Sea World Orlando should try to be like Disney Sea if it wants to compete with Disney and Universal
Sea World Orlando: This means build great scenery and add dark rides.
The hotels deal (free dining + front-of-line access) is not enough.
I highly doubt Seaworld will ever truly compete with Disney. It can compete with the individual Universal parks but not the resort as a whole. Seaworld should, IMO, just stick to its strength (animal attractions) because if it tries to "out-Disney" Disney, odds are it will fail. Either the new Seaworld ride wouldn't measure up or, even if it was great, Disney would respond. Also, look at Harry Potter-as great as it is, it did not help IOA surpass a single Disney park despite Forbiiden Journey being amazing.
To be honsest I have never been to seaworld with my 7 trips to flordia 3 have been to universal and 4 have been to disney. I don't kno much about seaworld except about shamu and a few rides but I'm sure it's pretty small and about the meal deal I'm sure the food isn't that good either. If they would like to even compete with disney need more rides!!! more space!!! and make it more famous so maybe my 8th trip to flordia will make me wanna check it out...
Sea World is great at what it does. On a day where the Sun is doing it stuff, a trip around Sea World is fantastic. The Shows are usually very good (although havent seen the new updated Shamu one yet) and I find myself walking around much more relaxed than I do at a Disney or Uni park. My youngest Kid voted it his fave place when we were out there in February, he thinks Manta was better than any ride ever, and it was pretty good.
Check Sea World out. Its not the place to go if you LOVE rides, but if you like having a good time, then Sea World wont fail you.
I'm not sure anyone in the Seaworld 'suits' would ever think it could 'compete' with Disney. Its a successful park because of the draw of Disney. I am a Disney fan - but Seaworld is actually my favourite park. I just love it. I have done all of the backstage tours and most of the experiences - trainer for a day in Discovery Cove (as a Seaworld sister park) was incredible!
So they have done this deal with the local hotels which is a fantastic idea. Yes the draw for the area is mostly Disney but some of us go to the area and dont wish to stay on Disney property. To have a benefit of staying off-property related to Seaworld is great for a lot of people. Especially those with younger children who may get more bang for their buck at Seaworld in relation to the little ones.
I agree - they do what they do very well.
The park needs to keep adding new rides. I went with my Dad last week and the park was busy on Wednesday and really busy Saturday night. We only went for the rides because we have seen the shows at all 3 SeaWorld parks.
Zack - as a SW fan that made me very jealous! I'd love to go to the other SW parks! Even though they have made the shows all very similar now.
I would think maybe one more ride could be good, but I would hate the park to lose its core theme with a lot of rides. I guess they look to Busch Gardens as being the rides park. And I can't wait to get on Cheetah Hunt!!
Daniel, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Tokyo DisneySea, but Sea World is about as far away in concept from DisneySea as possible.
The marketing concept to Sea World is the wonders of the real world with a touch of the whimsical. At Sea World you get to come face-to-face with the creatures of the ocean in an entertaining yet educational manner. That is their main focus. They make it fun to learn about the natural world. The rides and play areas are just thrown in to broaden the base. They make it easier for Mom and Dad to sell the idea of a day not at Disney or Universal to the kids and teenagers.
The marketing concept to DisneySea is all about the wonders of the imagination. The park has a sea theme to it, but that’s where the similarities end. Just about everything there comes from a book or a movie or a copy of an existing Disney ride. About the only animals I saw there were the seagulls scavenging food scraps.
If the suits at Sea World wanted the park to be more like DisneySea, here’s just of few of the problems they would encounter:
Huge Expenditures of Cash – DisneySea was incredibly expensive to build. It may still be the most expensive theme park ever built. (initial construction costs)
Theming of Attractions – Disney has a huge library of movies and cartoons to base attractions upon. Where would Sea World get the characters and theming other than the open market? More big bucks there.
Loss of Uniqueness – Why spend huge amounts of money to build something that Disney could do better? Much speculation has been made about the addition of another gate to the Orlando parks and possibly the California parks. Disney has already developed the concept in Japan. Who’s to say that they wouldn’t attempt to do a cheaper version in the States?
No, Sea World should stay right where they are because nobody is going to try to move into their niche. They are at the pinnacle of the aquarium-based parks, and the cost to take them on in their strength is prohibitive to any potential challengers. Moving out of that niche would be financial suicide.
You are all right. Sea World is not supposed to be Disney-like (even though Journey to Atlantis is the answer to Splash Mountain) or Universal-like (although Kraken and Manta are the answer to IOA's coasters) Sea World is its own unique theme park.
My analogy with Disney Sea is a bad one.
SeaWorld has never really been in competition with the other parks, their primary goal has always been stated as education with entertainment.
Journey to Atlantis was built mostly to keep the 'tweens and teens interested and semi-entertained in the parks between shows and exhibits. There was a huge nearly year long servey done prior to it which asked "What would you most like to see Seaworld add into our park?" and guess what? The major answer was always "More Rides".
That was exactly what the employees where told when the plans went up before construction began. I'd left SWO before Kraken so I can't speak for the reasons given to employees as to why it was built.
As for JTA, it had an addition benefit..It also helped ease some of the show tension with angry people in regards to full shows. The line was always long when it first opened which did ease some of the stadiums show loads. Rather then then 30 minutes between shows during peak summer hours we sudden got a solid 45 which gave us 25 minutes to "big stuff" the stadium and reset on our end. Which translates into less work at the end of the night for us. Probably not the main goal but it surely made those of us in stadiums happy!
At least from personal experience, it had it's perks.
SeaWorld said they might replace the whole peguins area with a dark ride of slme sort in the.comming years.
We like Sea World, and went again Christmas time; it was decorated beautifully, themed Shamu show, a blast. Great restaurant at the Sharks exhibit as well. Maybe a themed hotel resort but that's a big investment. The coasters as fun break/thrills between shows. It's not a place your going to spend a whole vacation, but for us it's a must do when we're in Orlando for anything more than a long weekend.
Tyler Bell.
No No No. Not the Penguins!
That's not good news.
Sea World offers a different experience than Disney and Universal. To try to fight Disney on its turf is nonsense, and a recipe for a disaster. Sea World should enhance the differences with Disney, not the common points, to attract more people.
Journey to Atlantis, Kraken and Manta were made to accommodate the older son, who keep pushing for other parks, so that the rest of the family could enjoy what Sea World has to offer.
Andy Stevens
Lol, they said they were going to move the penguins in a different location.
I also love SeaWorld Orlando, and while I agree that they don't have the cash flow to 'out-Disney' anyone- I do relate to the topic of this thread. I think a little more themeing could be great for the park. Ultimately though SeaWorld has succeeded because it is different from Disney and Universal.
Rumors have it that they are going to be fixing up one of their problem areas (Penguin courtyard). Hopefully they will do something grand!
The venture that SeaWorld has taken on which has not been brought up yet is their 'SeaWorld Pictures'. Distributing animal focused films could give the parks a whole new level of notoriety and synergy possibilities.
Chris-- next time you come to Orlando you should consider getting a Flex Ticket. The Flex is Universal/ SeaWorld answer to Disney's park hopper, and gives you park hopping abilities at IOA, USF, SWF, BGT, and wet and wild (Aquatica can also be added). Transportation to each park is also included- it is a great deal. Then you can check out SeaWorld and discover why so many people love it.
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