SeaWorld San Diego

[Jerroddragon]

I think I read something saying there actually used to be a restaurant there before, which is interesting. A sit-down restaurant with views of Mission Bay would be lovely, and I don't know why they haven't already built one in the Waterfront area near the cabanas. The square footage and name I saw mentioned in the permit made it sound like something minor, like a grab-and-go or quick service stand, but I hope I'm wrong because that'd be a huge missed opportunity.

I'm guessing the Jellyfish exhibit will open June at the earliest, but hopefully at least sometime this summer. Based on the concept art I think they're just repurposing the existing ride station building, so there might not be any major construction to see from the outside.

That makes more sense then.....when I went no ground was broke so I was confused how it was going to open anytime soon

 

[Thatguyoverwhere]

Some updates from last week:

• New front entrance gates are now open. They're just as plain and ugly as expected, clashing with the rest of the well-themed reef style entrance. There's also a good deal of mismatched pavement around both the main gate and the security checkpoint.
• New subway style entrance gates have been installed, which will reportedly be self-service once online. This seems to be another move to reduce the number of staff needed to run the park wherever possible.
• On the brighter side, there's some evidence the pirate show is making a return this summer, with the pirate ship out in front of the stage and what looked to be stunt actors rehearsing on jet skis:
• Work is now visible on the exterior of the future jellyfish exhibit building. Still no update or anticipated opening date from SeaWorld.

 

[Thatguyoverwhere]

Two pretty big announcements from SWSD last week:

• The jellyfish exhibit is now expected to open next spring
• JTA is receiving a storyline/theming upgrade alongside annual maintenance and will reopen next year

 

[Jerroddragon]

I hope JTA is improved

Also insane the Jellfish Exhibit is opening a year after it was suppose to...it was suppose to open last spring then got pushed to summer and now next spring

 

[Freak]

Two pretty big announcements from SWSD last week:

• The jellyfish exhibit is now expected to open next spring
• JTA is receiving a storyline/theming upgrade alongside annual maintenance and will reopen next year

Will they finally bring back those projections that were in the elevator?

 

[Thatguyoverwhere]

Will they finally bring back those projections that were in the elevator?

No real details have been given so far, but I could definitely see some sort of screen-based effect being added (back) to the elevator and the pre-elevator show scene. Seems like a no brainer if they're trying to make the ride more immersive.
What would be really cool is if they enclosed more of the ride--like the lift hill, station, and splashdown area--to add more dark scenes and effects, but that's probably more ambitious than this project would allow.
Whatever they end up doing, it's really nice to see the park working on qualitative upgrades like this. JTA has the potential to be SWSD's best ride and a real draw for the park with the right combination of theming and effects. I'm hoping they can keep this trend going and give us that Emperor glow-up/mini Antarctica land with new penguin encounter next. Or a flying theater. Or both lol.

 

[Freak]

No real details have been given so far, but I could definitely see some sort of screen-based effect being added (back) to the elevator and the pre-elevator show scene. Seems like a no brainer if they're trying to make the ride more immersive.
What would be really cool is if they enclosed more of the ride--like the lift hill, station, and splashdown area--to add more dark scenes and effects, but that's probably more ambitious than this project would allow.
Whatever they end up doing, it's really nice to see the park working on qualitative upgrades like this. JTA has the potential to be SWSD's best ride and a real draw for the park with the right combination of theming and effects. I'm hoping they can keep this trend going and give us that Emperor glow-up/mini Antarctica land with new penguin encounter next. Or a flying theater. Or both lol.

A flying theater would be a great way to balance the ride lineup. The park could really use an indoor ride if some sort.

 

[Thatguyoverwhere]

A flying theater would be a great way to balance the ride lineup. The park could really use an indoor ride if some sort.

The flying theater seems like a strong possibility for this park, now that SWO is getting one in the former Wild Arctic simulator building. For all we know they could've already purchased it from Mack Rides as part of a package deal.