Expedition Odyssey is open at SeaWorld Orlando! I was out of town for the previews, but I rode the first chance that I had once it officially opened. Here is my review.
I call this spoiler-free, but there isn’t really much to spoil. Expedition Odyssey isn’t heavy on storyline or surprises. What it excels at is scenery. It’s breathtaking!
If you’ve ridden Soarin’ at Epcot, it’s a similar ride. With Expedition Odyssey, you’ll sit 15 to a row. Once everyone is seated, the ride apparatus swivels so you’re facing the screen. That’s one difference from Soarin’. At Epcot, you just head up. Soarin’ also has three rows of seats, at SeaWorld it’s two.
With Expedition Odyssey, you’ll “fly” over the Arctic. There’s plenty of wildlife along the way. The scenes are stunning, and at times you’ll feel as if you really are flying.
There’s more movement with Expedition Odyssey than with Soarin’. At times the seats sway a bit, almost like a lite version of Flight of Passage. If you’re prone to motion sickness you might want to sit this one out or ask to be seated in the middle. I was on an end, and I did feel the extra motion!
The queue for Expedition Odyssey is nothing special. There are pictures of some of the animals and things that you’ll see during your flight. There are lockers before you get in line but if you missed them, don’t worry. There are cubbies where you can store your items before you take your seat.
Once your ride is done you aren’t through with your adventure. You’ll walk out through some indoor animal exhibits. You could see a whale, walruses, penguins, and more. Walk at your own pace, you can take in as much as you want or skip the animals entirely. There’s a gift shop at the end.
When I got in line the Wait Time said 50 minutes. I was off in just under that. Currently, Expedition Odyssey can seat 60 people at a time. A Crew Member told me that only one bay is currently running. There are two more in the works, which will triple capacity.
Expedition Odyssey is a nice break on a hot day. The queue is indoors, so you’re out of the heat. The ride itself isn’t high on the thrill level, but it’s still great. It’s family friendly, but there’s a height requirement of 39 inches. If smaller aviators don’t measure up…sorry, wrong ride. The comparisons to Soarin’ are inevitable. But that’s not a bad thing.