LEGOLAND Florida ~ November Military Veteran Appreciation Days

LEGOLAND Florida Salutes Military Veterans With Free Admission and More 

Nov. 1-17, 2013

Military Veterans Receive Free Admission Plus Family Member Discounts

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – LEGOLAND Florida salutes the military veterans of the United States Armed Forces with appreciation days Nov. 1-17, 2013. In gratitude for their service, all military veterans are entitled to free admission to LEGOLAND Florida everyday during the 17-day period. Veterans are also entitled to discounted tickets for up to six accompanying guests at $40 plus tax each to experience the park’s more than 50 rides and attractions designed for families with children ages 2 to 12.

To redeem the free admission ticket, military veterans should present their military ID to LEGOLAND Florida’s ticket window the day they plan to visit; military verterans may also purchase tickets for up to six accompanying guests at a discounted rate of $40 each ticket.

Adding to the celebration, Washington D.C. in Miniland U.S.A will be adorned in patriotic flair from Nov. 1-17, and guests may enjoy special offerings throughout the park on Veterans day.

Activities on Veterans Day, Nov. 11:

• Veterans will be invited to help ‘open’ the park at the beginning of the day with a small celebration
• Veterans and guests will help build an oversized American flag made out of LEGO bricks
• Veterans will receive a 20% discount on select retail and food and beverage items

AN OCEAN OF HALLOWEEN FUN AWAITS AT SEAWORLD ORLANDO’S HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR®

Join SeaWorld Orlando every weekend in October for silly, spooky fun at Halloween Spooktacular. During this daytime event, families will be immersed in an underwater "fantasea" filled with trick-or-treating, dancing with sea fairies and pumpkin fish and sea-themed arts and crafts.

SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular takes place weekends in October: 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27, from 12 to 8 p.m., leaving the littlest of trick-or-treaters wide-eyed for all of the fun-filled activities. Halloween Spooktacular is included with park admission.

Spooktacular Highlights Include:

 NEW this year: Spooktacular Dance Party

Princess Penelope and her undersea friends invite guests to join the Spooktacular Dance Party, where children can dance along to a Spooktacular mix of line-dancing favorites as clouds of bubbles fill the evening air. The party will kick off at the front of the park every event night an hour before SeaWorld’s park closing time.

Waves of Trick-or-Treat Fun

Offering more than two million pieces of sweet treats, costumed youngsters can trick-or-treat “under the sea.” Each trick-or-treat station features an assortment of ghoulish goodies including Tootsie Roll, Jelly Belly jelly beans, Airheads and other candy favorites.

Penelope’s Party Zone

Located at SeaWorld’s Bayside area, this dynamic underwater environment comes to life each day with a live DJ, a variety of interactive crafts to choose from, countless bubbles floating overhead and colorful pumpkin fish gliding around! 

Sweet Treat Decorating

Kids and parents alike can have a "splash" creating their own sweet treats at the cookie decorating station. Kids will be able to decorate and devour their spooky cookie when they purchase a kit that comes equipped with a cookie, frosting and toppings.

Jelly Belly® Bean Art to Come to Life at Spooktacular

Jelly Belly artist in residence, Kristen Cumings, will use more than 10,000 Jelly Belly jelly beans to create a portrait of rockhopper penguins, reflecting SeaWorld’s all-new, Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. Guests can watch as this handmade jelly bean creation comes together in front of their eyes during the final weekend of Halloween Spooktacular, Oct. 26 and 27. Kids can join in the fun too, with the opportunity to decorate a Halloween Spooktacular mural with a variety of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Click here to purchase your SeaWorld tickets today!

Coca-Cola Swelter Stopper at SeaWorld for limited time...

The Coca-Cola Swelter Stopper will cool down guests and let them enjoy experiences they can share with friends and family right inside SeaWorld Orlando.

The Swelter Stopper will be in front of Nautilus theater today through Monday, September 2.  SeaWorld guests will get to go inside the truck and dance in their “Energy Dance Floor”, participate in interactive gaming, create videos, take pictures and share everything they do socially.     Both Coke and SeaWorld will be posting on social media sites to let their fans know of this appearance at SeaWorld.


They will also hand out small samples of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Cherry Coke.

Schedule:

Thur/Fri: 11:00 – 6:00

Sat/Sun/Mon 12:00 – 8:00

The Coca-Cola Swelter Stopper is a live experience that brings uplifting refreshment to life.  SeaWorld Orlando is thrilled that through their partnership, The Coca-Cola Company can make these types of experiences available to their guests!

First C-Section Performed On a Shark in SeaWorld History

For the first time in SeaWorld’s history, a Cesarean section has been performed on a shark. Our team of shark experts and veterinarians performed the groundbreaking procedure on a whitetip reef shark at Discovery Cove in Orlando on July 18. With innovative technology and the outstanding efforts of our animal care staff, four healthy pups were born.

Discovery Cove’s animal team determined the shark was pregnant last January after noticing breeding marks on the fins, followed by an enlarged abdomen. Due to the shark’s large litter size -- sharks usually give birth to 2 pups-- the team was able to confirm her pregnancy earlier than most.

Six months into the shark’s gestation, our animal team noticed a complication with her pregnancy and determined an emergency C-section was necessary.

The pups each weighed less than three pounds at birth (1.04 kg-1.25 kg) and were about two feet long (58 cm-62 cm.). These pups have some more growing to do before they reach their full size, but were born with a full mouth of teeth and are self-sufficient. Mom and pups are doing well, eating and behaving normally, and our animal experts are continuing to monitor them.

While these sharks are currently behind the scenes at Discovery Cove, you can see other whitetip reef sharks through glass while snorkeling in The Grand Reef or when participating in SeaVenture, an underwater walking tour where guests -- wearing dive helmets – are able to explore life under the sea.

This C-section shark birth is just one example of some of the amazing ways our company works to connect with and care for the natural world we share.

Story first appeared at http://www.insideconservation.com/first-c-section-performed-shark-seaworld-history

Unleashing the Power of Chi

LEGOLAND® Florida's newest expansion World of Chima presented by Cartoon Network is opening July 3, 2013! Throughout the history of LEGO® and Merlin Entertainments Group, this is the first time a new attraction at a LEGOLAND park has been built the same year as a LEGO toy product launch.

Inside the World of Chima The Quest for Chi (pictured) is the centerpiece of the new World of Chima presented by Cartoon Network. Guests will enter a temple to board an interactive family water ride and battle with water cannons in a quest for the energy source, CHI.

The battle for CHI continues in the SpeedorzTM Arena where players compete to win the precious supply of CHI by racing their Speedorz through a series of obstacles. The LEGO Chima 4D Movie Xperience, will further immerse families into The World of Chima by bringing the characters to life on the big screen.

New SeaWorld-Themed Aircraft: Penguin One

SeaWorld and Southwest Celebrate Partnership with the

Unveiling of a New SeaWorld-Themed Aircraft: Penguin One

Yesterday SeaWorld and Southwest Airlines celebrated 25 years of partnership with the unveiling of the airline’s newest specialty aircraft, Penguin One – a Boeing 737-700 co-branded with images of one of our iconic animals, the penguin.

 

The aircraft was revealed at a ceremony yesterday morning at Orlando International Airport with their animal ambassadors Pete and Penny Penguin, SeaWorld and Southwest team members, community members and executives. SeaWorld's President and CEO Jim Atchison and Southwest Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly christened the aircraft.

  

The plane, filled with SeaWorld and Southwest team members, then departed for celebrations with our team members in San Antonio and San Diego.

 

SeaWorld is very proud of our partnership with Southwest which dates back to 1988 when SeaWorld opened in San Antonio. Even then they launched the partnership in a high-flying way—with the introduction of a new Boeing 737, Shamu One.

FALCON’S FURY RISES AT BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA IN 2014

New Attraction will be the First Drop Tower of its Kind in the World

Tampa, Fla. (June 11, 2013) – For more than five decades Busch Gardens® Tampa has delivered some of the world’s most exciting thrills.  Rides like Cheetah Hunt®, SheiKra®, Montu® and Kumba® have set the stage, and Busch Gardens is ready to drop big news. 

In spring 2014 Busch Gardens Tampa is taking guests’ experiences to new heights with Falcon’s Fury^TM, the first drop tower of its kind in the world.  Additionally, with no connecting structures, it will be the tallest freestanding drop tower in North America. 

Falcon’s Fury

No bird can match the speed of a falcon in its hunting dive. The falcon is the fastest animal on Earth, reaching speeds of 200 mph. Designers were inspired by this bird of prey during the development of the new attraction.

Falcon’s Fury will stand at 335 feet and take riders soaring 60 mph straight down. Located in the Timbuktu™ area, Falcon’s Fury will be visible from any location in the park and even across the Tampa Bay area. 

At the ride’s highest point Busch Gardens has added an element of surprise.  Like its bird of prey namesake, riders will pivot 90 degrees in midair to a face-down dive position. An instant later they'll plunge 60 mph at 3.5 Gs straight down with speed and power like they’ve likely never experienced before.

Construction in the Timbuktu area of the park has already begun, and Falcon’s Fury is scheduled for completion in spring 2014.