Pity the poor Disco Yeti. Touted as the animatronic to end all animatronics; jet powered with an amazing range of motion; guaranteed to scare the living daylights out of thousands of roller coaster riders on Expedition Everest daily; and yet, seemingly forever frozen in a… Read More »Revenge of the Disco Yeti
A group from Baker Leisure Group, a themed design consultancy who has worked with pretty much everyone in Orlando at one time or another, is proposing to bring a new amusement park to the International Drive area of Orlando. The park would focus on big… Read More »Thrilling Amusement Park Proposed for Orlando
The Orlando Sentinel has a short piece running on the adventures, or lack their of, of the giant Yeti mechanical beast at the end of Expedition Everest roller coaster at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The gist is that while Disney won’t disclose their plans, Disney fans… Read More »Expedition Everest’s Yeti Troubles Explored
There are a long list of reasons to schedule a day at SeaWorld when you’re visiting Central Florida. One of the most recent additions to that list is Manta, a thrilling new roller coaster and aquarium combination. Manta just celebrated it’s 1 year anniversary and… Read More »Manta Cool Facts
Congrats to the team at SeaWorld Orlando on a very successful first year for its newest roller coaster – Manta! The SeaWorld team released this short video recapping the VIPs and special visitors who experienced the coaster this year. Oh noes. They must have left… Read More »SeaWorld’s Manta Roller Coaster turns One!
Santa and his helpers were caught having some fun at SeaWorld on the new Manta Roller Coaster. Looks Mr. Claus has a new sleigh for 2009.
Update: alas the user appears to have disabled the video now. But it clearly shows the cable exploding all over two guests and then a frantic, and pointless, struggle to escape the ride vehicle as it came to a rest outside the station. Guests reportedly… Read More »Xcelerator Coaster fails at Knott’s Berry Farm – Video
Along with the new flying roller coaster Manta comes a huge new aquarium that features hundreds of sea critters from rays (as you would expect) to beautiful dragon fish (a relative of the seahorse). I got the chance to speak to SeaWorld Orlando’s Aquarium Curator Gary Violetta and ask him a few questions.
Violetta is a SeaWorld veteran of more than 24 years. As Curator he is responsible for the health and physical care of the more than 3,000 animals found in the Manta exhibit. He manages aquarium exhibits and attractions and is responsible for the care of all sharks, eels, stingrays, alligators, and fish throughout the park. A former curator of fishes at SeaWorld San Antonio, Violetta began his SeaWorld career in 1977. He is a member of the American Zoo and Aquarium association.
Click below the cut to listen to the embedded MP3 and see a few more photos from the exhibit:
Read More »Inside the new Manta Aquarium with SeaWorld’s Curator