User:Themeparkgc/Sandboxes/History of Sea World

The History of Sea World dates back to 1958 when Keith Williams started the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens, a waterski show on the Nerang River, Gold Coast, Australia. The show relocated in 1971 to the Southport Spit, where the addition of amusement rides and marine animal exhibits saw it evolve into the Sea World theme park. Now owned by publicly-listed Village Roadshow Limited, Sea World has seen many expansions, closures and replacements over its 40-year history.

For many years Sea World's waterski show remained as one of the most iconic attractions at the park before ceasing in 2009. Marine animal exhibits and shows are also prominantely featured in the park including Dolphin Cove, Shark Bay, Ray Reef, Penguin Encounter, and Seal Harbour. Rides at the park include Storm Coaster, Jet Rescue, Viking's Revenge Flume Ride, and Sea Viper. The park also features a children's area featuring a collection of rides, two transport rides, and a number of shows.

Origins and early development
The origins of Sea World date back to 1958 when Gold Coast-based investor, entrepreneur and waterskier Keith Williams started the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens, a waterski show situated on the Nerang River. The show was presented to visitors on the banks of the river in Carrara, and "combined comedy, aqua ballet and action". The venue hosted the Australian Water Ski Championships in 1959, followed by the World Water Ski Titles in 1965.

In 1970, Williams purchased 64 ha of undeveloped land on the Southport Spit. Dredging works took place to convert the continuous sand bar into a lake system. In March 1971, the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens were relocated to the new site and renamed Ski Land of Australia. The move saw the show's popularity decline, leading to Williams shifting the focus of the park within the year. On 30 October 1971, Sea World officially opened to the public. The park featured dolphins and other marine displays, a replica of the HMS Endeavour, a swimming pool, as well as a restaurant and a gift shop. The conversion to Sea World was ultimately a success with attendance increasing throughout the 1970s. In 1975, Sea World added the Sea World Train, a two-thirds scale locomotive built in-house, as well as the Dockside Tavern, Customs House Gift Shop, and the Ice Cream Parlour.

Although other tourist attractions such as Magic Mountain existed on the Gold Coast in the mid 1970s, Sea World's main competition was in the form of Marineland. Marineland opened on The Spit in 1965 and was originally called Seaquarium. It featured dolphins, whales and other marine animal displays. Williams bought the park in 1976 and subsequently relocated the animals to Sea World. At around the same time, Sea World set about adding a log flume to their park. American firm Arrow Dynamics was approached, however, they asked $1.5 million to construct such a ride – a price deemed by Sea World as too high. John Menzies, a Sea World staff member who would later hold executive positions with Village Roadshow, began constructing the ride in-house by making several overseas trips to measure the dimensions of similar rides. After a soft-opening in 1978, the Viking's Revenge Flume Ride officially opened in March 1979. Shortly after, Sea World opened a set of bumper boats in the middle of the flume ride's layout.

1980s
In 1980, new competition was emerging with the construction of Dreamworld beside the Pacific Motorway in Coomera. Sea World staff kept a close eye on the development of the park, reportedly flying a helicopter over the park several times. In 1981, the same year Dreamworld opened to the public, Sea World added the Wild Wave Rollercoaster (later Thrillseeker), Pirate Ship and Carousel. The three rides were manufactured by S.D.C., HUSS Park Attractions and Arrow Dynamics, respectively. The following year both parks unveiled new roller coasters: Sea World opened the Corkscrew (later Sea Viper), and Dreamworld opened the Thunderbolt. The addition of the Corkscrew saw Sea World's attendance increase by 20% on the previous year. The parks continued to add new attractions to compete with each other, with Dreamworld eventually focusing on thrill rides and Sea World on animal attractions.

Following the 1981 additions of the Wild Wave Rollercoaster, Pirate Ship and Carousel, as well as the 1982 addition of the Corkscrew, Sea World was sold by Keith Williams to Pivot Leisure. The company was later publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as the Sea World Property Trust. The public float allowed Sea World to further expand its offerings. On 15 August 1986, the park opened Australia's first monorail system, aptly named the Sea World Monorail System. The additions of Lassiter's Lost Mine and the Sky High Skyway followed in 1988 and 1989, respectively.

Commercial history
Sea World was originally owned and operated by founder Keith Williams. John Menzies, a water skier who joined the park in 1971, helped Williams develop Sea World from a waterski show into a theme park, as well as contributing to Williams' Hamilton Island Resort Complex. In 1984, Williams sold Sea World to Peter Laurance's Pivot Leisure, with Menzies still holding the position of Managing Director in the park. Two years later, Pivot Leisure floated the park on the Australian Securities Exchange as the Sea World Property Trust (asx: SWD). A total of $93 million was raised from the float.

In 1989, Sea World Property Trust coordinated a three-way venture to acquire Wet'n'Wild Water World from the Herringe Group of Companies and build the adjacent Warner Bros. Movie World theme park. The two other companies involved in the venture were American multinational media corporation AOL Time Warner and fellow publicly-listed Australian firm Village Roadshow Limited. The joint venture known as Warner Village Theme Parks, with Laurance as the Chairman and Menzies as the Chief Executive Officer.

In 1992, Pivot Leisure sold its two-third stake of the Sea World Property Trust to AOL Time Warner and Village Roadshow Limited. In April 2001, AOL Time Warner and Village Roadshow Limited announced plans to acquire the remaining 31.6% of Sea World Property Trust that they did not already own. This would also mean the ownership of Warner Village Theme Parks would lie entirely with the two firms. However, the takeover bid failed as the two firms were only able to acquire 85.65% of the trust, just shy of the 90% required for compulsory acquisition. A second takeover bid of Sea World Property Trust was put forward in December 2001. This bid was ultimately successful, with compulsory acquisition beginning in February 2002, and the delisting of the Sea World Property Trust from the Australian Securities Exchange in April 2002.

Warner Village Theme Parks remained a joint venture between Time Warner and Village Roadshow until Village took full ownership of the group in 2006. Time Warner continues to provide a licence to the Warner Bros. brand. The group was renamed Village Roadshow Theme Parks.