What’s better than a full day of fun at SeaWorld Orlando?  How about extending your visit with a SeaWorld AfterDark Adventure Tour!

The 5-hour AfterDark Adventure Tours are behind-the-scenes walking tours of the park.  Tours begin early evening (5 pm or 6 pm) and highlights include front-of-line access to the parks two signature thrill rides, Kraken and Journey to Atlantis.  You’ll also enjoy reserved seating at two of SeaWorld’s amazing night shows.

The tour, available only to guests over the age of 21, includes a delicious dinner and a visit to the Brewmaster’s Club within the park’s Hospitality Center to sample the tasty portfolio of Anheuser-Busch beers.

Summer is here and it’s never too early to beat the heat at SeaWorld’s exciting new water park, Aquatica!

Stated summer hours at Aquatica at 9 am til 10 pm for the general public.  However, effective immediately, guests arriving with pre-purchased tickets will be guaranteed entrance as early at 8 am - providing an extra hour of wet and wonderful fun.

Both kiosks and ticket windows will be open at 8 am to transfer vouchers for admission.

Aquatica, conveniently located adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando,  is Central Florida’s newest adventure water park…offering guests a variety of up close animal experiences, high speed thrills, sandy beaches and waters from the  serene to the extreme!  With 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, and more than 80,000 square feet of beach area, Aquatic provides myriad attractions that zoom, float and splash guests through amazing animal habitats and undersea adventures!

Winding rivers throughout Aquatica offer two different journeys.  One river carries guests through gentle waterfalls, past exotic birds and into an undersea grotto with thousands of colorful fish.  The other river offers more intense thrills, jetting riders through rolling rapids, rushing geysers and racing waters!

SeaWorld Orlando has announced the next generation of SeaWorld thrills with Manta - a new mega-attraction designed to seamlessly  transition guests from the awe of encountering rays in underwater flight…into the sensation of being one.  Swooping over sea and sky, Manta will inspire riders with amazing underwater animal habitats, then soar them face down, in a horizontal position, aboard a manta-inspired flying coaster.  The new signature ride is scheduled to open summer 2009.

Guests will enter a mythical village filled with artisan-created engravings and artwork that celebrate ray legend and lore.  The queue line winds through caverns with floor to ceiling windows to huge aquariums filled with 300 rays, as well as thousands of fish and mysterious sea creatures from oceans around the world such as sea dragons and sea horses.  Shark rays, spotted eagles rays, leopard rays, cownose rays and oscillate river rays will all float past and above.

Once guests traverse the fun-filled queue line, they’ll fly face down, in a horizontal position, underneath the belly of a coaster train shaped as a giant manta.  With a wing span of 12 feet, the giant manta will soar over a 16,300 square foot lagoon - swooping and diving at nearly 60 mph, through four inversions on 3, 359 feet of track.  The manta sails from sky to sea - at a height of up to 140 feet and a drop of 113 feet - with the manta’s wings nearly skimming the waves below.

SeaWorld Orlando has announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art thrill ride to open sometime in 2009.  Designed to be the theme park’s new signature attraction, the ride incorporates animal components, marine-life components and roller coaster style thrills that provide a sensation of gliding

The ride is expected to become a bold new focal point for the theme park’s entrance as well as become the park’s anchor attraction.  Few details about the ride, including the name, have yet to be announced.  However, the ride will combine entertainment with marine-life education.

The announcement of the new ride comes on the heels of the recent grand opening of Orlando’s newest water park – Aquatica by SeaWorld.

Aquatica by SeaWorld is now open!  Orlando’s newest water park opened March 1 to rave reviews.  The park, which integrates thrilling water rides with unique animal interactions, offers wet and wonderful ways to cool off for kids of all ages.

Aquatica becomes the fourth major water park in Orlando, joining Wet ‘N Wild and Disney’s two water park entries, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. 

With 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons and more than 80,000 square feet of beach area, the park allows visitors to zoon, float and splash through amazing animal habitats and undersea adventures.  The park’s signature attraction plunges riders through a crystal blue lagoon that is home to four beautiful black & white Commerson’s dolphins.  A separate viewing area allows for additional enjoyment of these fast, agile swimmers.

Orlando’s newest theme park is set to open to the public on March 1, 2008!  SeaWorld’s exciting new water park, Aquatica, will blend up close animal experiences, waters from serene to extreme, high-speed thrills and wide, sandy beaches to create an all new water park experience.

“SeaWorld is famous for immersing guests in the mystery of the sea and its animals,” said Jim Atchison, executive vice president and general manager of SeaWorld Orlando. “Aquatica takes this immersion to a new level, inviting guests to play in, over, and under the water itself.” 

With nearly 60 acres of lush landscape inspired by the vivid color, stunning flora and carefree personality of a South Sea Islands, Aquatica is reminiscent of the rugged beauty of New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea. Crystal-blue rivers wind through hidden grottos and refreshing waterfalls, while rich greenery and bright flowers adorn towering rock formations.

Live animals from lands all over the world including Commerson’s dolphins, brilliant macaws and colorful fish bring to life the park’s playful, high-energy nature.

Aquatica features the most thrilling water rides in the world with 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, and more than 80,000 square feet of beach area. These distinct attractions will zoom, float and splash guests through amazing animal habitats and undersea adventures.

The park’s signature attraction plunges riders in clear tubes through a crystal-blue lagoon with black-and-white Commerson’s dolphins. Guests feel as if they are flying beneath the sea among these beautiful animals. While similar in coloration to SeaWorld’s icon, Shamu, these dolphins are also distinctly different. In addition to being much smaller, they are also fast, agile swimmers - making them the perfect inhabitants for this lively park.

Aquatica’s attractions offer equal emphasis on high-energy thrill rides and immersive swimming experiences. A colorful mix of racing tunnels, raft rides and rivers offer crashing surf and high-speed thrills, while pools, lagoons and lazy rivers invite guests to enjoy slower pace.

It’s that time of year again.  Time for the annual Bud & BBQ Weekends at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.  Beginning Feb. 16-17 and running for four consecutive weekends, the highly popular Bud & BBQ festivals allow visitors to these theme parks an opportunity to enjoy ice cold Budweiser, hot spicy BBQ and fabulous live music!

 Bud & BBQ events are held at SeaWorld each Saturday and at Busch Gardens each Sunday throughout the month-long celebration.  Please note that there is an additional charge for all food and beverage items and you must be 21 years of age or older to purchase alcoholic beverages. 

Seating capacity for the live music is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Bud & BBQ entertainers include:

Saturdays at SeaWorld

2/16   Trisha Yearwood

2/23   Creedence Clearwater Revival

3/1     Craig Morgan & Pat Green

3/8    Joe Nichols & Jason Michael Carroll

Sundays at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

2/17   Sara Evans

2/24   Styx

3/2     Clay Walker

3/9     Gary Allan

Visitors to SeaWorld Orlando or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are entitled to receive a 2nd visit FREE!  The second visit free ticket is valid for one additional visit to the same park during regularly scheduled park hours for up to 7 consecutive days from the date of first visit.

Don’t miss your opportunity to enjoy a second great day of theme park fun - free! 

SeaWorld Orlando is a place where up-close encounters connect you to the energy, excitement, and mystery of the sea and sea life.  And now you can enjoy that excitement and energy for a second day – at no additional cost.  When you purchase a one-day ticket to SeaWorld or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, you now get a second visit to the same park – at no extra charge – during regularly scheduled park hours for up to 7 consecutive days from the date of your first visit.  When you visit is up to you!  You can visit the park one day and come back to enjoy the night shows another evening.  Or come back for another full day.  It’s up to you.  Don’t miss your opportunity to double your fun and adventure - with a second day at SeaWorld!  Parking is not included.

SeaWorld rings in the New Year on Dec. 31 with a musical celebration that includes the best in pop, Latin and swing music and dancing.

The party begins with Michael Andrew and his 18-piece Atomic Big Band who will keep the crowd on their feet and dancing the night away. Then, at the stroke of midnight, the nighttime sky above SeaWorld will shine even brighter with a vibrant and exciting fireworks display.

For those who prefer to end the year with a splash, the park’s attractions and thrill rides will remain open until midnight.  Don’t miss your opportunity to spend a special New Year’s celebration with Shamu and all the rest of SeaWorld’s many aquatic friends!