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copyright © 2004-2008 This website is not connected in any way with SeaWorld/Anheuser-Busch Parks, Six Flags Inc. |
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a special presentation authored by fellow SeaWorld enthusiast, Just over 35 years ago, construction crews were frantically sliding around in the mud , caused by the melting winter snow and spring rains, to complete one of the largest Northern Ohio construction projects on time. Concrete tanks were being filled with salt water for the arrival of animals most people residing in this part of the country had never seen before. Landscape crews were busy planting a bountiful array of trees, shrubs and perennials that would line the natural glacier lake nestled among the rolling hills of northeast Ohio. On April 26th, 1970, Shamu arrived via an American Airlines cargo freighter at 4:27pm, and was splashing around in his new home within two hours! My first memory of SeaWorld came some fifteen years later. Our family made SeaWorld a must see during our annual summer vacation to visit my sister in northern, Ohio. It was not until 1990 that Sea World became a part of my everyday life. I was still not a pass member yet, that did not come until 1992. Anyone remember the summer night deal, if you purchased a full price admission you got an after 7:00pm ticket to use at a later date? I could not begin to tell you how many times I stood in that line at Guest Relations to get my second night free! Looking back it is sad to see that a place we have all called home has been destroyed. But one thing that won’t be destroyed are the memories and friendships that came out of all those visits to the park. I remember sitting in the stadium having a conversation one afternoon (as I recall it was cold rainy day and the wind was blowing the rain into the center section of Shamu Stadium) about the photographs we have taken. Someone asked the question, “what do you think people will think when were are all dead and gone and they find all these pictures of whales, etc.” I can’t recall what my response was then but now I am so very thankful that we have taken those pictures and those videos. What once was used to get us through the winter blues now has to get us through life. I remember the night that Winnie brought up a paint chip from the bottom of the pool, and the night we retaliated against the trainers with our dolphin inspired water guns during “bucket time” (from behind our ponchos, of course)! In 1993 I remember being one of the first (along with Amy Davis) to enter the fascinating world of sharks in the Shark Encounter. We laughed at bloopers at Sealion and Otter, and who could forget spending time with Mike and Mary? Special events at SeaWorld just added to the fun, remember the Victoria Garden Party presented by Cypress Gardens? The Jack Hanna weekends, Sesame Street visits, Olympic gymnasts, the Fall Festival and the Morning Exchange broadcasts live from SeaWorld? Of course there were many other memories that stick out in my head, like the winter passholder events and previews, Mike and Mary’s 56th Anniversary Party, our own birthday celebrations and the tragedy during the water ski stadium, during a Baywatch themed show, which is the only mishap to ever happen at the Ohio location of Seaworld. Who knows what the park would look like today if it remained part of the Anheuser-Busch family of parks? Perhaps Kalia who was born in San Diego back in December could have been born in a state-of-the-art facility in Ohio. Dolphin Cove may have been expanded to encompass a swim program much like Discovery Cove in Orlando, or polar bears could be roaming an attraction like Wild Artic. I said it before and I’ll say it again, the animals have been relocated, the buildings destroyed but the lasting memories and friendships will last forever. The following are a combination of early sketches of the park, as well as a look at what SeaWorld of Ohio might have looked like in 2005, if the park had continuted. We hope you enjoy the attached photos of a journey back in time, and a look into an alternate future that might have been………………. |
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