Over the past few weeks IZEA has developed a relationship with the fine people at Busch Entertainment. Busch operates SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica and other adventure parks around the country. We are working on a variety of initiatives together, the first of which is an exclusive blogger hard hat tour of Manta next month.
Manta Roller Coaster at SeaWorld
Manta is a brand new roller coaster scheduled to open this Summer. Riders will journey face-down, in a horizontal position, underneath the belly of a coaster train shaped as a giant manta, with a wing span of 12 feet. I had the opportunity to see a pre-release video of the Manta experience and I have to say it looks incredible. If I had the money I would build one in my backyard and invite you over, but it may just be easier to go to SeaWorld together when it opens.
I was asked to select 5 bloggers to participate in a hard hat tour the first weekend in February. These bloggers will join me in Orlando to go behind the scenes and discover SeaWorld like few others have:
Alex Schek – http://www.faywerwayer.com (@aschek)
Lucretia Pruitt – http://www.geekmommy.com (@geekmommy)
Julia Roy – http://www.juliaroy.com (@juliaroy)
Wendy Piersall – http://www.sparkplugging.com (@emom)
Sarah Austion – http://www.pop17.com (@pop17)
In addition, SeaWorld was kind enough to provide me with tickets for all IZEA team members last Friday. We had the chance to explore the park and familiarize ourselves with all that it has to offer. I had an absolute blast! I saw sharks, dolphins and penguins… not to mention I got to ride Kraken.
Finished Riding Kraken from Ted Murphy on Vimeo.
All that other stuff was cool, but without a doubt the highlight of my day was the video below. I don’t want to ruin what happened, just remember it was 40 degrees outside and I was wearing a cotton shirt.
Soaked by Shamu from Ted Murphy on Vimeo.
I am extremely excited to be working with SeaWorld on the Manta hard hat tour and other projects not yet announced. They are great people to work worth, are eager to get into social media and most of all they have seen this blog and they still like me : )
If you haven’t already you should join SocialSpark and get on IZEA‘s radar. Who knows… maybe you will find yourself at SeaWorld with me some day soon.
Seriously – it’s great to see that a company as large as Busch Entertainment gets how important engaging in social media is. I’m completely excited about the trip and excited to be a part of this! 🙂
(Can I hide behind you or Paisano if there’s a repeat Shamu perfomance? ;))
@Lucretia Pruitt:
Ohhhhh…. there will be no hiding. Be sure to bring an extra pair of clothes!
Oh man, I love sea world. I’ll take tickets to the San Diego one please.
Your trip sounds like such fun – perhaps you need to buy an underwater housing for your camera before you go!
Watching your video of Shamu soaking you reminded me of the 1968 capture of the original Shamu and many other killer whales near my small hometown – and the ensuing controversy as the whales were sold around the world.
I hope you’ll stop by to read my post – there is a link to a great story about the transport of one whale!
Ted, My friend Mo was right there near you guys at SeaWorld that day. She texted me to say that she recognized your hat and after the Shamu show she was going to try and go say hi to you but she lost you. I was tweeting the whole thing as it happened, hoping to connect you guys. She lives in Tampa is a huge fan of Sea World and she has her own blog called We’re In A Fight. She’s one of the funniest people we know and I wish she was able to catch you guys to say hello.
Doin’ the happy dance. 🙂
I LOVE Sea World in San Diego, and I bet the Orlando one is even better, but there is no way in a gazzilion years would I ride that roller coaster! Have fun bloggers!
i have not been to Sea World and have never been to the US. But one day, I will surely land my feet on your beautiful country one day. and.. hopefully try the rides at Sea World! The roller coaster’s pretty crazy! ahhh!!!
@Ted Murphy:
Planning for overly wet and soggy trip to SeaWorld now! 🙂
@Heather in Beautiful BC:
FREE WILLY!!
Ted,
It looks like y’all had a great time out there!
I love visiting Sea World…a blast every time!
Kimberly 🙂
I Love Seaworld……………………………………
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Do You Knoe The New Flying Coaster…………
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I Ment Have You Seen The New Flying Coaster Called Manta