SeaWorld's decision to end orca shows at SeaWorld San Diego is getting all the headlines in the general press, but Manby didn't actually announce that. He said that the San Diego park would end its run of the current "One Ocean" show in 2016, replacing the performance with a new presentation that relied less on theatrics and more on orca's "natural behaviors."
Given that One Ocean sharply cut back on the theatrics of "Believe" and previous orca shows, due to the removal of trainers from the water, Manby's announcement reflects the next step in an already-established trend for the company. But SeaWorld San Diego will still have its orcas and they will still "star" in public showings, even as the nature of those shows change.
Update: Here is a video of the announcement:
More significantly, Manby announced some other changes for the San Diego park. SeaWorld has "signed a letter of intent with Evans Hotels Group to explore development of a resort hotel on SeaWorld's leased land in San Diego," according to its press release. Evans operates several other properties in the San Diego area, including The Lodge at Torrey Pines. SeaWorld and Six Flags Magic Mountain have been the only theme parks in Southern California without on-site hotels — features that Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Legoland California all offer.
To help pay for the "Sea Rescue" rides, Manby said that SeaWorld is diverting money it had set aside for the "Blue World Project," a massive expansion of its orca habitat in San Diego. SeaWorld will refurbish the orca habitat in San Diego as part of the end of One Ocean show, but he did not elaborate on exactly what that would entail.
Finally, Manby said that SeaWorld has obtained the theme park rights to the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer character and that Rudolph would be featured in new holiday "shows and experiences" at the parks.
(If you are in the Southern California area, I will have some additional thoughts about today's announcement in Tuesday's Orange County Register.)
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As the previous seaworld article here at TPI mentioned, we live in a much different world than when Seaworld first opened it's doors 50 years ago plus consumer tastes and preferences have changed considerably in the last 5 years.
For Seaworld to survive and suceed in the new millennium, it unfortunately needs to abandon its signature attraction which put it on the map.
Ocean Park in Hong Kong and Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai China do not have killer whales in their lineup and make do (quite well, thank you very much) with just dolphins, Beluga whales, Sea lions, etc.
Seaworld can survive without their Signature Shamu attractions.
They can still retain their sea theme but do something else.
Ocean Park consistently beats HK Disneyland in terms of attendance despite doom and gloom predictions when HK Disneyland opened.
Ocean Kingdom has 3 Guinness world records due to the sizes of their various marine themed attractions.
Seaworld just needs to use a different gimmick to get people through the gates and this is a good first step.
@Ian - I think Sea World is specifically purchasing the rights to the Rankin Bass imagining of the Rudolph character, which has proven a much more lucrative property than the Polar Express IP that Sea World previously used during the Holiday season.
As for the orca shows, while they may still technically have a show I doubt most of the public will feel that way. To me, it sounds like the replacement could simply be a trainer on stage with one whale in the water, and the trainer talks about the animal and behaviors that it is demonstrating on command. That's the type of thing I'd stop and watch for five minutes and then move on, not something I'd want to sit and watch for 30-45 minutes in the sun. I do hope the "show" ends up being more than that, but I'm of the opinion that a theme park show should be entertainment first, education second (at a zoo, those should be flipped) and as long as SeaWorld promotes themselves as a theme park that is what visitors will likely expect of them.
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