The Sea Dream 3D Film (1978) from Marineland of Florida and Knott’s Berry Farm
Sea Dream is a 1978 3D film initially produced for Marineland of Florida, which is, as of 2025, home of the Marineland Dolphin Adventure. The 3D movie was also shown at Knott’s Berry Farm starting in 1987.
The History of Sea Dream
In the late 1970s, Marineland of Florida was expanding its entertainment offerings. As part of the expansion, the park opened the Aquarius Theatre, which would be the home of an exclusive 3D film.
“New Things You Can See and Do at Marineland,” Diving into Marineland, accessed February 27, 2025, https://marineland.omeka.net/items/show/4.
Murray Lerner directed and wrote Sea Dream. Theme park fans may recognize Lerner because he also directed the Magic Journeys 3D film, an opening-day attraction at EPCOT. Magic Journeys was also shown at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
According to Lerner’s obituary in The Vineyard Gazette, Sea Dream was shown in amusement parks worldwide and translated into over 15 languages. In 1987, the film opened at Knott’s Berry Farm. A 1987 LA Times article quotes Knott’s VP of Entertainment as saying that the film was a response to Disneyland opening the Caption EO film. Ironically, Caption EO replaced Magic Journeys in Disneyland’s Magic Eye Theater in 1986. Caption EO also replaced Magic Journeys at EPCOT in 1986 and at Tokyo Disneyland in 1987.
More Facts about Sea Dream
The narrator of Sea Dream was Alexander Scourby (1913-1985). Scourby was a film, television, and voice actor best known for playing a mob boss in The Big Heat (1953). The film's cinematography was by Alan Stensvold (1908-1981).
One scene of Sea Dream shows on-ride footage of a roller coaster. The roller coaster is the Python from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Python was the first coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and operated from 1976 to 2006. Python was a corkscrew coaster built by Arrow Development. When it closed, its trains were sent to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for use on its Arrow coaster, the Loch Ness Monster. Amusement park industry legend Ron Toomer (1930-2011) designed Python and the Loch Ness Monster.
Watch Sea Dream
In 2024, the full video of Sea Dream surfaced on YouTube, and we uploaded a copy to the Park Rovers YouTube channel for archival purposes. Enjoy!
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