SeaWorld Orlando will be adding what it calls a “first-of-its-kind suspended dark ride” in 2026.
Called SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep, the new ride will see “guests will embark on a vibrant submersible adventure through dazzling undersea ecosystems, where they’ll encounter extraordinary lifeforms, breathtaking environments, and inspiring stories of the sea,” according to SeaWorld.
While the SeaWorld webpage about the new project is light on specifics, it appears that the ride will be another extension of the fictional Science, Exploration, Adventure (S.E.A) group. The same group was referenced in SeaWorld’s Abu Dhabi park and in the storyline which recently debuted at SeaWorld San Diego’s Journey to Atlantis.
Orlando Business Journal reported that the ride is rumored to be manufactured by Vekoma, the Dutch ride firm which recently opened a new office in Orlando.
SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep would be the first dark ride at SeaWorld Orlando since the closure of Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
It would also mark the fifth straight year that SeaWorld Orlando opened a new attraction, a streak that includes the roller coasters Ice Breaker (2022), Pipeline (2023), and Penguin Trek (2024), followed by the flying theater ride Expedition Odyssey, which opened earlier this year.