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SeaWorld Yas Island

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

“What happens if you build a marine life theme park with unlimited budget?”

There’s a fair chance that you’ve never heard of a company called Miral. However, if you ever visited Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, you’ve probably spend time at a Miral property. The company owns some major hotels, a shopping mall and all of the Yas Island Theme Parks. Thanks to Miral, millions of visitors are able to enjoy the thrilling roller coasters of Ferrari World, the enormous number of slides at Yas Waterworld and the world-class theming of Warner Bros World. And as if that wasn’t enough, another park was added to the lineup in 2023. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi focuses on nature conservation and the beauty of our oceans. And it does that in a pretty spectacular way.

ROLLER COASTERS

The American SeaWorld parks have all been shifting their focus during the past decade. The animals used to be the stars of these parks, while current management seems to be concentrating on new attractions and thrilling roller coasters. That’s not necessarily wrong, but it definitely changes the dynamics of these properties. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi differs greatly from its American siblings, though. Although you won’t find any killer whales here, marine mammals and tropical fish are once again at the centre of attention at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. Some coaster enthusiasts may consider this as bad news, as the park offers just two credits. One of them is Eel Racer, a junior coaster manufactured by Zamperla. The eel-shaped train runs smoothly and the ride takes place in a stylised underwater world. I would have preferred a slightly longer layout, but SeaWorld makes up for that by treating riders to two laps.

SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s main thrill ride is called Manta and it’s a multi-launch coaster by Intamin. The entrance to this attraction can be found in the Tropical Ocean area of the park and it’s surrounded by colourful coral reefs, a shipwreck and a huge tank full of manta rays. Interestingly, the ride’s entrance, queue and station are all located indoors, whereas the actual roller coaster is an outdoor experience. And that coaster doesn’t fail to impress! With its three accelerations, four inversions and a total track length of 1.2 kilometres, Manta boasts some pretty spectacular statistics. Yet, it should be noted that Manta isn’t the most intense roller coaster on Earth. To be clear, I don’t consider that as a negative characteristic. The layout features some great inversions and a few shots of airtime, and I’m also pleasantly surprised by Manta’s smoothness. Besides, I’d like to compliment SeaWorld for the decoration of the outdoor portion of the ride. The nearby Ferrari World built its roller coasters on unattractive, dusty patches of land, whereas SeaWorld installed beautiful rock formations and some tall wave-shaped sculptures around the tracks. This doesn’t only make Manta a visually-appealing ride, but it also creates some cool near-misses.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

Eel Racer and Manta are excellent roller coasters, but these shouldn’t be your main reasons to visit SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. The real hightlights of this park are the animal exhibits that can be found in 8 different realms. These realms recreate different parts of the ocean and they’re mostly based on geographical location. Abu Dhabi Ocean, for example, gives an overview of the many species that call the nearby Persian Gulf home. Colder climates are mimicked in the Polar Ocean area, which is subdivided into the Arctic and Antarctica. Both lands are stunning and they provide a close-up look at penguins, walruses and arctic foxes. Arctic Ocean is also the place to be for another ride: Hypersphere 360. This attraction was built by Intamin and it can be described as a flat ride that was put inside a giant dome-shaped screen. The experience isn’t intense at all, but I’m pleasantly surprised nonetheless. The attraction simulates a voyage through the seven sees and it does so in a very immersive way. The ride somewhat reminded me of Hulk Epsilon Base at IMG World of Adventure, but SeaWorld’s version definitely is more elaborate.

The visual masterpieces of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi are One Ocean and Endless Ocean. One Ocean functions as the park’s hub, a central area that forms a link between all the other lands. It’s a rotunda-shaped room with a huge 360° screen that will undoubtedly take your breath away if you witness it for the first time. From here, highly-themed portals lead to the different realms, including Endless Ocean. This area provides a look into an almost immeasurable body of water, which is home to as many as 68,000 animals. We see several shark species, rays and a whole series of exotic fish. In a few smaller (but still impressive) tanks, we can admire moray eels, octopuses and lobsters among colourful coral reefs.

The number of animal species in Endless Ocean is more than impressive. However, the real strength of this area isn’t the quantity of fish and marine mammals, but the way you view them. Endless Ocean was designed as a futuristic, almost space-like research center. It consists of an intricate network of walkways and you don’t have to follow a set route, which enhances the sense of discovery. The journey starts in an atrium, where the giant Ocean Pod creates a striking first glimpse into the endless ocean. Other eye-catchers are the cylindrical Ocean Shelf and the Endless Vista, a super-tall observation window that can be viewed from two different levels. Ocean Vista seems to belong in a science fiction film and it offers a phenomenal view of the blue world beyond. By the way… even the escalators in Endless Ocean are spectacular!

WORTH A VISIT?

I guess that many amusement park enthusiasts enter SeaWorld Abu Dhabi with modest expectations. If you purely focus on the ride lineup, the park offers just one noteworthy roller coaster, a simulator-type ride and a handful of kiddie attractions. And admittedly … that’s not much. Still, SeaWorld turned out to be the biggest surprise of our Emirates trip. That’s because it’s rare to visit a theme park that creates such an immersive and high-quality experience. The animals live in stunning habitats and the rides (much more so than in other SeaWorld parks) are an essential part of the story. Standouts in the park are Manta, the wonderful One Ocean rotunda and the monumental aquariums in Endless Ocean. Miral reportedly spent more than 1.1 billion dollars building SeaWorld. That’s a huge chunk of money, but it allowed them to create a theme park of superlatives. So… yes, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is definitely worth a visit!

What’s your favourite realm in SeaWorld Abu Dhabi? Did Manta live up to your expectations? And do you prefer this indoor park over the American SeaWorld parks? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi during a visit in February 2025.