SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. unveiled plans for cause-based entertainment and a new virtual-reality ride as it seeks to move on from its highly scrutinized theatrical shows featuring killer whales.
In March the company said it would stop breeding the killer whales, also known as orcas, and convert its theatrical shows featuring them to educational experiences due to heavy public criticism that pressured attendance.
The amusement park company says it wants to move away from purely thrill-based entertainment and into providing meaningful experiences that inspire guests to prevent animal and ecological harm.
Instead of featuring orcas doing flips and other tricks set to upbeat music, the company says its San Diego location will introduce educational orca encounters that focus on enrichment, exercise and the overall health of orcas by showing how they eat, hunt, navigate and communicate.
“In developing new experiences, we want guests to have fun but also be inspired, and our parks are uniquely suited to create meaningful and fun vacations,” Chief Executive Joel Manby said.
This past summer, SeaWorld was already running a basic trial version of its educational shows alongside the long-standing theatrical ones, but the park is now ready for their full release.
Mr. Manby has also said he wants to better cross-promote the company’s animal rescue efforts, which saves ocean animals and nourishes them back to health at its locations in Florida, Texas and California. It already has a television show featuring the rescues, and this summer it’s opening a new themed roller coaster in San Antonio focused on experiencing what it’s like to “spring into action” and help distressed animals.
The company is also opening the first virtual-reality roller coaster in Florida, adding VR headsets to its Kraken coaster in Orlando. Riders are immersed in a digital landscape filled with extinct and legendary ocean animals as they go through the water, plunge and twist in sync with a coaster’s motion. This year Six Flags Entertainment Corp. has also been introducing VR headsets to its North American parks.
The company is also expanding its Dolphin Nursery in Orlando and a new 3-acre area focused on exploration and adventure to its San Diego location.
In all, the company is investing about $175 million in capital spending, in what it says is one of its largest new attraction years in its history. SeaWorld had initially planned a $300 million expansion of its Orca exhibit but largely scrapped those plans when it decided to stop breeding them.
While SeaWorld has ended its breeding program, it still will have killer whales for decades to come. It has nearly 30 killer whales across its locations and said they typically live up to 50 years. Some animal rights organizations have called for SeaWorld to release its remaining stock or house them in ocean pens.
