Ultimate Guide to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi officially debuted to the public on May 23, 2023, and members of the “Attractions Magazine” team were lucky enough to be invited for the grand opening of the Middle East’s first-ever marine life theme park. Join us now for an exclusive in-depth look at what just might be the most awe-inspiring aquatic attraction ever constructed on Earth.
Introduction to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi
Located on Yas Island – a massive resort complex in the United Arab Emirates that is already home to two major theme parks and a water park – SeaWorld Abu Dhabi has much in common with America’s SeaWorld parks, but is also a very different kind of experience.
For one, with the exception of a single roller coaster that extends outside, the entire 45-acre park is located indoors under air conditioning, with each themed area’s lighting and temperature tailored to replicate its resident animals’ native climate. Second, although the park bears the same branding as its U.S.A. cousins, the project’s entire $1.2 budget was borne by Yas Island’s developer Miral, which owns and operates the attraction while paying licensing fees to SeaWorld (an arrangement similar to Oriental Land Company’s control of Tokyo Disney). Third, although SeaWorld Abu Dhabi offers a full day worth of activities – including two top-of-their-class thrill rides, along with several kid-pleasers – the park’s emphasis is more on the excitement of seeing marine creatures in their humongous habitats, rather that holding on for dear life to a roller coaster. Lastly, the only orcas you’ll find at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi are on giant video screens, and most of its mammal inhabitants were relocated here from substantard parks (not captured from the wild), because this Global Humane-certified facility takes animal welfare and transparency to unprecedented extremes.
In other words, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is what you get when the world’s best veterinarians and creative designers collaborate using essentially an unlimited budget. Believe us when we say it is difficult going back to a conventional stateside marine park once you’ve seen what’s been accomplished on Yas Island. And although it is literally on the opposite side of the world for most SeaWorld fans, a visit to Abu Dhabi may be much less expensive than you think.
Arriving and Getting Oriented
SeaWorld is easily accessible via free buses from Dubai, Abu Dhabi City, and the other Yas Island attractions; or can be reached inexpensively by taxi or Uber. Make sure your driver takes you to the parking lot and front entrance, not the rear service road.
Upon arriving, it is easy to mistake SeaWorld’s ginormous blue box for the similarly supersized IKEA directly across the street; aside from an easily-overlooked marquee with SeaWorld’s familiar logo, only the sea creature silhouettes painted on one side, and the blue coaster tracks snaking along another, signals where you are from afar.
Upon first stepping inside SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, you pass through a security check and then immediately ascend a series of escalators. That’s because the park’s primary level is on the third floor, allowing guests several stories to explore both above and below the water line. Note that although the park is filled with winding staircases and rugged-looking pathways, the entire facility complies with UAE’s “person of determination” regulations, which closely resemble the Americans with Disabilities act, so virtually all attractions are fully accessible; at opening they were also working towards autism-friendly certification as well.
Incidentally, American visitors may rest assured that all signage, shows, and attractions are primarily in English, with some Arabic translations; and major American credit cards (including ApplePay) are readily accepted, with no need for currency exchange. Public displays of affection are discouraged, and dress codes request that guests wear “respectful clothing” covering your shoulders and thighs (no bathing suits allowed), but women are not required to cover their hair or faces.
Once upstairs, the main entry plaza convincingly recreates a desert oasis, centered around a beached boat surrounded by palm trees. Here’s where you’ll find luggage storage, restrooms, and ticketing counters. One-day admission costs about $100 U.S.D. for adults, or $80 for juniors shorter than 1.1 meter (about 43”). Multi-day tickets that include visits to one or more of the other Yas Island parks within 14 days cost $130-$180, and annual passes to all four parks cost $350-$870, depending on blockouts and benefits. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi tickets purchased online are date-specific, so you’ll have to know the day of your first visit before buying. You don’t need a physical ticket if you opt into Yas parks’ Facepass, a facial-recognition system not unlike the one tested by Universal Orlando. QuickPass is also available at an additional cost for bypassing the few attraction queues, but it shouldn’t be necessary except during peak holiday periods.
Before passing through the turnstiles into the park proper, stop by the guest services window for a park map and daily performance schedule. You can also get information about extra-cost SeaWorld Expeditions; these intimate animal encounters range from feeding walrus and petting dolphins, to scuba diving or SeaTrek-ing inside the main aquarium. If you want to sign up or check in for one of these bucket-list experiences, visit Explorer HQ inside the One Ocean hub.
Finally, the time has come to scan your admission and enter the first of eight themed “realms” that rival Disney’s and Universal’s very best in immersive detail.
Abu Dhabi Ocean
On the far side of the turnstiles, the desert oasis theme extends and expands into Abu Dhabi Ocean, the first themed realm. This authentic representation of an ancient Abu Dhabi settlement, is constructed around a lagoon that is the setting for both a full-sized sailing vessel and the Matbakh Ummi buffet restaurant, one of the park’s 17 dining locations. Intended to honor the connection between Abu Dhabi’s people and their environment, this area is a gentle introduction to the sensory stimulation to come, as well as serving as a “Main Street U.S.A.” of assorted shops and low-key attractions.
The biggest draw in Abu Dhabi Ocean is the Al Naham Theater, a simple stone-like amphitheater with a stunning view of an underwater stage, in which exotic fish are free to swim among the actors. Two shows are performed daily: Fisherman and the Mermaid is a fable featuring a performer in a fish appendage; and A Pear Diver’s Life, which combines a history lesson about the now-extinct local industry with a breathtaking diving demonstration.
In Abu Dhabi Ocean, kids (and adults) can go hands-on with starfish, rays, and even sharks in the Mangroves touch pools; there’s also a habitat designed for sea snakes, in case any need to be rescued someday. You’ll also want to look out for the wonderful animated mascots and entertainers who roam this area, including Sakina the Dugong (a manatee relative), seafaring jugglers, and whimsical life-sized puppets of a heron and camel.
Before leaving this area, it’s a good idea to get your free SEA Guardian Games identity card from one of the large video screen kiosks near the turnstiles. After three minutes of watching an introduction and answering some personality questions, you’ll be assigned to one of three teams (representing Science, Exploration, and Adventure) and given a credit card-sized pass that can be tapped against RFID-reading activation points found throughout the entire facility. Players are tasked with a range of assignments, from simple object hunts and trivia to sophisticated video-games, that will require scouring every corner of the park to complete. Advance far enough, and you may be able to trigger effects that affect the park itself, such as illuminating the landmark lighthouse in Rocky Point. The SEA Guardians games may be too ambitious to attempt completing during an initial one-day visit, but will provide repeat visitors a level of interactivity that goes far above Disney’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge datapads, or even Universal’s Super Nintendo World Power-Up bands.
There are only two ways out of Abu Dhabi Ocean – one is into Souk Al-Seef, the inevitable enormous gift shop and package retrieval spot that leads directly to the park’s exit, which at least is attractively subdivided into several marketplace stalls. The other path is through a transparent tunnel representing the Arabian Gulf – above and around which swim majestic sea turtles – and into the very heart of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi itself.
One Ocean
Serving as SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s central departure point, One Ocean is your gateway to all the park’s other realms, each of which (with the exception of MicroOcean) also connects to its neighbors in a “hub and spoke” design similar to the Magic Kingdom. This circular room is completely surrounded by the world’s largest 360-degree LED screen, which stretches over 720 feet. The equivalent of 10 50-foot-tall IMAX screens stacked side-by-side, this mammoth display shows stunning marine life footage, which was captured at 8K and upscaled to nearly 23K, making it the highest definition nature film presentation in history. (The screen is capable of displaying over 50K, when computers able to deliver that much video bandwidth become available.) Paired with a 70-speaker spatial audio system, and an 18 foot-diameter animated globe suspended over the room’s center, One Ocean’s screen takes Disney’s classic CircleVision concept and cranks it up past 11.
We were fortunate enough to witness SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s grand opening celebration, which paired One Ocean’s extravagant audio/visual capabilities with live singers and a 120-piece orchestra with silvery drone dolphins and sea turtles, which swam above the audience’s heads. Regular SeaWorld visitors won’t get to relive that jaw-dropping moment, but they can experience One Ocean’s screen in three different ways. At any time throughout the day, you can enjoy “immersive ambient” displays of underwater scenes, which run on a continuous loop. Periodically, the peacefully backdrops are interrupted by five minute-long “story modules” that go in-depth with a particular ecosystem. Finally, you’ll want to check the daily show schedule for showings of One Epic Ocean, the park’s signature must-see multimedia spectacular with glowing drones that essentially substitutes for a parade or firworks display.
Directly below the big video globe, guests can descend into the Animal Care Center, which is the park’s true hidden gem. Down here, the sculpted rockwork upstairs gives way to a more sterile style, as guests are given an unfettered look directly inside the examination rooms, surgical theaters, and kitchens where SeaWorld’s animals are cared for.
While the Yas SeaWorld Research & Rescue Center is located within the same building as the SeaWorld theme park, it’s completely “bio-secure” to prevent cross-contamination between its patients and tourists. However, in the interests of complete transparency, floor-to-ceiling windows were installed looking into virtually all the veterinarians’ facilities, with no shutters or curtains to conceal their activities. As a result, guests can watch animals receive routine check-ups or state-of-the-art CT scans, and even observe dolphins rehabilitating in a Olympic-plus-sized pool. You’ll also find classrooms and an interesting interactive display about the park’s multi-step process for filtering water pumped in from the nearby gulf.
The only food option inside One Ocean is an ice cream counter, so when you’re hungry for more adventure, it’s time to set off through one of five themed portals ringing the hub, which are detailed below in counter-clockwise order (starting from the Abu Dhabi Ocean entrance).
MicroOcean
Shrink down to the size of plankton and explore a candy-colored coral reef in MicroOcean, SeaWorld’s child-focused realm. If you’ve seen the indoor Little Mermaid area at Tokyo DisneySea, you’ll feel right at home inside this eye-popping playground. Parents will be happy to know there’s only one entrance and exit to this realm, reducing the risk of a runaway rugrat, and the Bitsy Bites counter service restaurant here serves chicken tenders, pizza, and other foods approved by fussy eaters.
Every area of the park has interactive activities all ages, but MicroOcean’s towering Explorer’s Sea Base and Kelp Climb (43” min. height; 29” min. in toddler area) form the attraction’s largest collection of net and towers to climb. There’s also a kid-friendly cabaret where the Krill Dude crustacean puppet and his mollusk pals perform educational songs.
Most notably, this is also where you’ll find the bulk of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s rides, a quartet of Zamperla company carnival attractions that have been plussed with vibrant undersea designs:
- Turtle Twist (41” min. height with adult; 47” min. unaccompanied; 74” max. height) is a hang-glider-style spinner where riders sit below sea turtles with their feet dangling, and control their altitude by pulling on the grab bar.
- Octozoom! (41” min. height with adult; 47” min. unaccompanied; 74” max. height) is a rocking boat that rotates as it undulates along a half-pipe “wave,” with an orange octopus wrapped around it.
- Jelly Plunge (35” min. height with adult; 47” min. unaccompanied; 74” max. height) is a junior drop tower with a twist: the cars rotate around their “water column” as they repeatedly climb and descend.
- Eel Racer (39” min. height with adult; 47” min. unaccompanied; 74” max. height) is a zippy kiddie coaster that dips and twists around the perimeter of MicroOcean. The track is smooth, but quite short, and the queue moves very slowly, so it is a good thing they let you take two laps before exiting.
Finally don’t depart MicroOcean without getting a selfie with Sea Star, the realm’s signature meet-and-greet mascot. Whether you think this surreal supersized starfish is adorable or an avatar of the apocalypse, he’s sure to score on social media!
Endless Ocean
The centerpiece of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is Endless Ocean. At 65 feet deep, it is the world’s largest multi-species aquarium, containing 6.6 million gallons of saltwater and over 68,000 individual animals. It’s also themed to the hilt as a futuristic – but still realistic – underwater research laboratory, taking the promise of Epcot’s SeaBase Alpha and expanding it into a vast network of transparent tunnels and interactive pods to explore.
Begin by ascending escalators to the upper level, where you pass by The Swirl tank containing juvenile sharks, before rounding the corner and getting your stunning first glimpse of the main tank. Below you is the Ocean Pod, a huge curved window that’s the second-best view into the Endless Ocean; it is only topped by the Endless Vista around the corner to the right, a towering vertical viewing window that’s cantilevired out over visitors’ heads, with a digital backdrop displaying distant humpback whales to complete the illusion of aquatic infinity. Be sure to investigate every crevice and corridor on the right side of this complex; don’t miss the Ocean Shelf area for the closest view to swimming without getting wet. (In the future, guests will be able to dive inside Endless Ocean for an additional fee, but for now you can watch employees cleaning the interior.)
The left half of Endless Ocean has more interactive SEA Guardians activities, such as robotic arms you can control; a Launch Bay (43” min. height) play structure for the kids; and a meet & greet with VERNE, the robotic star of the Arctic area’s Hypersphere 360 ride. Check the show schedule for appearances here by the SEA Maintenance Crew, a PVC pipe percussion band similar to Blue Man Group, minus the makeup.
There’s a snack stand serving waffles on the upper level, near the Launch Bay Supplies gift shop. But you may want to save up and spring for the fine dining Fathom 11 restaurant on the lower level, which has an unbeatable view of the aquarium.
Tropical Ocean
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s largest and lushest land, Tropical Ocean is built around a football field-sized lagoon that is home to the park’s dolphin population. You’ll also find a flock of pink flamingos, macaws, and other exotic avians nesting among the waterfalls in this naturalistic recreation of a rainforest, as well as touch pools for feeding friendly rays. One side of the spacious atrium features huge windows facing towards the city, making this one of the only realms with natural lighting. The surrounding walls sport photo-realistic printed backdrops simulating distant mountains; animated back-lighting lets the scenery adjust accurately to the time of day, with shifting clouds and other subtle effects.
At the far end of the lagoon, a terraced amphitheater inspired by the design of rice paddies is the setting for the park’s best live production. The Tropical Amphitheater Dolphin Presentation pairs demonstrations of natural dolphin behaviors with a dramatic performance featuring a magisterial narrator (Orlando actor Tony Dietterick, one of several Central Florida talents behind this show) who welcomes visitors to “Dolphin Island.” In addition to educating audiences about dolphins and their native ecosystem, this show is enlivened by playful percussionists and a fantastic rainfall effect. Although the porpoise performers were still adapting during our media preview, one performed a finale double back-flip that was truly awe-inspiring.
In addition to the Shipwreck Cove playground and a collection of sea-themed Midway Games, Tropical Ocean’s lower level is the launching point for SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s most thrilling attraction, the Manta Coaster (51” min. height; 77” max. height). This Intamin Blitz multi-launch sit-down roller coaster begins with a detailed undersea cave queue and load station, with the 20-seat trains passing a large aquarium before being blasted from a coolly-lit tunnel into the blazing desert. The 3,445-foot-long track dips and twists outdoors through two additional LSM launch tunnels that accelerate you though coral reefs, the remains of a shipwreck, and even sculpted curling waves, which prove countless “head chopper” close calls. There are only four completely upside-down inversions, but with just a lap-bar restraining you during 17 out-of-your-seat airtime moments – including the world’s first “zero gravity flip-out” and “twisting double-down dive” – this Manta feels like a triple-sized sibling to VelociCoaster first half. It’s powerful yet smooth, and would be infinitely re-ridable were it not for the painfully blinding sunlight at midday; guests with sensitive eyes should bring safety straps for their sunglasses, and try to ride as late in the day as possible. While nothing can quite compare to the pretzel loop on Orlando’s Manta for sheer intensity, Abu Dhabi’s version is the best overall attraction with this name, and quite possibly the new number one coaster in the entire region.
While recovering from your ride on Manta, keep an eye out for stilt-walking creatures, like a beautiful butterfly and bug-eyed frog. And you’re unlikely to starve in this realm with eight different dining outlets to chose from, ranging from an Asian buffet and waterside TexMex, to a gourmet burger joint sunken into the central cenote. Dolphin lovers can adopt a toy friend from Hamad’s Hideaway, or get dressed for Florida in Flaming Point apparel.
Rocky Point
Rocky Point is one of SeaWorld’s smaller realms, but it’s also one of the most immersive, convincingly recreating a sea cove in the Pacific Northwest where sea lions and seals come to frolic. Take note of the bobbing red buoy, whose movement actually creates the powerful wave patterns, as well as the advanced lighting fixtures in the sky-simulating ceiling, which recreate UV wavelengths you could tan under.
Hidden behind the animal enclosure is the entrance to a huge 1,800-seat stadium that seems to be hewn out of stone, backed by a giant screen displaying ocean images. This is the spectacular setting for the Rocky Point Amphitheater Sea Lion Presentation, which tries to strike a balance between SeaWorld’s goofy old “Sea Lion High” and their current education-focused shows.
There are no Clyde and Seymour characters, nor is there a mime, but there is a comedic Australian intern who warms up the audience with a preshow, then returns for a storyline involving illegal fishing in a protected habitat. The plot gives rise to some wet slapstick humor, while also giving the performers an opportunity inform about conservation. As always, the aquatic animals – who were still adjusting during our preview, and can be observed “backstage” during the performance through an upstage window into their habitat – are the true stars, especially when they don’t follow the script. There may be as few as one showtime per day, with an “open house” held in early afternoon, so check the show schedule and arrive up to 30 minutes early for your choice of seats.
Polar Ocean: Antarctica & Arctic
SeaWorld’s last two realms share a color scheme (white) and temperature (frigid) but otherwise are at the opposite ends of the earth. Polar Ocean is the astrolabe-inspired rotunda that bridges the gap between them. Don’t merely pass through, but pause and look up at the Armillary above you; the planetarium-like dome displays animated vignettes paying homage to the Arab explorers and inventors who advanced our seafaring abilities.
From here you can pass through a revolving airlock and enter Antarctica, which is similar to Orlando’s penguin habitat of the same name, but much grander. During the summer, which is winter on that continent, this section stays in perpetual midnight, with an animated arora overhead providing much of the minimal illumination. Be warned that it is literally freezing in here, though the transition into that temperature after Abu Dhabi’s air conditioning isn’t nearly as shocking a when coming from Florida’s humidity. Kids can defrost and burn off energy at the same time in the Penguin Play area. To observe the penguins without getting quite so chilled, check out The Catch fish & chips counter on the lower level (for a great view of them swimming) or Umberto’s Italian cafeteria at surface level, serving chef-made pasta dishes that are table-service-worthy.
Though Antarctica is impressive – if too icy to enjoy for extended periods – the Arctic area is far more temperate, and offers several reasons stick around around. Looking like a blend between Orlando’s Wild Arctic walk-through and the Nordic village at the end of Epcot’s original Maelstrom ride, this realm is a maze of pathways winding beneath a snow-covered mountain.
A full-sized research vessel has been moored here in a glacial bay, providing multiple levels from which to watch walruses, sea otters, and puffins at play.
Hidden in a corner of the Arctic, up a flight of nondescript stairs next to the Arctic Trading Post gift shop, you’ll find SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s last – but certainly not least – theme park-style attraction. Hypersphere 360 (47” min. height; 77” max. height) is a first-of-its-kind simulator from Attraktion! and Intamin that’s been advertised at IAAPA Expo since 2014. First, an animated preshow introduces your hosts, Dr. Jules and her robotic companion VERNE, and explains your mission to voyage around the globe tracking endangered species. Then, riders enter a vast dome covered in seamless LED screens and take one of 80 coaster-style seats that ring the room, facing towards a central chest-high pillar.
Once everyone is secured with over-the-shoulder restraints, the room reveals its first big trick as that pillar plunges, and the half-dome becomes nearly a complete sphere, with walls curving beneath riders’ dangling feet towards a flat floor far below. As high-resolution CGI marine creatures swim completely around you, the entire ring of seats begins rotating around the room, and then tilts on a pivot.
Hypersphere never reaches the spew-inducing speeds of a carnival Gravitron, nor does it simulate flipping entirely upside-down like a Mad House, but it gently generates centrifugal sensations similar to both of those rides. When synchronized with the overwhelming imagery surrounding you, Hypersphere 360’s sloshing swim through Caribbean currents becomes the closest thing yet to glasses-free virtual reality. The ride’s moderate physical intensity makes it perfect for the whole family, as long as you can handle the sensory overload, and fans of cutting-edge simulation technology will find this brain-bending ball worth the visit all by itself.
Touring Tips and Final Thoughts
Toss away everything you think you know about SeaWorld parks, or indoor aquariums in general, because SeaWorld Abu Dhabi sets a new standard for immersion and animal care that no other attraction in the world can currently come close to. In addition to the aforementioned companies, PGAV deserves the lion’s share of credit for design and construction of the ubiquitous themed elements, along with their collaborators at Thinkwell (media and entertainment) and AECOM (engineering).
On paper, this park doesn’t compete with its cousins in sheer attraction count, and those who primarily visit SeaWorld for thrill rides may feel underserved. However, it is hard to imagine anyone not being able to fill a full day here, especially since the park is typically only open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Simply sitting and staring into the Endless Ocean could easily occupy an hour or more. Best of all, like all UAE attractions, attendance is usually extremely low, especially on weekdays. So take your time enjoying your oceanic explorations, and be certain to seek high and low for hidden viewing opportunities secreted around every realm, because you never know what natural treasures are lurking under the sea.
