SeaWorld was founded in March 21, 1964 by four graduates of the University of California, Los Angeles. Although their original idea of an underwater restaurant was not feasible at the time, the idea was expanded into a 22-acre (8.9 ha) marine zoological park along the shore of Mission Bay in San Diego. After an investment of about $1.5 million, the park opened with 45 employees, several dolphins, sea lions, and two seawater aquariums, and hosted more than 400,000 visitors in its first year of operation.
As of December 31, 2012, there are 26 animal habitats, 10 rides, 20 shows, 2 play areas, 4 special limited-time events, and 11 "distinctive experiences" (including special experiences such as swimming with dolphins). Note that some of the shows may vary during dayparts or seasons, but are counted as separate shows.[2]
In November 2015, Seaworld announced that it would be changing its signature killer whale shows, which historically have featured theatrical and acrobatic performances, by making them more of a nature show that concentrates on natural whale behavior. The new orca presentation is scheduled to be released in 2017.
In 2017, the park will add five new attractions, including the Ocean Explorer, a dark ride that takes you through the sea while inside a submarine. There will also be a Zierer Waveswinger themed to a jellyfish, and three other family friendly attractions.
Journey to Atlantis is a joint flume and rollercoaster. The boat leaves the station and climbs the first lift hill, once at the top of the lift the boat takes a small decline to pick up a little speed and then travels around a right-hand turn that leads to the first tower building. The boat then enters the tower and plunges down a flume drop into a small man-made lake of water below.
Dolphin Cove (also called Dolphin Point at SeaWorld San Diego) is a SeaWorld attraction, which can be found at two SeaWorld parks and holds about 700,000 US gallons (2,650,000 l) of water. Specifically, Dolphin Cove is located at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego.
Polar bear in Wild Arctic attraction
On May 26, 2012, SeaWorld San Diego opened a new mega-attraction called Manta, a Mack launched roller coaster featuring two launches LSM of up to 43 miles per hour (69 km/h) accompanied by a bat ray aquarium and touch pool. A shallow pool for touching bat rays, white sturgeons, and shovelnose guitarfish lies at the entrance of the attraction while two-sided underground aquarium (for riders and nonriders) can be accessed downstairs or via the queue.
SeaWorld's main attraction are its killer whales, eleven of which are housed in a 7 million gallon habitat known as Shamu Stadium. Shamu was the name of the first killer whale brought to SeaWorld San Diego in 1965. "Shamu" is now used as a stage name for adult killer whales in performances at SeaWorld parks. Each killer whale has an individual name.
