Major Announcement: See Ya' Later Shamu

In an announcement made late last week, SeaWorld outlined three key components of its plan: Instead of theatrical shows, it will present "natural encounters" with its orcas. The conversion will begin at SeaWorld San Diego in 2017, at SeaWorld San Antonio in 2018, and then at SeaWorld Orlando in 2019. Secondly, the company will no longer breed whales and will phase them out of its parks entirely as the current ones pass away. Finally, SeaWorld announced a partnership with the Humane Society (which had previously been one if its most vocal critics) to jointly protect orcas and other marine mammals.
Read more about SeaWorld's historic announcement. Also, the company's CEO, Joel Manby, wrote an op-ed about the announcement.

SeaWorld's announcement begs the question: What will become of the marine life parks? With its star attractions slated to be phased out, might it reverse course entirely and adopt a new theme that has nothing to do with the ocean at its parks? Or might it stick with the theme and brand it has built, but use immersive, media-based attractions and shows instead of live orcas? Its Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin gives a sense of the direction it could take.
And what about the dolphins, sea lions, and the rest of the parks' live animals? It would seem that they might be removed at some point as well. Where would that leave Discovery Cove, SeaWorld's wonderful boutique, swim-with-the-dolphins park?
The future may be uncertain for the company, but I tip my hat to its leaders for making what must have been difficult decisions.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Six Flags' wild plan to roll out nine virtual reality coasters this season. It hadn't occurred to me that, by their very nature, the VR rides would be experienced individually. Passengers will be lost in their own virtual worlds, rather than the traditional coaster experience of enjoying rides together with friends and family. At their core, parks are highly social environments that are meant to be shared experiences. This issue is explored in an article about another VR coaster that just opened, Galactica at Alton Towers in the U.K.