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Archive for the ‘Discovery Cove’ Category

Universal Orlando added The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Disney’s Magic Kingdom is busy creating a new expanded Fantasyland. And now SeaWorld Orlando has joined the fun by announcing plans to create two new attractions in 2012 and an entire new “land” with an Antarctic theme in 2013. The additions will be among the biggest expansion plan in SeaWorld history.

The first new attraction, TurtleTrek, will take guests on the life journey of a sea turtle. The attraction will include a pair or aquariums, one filled with manatees and the other filled with sea turtles. After passing through the aquariums, guests will enter a domed, 3-D theater where images of sea turtles will appear to swim around and above those guests.

A second new attraction will be Freshwater Oasis, an exciting new environment to be built at SeaWorld’s sister park, Discovery Cove. Guests can wade through a rainforest spring while small marmoset monkeys play in the surrounding canopy. Guests will then enter a faux sinkhole where they’ll have an opportunity to swim along with Asian river otters.

Each of the new attractions should be open by spring 2012. Meanwhile, SeaWorld also plans to open a completely new area of the park based on the continent of Antarctica. This area will replace the existing Penguin Plaza and allow guests to experience Antarctica through the eyes of a penguin.

One of the most unique and intriguing theme park experiences in Orlando is the opportunity to swim with dolphins at SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove. Now the park offers a different kind of interactive animal experience with its Grand Reef underwater walking tour - SeaVenture.

Guests are invited to wear a wet suit and put on a dive helmet to experience a walking scuba dive type experience to get up close and personal with thousands of tropical fish and marine animals.

After a quick training session, you’ll follow a Discovery Cove guide down a ladder and into the Grand Reef’s 77-degree waters. While the compressed air helmet keeps water out and provides oxygen to breath, you’ll soon find yourself in an underwater world full of colorful fish.

Walking along the underwater handrail, guests can view sharks behind a large, clear window while the guide writes on an erasable board the different breeds of shark. Yet another nearby glassed off area is filled with poisonous fish.

But not everything is behind glass! The rest of the Grand Reef is teeming with tropical fish and other creatures such as pin-cushion sea urchins and hermit crabs. The underwater adventure costs $59, in addition to the regular park admission, and lasts nearly a half hour. SeaVenture is open to guests age 10 and older.

A limited-admission park, Discovery Cove plays host to a maximum of about 1,000 guests per day. Visitors enjoy a scenic, tropical setting with options like snorkeling, swimming, and interacting with birds in an aviary in addition to the park’s signature dolphin swim.

For more information about Grand Reef and Discovery Cove, go to http://www.discoverycove.com/. Or visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/ for details on discount Orlando vacation packages and theme park tickets.

Orlando’s Discovery Cove theme park is set to open an exciting new attraction this summer. An all new million-gallon saltwater lagoon called Grand Reef” will represent the first expansion at the Orlando park since it opened back in 2000.

The 2.5-acre artificial reef will offer approximately 125 different species of sea life, including colorful tropical fish, rays, sharks and urchins. Guests will enjoy a unique opportunity to enter the reef to walk, swim and snorkel for an up-close view.

The highlight is an underwater walking tour titled a “SeaVenture.” Guests wearing a 75-pound dive helmet (which weighs just 15 pounds when underwater), can follow a themed trail through the reef while encountering schools of fish.

The SeaVenture experience will be limited to guests age 10 or older and groups of no more than six people at a time. However, the attraction also comes at a cost of $59 per person in addition to regular park admission.

According to the park’s plans, the Grand Reef lagoon will also include an area to view approximately 60 lion fish. The venomous lion fish is native to the Pacific Ocean; however, the Discovery Cove lion fish were collected and removed from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico where they are considered an invasive species.

Discovery Cove maintains a limited capacity of approximately 1,000 each day, so reservations are recommended. Other park features include pristine beaches, lazy river, snorkeling with rays and tropical fish, a free-flight aviary, and at an added cost, the park’s signature dolphin swim experience. Guests also enjoy lockers, snorkel gear, breakfast, lunch, plus unlimited snacks, drinks and select alcoholic beverages.

For more information on Discovery Cove and discount tickets to Orlando’s other theme parks and attractions, go to www.westgatereservations.com.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has revealed planned additions for two of its Central Florida theme parks. Busch Gardens Tampa will be adding a launch-style roller coaster called “Cheetah Hunt” in spring 2011 that will propel riders from zero to 60 mph. The 4,429-foot track also includes a 130-foot drop and a mid-ride parabola that gives riders a three second sensation of weightlessness.

Busch Gardens will also add a new animal encounter called “Cheetah Run.” The cheetah habitat, to be built alongside the coaster, will provide up-close views of the animals. The exhibit will also feature touch screen computer terminals providing cheetah information. Animal trainers will host daily sprints with the cheetahs, showing off their speed. As the world’s fastest land animals, cheetahs can reach running speeds up to 70 mph.

Another SeaWorld Park - Discovery Cove in Orlando - is adding a new saltwater environment to its high end environment that offers up personal dolphin swim encounters.

Slated to open June 2011, the new addition, called “Grand Reef” is an interactive exhibit with a white sand beach, palm-lined island and a series of underwater grottos filled with moray eels, reef sharks and tropical fish. Guests will be able to snorkel with eagle rays and cross a rope bridge over a lagoon filled with sharks.

Another component that will be added is an underwater walking tour called “SeaVenture.” For an added cost, and wearing special dive helmets, guests can walk submerged paths with views of lion fish and sharks, visible through panoramic windows.

For more information on Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens and other Orlando attractions, visit www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com. Or go to www.WestgateReservations for details on discount theme park tickets and Orlando vacation packages.

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