The Emperor Penguins will make their debut in the Antarctica Realm a week from today on June 14, 2025. Pass Members will be able to get a preview of them before that on June 12 and 13.
News Antarctica Realm - Emperor Penguins to debut on June 14, 2025
- Thread starter Unagi
- Start date
I just hope San Diego acknowledges this before the rest of the penguin encounter closes. The lack of communication has been terrible. I’m selfishly hoping the rare chance to see them line means this is temporary while they build a new penguin encounter in San Diego.
Yeah, I would hope if this were a permanent removal from San Diego they'd announce it in advance. Right now I'm actually seeing a surprising amount of SWSD advertising (billboards throughout SoCal, tv commercials, ads on the internet), and ironically it's prominently featuring the very penguins that are being removed. So clearly the park recognizes that these animals are a pretty big draw. These aren't old ads either, they're promoting the summer event and jellyfish encounter. You'd think a commercial telling you to get an annual pass for SWSD wouldn't lean heavily on something that will be gone for most of the duration of your pass.
Emperor Penguins on the local news. In order to accomodate them they dropped the temperature of the exhibit from 32°F to 28°F.
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Oh cool! So when I get forced into the exhibit after riding penguin trek, I can get the full Antarctica experience!*
*experience may include experiencing the smell of fish, loud penguins honking, and hypothermia. Do not take part if you are sensitive to strong smells, fish, or extreme temperatures.
*experience may include experiencing the smell of fish, loud penguins honking, and hypothermia. Do not take part if you are sensitive to strong smells, fish, or extreme temperatures.
Same. I've been splashed by a gentoo but I wanna see one fly out of the pool.
Also, the smell doesn't bother me - I guess walking around street food markets in Southeast Asia in 100°F+ tropical heat prepared me for the Antarctica Realm. LOL
In my personal experience I am never in there long enough to suffer from the cold, and for context I am a warm weather person. Maybe I am distracted enough by the penguins that I am not focused on the temperature. I also wear sneakers, which probably helps.
For what it is worth, the temperature is the exact reason that I miss the dark ride. I know that a lot of people condemned it for being too mild and/or under themed. But for me, it was a great (and pretty) way to acclimate to the cold.
Warm weather people can certainly appreciate the cold too, especially at a park. Nearly every time I rode Justice League at Great Adventure was to get out of the heat.
They've been on display since mid-June. However the park adjusts the lighting in the exhibit to mimic the antarctic seasons so it's darker in there right now. The antarctic summer has constant daylight and that happens from December to March so the exhibit will be well lit if you go down around that time.