Seaworld Orlando

About this time each year ride manufacturers and theme park operators gather in Orlando, Fla., for the International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show. > Photos: Ride makers unveil new attractions at IAAPA show Ride makers use the annual IAAPA show to announce attractions for the coming year and unveil ride concepts they hope will become the next big industry sensation. You can catch in-depth video and photo updates from the IAAPA show floor at Theme Park Review and Screamscape . Here's a roundup of the biggest attraction announcements to come out from IAAPA this past week: Gravity Group will add a barrel roll to the Hades wooden roller coaster at Wisconsin's Mt. Olympus in 2013.

For now, video and photos that depict the death of a SeaWorld Orlando trainer during an encounter with a killer whale will remain out of the public's eye. But the media and attorneys for veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau told a judge Wednesday that they were willing to negotiate an agreement regarding access to the material. In order to reach a resolution, they asked Orange Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Kirkwood for an extension in the temporary restraining order he granted last week, which prevents the Orange County Sheriff's Office and Medical Examiner's Office from releasing the images.

SeaWorld San Diego will add a manta ray-themed family roller coaster on May 26 that marks the U.S. debut of a highly anticipated prototype ride. PHOTOS: Manta roller coaster at SeaWorld San Diego Paired with a 100,000-gallon aquarium and outdoor ray pool, the Manta coaster will twist and turn over low terrain in the relatively unused back corner of the marine park near the Skyride and Flamingo Cove, SeaWorld officials said....

A killer whale fatally attacked an animal trainer at SeaWorld in Florida on Wednesday, jerking her into the pool and thrashing her around underwater as dozens of horrified tourists watched. The orca had been involved in two previous deaths, including one at the water park in 1999. Dawn Brancheau, 40, was finishing a session with Tilikum, a 12,000-pound male killer whale, after a midday show at the Orlando theme park. Witnesses said the killer whale grabbed her by the upper arm, disappeared underwater with her and swam to the other side of the tank, flailing her around.

Reporting from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey-- Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., has a long and winding roller coaster history that's filled with as many twists and turns as the amusement park's many record-breaking rides. Photos : Top 10 Six Flags Great Adventure roller coasters Great Adventure was a must-see on my road trip across America's coaster belt, in large part because of the park's three world-class rides: El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro.

PARK CITY, Utah - It was Samantha Berg's dream job: swimming with orcas. But with only a bachelor's degree in animal science from Cornell University and no hands-on experience with whales, the then-22-year-old assumed she was not qualified to perform stunts in a SeaWorld pool with the powerful 8,000-pound animals. Still, she decided to send her résumé to marine parks nationwide in the hopes that she might land a low-level gig and learn more about sea life. To her surprise, she was called in for an audition at SeaWorld's Orlando park, which asked her to prove her physical acumen by diving 25 feet underwater, picking up a weight, returning to the surface, carrying heavy fish buckets and then jumping up on stage even as she was struggling for breath.

The theme park industry will take a deep breath in 2013 after the launch of several landmark attractions and with more groundbreaking projects on the horizon. The last few years have seen several theme park additions that have altered the industry landscape and set attendance records -- from Cars Land at Disney California Adventure to Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure. The future promises even more theme park innovation in the form of Shanghai Disneyland in China and Avatar Land at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida.

At first I thought it was too early to look ahead at the new attractions coming to U.S. theme parks in 2013, but then I realized a number of big rides have already been announced and many more are already in the planning stages. > Photos: Most anticipated new U.S. theme park rides for 2013 It already seems like 2013 is shaping up as a good year for ride enthusiasts and theme park fans. Big industry players have announced major projects, and several smaller parks are planning to roll out significant additions.

The "Orlando Magicard" is a discount card good at more than 60 hotels, 13 attractions, six golf courses, three rental car companies and other sites in the Orlando, Fla., area. Savings range from $2.50 per person at SeaWorld Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to $50 or more per hotel room versus published rates. (Be sure to check whether AAA or other programs give you similar or better savings.) Contact the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc., tel.

Will people pay $179 a day to hang out at artificial beaches, frolic with dolphins, snorkel in a faux reef and swim in a "jungle" river? The answer seems to be yes. Discovery Cove, a 30-acre "tropical paradise" theme park across the road from Florida's SeaWorld Orlando, is "virtually sold out" for July and August--and it hasn't even opened, spokesman Dan Dipiazzo said last week. The park is to debut July 1. Operated by St. Louis-based Busch Entertainment Corp.