Central Florida Happenings.....Sea Worlds new line up!

ORLANDO, Fla. -- (March 2007) - The entire family will thrill to numerous NEW adventures launching this year at SeaWorld Orlando.  From Sesame Street characters turned pirates, to three new sea-themed family rides and an expanded, four-acre Shamu's Happy Harbor playground, families will enjoy a line-up of new experiences that could only come from SeaWorld. The fun continues even after the sun sets with a new high-energy Shamu Rocks concert featuring an urban beat and colossal effects. Vacation moments become lifelong memories as the shows, and even the rides, are designed to be enjoyed together as a family. 

Not wanting to be left out of a whole year of family activities, the Shamu family of killer whales also welcomed a new calf on March 12. 

New additions coming in 2007 include:

• ELMO AND THE BOOKANEERS, April 2 through Labor Day Weekend
  Learning to read has never been as fun as Elmo and his Sesame Street friends combine singing and dancing in an all-new swashbuckling pirate adventure that can only be seen at SeaWorld Orlando.  Featuring an original musical score, special effects and live-action performances, this 20-minute show is sure to delight the whole family.  Stars of the show include Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Rosita, Telly Monster, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby - the first new female Muppet to join Sesame Street in more than 13 years.
• SHAMU'S HAPPY HARBOR EXPANSION AND RIDES, Open Memorial Day Weekend
  Shamu's Happy Harbor is the ultimate play destination for kids.  This May, it doubles in size to four acres as it launches three new family rides -- Ocean Commotion, Flying Fiddler and Sea Carousel -- joining the three new rides added last fall.
• Ocean Commotion, a fanta-"sea" themed enormous 19-foot tug boat, will take 24 riders at a time on a swinging boat ride, gently rocking back-and-forth and whirling side-to-side 
• The Flying Fiddler, a giant, bright-red fiddler crab with illuminated eyes that move, fills its belly with 12 children and adults and lifts them to more than 20 feet in the air. At the height of the moment, the Flying Fiddler begins jumping in a vertical descent in a quick series of short drops, sure to bring elated faces of surprise and delight.
• Adding a classic element to Shamu's Happy Harbor is an elaborate Sea Carousel - a marine-themed masterpiece topped by a behemoth 45-foot-wide pink octopus.  Riders board a colorful collection of 65 sea creatures including giant exotic fish, sea lions, otters, sharks and dolphins, and "float" up and down as the carousel revolves to the sounds of the sea. This new seaside paradise joins the 2006 new additions to Shamu's Happy Harbor - the Shamu Express, a killer whale-themed roller coaster; Jazzy Jellies, a jellyfish-themed samba tower ride; and Swishy Fishies, a waterspout-themed teacup ride - as well as four stories of nets and tunnels, a huge sand box, and a playful pirate ship.
• SHAMU ROCKS, Opens Memorial Day Weekend
  Shamu Rocks is a rock n' roll concert of unprecedented proportions combining improvisational movements of killer whales with music remixed by some of the hottest rock stars in the industry including Savage Garden, Cold Play, Jennifer Lopez, Rascal Flats and Shakira.  Driven by an urban beat and colossal effects, Shamu and a team of skilled trainers take center stage as killer whale performances transform the arena into joyous frenzy. Pushing the limits of a stadium performance through technical magnitude, animal feats and creative prowess, Shamu Rocks provides guests with a one-of-a-kind experience only SeaWorld could create. Taking the performance to dynamic magnitude, a 3-story tail fluke flanked by four, 20-foot-wide rotating LED screens dominates the scene and showcases abstract visuals that can be combined to create an 80-foot-long panoramic screen, setting the stage for a colossal multimedia presentation.  Topping that off, nearly 100 speakers throughout the stadium, provide an optimal rock n' roll surround-sound experience. 
• NEW BABY KILLER WHALE, Born March 12
  Spring sprang early at SeaWorld Orlando as the park welcomed a new baby killer whale to the Shamu family on the 12th of March 2007.   The calf's mother, Taima, gave birth to the 6-foot-long, 350-pound newborn at 4:48 p.m. in SeaWorld Orlando's multimillion-gallon research and breeding facility, Shamu Stadium. One of the most photographed killer whales in the Shamu family, Taima is also the mother of two other killer whales.  She is 18 feet long and weighs 6,500 pounds. SeaWorld animal care specialists remain cautiously optimistic about the progress of the baby and its mother.  The sex of the calf is yet to be determined. The birth of this new whale brings the Orlando pod to nine whales, ranging in size from this 350-pound baby to a 12,000-pound male.  SeaWorld's killer whale breeding program is the most successful in the world. This calf is the 15th killer whale born at SeaWorld Orlando and the 23rd to be born and successfully raised throughout all three SeaWorld parks. SeaWorld Orlando takes families below the surface, above the waves and beyond their expectations. More than 200 acres of up-close animal encounters, thrilling attractions and lavish performances immerse guests in the mysteries of the sea.  Whether coming face-to-face with Shamu, petting dolphins, counting the teeth on a shark or feeding seals and sea lions, vacation adventures become lifelong memories at SeaWorld Orlando.

There are great things happening in central Florida...... stay tuned for more news!!

(Press release from the Seaworld.com website)