- Jan 1, 2012
- 375
- 1,457
Only the walkthrough section has been open. The ride itself has been down since COVID closure. It has also been completely removed from the park's website.
Antarctica - Empire of the Penguin
- Thread starter Brian G.
- Start date
-
Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.
- Feb 15, 2012
- 17,126
- 47,025
My friends went to SWO and saw it was "open" and went to ride it. They walked through the whole experience up till the load platform where they were directed to a side hallway to watch what they assume was the final animation of the ride then walked past the unload platform and into the viewing area.
Oh wow, I guess I've been making the same assumption about the ride as they did. I've just seen the line outside multiple times the past few months and assumed everything was alright inside.
Not a huge loss all things considered lol.
Not a huge loss all things considered lol.
This could actually be a pretty fun walkthrough tbh if they wanted to extend it a bit.
- Feb 15, 2012
- 17,126
- 47,025
Yep, however, that room feels a lot smaller and they pack way more people in
At this point it's easier to divert people past the ride and block it off
Still though doing SOMETHING with it would be nice
It may be a parts issue right now as well as a cost issue. So many industries are suffering from parts issues because of the disruptions of the pandemic.
- Feb 6, 2021
- 26
- 21
They charged the batteries incorrectly and fried them all. VERY expensive to replace.
- Feb 15, 2012
- 17,126
- 47,025
Close. They didn’t plug them in during the shut down and these are the batteries that require a charge or they’ll become inert. So the batteries lost their charge and are just a brick now.
They should take this time to not only get new batteries, but to update the ride.
Sorry, I’m not letting Sea World off the hook on this one. Can’t just close it and focus on the coasters. This was too expensive an attraction to just let rot,
Their history shows that this was bound to happen. Almost every good indoor ride they've ever had has gone from poorly maintained to SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) to closed.
Getting new batteries alone is gonna' be expensive, and considering the ride itself doesn't have good bones to it, updating it into something worthwhile would require a major overhaul that would be pretty expensive as well. Which brings up what WAJAS mentions...
A painful example of this is Curse of DarKastle at BGW. All they really needed to do was properly maintain the ride to keep it going, and they didn't. If Seas didn't want to put the money in to maintain that, I just don't see them putting in the money to update Antarctica...heck it's dicey if they're gonna' spend the money for the batteries.
I know folks want darkrides from Seas, but if they can't maintain the good ones they had like DarKastle, or put in disappointments like Antarctica, or dead on arrivals like Submarine Quest, there comes a point where you just have to admit darkrides are just not their thing.
I miss the days when the Busch family ran the parks. Night and day. Lots of shows, street live musical entertainment and street actors. Rides besides coasters. Better balanced parks, all around....They've slightly nudged upward since the Evil Empire Blackstone is out of the management position, but they're still just a shadow of what they were with Busch. I used to attend BGW like I do Universal now. Nevermore, nevermore. There's plenty of Coaster parks near here. No reason to travel far for those.
I agree, I always used to visit SeaWorld with my parents whom are older now, especially to see the animal exhibits and shows. They hate coasters. There just is less and less for them nowadays.
- Feb 15, 2012
- 17,126
- 47,025
Welp, can't wait for the Defunctland episode to come out!
Rest in peace, Antartica. You tried, and I guess that counts for something.
Rest in peace, Antartica. You tried, and I guess that counts for something.
Last edited:
