Delay in opening of Water Park

[wrpac00]

SeaWorld Orlando said Friday it plans to open a new water-theme park in March 2008, a change from the 2007 launch announced last summer.

The International Drive attraction said it needs more time to work on details of the park, which would join the original SeaWorld and Discovery Cove, its smaller, reservation-only venue.

"This is an elaborate concept, and we are taking time to insure we deliver 100 percent on that experience," SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides said in explaining the decision to open later than anticipated.

Groundbreaking, which was originally set for this fall, has been extended to next July, Bides said.

SeaWorld said the park will include beaches and swimming areas, as well as an attraction that will allow visitors to whisk through acrylic flumes amid a lagoon of jumping Commerson's dolphins. The dolphins are a rare species native to South America.

The park is still unnamed. Bides said SeaWorld won't yet discuss specifics about its cost, layout or planned capacity. Last summer SeaWorld said the water park, which will be built on 58 acres east of International Drive and south of Sea Harbor Drive, would create about 1,000 jobs.

SeaWorld received government approval to build such a park as part of its original development plan in the 1980s. Last summer, a county review committee approved specifics of the design for the new park.

[sundowner]

I cannot wait for this one - love Sea World and Discovery Cove so really looking forward to it.

[wrpac00]

It will be intersting and an alternative to the Disney water parks.

[Ray&Sarah]

Shame it has been delaued but should be worth waiting for.[msnsmile2]

[wrpac00]

I certainly hope so.[msncool]

[tigger66]

so does it have real dolphins??![:O]