Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies are at Jungle Hut Park in Palm Coast after a 21-foot orca whale washed up on the beach this morning.

ORLANDO, Fla. – SeaWorld has filed a notice with the state that nearly 1,900 employees who were previously furloughed due to the pandemic are now being laid off permanently. The layoffs included 455 foodservice attendants, 272 park operations hosts and hostesses, 121 performers, 123 sales clerks, and 111 waiters and waitresses, among others. Theme parks across the state have struggled to attract visitors over the last six months because of COVID-19 concerns. SeaWorld closed its Orlando parks in mid-March when COVID-19 cases first started popping up in the region. SeaWorld parks reopened in June with reduced capacity and other safety measures in place.

All rights reserved)ORLANDO, Fla. SeaWorld is offering free admission to Florida certified teachers for the next year, the theme park announced Thursday. The teaching community deserves our thanks now more than ever, SeaWorld said in a press release. Teachers can pre-register online using the ID.me process to receive the SeaWorld Florida Teacher Card eVoucher. Eligible private school teachers can also provide a letter from the principal on school letterhead confirming employment as a K-12 teacher along with a Florida photo ID and most recent (30 days) paystub to SeaWorld front gate entrance. The Teacher Card provides Florida teachers with unlimited admission to SeaWorld Orlando through Aug. 31, 2021.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Changes are coming to Sea World Orlando starting in 2020. According to a report from the Orlando Sentinel, the theme park is ditching its signature killer whale show “One Ocean” in favor of a more educational show titled “Orca Encounter." The theme park confirmed to the Sentinel that the final day for “One Ocean" will be Dec. 31 and the new show will begin Jan. 1. “Guests will learn about killer whales’ role in the ocean ecosystem, behaviors the animals exhibit in the wild, the importance of conservation to their habitat and animal welfare practices at SeaWorld,” Chris Dold, chief zoological officer at Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, wrote in a statement. The changes came after trainer Dawn Brancheau was dragged underwater and killed in 2010.

Orlando park visitors have been debating Hurricane Dorian since Wednesday. Orlando parks rarely closeIt's rare that the parks close. Disney has only closed its Orlando theme parks a handful of times since its initial opening in 1971, mostly for weather related reasons. More recent closures were in response to Hurricane Irma in September 2017 and Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. "If you're staying at a Universal Orlando or Disney World hotel, they will likely try to add some extra entertainment when the parks close," he said.