chain . for the unrelated australian theme park see sea world australia . for other uses see sea world disambiguation . seaworld slogan where imagination meets nature location san diego california san antonio texas orlando florida theme marine mammal park owner seaworld entertainment opened march 21 1964 ; 52 years ago 1964 03 21 operating season year round visitors per annum 11 million 1 rides total 47 website official website coordinates 32 45 57 n 117 13 35 w 32.7657 n 117.2263 w 32.7657 ; 117.2263 seaworld is a united states chain of marine mammal parks oceanariums and animal theme parks owned by seaworld entertainment . the parks feature killer whale sea lion and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals . there are operations in orange county florida ; san diego california ; san antonio texas ; and previously aurora ohio . on march 5 2007 seaworld orlando announced addition of the aquatica water park to its adventure park family which already includes seaworld and discovery cove . seaworld parks also feature thrill rides including roller coasters like kraken and manta at seaworld orlando and steel eel and the great white at seaworld san antonio . journey to atlantis a combination roller coaster and splashdown ride can be found at all three parks . the parks were owned by busch entertainment corp. the family entertainment division of anheuser busch which is best known for brewing beer . in 2009 busch entertainment was sold to the blackstone group and subsequently renamed seaworld entertainment . in 2013 blackstone sold 37 % of seaworld entertainment in an initial public offering . the parks marine mammal collections have been the subject of public debate over the years . the 2013 documentary film blackfish produced after a seaworld orlando trainer was killed by one of the park s killer whales increased the scrutiny and has led to decreases in attendance profits and the company s share price . it is a major theme park competitor to six flags cedar fair walt disney parks & resorts and universal parks & resorts . in 2016 seaworld announced that they would end their in park breeding programs and eventually phase out their killer whale shows altogether . 2 contents 1 history 2 locations 2.1 seaworld san diego 2.2 seaworld orlando 2.3 seaworld san antonio 2.4 middle east 3 seaworld ohio sale re birth and eventual transition 4 killer whales 4.1 blackfish film 5 animal rescue and rehabilitation program 6 drive hunt captures 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit kasatka one of seaworld san diego s nine killer whales performs during a routine shamu adventure show . trainer surfing on top of katina a killer whale at seaworld orlando . marble porter jensen starbuck baretta and clyde performing in blue horizons at seaworld orlando . seaworld was opened in 1964 by milton c. shedd ken norris david demott and george millay . the four graduates of ucla originally set out to build an underwater restaurant and marine life show . 3 when the underwater restaurant concept was deemed unfeasible they scrapped those plans and decided to build a park instead and seaworld san diego was opened on march 21 1964 . 4 with only a few dolphins sea lions 6 attractions and 22 acres 89 000 m2 the park proved to be a success and more than 400 000 guests visited in the first 12 months . after considering other locations in the midwest including the lake milton newton falls area west of youngstown ohio it was decided that aurora ohio would be the new home of a seaworld . the aurora site was approximately 15 miles 24 km northwest of the lake milton site and 30 miles 48 km southeast of cleveland . 5 by this time the founders of the company had captured a few more species of animals including a killer whale that was brought to the new facility . the harsh winter climate permitted the park to be open only from mid may until mid september . the walt disney world resort in orlando florida opened near the end of the second operating season of seaworld of ohio . the success of disney in orlando provided a location that was already popular with tourists . seaworld orlando opened in 1973 . harcourt brace jovanovich inc. hbj purchased the company in 1976 and 12 years later they began a venture in texas . in 1988 seaworld san antonio opened just a few miles outside of san antonio . 6 growth has pushed the city outwards and now seaworld san antonio lies in the westover hills community in west san antonio . the park was open year round like its sister parks in california and florida in 1988 and 1989 then went to a seasonal schedule . the stress and financial resources it took to build and maintain a state of the art marine mammal facility in the late 80s eventually took its toll on the company . hbj whose primary focus was producing school books needed to reduce its assets in order to avoid a bankruptcy . the anheuser busch company made an offer to purchase the seaworld parks . hbj also owned and operated two other parks cypress gardens and boardwalk and baseball and out of fear of not being able to find a buyer for the two other parks hbj refused to sell the parks individually . despite a long negotiation anheuser busch bought all six parks in 1989 seaworld in san diego aurora orlando and san antonio as well as cypress gardens in winter haven and boardwalk and baseball in haines city . soon after the sale was final busch sold cypress gardens to the park s management and closed boardwalk and baseball . 7 anheuser busch put millions of dollars back into the parks to revive and to prolong their longevity . seaworld is accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums aza . 8 in 2009 busch entertainment was sold to the blackstone group and subsequently renamed seaworld entertainment . in 2013 blackstone sold 37 % of entertainment in an initial public offering . 9 in 2016 seaworld admitted that it had been sending its employees to pose as activists to spy on animal rights organization peta . 10 following an investigation by an outside law firm seaworld s board of directors directed management to end the practice . 11 locations edit seaworld san diego edit main article seaworld san diego seaworld san diego the first seaworld park opened on march 21 1964 . the park features shows such as one ocean the current shamu show sea lions live a comedic show with sea lions and otters and dolphin days a dolphin show . rides include journey to atlantis a splashdown ride that also has characteristics of a roller coaster . the summer nights program changes some shows and adds others . one night show featuring the killer whales is called shamu s celebration light up the night ; a live dj choreographs music to the show s soundtrack and the killer whales trainers spend interaction time in front of the stadium s crowd . after the show celebrate the wonder fireworks spectacular a fireworks show plays using music from the 50th anniversary s theme song beneath the blue . the song can also be heard in the overture of the explorer s reef s theme music . seaworld orlando edit main article seaworld orlando seaworld orlando opened on december 15 1973 . 12 one ocean a new shamu show which premiered april 22 2011 is hosted here along with blue horizons the park s dolphin show and a new show that made its debut on june 14 2015 clyde and seamore s sea lion high . 13 the park contains 4 roller coasters kraken a floorless coaster based on the mythical sea creature manta a coaster designed to simulate how manta rays move mako opened july 2016 and the shamu express a coaster oriented to kids located in shamu s happy harbor . it is also home to the original journey to atlantis water coaster . seaworld after dark is seaworld orlando s night program featuring the fireworks show reflections a sea lions show sea lions tonite and shamu show shamu celebration light up the night . 14 15 seaworld san antonio edit main article seaworld san antonio seaworld san antonio opened on may 27 1988 . 6 its formal opening over memorial day weekend 1988 held about 75 000 people . 16 3.3 million people visited seaworld san antonio during its first year 10 % more than what was originally projected . 17 the park shows one ocean the new shamu show ; azul a show combining diving synchronized swimming dolphins and beluga whales ; and the cannery row caper a sea lion show following the sea lions clyde and seamore solving a mystery . parks rides include the great white an inverted roller coaster steel eel a roller coaster reaching a height of 150 feet 18 and journey to atlantis a water roller coaster into the mythical land of atlantis . middle east edit in 2008 busch entertainment had previously announced plans to open a fourth seaworld park in dubai uae 19 but those plans were abandoned amidst the international financial crisis . 20 in may 2014 seaworld announced renewed plans to build a park in the middle east but did not specify a timeline or specific location . 21 seaworld ohio sale re birth and eventual transition edit main article seaworld ohio see also wildwater kingdom aurora ohio in february 2001 anheuser busch sold the seaworld ohio park to six flags inc. operators of neighboring six flags ohio geauga lake until the end of 1999 reverting to the geauga lake name in 2004 . upon completion of the sale the two parks were combined in spring 2001 as the so called mega park six flags worlds of adventure which boasted its three parks in one uniqueness a waterpark an amusement park and a wildlife animal park all included in one price of admission . seaworld executives replied that their park had been sold because of the short season of the animal park because of northeastern ohio s cold winter months and also because they were not able to get the rights to build roller coasters like the other seaworld properties had been able to . in march 2004 six flags inc. announced that it had sold six flags worlds of adventure to cedar fair entertainment company the operators of the cedar point amusement park in sandusky ohio . cedar fair took the park back to its original geauga lake name which had a history dating back to 1888 . since the six flags company retained ownership of the animals the majority of the animal portion of the park including all of the exhibits and animal stadiums was either emptied or fenced off for the 2004 season . after a nearly season long wait the cedar fair company announced its plans for the non operational side of the former seaworld ohio six flags worlds of adventure wildlife side . that entire portion of the land would become an immense waterpark named wildwater kingdom opening in two phases with the first phase in 2005 followed by the second phase in 2006 . this decision marked the end of the marine life park permanently . all of the animal stadiums and buildings were next torn down or converted into other venues . some of the seaworld property remained intact albeit hidden or modified . what remained included the former seal and sea lion area the ski stadium to be used in a lumberjack show in 2006 the aquarium to be used for unknown purposes and two movie theater houses simulators once housing 3d 4d movies . the ski stadium was removed in off season 2008 to make way for coconut cove a