Sea World Orlando, along with just about every other Orlando park this weekend was jammed pack. It’s a Holiday weekend, the weather is warm…er. And the Brazilian tour groups are in full bloom. Ah, smell the flags and chants. Anyway, A small photo update from Sea World Orlando including loads of pictures of Atlantis, Manta, and Omaka Rocka.
First stop is Manta. Brian Morrow recently told the Orlando Sentinel that Manta was going to undergo some cosmetic changes including the aquarium, and pump station areas. While the pump station outside has not been touched, a small update has been made to the aquarium, just around the corner from the Sea Dragons. The curtain is gone! They are going to be installing new doors in this area, but for now there is a door in its place. Atlantis on the other hand is completely drained, and there are crews heavily at work on it. A lot of the top jewels are gone for now, and cranes are in place on the lifts as well as scaffolding around the second lift tower. Crews are also hard at work to get it ready for next Mondays reopening. Word has it that this is an ongoing refurb that will take the ride back to its original glory. Promising so far.
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Next up is the penguins and Clydesdale Hamlet. The Penguins are now running backwards, and it seems for the sole purpose to dump you into the covered area that they have now turned into a make-shift gift shop. Makes more sense actually, because the majority of people that hit the penguins come from Atlantis/Kraken and instead of dumping you back out in that area, it now exits you closer to the Sea Lions. Makes sense in my touring plans. The Clydesdale Hamlet is now just…The Hamlet. No news here. Our first trip since it happened. These are pretty horses but they are no Clydesdales. They have kept pretty much everything the same, only now there is no Busch products anywhere.
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Work on Omaka Rocka is continuing, with more pieces on site, and more work being done. I was wondering how everyone was getting these great shots. Looked like it was really some sneaky goings on….no. It was simply an open construction gate as you go through the exit. The slide is also against the fence so that all you have to do is stand on your car to get a good shot. Insiders indeed!
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In other news walking around, my heart skipped a beat when I saw “Complimentary Beverages” and was even more in glee when the attendant handed me a full bottle of ice cold Bud Light Lime. Sadly, it was a mistake and we lucked into something…Sorry Sea World, but thanks for the free beer!
