PRESS RELEASE:
Electric Eel—San Diego’s tallest and fastest roller coaster with astounding loops, twists and airtime—opens to the public on May 12! Electric Eel features multiple- launch experiences that propel riders forward and backward as they speed through the ride’s station house accelerating to more than 60 mph in seconds. Riders then rocket skyward nearly 150 feet where they brave an inverted “heartline” roll and a twisting loop for an exciting feeling of airtime as they crest the top before breathlessly returning to the station. Plus, Electric Eel will offer riders the only upside-down view of Mission Bay! With the purchase of a SeaWorld Annual Pass between now and May 12, members can be among the first to ride Electric Eel, and enjoy unlimited SeaWorld admission for a year, all for less than $10 a month.

“Electric Eel will bring a whole new level of excitement to SeaWorld,” said SeaWorld San
Diego’s park president, Marilyn Hannes. “This new, first-of-its-kind coaster at SeaWorld will give
riders the rare opportunity to feel what it’s like to move like an eel, twisting and flipping along
nearly 900 feet of undulating track.” Complementing the coaster are a hypnotic live eel habitat featuring a collection of California moray eels, and an interactive educational experience called Mission: Deep Discovery, which will allow a team of one to four players to embark on a virtual deep sea adventure aboard a manned-vehicle while they encounter the marvels of the deep ocean.

“We always strive to provide new reasons to visit SeaWorld and give our guests experiences
that matter with a blend of exciting rides and incredible animal and educational experiences,” added Hannes. “We want our guests from around the world to not only have a great time, but be
inspired to care about the ocean and the animals that live there.”

Electric Eel will definitely get guests “charged up,” but it’s not the only electrifying
experience at SeaWorld this summer: SeaWorld will debut the all-new Sesame Street Party Parade,
starting May 5 and continuing on Saturdays and Sundays through July 1; and Electric Ocean, the
award-winning nighttime entertainment extravaganza inspired by the bioluminescence of the
ocean, returns June 16 and runs on select dates through Sept. 3.

Making good on SeaWorld’s promise to add more thrill-oriented rides, the San Diego theme park is announcing plans Tuesday for what it is calling its tallest and fastest roller coaster. Plans for the Electric Eel coaster — which would open in early summer 2018 — come on the heels of already announced attractions as the park and its parent company struggle to boost attendance and revenue. Business has slumped over the last two years amid harsh criticism of the marine parks’ captive breeding and treatment of killer whales.

SeaWorld boasts that taken together the four attractions represent the highest level of investment since the park’s opening more than half a century ago. SeaWorld Chief Executive Joel Manby and President Marilyn Hannes have hinted in recent months that the San Diego park could expect a thrill-focused ride in 2018. “This is what Joel and Marilyn promised, which is investing in SeaWorld San Diego and changing this park,” said Brian Morrow, vice president of theme park design for SeaWorld Entertainment. “This is the end of that process, which is the biggest capital investment over a two-year period at this park, and it’s a big deal financially and time-wise.” Morrow and Hannes declined to divulge the expected cost of the roller coaster.

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SeaWorld San Diego staff will produce its final “One Ocean” show this Sunday, ending a decades-old practice of including killer whales as park entertainers.

"We will conduct an interim orca educational presentation in the pool that is also used for underwater viewing... while we remove the existing theatrical moving screens and show set in the stadium and replace them with a natural backdrop that will reflect the natural world of the orca," said SeaWorld San Diego spokesperson Dave Koontz.
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California banned killer whale breeding in 2016, affecting the company that operates the popular marine animal theme park located just north of downtown San Diego.

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SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. was upgraded Thursday to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse, but that doesn’t mean the analysts have high hopes for the company.
The upgrade came as analyst Benjamin Chaiken didn’t think SeaWorld SEAS, +0.76%  was “in a better position structurally,” just that Wall Street’s expectations and the stock’s valuation are now more reasonable than in May, when he turned bearish on the stock. He said the upgrade is also based on the belief that SeaWorld should, and will, lower its dividend and use the money to reinvest in the business, pinning its hopes on the addition of new roller coasters.
Shares of SeaWorld climbed 0.8%, but had been up as much as 3.1% earlier in the session. The shares have tumbled 28% in the past three months, compared with the S&P 500’s SPX, -0.08%  gain of 5.9%.

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SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. announced today that it plans to build new, first-of-its-kind killer whale environments and that it will fund new programs to protect ocean health and killer whales in the wild. The new projects will build on SeaWorld’s legacy of providing state-of-the-art, innovative homes for its animals, and will offer park guests unique and inspiring killer whale encounters for generations to come. As part of its vision for the future, the company also pledged $10 million in matching funds for killer whale research and is embarking on a multi-million dollar partnership focused on ocean health, the leading concern for all killer whales and marine mammals.

“For 50 years, SeaWorld has transformed how the world views marine life. The unprecedented access to marine mammals that our parks provide has increased our knowledge of the ocean and inspired generations,” said Jim Atchison, Chief Executive Officer and President of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. “Our new killer whale homes and research initiatives have just as bold a vision: to advance global understanding of these animals, to educate, and to inspire conservation efforts to protect killer whales in the wild.”

Transformational New Environments

The first of the new environments will be built at SeaWorld San Diego where the killer whale environment is planned to have a total water volume of 10 million gallons, nearly double that of the existing facility. With a planned maximum depth of 50 feet, surface area of nearly 1.5 acres and spanning more than 350 feet in length, the new environment will also have views exceeding 40 feet in height, providing guests with the world’s largest underwater viewing experience of killer whales.

Named the Blue World Project because of its size and scope, the new environment will allow for increased engagement with SeaWorld experts through new enriching experiences and other interactive programs. The environment will enhance the educational experience for guests, foster deeper knowledge of killer whales and their ocean environment and inspire them to celebrate and conserve the natural world.

“Through up-close and personal encounters, the new environment will transform how visitors experience killer whales,” said Atchison. “Our guests will be able to walk alongside the whales as if they were at the shore, watch them interact at the depths found in the ocean, or a birds-eye view from above.”

Expanding on SeaWorld’s legacy of leading-edge animal environment design, the enlarged environment will provide killer whales with even more dynamic opportunities. It will support the whales’ broad range of behaviors and provide choices that can challenge the whales both physically and mentally. Among other things, it is planned to include a “fast water current” that allows whales to swim against moving water, thus functionally increasing speed and diversity. Innovative features focused on husbandry and animal care will offer SeaWorld’s animal health professionals and independent scientists unique access to the whales that can lead to a better understanding and care of the animals both in the parks and in the wild.
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The San Diego environment is expected to open to the public in 2018 with new killer whale homes to follow at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Antonio.

Killer Whale Research

As part of the Blue World Project, SeaWorld has committed $10 million in matching funds focused on threats to killer whales in the wild, especially those identified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration related to the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale. That includes new projects already funded this year: one that will help to understand the hearing ranges of killer whales and the other that will provide insight into nutritional status and reproduction of the Southern Resident Killer Whale. The matching funds will be in addition to killer whale research conducted by SeaWorld’s scientists, which includes nearly 50 studies to date.

Recognizing that ocean health is a leading concern for killer whales and all marine mammals in the wild, the company also announced it will be embarking on a major multi-million dollar partnership focused on protecting the ocean. More details of the partnership will be announced in the coming weeks.

Advisory Panel

SeaWorld will also engage an Independent Advisory Panel to bring new perspectives and ideas to the project. The panel will focus on the creation of an environment that maximizes the health and wellbeing of the animals. Given the particular expertise of current panelists and those expected to join, the panel will further advise on integrated research projects that can be conducted within the new environment and foster partnerships within the science and academic communities working in the wild.

Current Advisory Panel members include:

Dr. Paul Boyle, Senior Vice President for Conservation and Education, Association of Zoos & Aquariums
Dr. Heidi Harley, Professor of Psychology, New College of Florida
Dr. Dorian Houser, Director of Conservation and Biological Research, National Marine Mammal Foundation
Dr. Linda Lowenstein, Professor Emeritus Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Shawn Noren, Associate Research Scientist, Institute of Marine Science, University of California Santa Cruz
Mr. Tom Otten, Chief Executive Officer, Reef Experience
Dr. James F. Peddie, DVM, Distinguished Faculty Chair, Exotic Animal Training and Management Program, Moorpark College
Dr. Paul Ponganis, Research Physiologist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Dr. Kwane Stewart, Chief Veterinary Officer and National Director, Film and Television Unit, American Humane Association
Dr. Pam Yochem, Senior Research Scientist and Executive Vice President, Research, Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute

"SeaWorld's capital investment will create a significant number of new jobs in our community and help drive the economy when construction begins at the Orlando park. Beyond that, it will enhance tourism by providing a state-of-the-art experience for visitors while providing valuable new research and educational opportunities in animal health and behavior," said Representative Daniel Webster (FL-10).

“Like so many others in science and industry, we are constantly learning more about how we can evolve our knowledge and continue to learn more about these amazing animals and stewardship of those in the wild,” Atchison said. “We look forward to working with these experts to build on these learnings and achieve our vision of increased knowledge of killer whales and global efforts to protect those in the wild.”