September 2010 saw more baby animal news in Sea World Parks. First, Busch Gardens welcomed the birth of their 7th Caribbean flamingo chick. The first hatched June 3, 2010, and the newest was born just this past Sunday, July 25, 2010. The babies are white and fluffy with downy feathers; they won’t turn pink until they start enjoying their diet of cartenoid pigments, conveniently available in the shrimp and algae they eat every day. The chicks join a flock of 125 adult flamingos — if you go see them at the park, keep your eye on the middle of the flock, which is where the babies tend to be kept by the protective adults.

Sister Park Sea World of Orlando is continued its efforts in the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife in need when the rescued an abandoned baby manatee from the waters near Daytona Beach. The weeks-old female requires round-the-clock care from animal care specialists. Every three hours, she is bottle-fed nutrient-rich formula that will hopefully promote weight gain so this little girl can grow strong enough to eventually be returned to the wild. She is being weighed regularly and her progress is being carefully monitored. She is under constant care and her condition remains guarded. If the picture below is any indication (featuring Sea World Animal Care Specialist Jeff Braso), she’s in extremely good hands.

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You might be wondering what in the world an Omaka Rocka is. Well next year you’ll be able to find out when you head to SeaWorld’s water-themed sister park Aquatica. All of the Orlando theme parks are planning massive expansions to keep things new and exciting for returning and new guests, so we’ll have a lot to talk about next year!

While Universal Orlando Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort’s plans have overshadowed some of the other parks’ new attractions, that doesn’t mean DWTickets.com will leave it out of the picture. If you love water slides and enjoy a day in the sun at the beautiful Aquatica water park, you’ll be happy to know they will be expanding the park with a brand new slide called Omaka Rocka, meaning “rocky river.”

This new water slide will allow people of all ages to ride as long as they follow the rules—no height restrictions here! What you will find with Omaka Rocka is 2 slides with 3 funnels each. These funnels will feature 2-seater tubes that will send riders zooming through colorful fiberglass tubes. Some will be translucent and others will keep riders in the dark for an exciting experience! Even those who are waiting in line will be able to see Omaka Rocka riders zooming overhead in the colorful tubes.

“They’re going to slide up one side and get a sensation of near weightlessness. They’ll come down that side and back up the other. They’ll probably be going backwards, but most definitely going to be screaming,” Aquatice VP Rick Beddow told the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s going to be a taste of a half-pipe — near vertical thrills experienced only by skateboarders or snowboarders.”

The Omaka Rocka will share a tower with Whanau Way and be similar in ride style to both Whanau Way and the Tassie’s Twisters. This will be Aquatica’s first new attraction since it first opened two years ago. While the Omaka Rocka is scheduled to open in 2010 we don’t have a specific date yet. Considering it’s a bit chilly in Orlando right now, springtime seems perfect, and March is the rumored month of completion.

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If you’re heading out to your neighborhood fireworks display tomorrow or even one of the Disney parks, you can still sneak in another show by going to SeaWorld Orlando tonight for their special fireworks display. In the above photo technician Andrew Hage checks the connections of several fireworks at the top of SeaWorld’s 400-foot-tall Sky Tower. In the distance is Manta, the park’s all-new flying roller coaster.

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With soft openings occurring regularly and the official grand opening just 10 days away, it’s time to get excited about Manta, the first flying coaster to hit Central Florida. If you aren’t yet one of the lucky ones to have experienced the attraction, here’s a new video from SeaWorld that will get the blood pumping.

Now, if they’d just open the aquarium portion to the public, we’d all get a look at the hundreds of rays and other creatures of the sea.

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