SeaWorld has announced a major new attraction planned at its San Diego theme park.
"Ocean Explorer" is an educational, interactive submarine ride expected to open in late spring next year. The cost to build the ride is estimated to be in the tens of millions.
The theme park company has been dealing with backlash from the documentary Blackfish since 2013. Attendance at the San Diego park was 3.6 million in 2015, down 4% from the year before, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. In attempts to move past the negative image, SeaWorld has announced several rides at their parks.
The feature ride at Ocean Explorer will mimic an underwater scientific exploration in mini submarines: Visitors will be able to explore three acres of aquarium from their submarines, getting up close views of octopuses, spider crabs and jellyfish.
Onboard the submarines will be educational content and digital displays. The ride, SeaWorld says, is meant to teach visitors about the ocean ecosystem and inspire them to protect marine life.
“The idea behind (Ocean Explorer) is you’ll be transported around on a research expedition and you’ll be learning about all these animals and then will leave SeaWorld inspired to act on their behalf,” said John Reilly, president of SeaWorld San Diego.
The three-minute long submarine tour is one of five rides that SeaWorld San Diego has planned.
A "wave swinger ride" will fly guests through bubbles in chairs "suspended from the tentacles of a giant jelly," and three more family-friendly rides will round out the experience, according to SeaWorld.
In December, the company announced that it was putting a proposed $100 million expansion of its killer whale tanks on hold. The company is reallocating a significant portion of the money to projects like Ocean Explorer.
UPDATED 3:55 p.m. ET: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Ocean Explorer would be funded with money from the killer whale expansion.
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