SEAQuest Is Now a 2027 Ride: SeaWorld Confirms Its Suspended Dark Ride Will Miss 2026, With No Opening Date Yet

SEAQuest won't make 2026. SeaWorld Orlando has told Attractions Magazine that SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep will open in 2027. The ride was first announced for 2026, and two months ago we noted that its ride page no longer listed an opening year.

"We are saying 2027," a SeaWorld representative said in response to the outlet's question about timing. No specific opening date has been announced.

Official SEAQuest concept art: a submersible over the reef, with a whale, sharks, a manta ray and glowing jellyfish around it and a shipwreck at right. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

From 2026 to 2027

SeaWorld announced SEAQuest on September 17, 2025, and Attractions Magazine says the confirmation moves the ride "beyond its originally announced 2026 opening window."

As we reported on September 1, the ride page stopped listing an opening year earlier in 2026. It still says only "Coming Soon", and its headline still reads "SeaWorld Orlando's Next Big Adventure Surfaces Soon", with no opening year for the ride anywhere on the page.

The ride page still mentions a 2026 Annual Pass

One line on that page hasn't changed: "The only way to guarantee first-to-ride access is with a 2026 Annual Pass". The ride is now expected in 2027. SeaWorld's Annual Pass page says the initial pass term starts on the date of purchase and runs 12 months, so a pass bought now could still be active when SEAQuest opens, depending on the date. The ride page doesn't say how first-to-ride access will work or when it applies. If first-to-ride access is your main reason to buy, check the details with SeaWorld before purchasing.

SEAQuest also turns up on SeaWorld's page of reasons to buy a 2027 Fun Card, under "Experience a New Attraction Coming Soon", which promises Fun Card holders "unlimited opportunities to journey beneath the waves on the world's first-of-its-kind suspended dark ride."

The SEAQuest ride vehicle on display at IAAPA Expo 2025. Photo: Attractions Magazine

What SEAQuest is

SeaWorld bills it as the "world's first-of-its-kind suspended dark ride", and Attractions Magazine notes it will be the park's first suspended dark ride. Riders board what the ride page calls a "state-of-the-art submersible". Drawing on SeaWorld's description, the outlet says they will follow the fictional SEA Collective Adventure Team and that the ride ends with "a spectacular finale launch that celebrates the ocean's resilience and beauty." The ride vehicle was unveiled at IAAPA Expo 2025.

According to Attractions Magazine, SEAQuest will sit behind Expedition Odyssey in a newly expanded area of the park. It follows Penguin Trek (2024) and Expedition Odyssey (2025), the flying theater since reworked as Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice.

Does a 2027 SEAQuest change when you plan your next SeaWorld trip?

Sources

• Attractions Magazine, SeaWorld confirms SeaQuest will open in 2027, moving beyond original 2026 plans
• SeaWorld Orlando, SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep
• SeaWorld Orlando, Our Top 10 Reasons to Buy a 2027 Fun Card
• SeaWorld Orlando, Annual Passes

Image credits: SeaWorld Orlando (concept art); Attractions Magazine (ride vehicle).