Credit: SeaWorldWalt Disney World has been the reigning Orlando theme park for decades, going all the way back to its 1971 debut. In the last few years, however, it seems as though Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando are competing for the top spots.
Since the 2020 pandemic, Disney World’s attendance numbers have been on the decline. While Magic Kingdom still see the most guests out of any other Orlando theme park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom have dropped below Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. This trend is happening even before Universal opens their upcoming third gate park, Epic Universe, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 2025.
Epic Universe will feature areas and attractions inspired by iconic franchises like How To Train Your Dragon, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Classic Universal Monsters, and will also feature its own SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. Excitement and anticipation is high for the new park, which will be the first major addition to one of the parks since Animal Kingdom debuted in 1998 (not including any of the water parks).
However, Disney has been strangely quiet on any plans to combat the rival park. While Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was opened in 2019 in Hollywood Studios and TRON Lightcycle / Run just opened at the Magic Kingdom earlier this year, there’s been no confirmation of a major expansion or addition to the Walt Disney World Resort to match the scale of Epic Universe.
Recently, at the Destination D23 event in Orlando, there were several ideas and possibilities floated about what could be coming to the park but nothing concrete or actually confirmed besides a few updates to already existing attractions. Fans have since taken to social media to wonder at Disney’s plans, or lack thereof, in response to Universal’s rise in popularity. Now, it seems as though yet another Orlando park is looking to trump Disney World with an all-new addition.
SeaWorld Orlando has been facing some heat over the last few years after the release of Blackfish (2013), the documentary featuring one of SeaWorld’s orca whales which essentially blamed the park for animal cruelty, among other things. It still has some of the lowest attendance of the Orlando parks, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping it from trying to compete with the big ones.
It was just announced that SeaWorld Orlando will be opening an all-new roller coaster next spring, called Penguin Trek. The coaster is a family launch coaster featuring snowmobile-styled ride vehicles that will send riders on a journey across Antarctica on a penguin research mission. According to the SeaWorld announcement shared to X/Twitter by insider Scott Gustin, the attraction will feature “two exhilarating launches and a maze of twists and turns…[moving] at speeds of up to 43 mph across a 3020-foot track that traverses both indoors and outside.”
NEW: SeaWorld Orlando announces “Penguin Trek” –
a 43mph, 3,020-foot “ultimate family launch coaster” that features “a unique snowmobile styled ride car” and “traverses both indoors and outside.” Opens Spring 2024. pic.twitter.com/1Igz8cRSrd— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 28, 2023
The ride also boasts a spectacular grand finale, stopping riders right in the heart of SeaWorld Orlando’s penguin habitat. This will mark the eighth roller coaster to join the park. It’s sure to be a unique experience for guests of all ages, and comes right in the middle of the heated battle for best Orlando theme park. The announcement also comes just a few months after the park unveiled Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, a first-of-its-kind standing coaster, back in May.
With Disney World apparently struggling to keep up with Universal Orlando, will SeaWorld overtake the Most Magical Place on Earth too? Clearly, the animal-focused park isn’t slowing down. If Disney doesn’t start announcing some solid, concrete future plans with the $60 billion expansion investment they’ve undertaken, it could be possible!
Are you excited about the new roller coaster coming to SeaWorld Orlando? Let us know in the comments below!