ORLANDO, Fla. – Larger-than-life birds are returning to rooftops in downtown Orlando as part of a collaboration between an arts group and a local theme park.
Through June 19, residents and visitors to the City Beautiful can view giant inflatable Emperor Penguins at three locations throughout downtown.
SeaWorld Orlando teamed up with Creative City Project to bring the giant birds and make an announcement about its penguin exhibit.
“At Creative City Project, we love to create little moments of delight,” Founder Cole NeSmith said. “To come across a giant penguin, we think that’s just a little bit of fun.”
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Starting June 14, guests to SeaWorld Orlando will have the rare opportunity to get up close to Emperor penguins in real life.
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For more than 40 years, SeaWorld San Diego was the only place in North America to see and learn about the birds. Now, the penguins will be on the East Coast and will call the Orlando park’s Antarctica penguin habitat home.
“This milestone is not only exciting for our park but also for penguin lovers across the region. Teaming up with Creative City Project on this larger-than-life downtown activation is the perfect way to spark curiosity and build anticipation around the upcoming arrival of the penguins to our park,” Jon Peterson, Park President of SeaWorld Orlando said. ”It’s a bold, fun way to introduce Orlando to its newest residents—before they even arrive.”
Creative City Project first launched the massive, inflatable “Big City Birds” installation when seven giant pigeons “landed” on rooftops across downtown Orlando as part of DTOLive.
The art installation began in August 2024 and was designed to spark a conversation around the relationship between humans and wildlife in urban environments.
“SeaWorld said, ‘Hey, we love this idea. We would love to promote the arrival of our emperor penguins with some big birds downtown too,’” NeSmith said.
The Big City Penguins reside on rooftops at the following locations:
- 60 N. Orange Avenue (adult penguin – 14’ tall)
- 55 W. Church Street (adult penguin – 14’ tall)
- 30 S. Orange Avenue (baby penguin – 10’ tall)
For more details about Creative City Project, click here.