​In addition to enhancing the park’s already strict health and safety measures, including consulting with medical experts, face covering requirements and temperature screenings, park capacity will be significantly limited to create even more open space for guests to be scared, terrified, and thrilled throughout one of Florida’s largest theme parks. Guests are strongly encouraged to make reservations early as reservations are required and space is limited. Reservations are available now at www.HowlOScream.com.

NEW: A spacious, outdoor venue for Fiends
The fan-favorite Fiends show, starring Dr. Freakenstein and his frightful entourage, will take to its largest stage ever for outdoor performances on the Festival Field Stage. Bench seating will be arranged in a physically distant manner to ensure there is plenty of space for a limited number of guests to enjoy each performance.

Remotely Terrifying - Virtual Auditions for Scare Actors
As an extension of the park’s commitment to health and safety, the annual recruitment of scare actors has also transformed for 2020. New applicants interested in performing for Howl-O-Scream can virtually audition for a number of frightful roles by submitting their application at www.buschgardensjobs.com.

Additional Expanded Health and Safety Measures:
For general admission and special events including Howl-O-Scream, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is committed to the health and safety of our guests, employees, and the animals in our care. The park has worked diligently with state and local health experts, outside consultants and attraction industry leaders to enhance our already strict health, safety and cleanliness standards. These protocols and guidelines will be modified based on evolving industry standards and methodologies, public health, and governmental directives, and advancing scientific knowledge on the transmissibility of COVID-19.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is excited to continue to provide our guests with fun and memorable experiences, while addressing important health and safety needs during this time. For detailed information about the measures that guests can expect when visiting the park, including key operational changes, visit buschgardens.com/tampa/safety.

Learn More:
Visit HowlOScream.com to make a reservation now and learn more about this year’s Howl-O-Scream. Stay tuned for more dreadful details by following Howl-O-Scream on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
Howl-O-Scream is intended for a mature audience. This event contains intense adult content such as violence, gore, and blood. Howl-O-Scream 2020 is a separately-ticketed night event. Protective Face Coverings are required, but no costumes are allowed.

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About Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay is the ultimate family adventure, offering 300 acres of fascinating attractions based on exotic explorations around the world. Busch Gardens is a unique blend of thrilling rides, one of the country's premier zoos with thousands of animals representing more than 200 species, and live shows and events, providing unrivaled experiences for guests of every age. For more information, visit BuschGardensTampa.com. Busch Gardens is owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS), a leading theme park and entertainment company providing experiences that matter, and inspiring guests to protect animals and the wild wonders of our world.

WHAT:                 
SeaWorld Orlando is hosting a week-long Celebration of Sharks
 
WHEN:                 
Sunday, August 9-Sunday August 16
 
DETAILS:  
Included with park admission, all guests are invited to celebrate sharks at SeaWorld Orlando this week!  In addition to enhancing the park’s already strict health and safety measures, capacity for these events will be significantly limited to create even more open space for a visit that provides plenty of opportunity to maintain social distancing in a safe environment. Guests are encouraged to make reservations early as reservations are required and limited to manage capacity. Reservations can be made at https://seaworld.com/orlando/tickets/reservations/

• Join the Shark Team’s Animal Care Specialists at Shark Shallows for special shark presentations on August 15 and 16 at 1 pm.
• Visit Fin’s Gifts to receive 40% off of select shark merchandise.
• In honor of Mako, SeaWorld’s shark-themed coaster, Pass Members will also receive 50% off of Quick Que Unlimited during the shark celebration for use on all of the park’s rides.
• For an even more exclusive experience with limited capacity, guests who purchase the Up-Close Shark Tour on August 15 or 16, guests will be able to safely feed sharks from above the main aquarium in SeaWorld’s Shark Encounter.

SAFETY:              

SeaWorld is excited to continue to provide our guests with fun, inspiring and memorable experiences, while addressing important health and safety needs during this time. For detailed information about the measures that guests can expect when visiting the resort, including key operational changes, visit Seaworld.com/orlando/safety.
 
Follow SeaWorld on Facebook, Instagram and the SeaWorld Orlando Blog for the latest news from SeaWorld.
About SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.
​
SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS) is a leading theme park and entertainment company providing experiences that matter, and inspiring guests to protect animals and the wild wonders of our world. The Company is one of the world’s foremost zoological organizations and a global leader in animal welfare, training, husbandry and veterinary care. The Company collectively cares for what it believes is one of the largest zoological collections in the world and has helped lead advances in the care of animals. The Company also rescues and rehabilitates marine and terrestrial animals that are ill, injured, orphaned or abandoned, with the goal of returning them to the wild. The SeaWorld® rescue team has helped more than 37,000 animals in need over the Company’s history.  SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. owns or licenses a portfolio of recognized brands including SeaWorld®, Busch Gardens®, Aquatica®, Sesame Place® and Sea Rescue®. Over its more than 60-year history, the Company has built a diversified portfolio of 12 destination and regional theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States, many of which showcase its one-of-a-kind zoological collection. The Company’s theme parks feature a diverse array of rides, shows and other attractions with broad demographic appeal which deliver memorable experiences and a strong value proposition for its guests.

​JACKSON, N.J. ─ August 10, 2020 ─ The Six Flags Wild Safari’s animal care team is celebrating the birth of a female giraffe, the most recent of four calves born in the span of one year. The calf, named “Sierra,” was born on June 2, 2020 and recently ventured into the Wilde Plains section of the safari for the first time. Led by her mother, Muraya, she joined the other young giraffes in this “baby boom”—Phyllis, Embu, and Soda—and encountered 10 different species of African animals, including white bearded gnu (also known as blue wildebeest), eland, and blackbuck.

“Sierra is over 200 pounds and will likely grow to be 1,500 pounds,” said Safari Veterinarian Dr. Ken Keiffer. “She is the latest in an exciting string of giraffe births here at the safari, and we are thrilled that all four calves are being raised by their mothers,” he added.

Though calves are typically about six feet tall when they are born, adult male giraffes can reach 18 feet, making them the tallest mammals in the world.
​
The calves are all reticulated giraffe, also called Somali giraffe, which are native to northeastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and Somalia.

​“Reticulated giraffes have distinctive coat patterns featuring red-brown patches divided by thin white lines. Their spots are unique like a fingerprint, which is how we can tell them apart,” said Dr. Keiffer. Other facts about reticulated giraffes include:

• A group of giraffes is called a “tower”;
• Giraffes can stand and walk within an hour of their birth—they even sleep and give birth standing;
• Giraffes have seven vertebrae in their extremely long necks, which is the same amount of vertebrae humans have in their necks; and
• Their tongues can be 18 inches long to help reach tree leaves.

​In the wild, giraffes are currently undergoing what is referred to as a “silent extinction event.” Their numbers have decreased by nearly 40 percent in the past 30 years, placing them in the “Vulnerable to Extinction” category as determined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Six Flags Wild Safari is home to 12 giraffes.

The Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure takes guests on a self-guided journey through 1,200 exotic animals from six continents from the safety and privacy of their own vehicles. Guests must purchase tickets and make a reservation in advance of their visit using Six Flags’ new online registration system. A new, free audio tour is available to stream online that provides fun facts about 70 different species of animals at the safari. Guests can learn more about the animals and their habitats, purchase tickets, make reservations, and stream the audio tour at www.sixflags.com/safari.
​
Fun Facts About How Giraffes Measure Up:

• Taller than traditional double-decker busses;
• Two times taller than ostriches;
• Two times taller than the world’s tallest man, Robert Wadlow;
• Two and a half times taller than the average Christmas tree;
• Two and a half times taller than superstar basketball player Shaquille O’Neal;
• Taller than three stacked refrigerators;
• Six times taller than General Tom Thumb; and
• Taller than 14 stacked bowling pins.

August 6, 2020

To our Valued Customers,

The IAAPA Expo in Orlando is the most important annual gathering of amusement industry professionals and enthusiasts and is truly the epicenter of attractions innovation and business. In 2019, a record-setting 42,000 attendees including CEOs, global leaders, visionary designers, sales people, and technical experts gathered to conduct business, educate, and network at the industry’s gold standard conference and trade show.  The 2019 show was a confirmation of the strength of the attractions industry which this past year set all-time records globally for attendance.  Business had never been better.

2020 will not be the same.  The companies listed below represent well over 100 years of continuous exhibiting at the IAAPA Expo.  We are competitors, yet we work together closely to ensure amusement ride safety.  We put our heart and soul into this industry with the like goal of creating lifetime memories for millions of people around the globe.  And we all look forward to the opportunity each year to gather in Orlando and to be with colleagues and friends from nearly every country in the globe.  There are no better words to describe the show environment than “one big family”.  With that in mind, we are deeply saddened to share the news with you that we will not be exhibiting at the 2020 IAAPA Expo.  We know this news will come as a great disappointment to many of you, and we have made this hard decision with great angst and with significant consideration of several factors.   

First, the industry is hurting on all levels. Even with a global effort lead by IAAPA to establish very safe facility operations, our guests have not come back to the parks in the numbers for which we had all hoped.  As suppliers to the industry, we know that successful business for us requires successful business for our valued clients.  We get it. We understand there is a right time to sell and this is not the right time.  Parks and attractions need to focus all their attention on keeping their facilities healthy and well-maintained so they can open strong in 2021.  We are here to help you in any way possible, whether it be service or technical support and we will be here when the time is right to talk about new innovative attractions. 

Additionally, and understandably, the ability to travel from both a global and a domestic standpoint has been so greatly diminished to the point it is impractical.  Each day the news brings additional quarantines and restrictions.  Flying from around the globe to Florida is almost impossible, and even in the US with its myriad of quarantine rules it would presently require 28 days of quarantine to visit the show from New York.  Again, impractical.

And finally, and most importantly, we need to prioritize the health of our employees who have dedicated themselves to making our companies successful and who are what make visiting our booths so great and so welcoming.  We understand all the precautions that are being taken for the IAAPA Expo, and we are grateful for that significant effort.  There is indeed hope for the near future with rapid global achievements in the medical field.  But for this show, with just over three months to go, the clock has run out.
 
We have each reached out to our valued clients around the globe and also here in the United States. The message has been the same.  For all the reasons above, “we can’t come” is what we are being told.  We understand and respect the situation and for the same reasons we will not be at the show either.  We will dearly miss you.

The show is a major investment and we have already spent significantly on the show; funds that can never be recovered.  We will use the savings from not exhibiting to maintain our company’s operations in order to be ready when you are.  In addition, our industry is known for giving and we are all making some generous donations with part of our savings.

We will be giving to:

• Give Kids The World to help make up for the annual IAAPA Expo Harley Davidson fundraiser. https://www.gktw.org/ 
• Doctors Without Borders in recognition that we are indeed a global industry that positively impacts people arounds the world. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
• Heart of Florida United Way because we care deeply about the people of Orlando, the
• home of IAAPA and the IAAPA Expo. https://www.hfuw.org/

We encourage everyone who reads this to also consider contributing to one of more of these
organizations, even if the amount is small.

We work in an industry that is extremely resilient.  Through wars, through recessions, and yes, even through pandemics, our industry has survived.  People have a basic need to smile, to have fun.  And in tough times, amusement parks are a place where families can enjoy themselves.

The show must go on and will go on!  Just not this year.

We will see you again in 2021.  And yes, we will once again smile.

Thank you for your understanding.

STAND-ALONE FALL ISSUE OF DISNEY TWENTY-THREE EXPLORES MORE THAN SIX DECADES OF INNOVATION AND STORYTELLING WITH DISNEY LEGENDS AND IMAGINEERS
 
PLUS, EXCLUSIVE STORIES COMING TO D23.COM, A LIMITED-EDITION PIN SET, AND AN EXCLUSIVE GIFT WITH THE PUBLICATION FOR D23 GOLD MEMBERS ALL HONOR THE LANDMARK OCCASION
​

​BURBANK, Calif. – August 6, 2020 – It was 65 years ago that Disneyland first welcomed guests to enjoy a new kind of experience: the theme park. And to mark the occasion, Disney twenty-three has created a one-of-a-kind, stand-alone issue, filled with rich stories and stunning photography that look at the development and evolution of the Disney theme park. Disney artist Ricky De Los Angeles created an exclusive wrap-around cover for the issue featuring colorful illustrations of iconic attractions (and snacks!) from Disney parks around the world. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro penned a special “Editor’s Letter” for readers, highlighting his deep connection with the theme parks, and stories include exclusive interviews with Disney Legends Tony Baxter and Wing T. Chao; Imagineers Tom Fitzgerald and Bhavna Mistry; original Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess; and Walt Disney Imagineering President Bob Weis.
 
The Disney twenty-three team pulled together a robust selection of stories written by subject matter experts including:

• Walt’s Map to the Magic: A deep dive into the inspiration, planning, and creation of Disneyland penned by Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline and publication editor Max Lark
• Dateline Disneyland: July 17, 1955: A guided tour of Disneyland on opening day by D23’s Manager of Content Curation (and former Disneyland Park tour guide) Justin Arthur
• Picturing the Parks: A curated look at some of the most beloved attraction posters from Disney’s parks around the world written by Disney Publishing’s Editorial Director Wendy Lefkon
• National Treasures: Stunning images from several of National Geographic’s many trips to the parks from National Geographic’s Caitlin Holbrook
• Rooms with a View: The evolution of Disney’s immersive resorts and vacation experiences from the Disneyland Hotel to a galaxy far, far away by Disney Vacation Club’s Ryan March
• Character Analysis: Park Stars: Beloved characters created just for Disney parks, from the Orange Bird and Figment to the Country Bears and Chandu, written by Disney Parks’ Charles Stovall
• And much, much more including a roundup of every glorious Disney castle, a look at our remarkable cast members around the world, the Disney spectacular examined, and an advance peek at the new book Holiday Magic in the Disney Parks​

​Plus, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is extending the celebration for fans and members including:

• Expanded Digital Storytelling: More than a dozen original features on D23.com looking at the Disney theme park, from a look at movies filmed at Disney parks (Saving Mr. Banks and Tomorrowland) to delicious vintage parks recipes.
• An Exclusive Pin Set: Available only to D23 Gold and Gold Family Members, this 6-pin set features some of the colorful artwork from Ricky De Los Angeles’ cover of Disney twenty-three, including Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Resort, Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland Resort, Ratatouille: The Adventure at Disneyland Paris, Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World Resort, Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and one inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. The limited-edition set will be available for $49.99 on August 31 at shopDisney.com.
• Disney Imagineers Celebrate 65 Years of Disneyland Park: From August 21 through August 23, D23 Gold and Gold Family Members will have the chance to watch an exclusive virtual panel created by Walt Disney Imagineering celebrating the 65th anniversary of Disneyland with Imagineering leaders Jeanette Lomboy, Kim Irvine, and Scott Trowbridge, along with Disney Legend Tony Baxter, and moderated by Leslie Iwerks, director and executive producer of The Imagineering Story on Disney+.
• D23 Trivia Night: 65 Years of the Disney Theme Park: Disney parks trivia aficionados are invited to join a fun evening of trivia spanning every Disney park around the globe. On August 28, D23 Gold and Gold Family Members can join the fun to celebrate 65 years of favorite places and attractions—classic and new.
• D23 Magical Summer Sweepstakes: Starting August 10, all D23 Members will be able to enter to win exciting prizes, including a new D23 Gold Membership and the exclusive 6-pin set.
• Special Gold Member Gift: Just for D23 Gold and Gold Family Members, this issue of Disney twenty-three will include a set of six postcards—each representing a different Disney resort around the world.

​No purchase is necessary to enter the weekly sweepstakes. Open to all D23 Members who are residents of the 50 United States or D.C., 18 or older. For details, visit https://d23.com/entry/magical-summer-sweepstakes.
 
Additional details will be available at D23.com. Disney twenty-three, which is delivered directly to fans’ doorsteps, is offered exclusively to D23 Gold and Gold Family Members as a benefit of their membership. The latest issue will begin arriving before the end of August.
 
About D23
The name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his first studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s 90-plus-year history. It gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic through its quarterly publication, Disney twenty-three; a rich website at D23.com with members-only content; member-exclusive discounts; and special events for D23 Members throughout the year.
 
Fans can join D23 at Gold Membership ($99.99), Gold Family Membership ($129.99), and General Membership (complimentary) levels at D23.com. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.