SeaWorld Orlando visitors will be able to interact with killer whales in new ways in the future

On Friday, SeaWorld Entertainment announced major expansions for its three theme parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego. The multi-million-dollar project will create first-of-its-kind environments for its signature killer whales.

Named the Blue World Project because of its size and scope, the construction will begin in San Diego, which has a target opening date of 2018. Then, Orlando and San Antonio parks will follow. Each new environment will have a total water volume of 10 million gallons, nearly double that of the existing facility, and a surface area of nearly 1.5 acres. The wow factor comes with the views that will be more than 40 feet tall, providing guests with the world’s largest underwater viewing experience of orcas. Plus, guests will be able to walk alongside the whales as if they were at the shore.

And although each SeaWorld park is different, the goal is to have the same features in each killer whale environment, said Terry Prather, president of the Orlando park, at a news conference.

“[The new environment] 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,” according to a press release.

SeaWorld is constantly looking for ways to get people closer to its animals and inspire them more, Prather told media. Certainly, inspiring guests to become involved with conservation efforts is what sets SeaWorld apart from other theme parks.

“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.”

Former SeaWorld trainer Mark Simmons told ABC News that the new environments will provide the killer whales with improved mental stimulation, emphasizing that the type of environment is more important than the size of the body of water where they live.

“I think it’s an enhancement, an obvious evolution of SeaWorld’s mission,” Simmons said in an ABC News story.

As part of the Blue World Project, SeaWorld has pledged $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.

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