Antarctica - Empire of the Penguin

[Hatetofly]

It's not that were not coming back by any means but there is just too much going on elsewhere and that "thing" isn't worth a ten minute wait let alone 3-5 hours.

 

[knokout1]

It's not that were not coming back by any means but there is just too much going on elsewhere and that "thing" isn't worth a ten minute wait let alone 3-5 hours.

Nah I'm not speaking for everyone, just the ones that say "This failed now I have no reason to go to Seaworld."

 

[IzzyB]

Nah I'm not speaking for everyone, just the ones that say "This failed now I have no reason to go to Seaworld."

I think these were the same people that were only going to Seaworld for Antarctica and now they are skipping that trip. Mostly locals that don't have season passes. I don't think that people that were planning to go to Sea World in general are now cancelling their trips.

For me I have a season pass and I just now don't plan on rushing out there to see it. I will go to Sea World later in the summer like I normally do (catch all the special summer stuff) and hopefully the lines are better and I can catch it then.

 

[Bryan]

omg guis - local 6 is airing an hour long special on this 2 minute ride friday at 8pm :rofl:

 

[batsmouth]

I think these were the same people that were only going to Seaworld for Antarctica and now they are skipping that trip. Mostly locals that don't have season passes. I don't think that people that were planning to go to Sea World in general are now cancelling their trips.

For me I have a season pass and I just now don't plan on rushing out there to see it. I will go to Sea World later in the summer like I normally do (catch all the special summer stuff) and hopefully the lines are better and I can catch it then.

Yeah it's pretty stupid to base visiting a park on one new ride, any ride can be a flop. I will still be going to sea-world, i'm not expecting anything with Antarctica but it won't really bother me that much

 

[Grumpy73]

Came here to check up on the latest disdain for Antarctica and stumbled upon a surprising love-fest for the company that has been signing my pay checks for over 12 years now:thumbs:, and Teebin I would love to know what location you shop at where the managers are lazy slobs, lol.. That's not helping my retirement! I must say in regards to waiting for this ride, it has NEVER been on my list near as high as Transformers but while watching the posts here I haven't even had a desire to ride out there and see it and we have annual passes, looking at concept art and seeing the rid technology they used I was expecting so much better (and I know I'm not the only one haha)... We will get over there and check it out eventually but for now I'd rather go wait in line for TF again

 

[kracker182]

"That ride was so awesome!"said my 3 year old daughter today as we rode it for the first time. Every other opinion I was hearing as we exited the ride was quite the opposite. The one positive I had was that the sign posted a 90 minute wait time which for us it was only 25 minutes. I don't have many positive things to say and the ride has already been bashed enough so I will leave it alone.

 

[Themeparkvigilante]

I will check this out Sat after TF Ap previews, cant wait to see how bad this ride really is!

 

[Sideshow Mike]

I will check this out Sat after TF Ap previews, cant wait to see how bad this ride really is!

TF AP previews start Sunday, not Saturday.

 

[Themeparkvigilante]

TF AP previews start Sunday, not Saturday.

Oops, I meant Sunday!!!

 

[April]

I'm giving the ride a second chance today, if the line isn't terribly long.

 

[sierrak5]

I rode it yesterday with a 30 minute wait. The first half of the ride is great with all the scenery and not knowing which way the ride will take you. Once you hit the screens though there is really nothing exciting about it. I enjoyed the technology behind the vehicles more than the actual ride. It's very cool to watch them move around.

The penguin exhibit is very impressive and very COLD. I saw first hand why the nets were put up as about 3 different penguins jumped up and bounced off the net.

 

[IzzyB]

I didn't think the failure could get worse, but here is my friends experience...

She had front of line pass for being an AP holder and went on Monday with her paper. She waited an hour and half with her front of line pass. She said they never announced it was broken or having delays, even though it had to be. She also stated they take the pass when you get into line and therefore if you want to leave or have to leave due to breakdown you lose your pass. The second time she rode it that happened to the people behind her as the ride "broke down" as soon as they were the next ones to board and did not come back up. I put broke down in quotes because while they were waiting for it to come back up they started talking with the ride operator. He said they were performing a test and that it wasn't really broken. They perform this test several times through the day and never tell the operators when it is coming or how long it will be. He seemed very frustrated with his job already.

After they turn the lights off for the penguins they go to sleep, but since it is Alaskan day/night you will never know when the lights are on or off and therefore it will be hit or miss as to if you get to see the penguins moving around or sleeping with their backs facing you. It is also colder at night she said and that she survived about five minutes the first time, but the second time she almost had to run to the exit.

She said there was people at the exit stopping people from coming into just see the penguins, not sure if they started putting an end to people doing this.

Lastly, she asked if handicapped people could get on the ride and what line they would use. His answer was that there is a handicapped entrance if the person is riding it, but you have to be able to walk to ride, so he wouldn't be able to ride anyways. That is not what their website states, so interesting that the employees don't even seem to know what is going on or their website is wrong. Should be interesting when we go to see if my son can get on, but I am waiting for a long time to go. My son can't wait in long outside lines and therefore no point in going right now where the lines are just way too long.

 

[Themeparkvigilante]

Not letting people in through the exit to see the penguins? This could get ugly real fast. I wonder if there just better off ditching the vehicles all together & turn it into a walk through again.

 

[Bubbles1]

Not letting people in through the exit to see the penguins? This could get ugly real fast. I wonder if there just better off ditching the vehicles all together & turn it into a walk through again.

It does sound like this ride is a bit of a fail... Shame really, because I quite like seaworld, and I was hoping it would be a success

 

[Themeparkvigilante]

& come to think of it, is there even really a reason for the RV to move at all? For rides like Spiderman & TF, the bad guys are trying to get you, & there actions cause your RV to move. But just looking at some penguins? What is it SUPPOSSED to be that moves the RVs?

 

[Capacity]

That's what we've all been saying. And apparently baby penguins view their surroundings as this colorful rainbow world??

 

[UNIrd]

I rode this on the weekend and only had to wait about 15 minutes in line for it, although I was one of the first in line since I was right up front at rope drop. I think the attraction as a whole is impressive, including the queue, pre-shows, exhibit, and ride vehicles. The ride portion itself, though. I was experiencing secondhand embarrassment for SeaWorld. Although we really had no idea what was going on, it was good for a laugh.

The capacity is TERRIBLE. They really have no idea what to do with that technology though. No efficiency whatsoever. Horribly slow moving. No idea why this can't run as fast as Pooh's Hunny Hunt over at TDL.

 

[OSUphotoguy]

Rode this thing yesterday, and was extremely underwhelmed by the actual ride, impressed with the ride system, and impressed by the surroundings created for the attraction. It was a good basic idea with some visually stunning successes, but overall relatively poor execution as a full attraction. The ride is woefully short, and little more than a poorly used conveyance for an equally short and lacking "story" following our baby penguin, Puck.

The exhibit at the end is a completely different matter, however, and even with the nets is overwhelmingly amazing. It is very cold, though, so I'll be dedicating a day of wearing my winter gear with my camera once the crowds die down for some pictures. There is still one part of the exhibit that does not have the nets and you can still almost reach out and touch the penguins, which will make for some great photos.

 

[Themeparkvigilante]

So should we start a poll or take bets on when they will shut it down to change it, or just get rid of the ride portion altogether?