Fire & Ice Day 2 Reviews at SeaWorld Orlando: Attractions Magazine Calls It Better Than Soarin'

The first long-form review of Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice landed yesterday from Attractions Magazine, and the verdict is sharp. SeaWorld Orlando's new flying-theater retheme grand-opened Monday May 25, and Day 2 reviews are in. Attractions Magazine's reporter Dani Meyering wrote that the new attraction "surpasses Disney's new Soarin' Across America" (which opened at EPCOT yesterday alongside Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets), giving SeaWorld a critical-reception win to start the summer.

Inside the AERIS pre-show queue. Photo: Dani Meyering / Attractions Magazine.

The headlines:

• Attractions Magazine review: "surpasses Disney's new Soarin' Across America" and frames the experience as if "the two attractions have swapped places."
• Filmed in Iceland, with Attractions Magazine's reviewer noting more real-world footage than the original Expedition Odyssey film that opened the ride in May 2025.
• Produced by Flyover, the Vancouver-based attraction-design studio whose FlyOver films are directed by former Walt Disney Imagineering executive Rick Rothschild.
• Critical takeaway: the film balances "tranquil footage with fast-paced moments" with transitions described as "thoughtful and structured."
• Wildlife in the new film: beluga whales, sperm whales, seals, and polar bears.

The Soarin' comparison

Attractions Magazine's verdict is the surprise of the week. The original Expedition Odyssey (which opened May 9, 2025 replacing Wild Arctic) had drawn comparisons to Disney's Soarin' as the obvious flying-theater rival in Orlando. The Fire & Ice refresh apparently shifts the comparison hard.

Per the review, Fire & Ice now feels like the more dynamic and cinematically structured of the two flying-theater experiences in town. Soarin' Across America (the U.S. 250th anniversary film that replaced Soarin' Around the World at EPCOT yesterday) opened with 5-minute waits at rope drop and is being received well, but the Attractions Magazine framing puts Fire & Ice ahead.

That's a meaningful framing shift for SeaWorld. The Orlando flying-theater conversation has been Disney-dominated for two decades. Having a serious critical case that the SeaWorld version is now the stronger experience is exactly the kind of narrative beat United Parks needed heading into Memorial Day-plus-summer.

What Flyover brings

The Flyover studio's involvement is the biggest production story behind Fire & Ice. Flyover is the Vancouver-based attraction-design studio behind the Flyover Iceland, Flyover Canada, and Flyover Las Vegas standalone attractions, with creative leadership from Rick Rothschild, the former Walt Disney Imagineering executive who led the creative development of the original Soarin' Over California. In other words: the same creative DNA behind the Disney original is now refreshing SeaWorld's competing version. That irony is part of what makes the comparison narratively rich.

What else is new at the ride

• AERIS pre-show: a new themed Arctic-research lab (Arctic Environmental Research & Integrated Sciences) with interactive computer stations.
• New entry experience with a refurbished hangar.
• New high-definition Iceland-filmed media with a prototype drone-craft narrative woven through.
• Volcanoes added to the scenic loop (the "Fire" in Fire & Ice).
• The Wild Arctic post-show animal habitat stays. Beluga whales and walruses, including Uki, the orphaned Pacific walrus calf SeaWorld rescued.

Where it fits in SeaWorld's summer

• Now operating: Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice.
• Friday June 5 - Saturday August 8: Discovery Cove's Paradise Nights returns for the first time in eight years, four-act dinner show themed around Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Select Friday and Saturday nights. Sloth encounter add-on capped at 10 guests per night.
• Friday June 12 - Monday September 7: Electric Ocean returns with Hydro Surge cirque at Nautilus Theater, Club SeaGlow DJ party at Bayside Stadium, three nighttime animal presentations (Shamu Celebration: Light Up the Night, Sea Lions Tonite, Dolphins: Touch the Sky), the drone-into-Ignite handoff, and the Ignite fireworks finale.

Quick planner notes

• Day 2 wait times have been moderate. SeaWorld is typically less crowded than Universal or Disney on weekdays right after a major holiday weekend, so today through Friday May 29 is a good window for short waits.
• The Wild Arctic post-show is still walkable without the ride. Even guests who don't ride can still see the beluga whales and walruses by entering the exit-side animal habitat.
• For Disney comparison fans: ride Fire & Ice and Soarin' Across America in the same Orlando trip to draw your own verdict. Soarin' Across America opened yesterday at EPCOT.
• Watch the SeaWorld app for Memorial Day promotion follow-ups. The Pass Member $10 SeaWorld Bucks promotion ended last week (May 21).
• Pass Member Picnic runs Saturday May 30 and Sunday May 31, giving Pass Members a bonus on the first full weekend after Fire & Ice's grand opening.

Sources

• Attractions Magazine: Review of Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice
• Orlando Attractions: Fire & Ice grand opens May 25
• Theme Parks US: SeaWorld Orlando launches immersive new Arctic simulator ride
• SeaWorld Orlando: Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice official page

Image credit: Dani Meyering / Attractions Magazine.