the Electric Ocean music on repeat was really annoying!!!
Management of the parks seems so fundamentally broken. I understand needing to save on costs after the shut-down, but it shouldn't come from stiffing the employees.
they need to add about 20 more songs to their festival playlists
@@yogurt2317 yeah hearing the same 5 songs over and over again was really annoying after hearing it day after day.
SeaWorld while not on the same level as Disney or Universal as a must see destination for Orlando (and heavily surrounded by controversy), is still a fun place and a nice park to walk around. Hope something turns these parks around for the much better...
Wonderful soundtrack selection! I feel you did a great job expressing the feeling you want the parks to invoke with the music you selected. Keep us the great work!
Once SWOrlando gets the new roller coaster opened next year they really need to focus on theming, atmosphere, and ride ops like you said. It’s a solid park overall, just needs to be focused in the right direction.
I really enjoy your videos and I’m happy you’re verbalizing so many things that I’ve been concerned about. 1 correction, though - the indoor aquarium in the arctic area is actually open. You have to enter it from the gift shop (essentially going backwards from the exit of Wild Arctic.)
You are spot-on with your commentary - especially about the music. We were at Busch Gardens Tampa last week and felt most sorry for the animals. For example, the poor kangaroos and wallabies not only have to endure a crowded bare-dirt enclosure, but now have to put up with constant loud, bass-heavy music.
What? Those animals have plenty of space. They don't seem to mind the music either and it didn't register as unreasonably loud.
@@PoseidonEntertainment The animals on the Serengeti Plain have plenty of space - it should be the envy of every zoo in the country. But Kangaloom, not so much. Red kangaroos in the wild have a home range of 2 to 3 square miles. The half-acre or so they have to roam around in is not enough in my opinion, but they did seem content enough. Perhaps they could let them run around on the Serengeti every now and then...
I would just like to mention a few things, Wild artic’s animal exhibit is still open, just with a confusin entrance through it’s gift shop. Also, SeaWorld Orlando does have onsite accommodations and transport from them to the parks. They have a few hotels on offer, but they are nothing special really other than the fact you get free quick queue if you stay there.
The theming for Invadr vs Pantheon at BGW is like night and day.
It's my home park, been going at least once a year since I was a little kid, and going tomorrow for the first time since Fall 2019 - will definitely be interesting to see.
As someone who worked in SeaWorld San Diego’s entertainment department from 2016-2020, yeah things are still bad over there today. Like current Disney, SW corporate is too scared to try anything new and constantly throwing out good ideas/pitches from anyone outside their circle (a coworker friend of mine had several great Joe Rohde-tier ideas for Lunar New Year Celebration, but they never gave him the time of day). Hopefully they’ll purge the excess yes-men and bean counters on their corporate board. Oh, and Submarine Quest should NOT have gone as far as it did from development to creation! Any competent engineer/creative designer would have killed it in pre-production.
The largest issue seems to be the investment firms behind the parks. I know it's a long shot, but Herschend would be a great owner of these parks.
Hope your channel keeps growing man you make some of the best edited and scripted videos talking about theme parks on RUclips.
Hi,
Last year for Spring Break, a group of 12 of us went to Orlando and decided to go to Sea World. We all had a great time there. Disney and Universal were not an option because they were outrageously expensive. We bought the quick line unlimited pass but it turned out to be unnecessary because the park was surprisingly not crowded at all. I thought the coasters were great and the animal shows were entertaining. We also got the meal package, which was a great value, but it does limit where in the park you can eat , and which menu items you can order. But overall, it was a great experience and I would definitely love to go back one day.
This is my second year as a Anual pass holder to SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica, as well as my second year for UOAP. So far, I can see the desperate need for SeaWorld to add more theming around the park. I also seriously wondered what was going on with the wild artic and empire of the penguin simulator.
I wish if SeaWorld opened those 2 dark rides, because it gives a chance for people to cool off in the heat, or a chance to escape the frequent rain. I would also love if SeaWorld started to focus more on indoor rides after this 2023 floor less coaster gets done building, but overall I still think their parks are worth going to, the quality is still there even if it is a little downgraded, and they aren't charging Disney prices either.
The potential is definitely there, but I'm afraid that the experience will continue declining. I agree that those two attractions should be open as well. I didn't care for them, but they weren't outright terrible either.
I recently went back to SeaWorld and attempted to go on Empire of The Penguins Attraction. Idk why it was closed. But the penguins are still good to see.
Maybe the reason why it's down is because the ride was closed for nearly a entire year and the veichles are having trouble moving around?
@@John_The_Eeveechu Yeah, it was basically left abandoned, same with wild artic
I personally am a huge Zoo/aquarium fan and am currently working at the Bronx Zoo. I have been both to SeaWorld San Diego, and Busch Gardens Tampa. I love both the rides and the animals. The rides add a whole different perspective of the parks and adds to the zoo/aquarium (Which I was visiting for. Had no Idea they had rides before visiting lol) I personally wish that there were more experiences like the SeaWorld parks, Busch Gardens, and Animal Kingdom out there. (Off topic but I think the exhibits at animal kingdom are underrated)
I’m a zoo and aquarium fan too!
I totally agree with you. The exhibits at both parks are amazing, while also having rides. That’s what makes them so unique and awesome.
I went to Orlando last year and SeaWorld was a really nice park and enjoyed it more than my San Diego version. I definitely would love to go back. Also BGT is such an amazing park. I really loved the animal exhibits and the drive from Orlando wasn't bad at all.
I think that if SeaWorld Orlando and BGT were switched, Busch would pull in higher attendance. I agree that the drive isn't bad, but I still think it closes off a lot of the tourist market. I'm curious if Brightline will make any difference in visitation though. There don't seem to be concrete plans as to where the Tampa stations will be, but one near Busch and USF seems like a lucrative opportunity.
@@PoseidonEntertainment A direct bus line from Orlando to BG is already established and opened like 4 months ago now.
I was a SeaWorld SD passholder up till a few months ago (so I was there pretty often through the introduction and failure of submarine explorer) and honestly, the park has gone absolutely downhill since they changed things post-blackfish.
I was relatively young at the time but I remember LOVING the dolphin show they had before the current one. The story and minimal but well-executed props and enjoyable human acrobatics combined with dolphins and birds was truly one of my favorite things. They still have the same stage layout and even the platforms for the human acrobats.
Also, the Ocean Explorer land took over the place of a really peaceful display/home for the animal ambassadors and other small animals (poison dart frogs and sloths being the main ones I remember) that was located in the old stables for the Clydesdale draft horses. It used to be a really great spot for me to see their saw-whet owl Ruby, who is now completely inaccessible unless you manage to catch the attention of and ask one of the caretakers behind dolphin stadium.
The whole place had been a really cool exhibit and now its place has been completely taken by the abandoned show building of Submarine Explorer, which I rode once before it closed permanently and it was a HORRIBLE experience (the touch screens didn't work and were hard to see in the bright sunlight and the projection scenes didn't play until after the car moved past them) which is really sad to see since it took over one of the gems of the park.
Also outside of the Ocean Explorer area and the entrance, a lot of the signage and decor has gotten really sad looking outside of the holidays and though I love the themeing of the Wild Arctic area from the viewing platforms for the belugas, walruses, and seals(that replaced the polar bears), the ride's been closed since the pandemic closudre and the few interactive "press button to play sound" objects by each of the viewing windows don't work.
Its just really sad seeing things go downhill like this, and partially because of there being other nearby options and being bored of the park and partially because of the decline, I don't really plan on visiting again for a while, and the opening of Emperor hasn't really been a draw for anyone in my family.
I work culinary at seaworld San Antonio and yes to pretty much all of this video!
We having a ride issue here too. Despite being the biggest seaworld park out of the 3. There isn’t much rides to choose from and room to put them in. The new swing ride tidal surge looks tacked on next to bayside stadium. With wave breaker, it made the once lovely lake a little crowded (at least IMO)
I’m very interested to how seaworld will go in the future. I hope they add more stage shows, we have two theaters and we barely use them for anything anymore except for holiday related performances.
Out of my desire to visit San Diego and revisit Williamsburg, I have to admit that San Antonio is lowest on my list. A few of the coasters look alright, but I agree that it definitely needs more.
Went to SWSD and it was just sad and bad. The aquariums are run down, food service was inefficient and gross, the grounds were dirty, and the Orcas/dolphins were just really heartbreaking. We'll never go back. You can judge a park based on videos because they usually only want to show the good side.
I think SeaWorld should blast Electric Ocean music all over the park, but starting when the sun starts to go down. Not the entire frickin’ day.
That's a least somewhat more reasonable.
I went to SeaWorld in CA in 2017. I left the park at dusk to miss ELECTRIC OCEAN. It is good to be there at night to hear hundreds of decibels of sound backed by the colorfulness!
I have many fond memories of SeaWorld Orlando from my childhood. The park was affordable enough that my single mom could get funcards for us, and we'd be able to go back sometimes on the weekends. I did a middle school field trip when Blackfish had first come out, but I was a little too young to watch the doc and see what it was all about. In 2018 I did another behind-the-scenes tour and was really impressed, not only with the facilities and the care for the animals but also with the educated employees who have so much to teach us about the exhibits. I'd love to see a little more care and theming put into the park, especially around Journey to Atlantis and the penguin exhibit. Maybe they could bring the puffins back, which I remember them having back in the day. The Wild Arctic pavilion is also in major need of some restructuring, the main building there was one of my favorites when I was a kid (belugas, walruses, polar bears!) and it's sad to see the building go mostly unused. Overall great insights, I'm planning another trip to SeaWorld in a few weeks and I'll definitely be keeping this video in mind while I'm there!
I miss the puffins and the polar bears as well. Even though the penguin exhibit is new, I also missed the moving walkway in the old building.
As a ride operator at Busch gardens Tampa, we take the no phone policy very seriously, we also don’t play around with anything that’s unsafe, if you ever see anything unsafe let a ride operator know that you want to talk to a supervisor and corrective action will be taken almost immediately
Been looking for a video to play in the background while I work. This is EXACTLY the niche content I was looking for thank you
I'm a regular visitor from the UK and Sea World was always my favourite park to visit. Not so much this time, it felt like they were charging more money for less. The toilets were gross and not cleaned, the staff generally did not seem to care and looked miserable. What's happened to the shows? Now 15 minutes for orca encounter? Felt like a park that has run out of ideas so they build another roller coaster and revert back to the same old routine in some of the shows. This park has always held a special place in my heart and it felt like a part of it had been ripped out 💔
Yeah, as a cast member in Disney World, only paying 12/hr is laughably bad. Why would I ever work a job in Seaworld when I can work in Universal or Disney for 15/hr? And why would I ever work at Seaworld or Universal when I can work at Disney where they have strong, entrenched unions? 15/hr is not really enough to afford living in central Florida, but 12/hr? Forget it. You're going to get kicked out of your apartment because you can't afford rent.
I've known people who have worked for SeaWorld and even then, I've heard crazy things about their staffing. People are apparently expected to work less than 32 hours a week even if they're scheduled more and the burden is put on them to find a way out of their shifts.
@@PoseidonEntertainment That is ridiculous. If I'm scheduled more than 32 hours I'm not going to give those hours away. ESPECIALLY on such a low paying job as 12/hr. Forget it. If they try to fire me over it, I'll just say "Ok cool, I'm going to work at Disney. Bye." Employers don't realize that in the current economy, they can't treat their employees badly because there is an abundance of jobs, especially in central Florida. Disney is literally always hiring. And the unions are negotiating for hopefully better pay RIGHT NOW.
i love your videos! been watching you for awhile now and i hope you get even more fans, your content is so well researched and your videos are entertaining. the themepark niche on youtube is always so fun so i hope you gain notoriety through it! ❤
I have never been to Busch gardens howl o scream, but went to seaworlds last year and found it to be scarier than HHN. Maybe it was the fact they sent you into houses alone with just your party or that a lot of scare zones were in more desolate areas of the park and unexpected. The food was also pretty good from what I remember, but I haven't seen the parks during the day in a long time, and maybe the lack of upkeep also added to the creep factor lol
Howl-o-Scream is definitely a different type of experience. As much as I enjoy HHN, their house designs and highly scripted scares make them quite predictable. The ability to be more spontaneous and give a bit of agency to the scare actors allows Howl-o-Scream to be worth going to as a different type of haunt experience. Still, if you can get to Busch Gardens, I highly recommend it. I enjoyed SeaWorld's version for what it was, but the Busch Gardens event is much more ambitious. I'll be going to both, as well as Hollywood's HHN and Knott's Scary Farm. I'm thinking of producing a video next month comparing and contrasting the different styles and experiences that result from them.
I used to go to sea world San Diego growing up in the early 2000’s and went with my nieces just before the shutdown again, and it was honestly a depressing experience. I don’t know how they’ll be able to keep people coming in
On the Orcas, Sea World needs to listen to their customers and not people who are loud but never contribute.
Thank you for your videos. Find them very interesting and informative and agree with all your points. Our family went late Aug/early Sept and we have 2 young children. We enjoyed the shows and wasn’t crowded. We also stayed for the fireworks and had a great time.
I worked at Busch Gardens Tampa for a few years during college and it’s exactly like you said. The employees are very lazy and unmotivated. I felt like there was not much training and a lack of communication throughout the park
Stinks.
First time I ever went to SeaWorld, specifically Orlando, was back in the summer of 2008, when my family and i were doing a mixed Universal and SeaWorld week. We had only ever done Disney and sometimes Universal each time we went and we wanted a change. I loved what SeaWorld was back then, as i love aquariums and this felt like a massive aquarium park with some rides here and there. I didn't hardly even go on any rides. Just seeing the wildlife and how everything was set up, I was enthralled. And after I went to San Antonio in 2014 and then Orlando in 2016 and 2018. Each time I've gone since 2008, it has dropped in quality for me personally for the reason why I would want to go to it. As someone who is not big on super huge rides like Kraken and Mako, I see no reason to go back to a SeaWorld park after seeing the shrunken Exhibits. Even the ones that were expanded are not as amazing. The Shark exhibit feels much smaller than before, and while the Penguin exhibit was expanded, the actual focus on the animals are diluted by a horrible track less ride beforehand
I visited SeaWorld Orlando for the first time last year and really liked it. After spending three days at Universal, it was nice to be at a park where you could see some animals and ride some thrilling coasters. I've been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg a couple of times and think that park is spectacular.
I like the low-to-the-ground, high speed tight turns of Pantheon at Williamsburg, even if it is built on just a grassy field. Some Greek/Roman ruins and rockwork built around the tight weaving track would be all they need.
Someone may have already mentioned this, but the animal portion of Wild Arctic at SeaWorld Orlando (near Ice Breaker), with the beluga whales, walruses, etc... isn't actually closed at all. The entrance to the animal exhibits is now inside the gift shop, so a lot of people seem to miss it, but it's all fully intact and operating normally. Only the motion simulator part of the attraction is closed. Great video though! I live in central Florida and visit SWO and/or BGT at least a couple times a month. I learned a lot through this video, especially about the behind-the-scenes issues, and I agree with most of the positive and negative points you made about the current state of the parks. They're still great places to visit and I always enjoy my time there, but there's so much wasted potential, which is frustrating to see.
I’ve been to Sea World Orlando for the first time in 2005. Back then the Orca show was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was pure magic. To see the trainers jump out of the water standing on the top of an orca’s mouth, just wow, it was so awesome. We didn’t need to ride anything, just see the show. It was easily my favorite thing in Orlando. The next time we visited it was 2012 I think, it was after the horrible accident and thus the show was changed so people are not in the water with the whales. It was still a great show but it could never compare to the original. The OG show was like watching something out of this world, I sat there and couldn’t believe my eyes. Seeing that amazing connection between a person and such a giant animal, that level of trust. This was a long show and required so much skill from its cast while holding their breath and diving in and out of the water in such a well choreographed dance. You just had to see it to believe it. Since my second visit I haven’t returned yet, I love roller coasters but when I go to Orlando I have a limited amount of time and I can’t do everything, it’s just not worth it for me. I truly wish someone can find a way to bring back that amazing show while still keeping the cast safe. For me if that happens I’m going ASAP. Old Sea World was just so great.
I agree.
That accident shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
The marine animal shows should include some educational facts about the featured animals in addition to being entertaining so the shows could have some edutainment.
I remember Seaworld having this show called blue horizons and it was such a top tier show. Even on Disney level. I wish they kept it. Even just having the dancers and performers only and no dolphins wouldve still be amazing
I vaguely remember the show and liking it a lot. The new show is just titled "Dolphin Adventures" and is largely educational without any spectacle. While I appreciate that the show is interested in informing visitors about SeaWorld's excellent standard of care for the animals, it could certainly be a bit more exciting.
I loved Blue Horizons. But it lost some of its luster when the blue dolphin and condor died within months of each other. Those were my favorite parts of the show.
I enjoy Seaworld and have since I was little, but the abudance of thrill rides holds it back from being truly great. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind thrill rides existing and am happy that coaster enthusiasts get so much to enjoy. But there’s so many coasters and thrill rides that there’s virtually nothing for people like me who can’t handle coasters and thrill rides, and there’s definitely other people out there who feel the same way (The only non thrill rides at Seaworld are just flat rides, most of which are designed for little kids, and the rapids). On the bright side though, I do enjoy the atmosphere and the aquatic life
My very first job was at SeaWorld San Diego, in the AB hospitality center and then seasonally after that in Attractions, including Wild Arctic opening team 😅
Years later, living in San Antonio briefly and looking for an evening part time gig, I went to an entertainment audition for howl-o-scream at the San Antonio park and ended up working there that season, but had to quit thereafter - they did decide to keep/transfer me to another area (attractions) but it went…nowhere. The most disorganized, lackadaisical “training” process ever, no management anywhere to be found like ever, no proper introductions to this slew of kids I was supposed to be supervising lol….and that was a huge 👀😳 to me having just recently come from being a Disney CM.
A hot mess I tell you, def was not like that in the late 90s, so i feel like if it is like that at a guest facing, regular employee level/perspective… 🥴
*edit* to add - that last part may be sea world in general, now, or it may be San Antonio theme parks as a whole because I can attest to SFFiesta also being a hot mess 😅
I get the impression that most SeaWorld parks are run like this from what I hear from others. That's the easiest issue to fix, which I think would really change the narrative around them. If they had invested staff, the park experience could be so much better, resulting in a stronger reputation and attendance.
One thing of note is that I feel Busch Gardens Tampa is in rather safe territory. I’m a regular there and every visit always felt clean and just fine. Now that doesn’t deny that there might be clear issues under the surface, as I’m really there for the coasters, but during the summer, BGT was packed. That park draws in regular crowds, and with Howl-O-Scream right now, the park is in a good area at the moment, in my opinion.
My home park is Six Flags Great America, so I am very much used to seeing lines at all of the attractions, but at my visit at SeaWorld San Antonio, I was shocked to see that the level of theming was the same, while the prices and food is much more expensive. However, there were no lines whatsoever, so I was able to get many rides on Texas Stingray.
I worked there for over a year, and honestly the worst part of it was leadership. The job itself was 10x more enjoyable than my job at Disney, where I was doing the same role. The mismanagement, the anti-worker decisions, and the keeping of large animals really hurt the company so much. The park is fun to visit, and the job I did there was so unique and interesting. I just wish they would pull it together from a leadership perspective, because I likely would have enjoyed working there for many years.
I remember visiting Sea World San Diego as a child just three years after it opened. My family enjoyed the animal and water fountain shows and especially the hydrofoil ride on Mission Bay!
You hit nail on the head when you mentioned SeaWorld closing attractions early without schedule. I have encountered that on a regular basis. Short staffing too. They never have enough people working to direct you where to be seated. I am definitely seeing what you are talking about. Bathroom cleanliness is an issue at their parks as well, due to short staffing I’m sure. I go to Universal and the restrooms are always clean and the park is fully staffed.
I've been to 2 SeaWorlds: one in FL and another in CA but not the one in TX. Extinct is the one in OH which turned into a Six Flags park south near a Great Lake.🐬
"This is terrible. Please stop this." :) SeaWorld has become a "at least one day every Orlando visit" park instead of a "maybe once every ten years park" to me. This may be more due to the decline of WDW, which I had been visiting since the 1970s. In the last few years, I’ve had my first ever annual passes to Universal and SeaWorld, and haven’t gone to WDW. The me from a decade ago would never believe it. I hope they make it.
They could be so great, they just need better leadership. SeaWorld Orlando is such a fundamentally good park. I was surprised by how much I like Ice Breaker, even though I'm otherwise not a fan of Premier's coasters.
@@PoseidonEntertainment The funny thing is, I *hate* that it is becoming just another roller coaster park. In our last three Orlando trips, I don’t think we’ve even ridden anything at SeaWorld - we’ve just enjoyed the tours, food festivals and the exhibits. I’ve never even visited my own local zoo, but I just love hanging out at SeaWorld.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I’d just like that sky tower to be open one of the times I visit. The last time I was on it, they were pointing out the construction of E.P.C.O.T. :). In 2007 and 2008, I skipped it because it had an upcharge and I’d already paid to get in to the park. #Regrets
I think part of the problem is SeaWorld is no longer a destination park for a lot of overseas tourists, and might never will be again. Like it or not, the orca shows were the biggest draw for probably the majority of long distance tourists, I remember visiting from the UK in 2000 and we primarily went to see the orca show, everything else was kind of a bonus. Following Blackfish, these tourists are probably never coming back, because it doesn't matter if SeaWorld fully recovers its reputation, for a family from Europe, or China, or wherever else, there's just not that much motivation any more to cram in SeaWorld next to Disney and/or Universal. Big roller coasters and aquariums are both things that can be found elsewhere, and having a great vibe is just not going to be enough for those who have flown from thousands of miles away.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure SeaWorld will still be a destination park for some overseas tourists, especially those who have been before, but I think it's going to be a struggle to persuade a family who probably has never visited Orlando or California before that SeaWorld should be on their itinerary nowadays.
In the end, SeaWorld may just have to accept it's never going to regain its position at the elite tier of US attractions, and promote its parks more towards regional and US tourism than as a destination like Disney or Universal. It's lost its USP (well technically it hasn't yet, but the writing is on the wall) and now has to deal with competition from second tier theme parks. The massive coaster build out seems to be a response to this, not competing with Disney or Universal but Six Flags and similar parks. Perhaps that's the wrong direction, and I can see why it might do better as a second tier family theme park/zoo/aquarium as there is probably less competition. But it's still an expensive, painful transition that isn't over, and I think the worst may be yet to come, as it's unknown how much attendance might be impacted once the orca shows close for good.
The wild arctic aquarium is not closed, it had remained open throughout and to this day
Someone else pointed this out, but I've tried going multiple times over the last few years to find it closed. If it was open when I went to film, I didn't see a sign indicating that it was.
@@PoseidonEntertainment you have to enter through the gift shop to go in now. the signage is bad
Grew up going to Busch Gardens. It has always been one of my favorite theme parks. Great coasters, theming and animal exhibits that stress education and conservation.
I agree.
It’s currently my favorite theme park as well.
I’d love to see Busch Gardens Tampa go wild with potential new expansions, new rides, new shows, and some new animal exhibits along with more theming for an impressive atmosphere.
I grew up in San Diego, and Sea World used to be awesome. They had great shows (my favorite was the domestic animal show), the Clydesdales, and a great kid's area with a huge net climbing ground, fountains, bouncy areas, and interactive areas.
ETA: it was Shamu's Happy Harbor, they turned it into the Sesame Street thing by taking away the ropes courses and the like.
It sucks! That IP is a major oddball for the SeaWorld parks that was strangely added, but I might expect that IP get separate theme parks outside of the SeaWorld parks and some Bay of Play mini-lands inspired by the IP adjacent to the Happy Harbor sections instead of getting an entire land replacing the Happy Harbor sections! I didn’t want it to happen!
A friend of mine used to work at Discovery Cove as an aquarist with a whole biology degree taking care of animals and she was still paid 13:50. She also had to rescue someone from the reef cause the lifeguard was asleep. She was also hospitalised in the diving training. people get blackout and step on the stingrays every day it's literally awful.
The Stingray part made me laugh so hard. They really do blast the music, and it makes me feel like I'm in a club
I haven't been to Seaworld Orlando in at least 10 years and was disappointed when I found out the story had been removed from Journey to Atlantis. If anything that and the closure of DarKastle were serious warning signs that something was very wrong with the new management at the parks. I'm glad that they're at least putting a new family coaster in the old DarKastle space, and there's been hints a real story might return to JTA...
They seemed to turn the eyes of Medusa back on when I went. Still, the animatronics are all turned off or removed it seems. I think that projection tech could really bring the ride back to life though. It doesn't seem like it would be too costly.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Funny thing is, the original effects mostly WERE projections, with the exception of Hermes the seahorse and the one giant statue of Allura (that's her name, she's a siren not a Gorgon). It wouldn't take much effort to get the projections and those few "animatronics" back up and running.. the real challenge might be restoring the effects that were lost early on such as Allura's face in the mist on the second drop!
Love your channel alot of work and research put into this! Thank you
really interesting to hear about seaworld since i dont really know much about those parks at all- really sucks to see just how badly the pandemic messed up what could've been a great era for the parks
That's certainly a catalyst for a lot of the issues, but I think that they were going to continue struggling regardless.
I’ve only been to San Antonio and at Christmas time. It seems maintained and the Christmas lights are amazing.
I think none of the companies really understand what the parks need to be--Sea World needs to be an aquarium writ large, Busch Gardens needs to be a zoo writ large, and Epcot needs to be a science museum writ large. Take advantage of grand scale, ability to incorporate dark rides, thrill rides, and shows, and immersive theming to do things that you can't do in their traditional equivalents.
But that relies on them not being run by asset strippers...
Mako was worth the price of admission alone in Florida. Absolutely epic ride
InvadR is actually a family rollercoaster. it's the most tame full sized rollercoaster at BGW, billed as for kids and their families, but is still good for adults too
Growing up, we went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg several times. I loved it, and have fond memories.
I took our family there in 2021. We managed a good time but the staffing/theme park operations were abysmal. We haven’t gone back as a result.
Lol that employee working the ride looked sooo happy
In going tk seaworld for the first time in over 10 years tomorrow. I was to chicken to ride kraken so I have a whole park of coaster credits. I also remember loving the aquarium attractions. Seaworld parks unlike many other parks I feel more personally about. Busch gardens Williamsburg gave rise to my love of coasters and I always loved the atmosphere. It’s nostalgic and formative for me so I want them to succeed.
I'm glad that orcas are being allowed to thrive in the wild, however it's also terrifying knowing that our generation will be the last ones to see them in captivity and that, should the species falter, there will not be any backups in aquariums or zoos to try and repopulate the species.
I'm unsure if breeding them in captivity can result in a restoration of world-wide populations though. It's my understanding that the orcas kept at the parks would be ostracized by the social groups of natural roaming orcas if introduced, likely resulting in a similar, lonelier fate to what they're experiencing in captivity. With the lack of hunting skills as well, they would obviously starve. Ironically, it's SeaWorld's conservation initiatives that are doing the most to help restore wild orca populations.
“backups”
💀
Some animals do very well for release. Others don't. Being in the Marine mammal training field has taught me a lot about their care in captivity and the ethics of it. We are always striving to do better for our animals and sea world is a place many zoos and aquariums try to be
They do a lot right. But people will only see what they want to see and if they want to see unhappy animals in cages that's all they'll see even when it's the opposite m
Part of the problem is we don't really know how well they are doing in the wild, since they are so hard to study.
@@supersoundninja tell this to germans lol
That's a real station on emperor! I should know, I've built so many like it in Rollercoaster tycoon 3
I think things were heading this way but it really feels like, post covid, that theme parks are really trying to find any excuse to only focus on thrilling rides. Like it's the only thing that a park should focus on.
I definitely agree. Manby's shift towards a family audience seemed to go nowhere. Still, I would say that he wasn't really given the chance to execute his vision.
Great video, but one correction, I was at SeaWorld Orlando back in December and the indoor aquarium was open, accessible through the gift shop
Growing up I went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg from the late 70s to late 80s. Have always loved that park. I've been to Busch Gardens Tampa a few times, most recently this past June. Granted it wasn't very crowded but it was raining off and on all day. I did visit SeaWorld Orlando last year and there was a sizable crowd.
Sea world like parks are more show than tell. This concerns me as we saw in Black Fish, are a lot of problems in caring for these animals that really belong in the ocean and not a glorified deep swimming pool - which, by the way is over chlorinated for both animals and humans. I questioned very much, the ethics of keeping these animals in captivity!
I went to Seaworld Orlando in June this year. Overall, our family had an amazing time. My oldest daughter loves rides, my youngest loves the shows and exhibits. Three rides were down when we wanted to ride them. One was roped off at the entrance, with a young guy worker sitting on the ground. I asked him if he knew when the ride would be open again. He said “come back in 30 minutes.” Then he immediately went and unclipped the rope to let 5 people in and clipped it back. I asked him what that was about and he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Also, the food passes were confusing. We only ate a small limited breakfast bar for the entire day. I bought the souvenir cup. One station said it was free to refill. The next station charged me $7 for the same drink refill. There’s serious miscommunication and unclear rules in the park. But, I will return because the laid back vibe of the entire park was better.
The experience isn't great, but there's just so much potential there. If they could be bothered to pay their employees better and hire better management, it could truly be a good contender for taking a day out of a Disney or Universal focused vacation. Still, the people running the company know nothing about the industry they're in, so it will continue to fail.
I might be a minority but I wish they would add back the animations at Atlantis. the ride is all still there including the monster siren who is just sitting there
I agree, but I'll take what we can get. I've heard that the ride itself is a maintenance nightmare and I'm surprised that they keep it open.
You are spot on with your analysis of sea world. They seem to be trying to emulate six flags. Disney has gone the same way and is why my entire family no longer patronize them any longer. If I wanted six flags I would go. There and save a lot of money.
While it seems like just about every business is running with minimal staff these days to keep the lights on without raising prices too much and I'm generally pretty understanding of the economic realities behind it, anybody running a theme park needs to understand is that a lot of what people are paying for (and often paying well for) is a chance to escape from the unfortunate daily realities of the real world into a land of pure fun. I'd rather pay a few dollars extra for a ticket so that a park can take care of itself and its staff than have to be reminded that we're in a recession as I'm trying to ride a roller coaster. Cost cutting and immersion are simply at odds with each other.
went there yesterday. it was fun, but there are many issues. many staff seem to not care, dispatches are slow, rides have been abandoned like Antarctica. sea word orlando has lots of potential but it isn’t even remotely close to being on the level of universal and disney
I’d love to see the SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa parks in Central Florida become destination resorts with more attractions, plenty of resort hotels, and extra parks!
When I went to BG Tampa last year for Howl-O-Scream (before Gwazi), I also attended during the day and it was a VERY odd experience. I'm used to crowds and staffing at places like Universal and BG seemed almost abandoned. Very little traffic and lots of closed food trucks, though all of the shops seemed open. I began to panic that maybe the place was at minimal staffing and only a fraction of the rides would be open, but only Cheetah Hunt was down for maintenance, with everything else running with practically no lines.
In a bizarre way, it was perfect, as I could just saunter up to any ride (except Cheetah) and board. As such, I had done everything, including the safari trek, by around 2:00pm. I was even able to get some lunch and see the circus-type show in the Stanleyville Theater (which was a lot better than it had any right to be).
However, this completely changed an hour into Scream, when the park became packed. It was so bad that I almost ditched one of the houses, as the wait time had become absurdly long.
BG Tampa is one strange park. Maybe I just lucked-out and the place is usually shoulder-to-shoulder, but on that day, I felt like I had the joint all to myself.
When I went to film the park for the video, I essentially walked onto all of the coasters, including Iron Gwazi. If you go during the right time, it absolutely can be a great experience with a dead park. I would probably also anticipate that Howl-o-Scream keeps the day time crowds away as the parks close early for the event. Howl-o-Scream is also very hit and miss though. Some nights are dead, other nights are like HHN crowds.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Kinda makes you wonder if those of us accustomed to Disney and Universal have been bamboozled into believing theme parks have to be packed like sardines in order to be successful. As it is now, it doesn't matter which day you choose at the "big two", as any and all will see enormous traffic. And that'll probably carry-over to Epic Universe.
Maybe I need to give Sea World another chance, as the last time I went was over a decade. I'm sick of 60+ minute wait times while being pressured to buy expensive express passes, which in turn makes me so parched after standing in a hideously long line that I gladly spend $5 on a tiny soda that I've finished after two or three gulps. I then feel guilty for not staying the whole night since I spent almost $30 on parking, even though my body is screaming after standing and walking on concrete for the past five hours, as the precious few benches at the park are always occupied. And I still haven't yet bought the requisite overpriced shirt, lanyard, mug, and God only knows what else.
I went to HHN on a Wednesday recently and the lines had gotten stupidly long just an hour into the event while the live show was damn-near standing room only. ON A WEDNESDAY! I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure I'd get a lot done and wouldn't have to put my knees in traction afterwards on a lousy Wednesday, but nope, Universal had completely different plans.
I sometimes wonder if Disney and Universal know how blessed they are with enough people willing to endure navigating their asphalt-ridden theme parks at daily full capacity. It's no wonder they raise prices on this or that on a damn-near monthly basis.
I’d love to see Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg get some theming and landscaping to make the ride experience more exciting!
It devastates me what the current ownership is doing to these parks. Someone at the top thinks they need to be more "exciting" which is what has led to the loud music and obnoxious paint colors. This is especially sad at Busch Williamsburg, which is slowly losing its designation as the world's most beautiful theme park as they strive to be more like Six Flags. Destroying the atmosphere, eliminating the entertainment, pushing alcohol every ten feet and focusing solely on roller coasters is destroying what were the best theme parks in the country.
It's been at least a decade since I've been to Williamsburg, but there's no animals there, correct? I would definitely like to see some zoological exhibits there, even if it's something like wolves or other animals found throughout Europe.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentthey do have wolves and a wolf show
The SEAS chairman since 2019, Scott Ross, who owns something like 30-40% of the company, has been calling the shots. He's a classic New York private equity hedge fund type guy. The newest coasters have little to no theming, especially compared to those installed under Anheuser-Busch and pre-Scott Ross SEAS.
He calls the shots, the CEO position has little room for individual thought or interpretation of the business under him, hence the revolving door until he gets a good yes-man.
The 5% surcharge, pass price increases, less competitive (compared to other chains) wages, lack of theming budget, outsourcing the call center, devaluing the 2020-21 passes by keeping fully ready coasters closed for 2 years while the likes of Orion and Velocicoaster opened, all happened under him.
On my summer 2021 visit to central FL, Universal / SWO was a night and day difference. SWO was filthy and understaffed, the few staff that were there seemed disinterested, and all the B&Ms ran one train. Universal was the polar opposite, more expensive yet a much better value just from the overall experience.
The park that stands to suffer the most from Scott Ross' cutthroat management style is BGW, as that was the pinnacle of AB's theme park involvement imo.
And at the same time BGW has been slipping, KD has only been improving (minus the loss of Volcano).
So for reference for Orlando
Wild artic is now permanently closed and has been since 2021
The artic exhibits have been open for guests since July.
Edit 1: I was doing the SeaWorld camp this summer and oh my fucking god if I ever hear the music from electric ocean again I will break whatever radio it is playing on many of the other councilors said the same thing
Edit 2: Empire of the Penguin is permanently closed because the batteries that powered the cars had an unfortunate habit of taking too long to charge and far more importantly one literally exploded during testing and after checking them all they realized that it could happen to any of them so they shut the whole thing down. On the upside you can now meet the king and rockhopper penguins in the old ride area
SeaWorld San Diego definitely has some aspects that seem to be hit or miss. I have noticed slow dispatches on Electric Eel, but the Manta and Emperor crew are usually on top of things. Same with the food. The barbecue food in the middle of the park, I forget the location name, was pretty good, but the sandwiches over by Shipwreck Rapids really went downhill. That place used to be my favorite food spot in the park.
As with Emperor's nonexistent station... yeah that was kind of jaw dropping even as I knew they were having some payment problems. I got on Emperor during the passholder preview days, and I thought they'd surely, undoubtedly add a station building soon. Guess not!
I remember the only time I've really been to sea world orlando was to do the parks early 2000s marine biology camp. If I remember correctly, we slept inside the arctic exhibit one of the nights on the day we fed penguins and got to do the shark cages.
Still remember riding journey to Atlantis (original and not the really sad version we've got today lol) about 10 times in a row with a nonexistent line. What a time!
Ah, I miss the old penguin building with the moving walkway. The one that currently stands is completely different, though still pretty cool.
16:29 the emperor ride was finished for two years just sitting there. When we all got to ride it for an employee preview I was confused and thought it wasn’t done yet. They’re building a new ride where the old wild arctic ride was and hopefully they add theme to it.
Also we had to stop the 50% off discounts cause merchandise was loosing money. So much we upped the prices a lot. But orcas that were 50$ are now up to 80$