I experienced Turtle Trek today and was very impressed. After being ushered through several pre-show rooms, you enter the dome. What I thought would be a neat presentation quickly turned into something that exceeded my expectations. Even though it was a little rough animation wise (less Pixar fluidity, more jerky type animation during some scenes) the flawless 3-D dome projection was phenomenal. There was one scene where jellyfish appeared in the distance, and as they approach, you can look left, right, and up and you are surrounded. And this will sound hokey, but there are parts where you really feel you are underwater when you look up during whatever scene and see the sun shining through the water. The final scene of the show really packed an emotional punch that was way more effective than anything I've seen in a theme park environment before.
The exit and gift ship are also executed perfectly (with a must sea feature in the gift shop that you can't miss.)
In the past 3 years, I have seen Seaworld step up their game in a huge way, and Turtle Trek is another example of how to be a leader in the entertainment industry.
There are several operational factors that I see being worked out, however. One of the biggest is the fact that you enter and exit the dome through the same doors, bearing left to exit and straight to go back to the pre-show rooms. This will be a problem during the busy times. Second, the second pre-show room features a presentation by an enthusiastic member of the Seaworld team as she explains sea turtles sets up the story for the film. Her presentation is done in the corner of the room, which gives everybody who can't see her the right to talk over her entire presentation.
Either way, a great new attraction that I can't wait to see again.
PS - One of the best original attraction scores to date, too.
I can't bear wildlife documentaries due to the death/killing aspect!
