$12??? Are you kidding me? Pricing integrity has gone out the window, soon to be followed by bare minimum park staffing, reactive maintenance and up keep.

I wonder if FoxNews would like to team up with SEAS and do a BlackFish 2 documentary or CNN might want to tell the other side of the story. Ohh wait SEAS was given that offer and refused.

Next up--anyone in middle management up will be sending out resumes and trying desperately to get out before they become a part of the $50,000,000 annual savings.

A great theme park chain is being ripped asunder. Hopefully, the sale is soon. If not, irreparable harm may result.

My oldest nieces and I went to Busch Gardens Tampa almost two years ago and had a great time. I was hoping to convince them to go again when I visit in May. It will be interesting to see how these cuts change the guest experience.

And now, a hedge fund is leaking to a New York newspaper that it may bail:

SeaWorld Stock Down 50% In 2014:

http://nypost.com/2014/11/16/seaworld-stock-sinks-50-in-2014/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=NYP%20180%20Day%20Openers%20and%2030%20Day%20Signups&utm_campaign=NY%2520Post%2520Newsletter

Interesting. Cheap park assets may be coming to market. Sooner rather than later.

Darn.

My first thought is to the animals- will they get top care?

I wanted the park to thrive in spite of its bad decisions so the animals wouldn't do without. What will happen to them?

I don't want them turned out to sea. That would be like setting my ten year old Scottie out in farmland to fend for himself.

What plans have been made for them? Why in God's Pink Hell did they allow PETA so many shares?

They did drop the ball in not addressing Blackfish, which is back on Netflix, by the way.

Shares are available on the open market. Anyone can buy them.

As to the animals, any new owner would decide that.

For now, current management remains. No management change appears imminent, but that can change on a dime...or a billion, a hostile takeover, a bankruptcy, etc.

I'd hope the families wouldn't be split up.

What will happen to the sea rescue program, I wonder?

Could this be a blessing in disguise? Maybe the parks in their current state go ka-blooey, but maybe a reorganised, better run, with even better animal care will emerge from this?

Cheap park assets may be coming to market. Sooner rather than later.

Or expensive park assets. Some companies choose to sell assets that can fetch top dollar immediately, focusing resources on turning their riskier investments around.

PETA's protest this year about the Macy's float involves getting naked, painting themselves black and white, and piling into a bathtub in front of Macy's.

Is taking off their clothes all these people know to do?

How are they going to keep warm until they get to Macy's, wear the furs of all the shelter animals they've killed with their "no kill shale tear policy?

They brain is divided in two for a reason, so we can have both empathy AND reason. These PETA persons rely solely on their emotional outrage.

Highly recommended:

Saving SeaWorld:

http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-20/facing-blackfish-backlash-seaworld-tries-to-save-itself

Great article and offers some interesting insights.

I had to read the following sentence multiple times,

How we care for those animals may make me feel good morally, but that is also my fiduciary responsibility.

Cash SeaCow?

I know we like to emphasize silence from any given park around here, but has anyone noticed that Busch Gardens Williamsburg has hardly promoted their new coaster?

I have, yes. There's speculation on some BGW fan sites that the lack of promotion is due to a last-minute theme change. I'm not sure if I buy that or not--I would think the amount of theming that's gone into Busch Gardens' most recent additions wouldn't be something you could change within a year of the ride opening. If that is the case, then I think it says a lot about how much theming to expect out of the ride and out of SEAS at this point. But I'm still chalking that rumor up to wishful thinking.

Why the park hasn't said anything at ALL, regardless of theme, about the ride continues to confuse me.

including the 2010 death of popular San Diego SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau

Uhh...someone needs to practice better fact checking.