Hey Theme Park Fans and welcome to another exciting addition of Closed Attraction Review. Today we’re going to take a look at Sea World’s Believe show. Now don’t worry Shamu is still available to see at Sea World, but the show itself has changed into One Ocean...so therefore Believe falls under the closed attraction arena. So let’s make a splash and review this...
First of All::
I realize that their are some who would much rather see Shamu in the wild...you know where animals starve, are hunted for fun, and suffer from disease rather than in a safe environment where they are well feed and surrounded by trainers who love and care for nothing more than them and will be fired for any wrong move they make to harm the whales...but this is not about that it’s about the show.
The Show::
I remember the old Shamu shows and how they used to be so campy and fun, the environment that they created at the beginning was entertaining and exciting. As I walked into the first showing of Believe however I was not greeted by campy music, but a very dramatic soundtrack. The our screens began to move into one giant LED screen which was (and still is in One Ocean) a very cool effect. The show began with a young boy who was fascinated by the wonders of the great and mighty Shamu (because all of the killer whales are called that by kids everywhere...well except my cousin who calls him Shampoo..). He obsesses over the whale, drawing pictures of it, making a neck-less from the tale, and even sitting outside of Shamu’s house at night with binoculars..I mean this kid is obsessed. We see a few more scenes of him going out with Shamu...he rows out into the water I mean...Now cleverly synched with the video the actual Shamu lept out of the tank surprising everybody and making a big reveal..I mean I didn’t think it was possible to hide a big whale, but that first reveal was too cool. Soon the music builds dramatically as a trainer runs out on stage (very clever transition from video stoker boy to Sea World Trainer). This is the part that made me realize that this was going to be different from any of the past Sea World Shamu shows. The music built to a creepy sounding almost Jaws like tune as we saw Shamu under the water...the music subsided and suddenly Ja...I mean Shamu lept out of the water with a dramatic DUN DUN music queue suddenly the music changes to a less menacing sounding tune to a calm and mysterious tune...the trainer and Shamu share a moment where it seems like both worlds connect and a bond is created (interesting that a music score and some trained movements can do that without the use of words). The trainer then jumped into the tank and disappeared for a moment and then flew (litterally) out of the water holding Shamu’s..umm..snout I guess as the music reached a dramatic point..the trainer was then propelled by Shamu back onto land (how they didn’t break an ankle I will never know) as a new triumphant soundtrack starts as the trainers fly out on some other Shamus...then for a few acts the show begins the normal Shamu acrobatics. Their is an emotional song with Shamu and the trainers which is fantastic and then the trainer is given a chance to speak........ok I realize so far that you are probably saying wow this was a great show, and right you are so unless you like suffering now may be a good time to leave this review......ok now that they are gone where were we...oh yes they give the trainers a chance to speak...which was the biggest mistake Sea World has ever made. The trainers gave their testimonies on why they became trainers or rather TRAINERS!!!11 I mean look I understand that you are happy to be a part of something like the Shamu show and I’m sure it is pretty cool, but why do you have to bring so much CHEESE...I mean I cringed every time I heard the TRAINERS!!!11 give their speeches. I also understand that they were really trying to pump in as much emotion into the show as they could, but c’mon I mean seeing Shamu and the TRAINERS!!!11 connect without words was better. Anyway the show continued on after the testimony by one of the TRAINERS!!!11 going into the audience and picking a kid to come down for a very close encounter with the Shams...the kid was given the TRAINERS!!!11 neck-less and given the best seat (or platform rather) in the house for the finale. The show ended like all of the other Shamu shows, lot’s of splashes and lots of tricks.
The Review::
Ok so when I saw this show I instantly new that Sea World was going to step up it’s game. I mean look at how the park has grown since Believe opened. New Coaster, New Exibits, New Family offerings even the Dolphin Show turned into Blue Horizons which I think is one of their best yet. Believe really transitioned Sea World in a good way to more of what it is today. No longer will we see the campy 90’s Shamu Adventures that we saw before and guess what...I am just fine with that. Believe really had something more than the average Shamu shows before it. Yes, their were the same tricks (actually I take that back their was a lot of new tricks added for this show) and yes Shamu still splashed people, but this show added something...a story...A lot of people condemned Sea World for Believe saying that it was too emotional and had too much heart, now minus the TRAINERS!!!11 testimonies which were extremely over the top, I disagree. The show was fresh and new and really showed the love and care the TRAINERS!!!11 have for the animals even if they can’t publicly speak without vomiting cheese. I loved Believe and I love One Ocean...even without the trainers in the water with the Shams anymore due to a death in the Sea World family...
I give this one a 4 / 5...great show minus the TRAINERS!!!11
p.s. let us all take a moment to recognize the real star of this show...Henry the Crane..he is at every show always performing and is never given any fish...we love you Henry!
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