Jump to content

'Penguin Expedition' at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium


Jamberoo Fan
 Share

'Penguin Expedition' at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium  

15 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you ride 'Penguin Expedition'?

    • Yes
      15
    • No
      0
  2. 2. Does 'Penguin Expedition' give you more reason to visit Sea Life Sydney Aquarium?

    • Yes
      8
    • No
      7
  3. 3. Should Sea World take inspiration from 'Penguin Expedition'?

    • Yes
      8
    • No
      7


Recommended Posts

I just noticed Sea Life Sydney Aquarium opened their new Penguin Expedition attraction on 9th November last year. Simply, it is a penguin exhibit featuring a 2-minute boat ride through the exhibit. Nevertheless, it is themed to a scientific expedition to & around Macquarie Island. The ride features temperatures of a 'comfortable' 6 degrees Celsius. Each boat can fit 8 people. According to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, it is 'the world's first ride-through penguin experience'. Here is their concept video that was released in May last year:

While this is a topic about Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, may I ask should Sea World take inspiration from this attraction?

Edited by Jamberoo Fan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No Sea World should not take inspiration from this.  

 

Let me preface what I'm about to say with the following; there is nothing cruel about a boat ride through an animal exhibat.  

 

The problem is perception, Zoo's (and particularly marine parks) have a real image problem with the uninformed masses.  The way you change that perception is to have the animals in as realistic a setting as possible, and have them tell their own stories, and you want them to be displayed in a way which conveys the respect for the animals that all zoos in this country have.  

 

When you add a ride you make them a sideshow in the guests eyes.  Rather than it being a chance to watch them and get an understanding of them, they are reduced to props on a ride.  

 

Again there is nothing cruel about this, as the exhibat looks good from the video and the only thing that has changed is the guests perception, but I think you mess with that perception at your peril.  Besides any of this, the best way for an animal exhibit to be seen is over a period of time, not moving through it quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, joz said:

 Besides any of this, the best way for an animal exhibit to be seen is over a period of time, not moving through it quickly.

I agree with what you are saying in your whole post @joz but for your information, you can still view all the penguins without actually riding the boat ride portion of the exhibit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just from what I see the Penguin Expedition claims  "the world's first ride-through penguin experience" because the ride itself takes you through the open air part of the exhibit (and the entire ride including the onload and off load take place in the climate controlled area). Where as Empire of the Penguins, the ride transports you to the open air section from outside. It's really just a technically depending on how one would define 'ride-through'.

The Penguin Expedition is pretty cool for something that's basically squished into a tiny space at Sydney Aquarium (But its got nothing on Empire of the Penguins). The ride itself is only really 90 seconds, the claimed 2 minutes likely includes the loading and unloading time. When I went it had a 25 minute wait (and the staff were struggling to manage the line). It's good to see not everyone in the general public are scared of water rides right now :lol:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.