Officials at SeaWorld Orlando announced three new attractions Tuesday, marking the biggest plans for expansion in the history of its Central Florida properties. The new attractions, TurtleTrek and Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld Orlando and Freshwater Oasis at Discovery Cove, will open in stages over the next two years.

TurtleTrek will feature two massive habitats filled with freshwater and saltwater fish respectively as well as more than a dozen sea turtles (many of which have been rescued by SeaWorld staff). An accompanying domed theater will serve up fully immersive 3D movies offering realistic, turtle-eye views of the ocean.

Freshwater Oasis at Discovery Cove will offer visitors the opportunity to wade up close and personal with wildlife in a tropical rainforest setting. Adventurous visitors arriving on flights to Orlando will even be able to wade into the expansive habitat of the Asian small-clawed otter.

Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin will open at SeaWorld Orlando in 2013. The massive Antarctic habitat will explore the world of the penguins like never before. With up-close encounters and state-of-the-art- interactive technologies, it’s sure to become both the hottest and the coldest attraction in Florida.

Source: My FOX Orlando

“SeaWorld Orlando,” Flickr photo credit: Fahran