I had the best shirt as a kid from this ride. I wish I still had it! I loved this ride, it’s such a shame that Seaworld have turned it into what it is today - it was a masterclass of dark ride storytelling
i loved the original version of it. never thought it was too scary myself as a kid. The effects and the story really helped make it a good dark ride as well as a fun little water ride to cool off in the florida sun. Without all of that stuff the ride is kind of dull, with nothing going on until you reach the drops
SeaWorld doesn’t understand the value of the the sense of belonging of a ride to the park and how visitors visit for this. The same way Tower of Terror is in DHS, or the mummy’s ride in Universal Studios. SeaWorld had the opportunity to create a ride that could engage with nostalgia and overall experience of the park. But they decided to really plug off in that refurbish. Which was actually a death sentence by the administration to excuse themselves from continuing to use the attraction, without the minimum maintenance that is required to have the whole theme and history operative and updated. If the park (all its operators) had had a little vision and love for their own stuff, this attraction would be completely different and highly valued by the public after so many years, I would say had the chance to even compete with US and Disney rides.
I never got to experience the old altantis, but I am aware that the effects were likley turned off due to guests complaining it was scary for many guests and seaworld wanted to make it so more guests could "enjoy" the ride. I'd love to see a new and more family friendly story added but still keeping the mysterious vibes.
When I was a a kid I was too scared to ride this but my father did when it first opened. This video made me remember seeing him come around the lagoon after the first drop. Thanks
I was a camp counselor at SWO and we had this discussion a lot -- about how much we loved the OG Atlantis and how the new one was just kind of... meh -- even some of our campers made this comment -- how the drops were exciting but the show building portion of the ride just seemed lackluster.
God when this was in its prime it’s scared the crap out of me as a kid but I went to again being older the ride was literally nothing like the ride that scared me
Growing up in Florida I remember as a kid I was tricked to going on this ride because of the deceptive que but I rode it before the story elements were removed and after, it's a great ride but personally I think busch had been more of a family oriented company mainly due to pricing I mean I understand why they have too many rides that don't fit the theme of the park, they are now trying to compete with disney and Universal instead of complementing them when I was a kid you could get theme park hopping tickets but that's a thing of the past
😢 I remember going on it in the mid-90s and that seahorse was literally everything! What saddens me to see that they no longer view merfolk as a good plot for storytelling.
Awesome video! I loved (and still love) this ride a lot for some reason. As a kid I just really enjoyed seeing it from outside the park too. I agree they likely won’t ever refurb this - and it’s a shame.
I miss the Seaworld and Busch Gardens of years ago. The parks used to have a charm that they are lacking now. It’s hard to describe but the new owners just don’t seem to care about the fact that these are *Theme* Parks, and not six flags.
Late to the party but Atlantis’ downfall was partially due to Kraken. When Kraken became Kraken Unleashed and added VR the story of Kraken Unleashed was that the Kraken itself surfaced Atlantis. Believing Kraken Unleashed was going to be a massive hit and revitalize that corner of the park, SeaWorld began to strip Atlantis of its theming to prepare for a new story directly tying into Kraken Unleashed. When Unleashed failed, SeaWorld was left with the losses from the VR experience and now had Atlantis waiting for its revamp. The decision was made to open Atlantis without its story elements because at the time there was still the chance for the revamp to come and they weren’t going to invest money into upgrading the original effects if changes may come once the losses from Unleashed were recovered. That day has never come and we still have stripped Atlantis.
I remember an executive telling me that when I was furious after writing the current version that they had shut off all the storyline elements. Anybody who rode Kraken VR might remember that you could see Atlantis very clearly in the background. It would still be very easy just to simply restore the ride to its former glory. There was nothing wrong with the original storyline
I rode this shortly after it opened. Favorite water ride ever. Rode it again years later.. all the effects, ect. were no longer working. It was really sad.. especially considering how much I hyped it up. 😂
was really hoping to get a ride on it about 3 weeks ago but atlantis for some stupid reason closed at 5pm instead of 6pm with EVERY other coaster. oh and almost everything in the park was closed for about 4 hours of the entire day due to "lightning" even tho it was sunny all around the park the entire time hopefully it still stands next year when i hopefully return. even tho the ride is a shell of its former self it would still be nice to experience it one day.
I rode it last year for the first time. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't amazing. If those effects from turned off in 2017 had been on it might have been better. There wasn't even any audio cues - just the music loop. I had no idea there was a story or what was going on.
You said the one in San Diego had no story I have to correct you when it opened Journey of Atlantis San Diego did have a story and I do remember it. It was not like what I heard about the Orlando version it was small. On the left hill, you had a fog on the first lift hill, and on the turn into the first drop it was mostly through the first part of the ride and the elevator lift where before you got into the elevator lift you made the god of the sea made and he said you will be part of Atlantis forever which is still there but the video in the elevator lift with the False Orca that was helping you get out were with a whale when you got to the top you heard the god of the sea say there is no escape and then you did the rollercoaster put before the last splash down and the end of the story with you return and escaping Atlantis is was not as big as Orlando but there was a story and they did bring back some what of a story in the last few years not as good as the first one after a lawsuit
I don't think many people appreciate that the legendary actor Christopher Lloyd (aka doc brown) appeared in this ride in one of its guises.. Behind the wooden door where he becone the seahorse to show us the way!
Crap!! I rope dropped journey to Atlantis Orlando what they did to the ride was horrendous. I wrote that ride 60 something times in one day because it was the only attraction at SeaWorld. You go into the gift shop now and it’s just SeaWorld merchandise. There is zero journey to Atlantis merchandise. I don’t know what happened, but I won’t be going back.
omg. I remember when this ride opened! they had people dressed as statues outside the entrance at the beginning. I'm excited to watch this
I had the best shirt as a kid from this ride. I wish I still had it! I loved this ride, it’s such a shame that Seaworld have turned it into what it is today - it was a masterclass of dark ride storytelling
i loved the original version of it. never thought it was too scary myself as a kid. The effects and the story really helped make it a good dark ride as well as a fun little water ride to cool off in the florida sun. Without all of that stuff the ride is kind of dull, with nothing going on until you reach the drops
I last rode it in 2009 and totally loved it
Great video for a great ride! I hope Sea World will give it the refurbishment it deserves 😊
It was really cool when it opened, I remember going that year and riding it. It really needs some love.
This ride and Kraken are such “shells” of their former selves.
SeaWorld doesn’t understand the value of the the sense of belonging of a ride to the park and how visitors visit for this. The same way Tower of Terror is in DHS, or the mummy’s ride in Universal Studios. SeaWorld had the opportunity to create a ride that could engage with nostalgia and overall experience of the park. But they decided to really plug off in that refurbish. Which was actually a death sentence by the administration to excuse themselves from continuing to use the attraction, without the minimum maintenance that is required to have the whole theme and history operative and updated.
If the park (all its operators) had had a little vision and love for their own stuff, this attraction would be completely different and highly valued by the public after so many years, I would say had the chance to even compete with US and Disney rides.
I definitely remember hearing the Beetlejuice music playing on this ride lmao 😂
Dad & I loved it
We need more themed Mack water coasters period 😭
i went on this when we visited florida in 05- i was 5 at the time and thought this was a fever dream for years. sad to see what its become
One of the howl-o-scream houses has Allura in it this year 🩵
At Orlando? And if so, which one?
@@jaedonogaming9565 Atlantis; Journey Below
I never got to experience the old altantis, but I am aware that the effects were likley turned off due to guests complaining it was scary for many guests and seaworld wanted to make it so more guests could "enjoy" the ride. I'd love to see a new and more family friendly story added but still keeping the mysterious vibes.
When I was a a kid I was too scared to ride this but my father did when it first opened. This video made me remember seeing him come around the lagoon after the first drop. Thanks
This ride has my favorite ride soundtrack of all time
I love this ride and I love the sound track to it to,
I hope they give it more love in the coming years
I was a camp counselor at SWO and we had this discussion a lot -- about how much we loved the OG Atlantis and how the new one was just kind of... meh -- even some of our campers made this comment -- how the drops were exciting but the show building portion of the ride just seemed lackluster.
God when this was in its prime it’s scared the crap out of me as a kid but I went to again being older the ride was literally nothing like the ride that scared me
Growing up in Florida I remember as a kid I was tricked to going on this ride because of the deceptive que but I rode it before the story elements were removed and after, it's a great ride but personally I think busch had been more of a family oriented company mainly due to pricing I mean I understand why they have too many rides that don't fit the theme of the park, they are now trying to compete with disney and Universal instead of complementing them when I was a kid you could get theme park hopping tickets but that's a thing of the past
😢 I remember going on it in the mid-90s and that seahorse was literally everything! What saddens me to see that they no longer view merfolk as a good plot for storytelling.
Awesome video! I loved (and still love) this ride a lot for some reason. As a kid I just really enjoyed seeing it from outside the park too. I agree they likely won’t ever refurb this - and it’s a shame.
I miss the Seaworld and Busch Gardens of years ago. The parks used to have a charm that they are lacking now. It’s hard to describe but the new owners just don’t seem to care about the fact that these are *Theme* Parks, and not six flags.
Late to the party but Atlantis’ downfall was partially due to Kraken. When Kraken became Kraken Unleashed and added VR the story of Kraken Unleashed was that the Kraken itself surfaced Atlantis. Believing Kraken Unleashed was going to be a massive hit and revitalize that corner of the park, SeaWorld began to strip Atlantis of its theming to prepare for a new story directly tying into Kraken Unleashed. When Unleashed failed, SeaWorld was left with the losses from the VR experience and now had Atlantis waiting for its revamp. The decision was made to open Atlantis without its story elements because at the time there was still the chance for the revamp to come and they weren’t going to invest money into upgrading the original effects if changes may come once the losses from Unleashed were recovered. That day has never come and we still have stripped Atlantis.
Wow I didn’t know that, that would’ve been a great idea if everything worked out as they wanted
I remember an executive telling me that when I was furious after writing the current version that they had shut off all the storyline elements. Anybody who rode Kraken VR might remember that you could see Atlantis very clearly in the background. It would still be very easy just to simply restore the ride to its former glory. There was nothing wrong with the original storyline
I rode this shortly after it opened. Favorite water ride ever. Rode it again years later.. all the effects, ect. were no longer working. It was really sad.. especially considering how much I hyped it up. 😂
Great ride. It’s a shame what’s happened to it
was really hoping to get a ride on it about 3 weeks ago but atlantis for some stupid reason closed at 5pm instead of 6pm with EVERY other coaster. oh and almost everything in the park was closed for about 4 hours of the entire day due to "lightning" even tho it was sunny all around the park the entire time hopefully it still stands next year when i hopefully return. even tho the ride is a shell of its former self it would still be nice to experience it one day.
This video is fitting for splash mountain too. Orlando had 2 of the best water rides in history. Now they are shells of their former self
RIP Wild Arctic
They just replaced the drop track and coaster track .. a few years ago .. it’s not going anywhere
I never understood this. There's no way its THAT expensive to put some projectors and lights up and change the ride completely.
I rode it last year for the first time. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't amazing. If those effects from turned off in 2017 had been on it might have been better. There wasn't even any audio cues - just the music loop. I had no idea there was a story or what was going on.
Ngl the music they use goes hard lol, but it's a shame they got rid of everything else that was good with the ride.
You said the one in San Diego had no story I have to correct you when it opened Journey of Atlantis San Diego did have a story and I do remember it. It was not like what I heard about the Orlando version it was small. On the left hill, you had a fog on the first lift hill, and on the turn into the first drop it was mostly through the first part of the ride and the elevator lift where before you got into the elevator lift you made the god of the sea made and he said you will be part of Atlantis forever which is still there but the video in the elevator lift with the False Orca that was helping you get out were with a whale when you got to the top you heard the god of the sea say there is no escape and then you did the rollercoaster put before the last splash down and the end of the story with you return and escaping Atlantis is was not as big as Orlando but there was a story and they did bring back some what of a story in the last few years not as good as the first one after a lawsuit
Rode this two days ago. Its in terrible shape.
I don't think many people appreciate that the legendary actor Christopher Lloyd (aka doc brown) appeared in this ride in one of its guises..
Behind the wooden door where he becone the seahorse to show us the way!
That was Christopher Lloyd?! I only saw Stravos appear in the window once in 2015-2016 (although the window shut on him mid-spiel)
Crap!! I rope dropped journey to Atlantis Orlando what they did to the ride was horrendous. I wrote that ride 60 something times in one day because it was the only attraction at SeaWorld. You go into the gift shop now and it’s just SeaWorld merchandise. There is zero journey to Atlantis merchandise. I don’t know what happened, but I won’t be going back.
Sea world is cooked
The ride in flordia is legit , The ride in san diego is a joke!!!