SeaWorld Orlando is part theme park, part aquarium, and part marine mammal rescue center. If you haven’t visited Seaworld when you visit Orlando, you are missing out. Sure the theming is nowhere near what you will find at Disney or even Universal. However, the rides and attractions are top of the line.
SeaWorld Orlando opened on December 15, 1973. That is just two years after the Magic Kingdom over at Walt Disney World. Universal Studios Orlando didn’t open until June 7, 1990. Just let that sink in a minute. That’s right, SeaWorld has been around for a long time.
If you are a roller coaster fan, you won’t be disappointed with a visit here. What’s even better is the wait times are much shorter too and dare we say, the roller coasters are better.
Roller Coasters
SeaWorld Orlando is home to six roller coasters, one water coaster, and one river raft ride. Five of the roller coasters are high thrill rides that you won’t find at any of the WDW parks and Hulk might be the closest to any of these rides. One of the roller coasters is kid friendly and can be found in the Sesame Street Land
Super Grover’s Box Car Derby
Originally called Shamu Express and opened in 2006. It was rethemed to Super Grover in 2019 with the opening of Sesame Street Land. This is the only kid friendly roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando.
Kraken
Kraken is the oldest roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. Kraken reaches a top speed of 65 mph and stands at 153 feet tall. It opened in 2000.
Manta
Manta opened in 2009 and is a “flying” type roller coaster. It reaches a top speed of 56 mph and hits a height of 140 feet.
Mako
Mako opened in 2016 and is currently (8/2023) the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Orlando. It reaches a top speed of 73 mph and stands at 200 feet tall.
Ice Breaker
Ice Breaker opened in 2022 and has the steepest drop of any roller coaster at SeaWorld and in Florida. It was supposed to open in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid pandemic. Ice Breaker reaches a top speed of 52 mph and only reaches a max height of 93 feet.
Pipeline: The Surf Coaster
Pipeline opened on 5/27/23 and is a first of a kind prototype where the seats move riders up and down. The roller coaster hits a top speed of 60 mph and a height of 110 feet.
Journey to Atlantis
Journey to Atlantis is considered a water coaster where most of the ride is in the dark. The main drop is sixty feet and some riders might get wet.
Infinity Falls
Infinity Falls is a river rapid type ride and currently (8/2023) holds the record for the tallest drop on a river raft ride at 40 feet. The ride lasts for about 5 minutes.
Lands
SeaWorld is made up of eight different lands. They are currently Port of Entry, Sea of Shallows, Sea of Legends, Sea of Ice, Sea of Delight, Sea of Mystery, Sea of Power, and Sesame Street Land.
Other than the sea of ice and Sesame Street Land, it is hard to tell which land you are in. However, it doesn’t take away from the overall experience. Most areas of the park flow nicely between each other.
Check out the Sea of Power area to watch the Orca Encounter or check out the indoor animal exhibit. Inside you will find seals, beluga whales, and Pacific walrus.
Another great land to check out is the Sea of Shallows. Here you will find the Dolphin theater. In this area you can also find manatees, alligators, pelicans, loggerhead sea turtles, stingrays, and more. The whole area is themed to look like Key West.
Sea of Delight is home to the tallest observation tower in Florida. You can also find the Sea Lion and Otter stadium viewing area here.
Sea of Mystery is where the shark encounter is located. Mako can also be found here along with Infinity.
Both Kraken and Journey to Atlantis are located in the Sea of Legends. It makes sense when you think about it since both Atlantis and the Kraken are from legends. Did they really exist?
Sesame Street Land is the newest area of the park and is themed after Sesame Street. This is a super kid friendly area of the park and packed with tons of rides for younger children. There is even a small water play area for kids.
Animals
SeaWorld Orlando is home to many different animals that you can learn all about. Everything from beluga whales, sharks, sea lions, pelicans, turtles, dolphins, orca’s and so much more.
You can sit down and watch shows. Walk around small aquariums or outdoor exhibits. You can also sign up for many different encounters and tours.
Some of the different tours and encounters you can do include Penguin Encounter, Dolphin Encounter, Beluga Whales Up-Close tour, SeaWorld rescue tour and so many more. A couple of years ago my daughter and I did the SeaWorld Rescue Tour. It was really cool seeing how they care and rescue so many marine animals.
Food
SeaWorld Orlando does have a lot of places to grab a drink or something to eat. However, many of the places seem to have your basic theme park food. I wouldn’t say there was one place that I really wanted to go to and try.
Now the food that we did get was good. I just wasn’t over the top. It was just your typical over priced theme park food.
Now they do have one thing at SeaWorld that I really do like. You can buy a cup and get it refilled as many times as you want throughout the day at different freestyle machines around the park. This is very similar to what you can do at Universal Studios Orlando if you are familiar with that.
If you are tired of just visiting Universal and Disney while spending time in Orlando you should plan a visit to SeaWorld. It seems like they are always offering deals on tickets. You can even get a deal to visit SeaWorld, Aquatica (in Orlando), and Busch Gardens Tampa.
If you are active duty military or a veteran you can also get discounted tickets with your Govx ID. Just pay attention to the deal that SeaWorld is running at the time. Sometimes that deal is a little better. It just depends on the time of year.
Have you ever visited SeaWorld Orlando? Do you go every year? Let us know in the comments below. Also make sure you check out our review on Discovery Cove. That is one awesome place that is a day packed full of fun.
