SeaWorld has U.S. parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio, and they have “whale-y” big news for what’s to come in the new year: All three parks are slated to open family-friendly, marine life-themed attractions in 2024.
This exciting news shouldn’t come as any big surprise to theme park fans who have been following SeaWorld’s other major developments in recent years. Since 2022, SeaWorld Orlando has added two thrilling coasters to its lineup — Ice Breaker and Pipeline: The Surf Coaster — bringing the park’s total coaster count to seven. That’s more than any other individual Orlando theme park.
SeaWorld San Antonio also added a new “screaming swing” attraction in 2022 called Tidal Surge, and this year, SeaWorld San Diego opened an all-new area for kids called Rescue Jr. The Rescue Jr. area uses rides, play areas and real-life equipment and experts to promote the park’s message of animal conservation and education in a kid-friendly way.
It’s clear 2024 is shaping up to be an even bigger year for SeaWorld parks across the country, with more attractions and more fun.
Penguin Trek — SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is already the coaster capital of Orlando, but it’ll soon have an even tighter grip on that title when Penguin Trek opens in 2024. This family-friendly launch coaster will send riders on an icy rescue mission through Antarctica aboard ride cars designed to look like snowmobiles.
The coaster travels indoors and out, has two heart-pumping launches and reaches a top speed of 43 miles per hour. With a minimum height requirement of only 42 inches, Penguin Trek is a coaster that the whole family can enjoy together. When you reach the end of your ride, you’ll exit into the park’s real-life penguin habitat, where you can observe the very animals you were on a mission to save while on the coaster.
Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience — SeaWorld San Diego
Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience will be an interactive and educational attraction in SeaWorld San Diego’s “Ocean’s Explore” area. The immersive experience will make guests feel like they are in the colorful underwater world that jellyfish call home, with aquariums featuring many different varieties of these ethereal creatures.
The exhibit will have three distinctly themed galleries and some of the tallest jellyfish cylinders in the world; this includes an 18-foot-tall jellyfish habitat, a 10-foot-tall “living arch” of jellyfish that guests can walk under and more. Guests will also have the opportunity to upgrade their jellyfish experience with a behind-the-scenes, hands-on tour for an additional fee.
Catapult Falls — SeaWorld San Antonio
When it opens in 2024, Catapult Falls will be the world’s first launched flume coaster. It will also feature the world’s steepest drop in a flume ride and North America’s only vertical lift in a flume coaster. The project was announced in 2022 and originally planned for a summer 2023 opening, but it was delayed until 2024.
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A flume coaster, as the name implies, is a cross between a roller coaster and a water flume ride. Rather than a traditional lift hill, Catapult Falls will transport your raft to the top of the 55-foot-fall hill via an open-air elevator (hence the “vertical lift” designation). Not to state the obvious, but you will get wet.
With a fast-paced launch and multiple opportunities to get drenched, this combination coaster and water ride will surely make a splash.
Bottom line
New rides are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the things you can experience at SeaWorld parks. You can also observe and interact with marine life, learn about their rescue and rehabilitation and discover what you can do to ensure their health and safety for the future. Doing all that in one place is definitely something to “shell-ebrate.”
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