PART TWO:
Since I work in VR, I figured the $10 upcharge was not too bad to see what SeaWorld was offering, especially since it wasn't the common "VR on a coaster" that most theme parks throw out. The synopsis said it was "an up-close under-the-sea experience". So I'm expecting to experience some undersea footage in VR. I was wrong... really really wrong. Even from the start nothing seemed quite right.
I headed to the gift shop... which was boarded up. On the walls were some signage referring to DeepSea VR and said the next expedition was at 1PM, the time I booked for. There are some coat hangers, but otherwise this was just the area next to the restrooms that should lead into the gift shop. The hallway next door was clearly the entry path for SeaWorld team members to enter their own employee facilities. The instructions said to sign in at the gift shop, but that was closed. So I headed to guest services a short walk away, and this is what they told me: "Oh, well we can't afford to have enough employees to staff both the gift shop and DeepSea, so the gift shop is closed, just wait by the employee entrance." Yes, you heard right, SeaWorld is admitting that in the summer their financial woes are so bad they can't afford to staff a gift shop. Woof.
So I went back and awkwardly waited by the entrance, as several TMs go back and forth. Finally, around 12:59, a perky TM comes out of a side door wearing a labcoat and holding a clipboard. She asks my name and checks, and tells me to sign in. I get the clipboard and cringe. There's timeslots dotted along with guests who signed up. In the past several, only one or two names maximum appear. I'm the only person on the list for my appointment time. I sign in, and she leads me into a round room that looks kind of like a doctor's waiting office. There's a raised desk in the center, flanked by four flat screen TVs. Surrounding this are many egg-shaped chairs, similar to the ones from Men In Black. She climbs up to the desk and offers me to sit in the chair. I'm assuming at this point this is just the preshow, but it comes abundantly clear that this is where the experience takes place. A short safety video plays beforehand, and she shows me the VR equipment and how to use it. It's standard and rudimentary, pretty homegrown instead of an HTC or an Oculus. She tells me that the chair will be able to be swiveled around in when the experience starts, and I adjust the focal length and put on the headphones which are clumsily attached to the viewer.
The experience begins, and the pod unlocks. Immediately I'm thrown into... a SeaWorld educational video in VR. It's filmed at Shamu Stadium in Orlando, and I saw Mako visible in my peripheral. This trainer is teaching me about Orcas, ok, whatever... I go to turn and the pod is more resistant than I expected. I have to use my legs and push against the floor to swivel the pod, and then it cuts abruptly to Orca undersea footage. So I think that this will be the bulk of the experience... no. There are more quick cuts, to almost a nauseating factor. Even worse was spending a full minute watching a VR scene inside of the room where they keep the fish guts for more education.
...who thought this was a good idea?! There are numerous quick cuts and barely anytime to enjoy your environment before it changes to something else. The only animal you get to see in VR are Orcas, and way too much time is watching a trainer in VR teach you things. I was baffled and frustrated by the end of it, not to mention almost embarrassed that I wasted a TM's time by even bothering. To her credit, she was very nice and attentive, but I just felt bad. This is almost as much of a misfire as Submarine Quest, but kind of like a secret since nobody is doing it, and nobody should do it. The best thing was that I finally got my legs to swivel the chair to see Mako for a bit, and pretending I was in Orlando and able to ride one of my all-time favorite coasters was a little nice.
It was the afternoon, so I decided to check out the next Sea Lions Live show after a stop at the Shark Encounter and Turtle Reef exhibits (not much to say, similar to Orlando's and well done). Got to pick up some Seaberry Splash Dippin Dots, SeaWorld's amazing exclusive flavor featuring blue raspberry and vanilla yogurt with chocolate Shamu chunks. The show was fine and cute, but not as good as the Sea Lion High show at Orlando. Weirdly enough, the main host stole the show whereas the attention should be placed more on Clyde, Seymour and the otters. The end featured a horrifically dated Gangnam Style dance that should've been taken out of the show years ago.
After, I went and attended the Orca Encounter show. While I definitely think the whole controversy is not black-and-white, I do think it's rather unfortunate that SeaWorld was not entirely honest with their critics when they said they would "end theatrical Orca shows". While Orca Encounter is more focused on education rather than having Orcas participate in song and dance, these are still killer whales performing tricks for fish. They are still trained to do choreographed flips, make the audience ooh and aah and get splashed. The core principles are still there and while seeing whales do spectacular stunts is neat because it's just natural that would be neat, I think SeaWorld needs to just cut these things all together and focus on observing the whales in a natural habitat as an exhibit rather than a show. It would appear much better on paper and everything just seems like them wanting to have their cake and eat it too.
I did enjoy the adjacent viewing exhibit where you get to see the Orcas swimming. That's something which I'd be more interested in and I think they should explore more.
My last new (free) attraction of the day was Shipwreck Rapids, which had a stunning 70 minute wait, which Quick Queue thankfully whittled down to 15. The entire area is beyond gorgeous, reminding me a lot of Popeye at Toon Lagoon, especially considering the restaurant that is in the middle, with play areas and even a turtle exhibit. In addition, the ride is exquisitely themed, well-paced and not too short. There's a ton of great sight gags and set pieces along the way, and I love the ending in the cavern that leads to another shipwreck. This ride is insanely under-the-radar but this was Disney-levels of good. Easily the most well-themed attraction I've seen at either SeaWorld park.
I did get a second meal (since I only ate half of the Explorer's Cafe one) of some orange chicken and rice, nicely comped at Shipwreck Cafe, and I got to explore more of this fantastic area.
The Bayside SkyRide was another $5 and I love these sorts of attractions so I quickly paid for it. It was an idyllic trip across the bay and over the marina.
That was it for new experiences, and I spent the rest of the day exploring other exhibits and riding Manta (got in the back and damn, it was insane) and some other attractions again. Spent a good while watching the dolphins interact and petting some manta rays, doing some light shopping here and there. After dinner (an astonishing 40-minute wait at Calypso Bay smokehouse for a well-rounded rib sampler platter, including with the dining plan of course), Electric Ocean started and I headed back to Manta for two more rides as it was "Manta Re-Charged", a nighttime version with special lighting and a weird techno rave sequence in the initial tunnel portion before the launch. The ride, of course, was still fantastic. Ended up scoring 5 rides in total by the end of the day.
Enjoyed some more nighttime activities and headed over to Atlantis to watch their projection mapping show. Nobody knew about it despite the signage, as there was absolutely nobody on the benches overlooking the tower even 5 minutes before it started. Sure enough, it was a neat and enjoyable use of the technology, though a bit more haphazard than Universal's Potter shows. The park in general looked great at night, especially Explorer's Reef.
So that was my day at SeaWorld, and the question goes: which do I prefer? (and no, I don't plan on going to San Antonio) This was a tough one, as there are many things that the one does well that the other does better or worse. At the end of the day, for me it comes down to the coasters. Manta, JTA and Electric Eel vs Kraken, Manta (flying), Mako and JTA. Both are strong lineups, but I adored Mako and Orlando's Penguin exhibit so much that it breaks it for me. Still, I really enjoyed SWSD and while the Coastal Commission would have a heart attack if they tried to bring Mako over, I could see them trying to seduce me back if they upgraded their penguin exhibit.