Archive for the ‘Who’s Talking?’ Category

The Legend of Jack…

October 16, 2009 by JackReturns • 5 Comments »
Posted in Howl-O-Scream, Who's Talking?

Jack at SeaWorld San Antonio

Hello there my minions! Ever wonder how I came to be? Read my legend below if you dare…It might send a chill down your spine. Oh, and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @jackreturns and on the SeaWorld Facebook page, which I’ve hijacked for the month of October!

The origins of the jack-o-lantern began in Irish folklore where it was originally a hollowed-out turnip. But Irish-American immigrants later found that pumpkins better served their purpose.

Jack was a legendary trickster who outwitted the Devil twice during his lifetime. When Jack died and arrived at the gates of heaven, he was turned away because he was stingy and mean. He then journeyed to the underworld but the Devil was to afraid of Jack’s trickery to allow him entry.

The Devil gave him a piece of coal to help light his way, but it was too hot to carry. So Jack carved a hole in a turnip and placed the coal inside, thus he became known as Jack of the Lantern. He wandered the earth carrying his turnip looking for a place to spend eternity.

Jack is an organic half-plant/half-man creature that arises at the first sign of the Autumn Moon, and remains alive and well at the park, haunting visitors with his sinister laugh. He is reminiscent of Vincent Price, in that he does not wreak havoc, but simply points it out to us.

He’s creepy, obviously responsible for eerie happenings, but not physically threatening. He’s somewhere between the legend of Sleepy Hollow and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

He’s old, and somewhat decayed (sort of like the Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt, but more distinguished). He wears a top hat, which he tips to reveal the stem of a pumpkin.

His face is orange and linear like a pumpkin, but with evidence of decay and new growth. His hands are gnarly and appear from beneath his cape. They look more vine-like than human.

After the last moon of the month (end of October) he goes dormant, retreating back into a hollow tree which is his portal back to the underworld. Only to re-appear for the next harvest of brave souls…

~ Adapted from www.howloscream.com.

New York’s Talking

May 31, 2009 by FranStephenson • 1 Comment »
Posted in Who's Talking?

On the set at Texas on Tour

In a place as big as New York City, there’s always something to buzz about. While many may think the presidential visit to Broadway is the main topic, thousands of others are talking about the Texas on Tour visit to South Street Seaport this weekend. SeaWorld San Antonio is part of this initiative to bring more visitors to our state by introducing them to what the great state of Texas has to offer.

The tour, which will make stops at events around the USA this year, has some really interesting features for would-be visitors to “try before they buy.” The experience includes Texas trivia, an interactive kayaking experience in 360, and a chance to “picture yourself in Texas” complete with a souvenir photo….and it’s all free!

Our team has been there this week; too, with some of our popular ambassador animals to give visitors a glimpse of what their visit to SeaWorld might be too. New Yorkers are pretty savvy when it comes to naming the animals and asked lots of questions of Robert Trejo and Jason Baca, our two animal experts. Our visit included a morning show appearance with Pix11′s Larry Hoff. We had so much fun with Larry on the set; we’re hoping he will be inspired to make a visit to Texas.

Texas on Tour is a unique marketing initiative, one that should make our state proud. SeaWorld is proud to sponsor it, too. Special thanks to Red Peg Marketing, the team who keep the tour moving, for assisting with photos.

For the community,

Fran

52 Zoos in 52 Weeks

May 21, 2009 by FranStephenson • 3 Comments »
Posted in Who's Talking?

Marla Taviano's 52 Zoos in 52 Weeks site

When you work at SeaWorld, you get to meet all sorts of people. Some you connect with, even if you don’t meet them in person. In this case, I recently connected with Marla Taviano, a blogger, zoo aficionado and writer. Oh, and she’s a mom whose family is on a quest to visit 52 zoos in 52 weeks.

That’s how I connected with Marla, when we were discussing her SeaWorld visit. Like many requests from working media, I made sure her family had tickets and forgot about her! Until the day of her visit, when I noticed a lot of chatter in the Twitter stream from park guests. Sure enough, it was Marla and family. They were having a great time.

So I asked Marla how a mom who writes about family-oriented topics got involved in her zoo quest. Here’s what she had to say:

I’ve written four books, but they’re all on marriage and parenting,” Marla said in an e-mail. “I really wanted to write something that my whole family could get involved with–and something that anyone could read and enjoy. So, we embarked on this Big Quest, and I’m writing a book about our adventures–the family bonding, the great people we’ve met along the way (we stay with old friends and people I’ve met through my blog), the stunning animals we’ve seen and gotten to interact with, and the excitement of facing such a big challenge together.

How did she come up with this idea?

I really, really have the itch to travel the globe–an African safari, the Amazon rainforest, Australia. But we don’t have the money, and we have three small children. I didn’t want to wait 15 years to live this dream. So, I decided–why not start now? Today’s zoos are like mini-continents. They’re recreated African plains and South American rainforests and oceans brought to land. That’s one way we can see the world without spending a lot of money or leaving our kids behind!

Her family has covered a lot of “continents” since they started in August 2008. Marla has reported on my hometown zoo in Cleveland-go Metroparks!-and she’s been to our “sister park-zoos” at Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando and plans to finish at the Columbus Zoo this August. I don’t know if it’s deliberate or not, but Columbus Zoo is home to the famous zoo advocate and my dear friend, Jack Hanna. An appropriate finish.

I really appreciate Marla’s zoo reports and think other families will enjoy them too. Since June is officially Zoo and Aquarium Month, I urge you to take a look at Marla’s reports and plan a trip to your local zoo or aquarium.

For the community, Fran.

Who’s Talking – Real Shamu on Twitter

May 7, 2009 by FranStephenson • 15 Comments »
Posted in Who's Talking?

Real Shamu on Twitter

Celebrities can be elusive. But this week, I managed to snag an interview with one of our company celebrities, the Real Shamu, who is making a big splash in the Twitterverse. He is witty and interesting and not at all what you’d expect.

Q. What prompted you to join the Twitterverse? A. Well, Fran…I can call you Fran can’t I?…I joined because over the last four decades something like 250 million people have come to SeaWorld and I haven’t been able to have a conversation with any of them. I wanted them to know that beneath this sleek and powerful exterior lies a deeply sensitive whale, keenly attuned to the feelings of others.

Q. Did you make that last line up? A. Yes. Marketing makes me say stuff like that.

Q. Do you have a goal for the number of followers you would like? A. The number really doesn’t matter to me, but I am looking for completely irrational blind loyalty in those who do follow me. That way I can start to affect some meaningful change out in the world, things like recycling, spaying and neutering your pets, and straightening out your baseball caps. Dang, that really bugs me.

Q. Who are your favorite celebrity followers? A. I’m not sure any celebrities follow me. I’ll have to check. I’ve reached out to Michael Phelps, who is the second fastest marine mammal on Twitter, and Shaq, who is nearly as big a carnivore as me. Those are the only two celebrities I follow, with the exception of SeaWorld San Antonio General Manager Dan Decker and Communications Director Fran Stephenson. Their tweets are gold.

Q. Any celebrities you hope will follow you? A. Well, Oprah put @RealShamu on her television program, the one with Aston Kutcher. If she chose to follow me, I’d be cool with that. I follow Newt Gingrich because he is a huge supporter of zoos and aquariums. It’d be nice if he followed me.

Q. What was it like to “be” on Oprah? A. It’s pretty cool. Lots of “Dude, I saw you on Oprah” calls. The truth is though, it’s kind of depressing to find out just how many people are watching TV at 2 p.m. instead of visiting SeaWorld.

Q. What is your inspiration for your tweets? A. Funny looking animals are a huge source of inspiration. Stuff I hear at Shamu Stadium, sports, food, current events, the Obamas’ dog. Stuff like that. Plus, I get about 50 questions a day, everything from “How do you type underwater?” to “What do seagulls taste like?”

Q. How do you type underwater and what do seagulls taste like? A. I don’t really type at all. The QWERTY keyboard is all wrong for me anatomically. I communicate via a complex series of clicks, whistles and trills to bipeds who write it all down. I don’t really eat the seagulls, I just put a little scare into them so that they go back to where they came from and warn others to keep their filthy little bodies out of my pool.

Q. Will we see Real Shamu at any Tweet-ups in the future? A. . Yes, absolutely. I have been acquainted with the concept of a Tweetup and I like it. Gets this whole thing out of the zeroes and ones universe and into the one where I get to splash people for real. We’re doing one for the opening of Manta at SeaWorld Orlando. We’ll plan more for SeaWorld San Antonio and San Diego later this year.

If you haven’t yet thought about or tried Twitter, there are some very funny people…and whales out there.