Top 10 Attractions for SeaWorld Orlando

Hot off the blog press from our review of the new Penguin Trek ride, we thought it was high time we added SeaWorld to our array of Top 10s for all the Orlando theme parks.

For those who need a recap of our essential guide to the best rides and attractions at each park, here are the links for the Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Epcot, Islands of Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now it’s time to investigate the very best that Orlando’s Sea adventure park has to offer.

First off, there is a LOT to see and do here these days. With 10 rides, four shows and a variety of 14 different sea-life habitats, plus another six children’s rides in the Sesame Street Land and a daily parade, this is another park that will command at least a full day of your holiday, and provides full value for the 14-day tickets currently on offer.

This is also the second oldest of Orlando’s six out-and-out theme parks, having opened its gates in 1973 – just two years after the Magic Kingdom and fully 17 years before Universal arrived – and quickly became the more relaxed counterpart to the others’ all-action approach.

However, the last 15 years or so have seen SeaWorld add considerably to their thrill potential, with six of their headliners all being added in that period, while there has been less emphasis on things like their Dolphin Adventures presentation and Turtle Trek 3-D film-show, the latter of which is now the SeaWorld Rescue Center featuring manatees, sea turtles, alligators and a coral conservation feature.

Shark Encounter

While the animal exhibits are no longer the prime reason for visiting, this vivid underwater presentation features one of the world’s largest walk-through viewing tunnels and remains a ‘Wow’ exhibit. It is primarily a showcase for the park’s awesome variety of sharks, but it also features sawfish, rays and whale sharks, while the Sharks Underwater Grill restaurant offers a unique dining experience.

Journey to Atlantis

Ready for a water-coaster? This elaborate indoor/outdoor ride provides both a log flume ride experience, complete with a 60-foot drop splashdown, and then a rapid coaster section to finish off a hectic dash through the mythical undersea world of Atlantis. It opened back in 1998 and remains one of the park’s most compelling rides – as well as providing a great photo opportunity.

Infinity Falls

SeaWorld’s other water ride arrived more recently, in 2018, and added a more dynamic journey through mock water rapids before culminating in the world’s tallest drop on a river rapids ride, all 40ft. It doesn’t quite soak riders as much as rides like Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park, but it features a unique vertical lift into the big drop sequence and some pretty active “rapids” along the way.

Ice Breaker

It’s hard to believe that this ride opened almost two-and-a-half years ago, as it still seems fresh and different. The park’s sixth roller-coaster in early 2022, Ice Breaker added both a forwards and backwards launch sequence in addition to the steepest drop – an awesome 100 degrees – of any coaster in Florida. After the thrilling opening section, it roars into a 93ft “top hat” feature and then zooms along at a rollicking 50mph through a breathtaking series of twists and turns.

Orca Encounter

For sheer eye-popping animal encounters, there is still no beating this presentation at Orca Stadium, where the killer whales no longer perform in “shows” but are showcased in a more natural style that highlights their natural behaviours as well as their awe-inspiring power as the oceans’ most powerful predator. It runs up to five times a day and there is also an underwater viewing area for more close-ups of these fabulous creatures.

Penguin Trek

SeaWorld’s latest coaster is another real head-turner, a dramatic ride through the Antarctica area of the park with a big finale inside the penguin habitat. It starts out as a dark ride inside a mock-up of a polar exploration station, then moves quickly through some ice “caves” before the first of its two launch sequences that send the ride racing through the outdoor section over and around Antarctica. It doesn’t feature any inversions but its 45mph top speed seems faster as it speeds through a series of low-level curves and horse-shoe turns.

Sesame Street Party Parade

Everyone loves a parade, and this beautifully themed homage to the Sesame Street characters and ethos is a sheer delight. It features Abby Cadabby at the head of a series of floats that add Elmo, Big Bird, Grover and Cookie Monster and are accompanied by a lively group of dancers and performers along the parade route within Sesame Street Land. It stops to allow children to take part in the dance party and lasts a shade under 15 minutes each afternoon.

Manta

This was Florida’s first “flying” coaster when it opened in 2009, a manta ray shaped ride vehicle putting riders in a prone, or flying, position for a fast-paced whirl through 3,359ft of steel track. Manta offers four full inversions after dropping from its launch height of 140ft above the park and tops out at 56mph for a brisk pace, especially through the upside-down moments. The queue area features 10 different aquaria that boast around 3,000 rays, sea horses, leafy seadragons and tropical fish, with a separate entrance for those who’d rather see the sealife than ride the coaster.

Pipeline: The Surf Coaster

Last year’s big ride opening gave us Florida’s first stand-up coaster, where riders are propped up by seats and restraints that allow them to bend and stretch their legs as the ride goes through a series of turns that mimic the waves of sea surf. There is only one inversion, but it feels like more as there is a 60mph fast-launch start that sends the coaster into its dizzying array of overbanked curves and dips in addition to the full 360-degree loop. As SeaWorld’s seventh coaster it genuinely adds that “something different” factor to the park’s rides.

Mako

Rounding out SeaWorld’s trio of top thrill attractions, Mako is officially billed as a hyper-coaster, and for good reason. Reaching a full height of 200ft – hence the “hyper” designation – it swoops down from its lift hill into a long, overbanked turn that sends it out to the furthest extent of the track at a powerful 73mph before it returns via a series of hills that provide terrific airtime. There are no inversions, just a sense of supreme, smooth speed, finishing with a dramatic turn over the park’s central lagoon. A dynamo of a ride for an increasingly dynamic park.

During summer hours, we would also add the nightly finale of the Ignite Fireworks show, which brings down the curtain on the park’s extended hours from June to August, as well as key holidays such as Christmas and New Year.

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