SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature orcas, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations located within the United States in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; San Antonio, Texas; later outside the United States such as Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and previously Aurora, Ohio. On March 5, 2007, SeaWorld Orlando announced addition of the Aquatica water park to its adventure park, which already includes SeaWorld and Discovery Cove.
Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply "Universal," formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. Universal Orlando is the second-largest resort in Greater Orlando, after the Walt Disney World Resort which is nearby, covering 541 acres of land.
Sesame Place is a children's theme park and water park, located on the outskirts of Philadelphia in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It is the only theme park in the United States based entirely on the children's educational television program Sesame Street and includes a variety of rides, shows and water attractions suited to young children. It is also the first theme park in the world to become a certified autism center.
Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously Busch Gardens parks in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California (1964–1979) and Houston, Texas (1971–1973). The "Busch Gardens" name was earlier used to refer to the gardens developed by Adolphus Busch near his home in Pasadena, California, which were open to the public from 1906 to 1937.
California's Great America, commonly known simply as Great America, is a 112-acre (45 ha) amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. California's Great America features over 40 rides and attractions, and one of its most notable is Gold Striker, which has been featured as a top-ranked wooden roller coaster in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards publication. Other notable rides include RailBlazer, a single-rail coaster from Rocky Mountain Construction, and Flight Deck, an inverted coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard. The park appeared in Beverly Hills Cop III and Getting Even with Dad, two films that were released in 1994.
Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television, and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal and features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows. Universal Studios Florida was the first component of the larger Universal Orlando Resort to open, and it ranked eleventh in the world and sixth in North America for attendance among amusement parks in 2019, hosting approximately 10.9 million visitors.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (136 ha) African-themed animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park has an annual attendance consistently exceeding 4 million, often ranking second among SeaWorld parks behind SeaWorld Orlando. The park has featured conspicuous roller coasters with thrill rides over the years, including a Dive Coaster named SheiKra, a launch coaster called Tigris, and Montu, the tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster in the world when it opened.
Kasatka was a wild caught female orca who lived at SeaWorld San Diego.
Wet 'n Wild is a name used by various water parks across the United States, Brazil and Mexico, originally owned by SeaWorld creator George Millay. It is not to be confused with the Wet'n'Wild brand owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and CNL Lifestyle Properties or the stand-alone waterpark Wet N' Wild Waterworld in Anthony, Texas.
SeaWorld San Antonio is a 250-acre (100 ha) marine mammal park, oceanarium and animal theme park in the Westover Hills District of San Antonio, Texas, on the city's west side. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and one of the world's largest marine-life theme parks focused on conservation, education and animal rescue. The other SeaWorld parks are in San Diego, California and Orlando, Florida. It is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
A haunted attraction is a form of live entertainment that simulates the experience of visiting haunted locations or storylines typical of horror fiction. They usually feature fearsome sets and characters, especially demons, ghosts, monsters, possessed people, witches or wizards, serial killers, and slashers. Humorous characters may also be included.
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park, located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, formerly known as Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park to be built in the chain, following SeaWorld San Diego which opened just six years earlier. The park was developed by George Millay, founder of the SeaWorld brand. Wildwater Kingdom, a waterpark built by Cedar Fair in 2005, occupied the property until its closure in September 2016.
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is a separate-admission Halloween-themed event held annually during the months of August, September, and October at the Magic Kingdom theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando, and at Disneyland Paris Resort outside Paris, France. The party began as a response to the Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Florida. Disney's event caters to a traditional family atmosphere, whereas Universal's has more of a "fright-centered" event with their monsters.
Howl-O-Scream is an annual special event that occurs at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, SeaWorld San Antonio, and as of recently will begin at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego. The parks remain operational during the day and transition to Howl-O-Scream at night. The event features haunted houses, "scare zones", and live entertainment. It is a seasonal event that occurs in the Fall of the year, tied to Halloween.
Halloween Haunt, previously known as "Fearfest", is a Halloween event at Canada's Wonderland located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It runs after the park's regular operating hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings in October – up to, and recently in the 2019 season, NOT including Halloween night. It is Canada's largest haunted theme park featuring over 300 monsters, nine walk-through "maze" attractions, six uniquely themed atmospheric scare areas, and three live shows. During its operation, the grounds are transformed via decorative props, thematic music, eerie lighting to further create its scary atmosphere.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates twelve recreational destinations in the United States, including seven theme parks and five water parks. Notable brands within its portfolio include SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. In May 2018, Themed Entertainment Association and the global management firm AECOM reported that SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment ranked ninth in the world for attendance among theme park companies, led by parks SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.
Halloween Horror Nights is an annual special event that occurs at Universal Studios theme parks in Florida, California, Singapore, and Japan. The parks remain operational during the day and transition to Halloween Horror Nights at night. The Halloween-themed event occurs during the fall season and features haunted houses, scare zones and live entertainment, many of which use Universal Studios' characters. Its intended audiences are teenagers and adults. Currently, Halloween Horror Nights are onset to return in 2021 in some parks. At Universal Studios Florida Jack the Clown will be returning as the Icon.
Aquatica is a chain of water parks owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. Aquatica parks are operating in Orlando, Florida and San Antonio, Texas.
