For the first time since the late 1990s, SeaWorld is doing something different with its dolphins. The local amusement park’s new multi-million dollar dolphin show, Blue Horizons, opens May 29. “It’s definitely unique,” said Bill Hoffman, SeaWorld’s assistant curator of animal training. “It’s got a storyline and it moves you. It’s a very spectacular and very emotional show.” Gone is Dolphin Discovery, the show that ran for 13 years and featured the iconic lighthouse and lighthouse keeper. Here, in a revamped stadium is Blue Horizons, the 22-minute show that has been a staple at SeaWorld Orlando for the last five years. “What’s great about that is we can take that show that we love and tweak it a little bit for our park here and make some changes wherever possible,” said Rick Schuiteman, the park’s director of show production. While trainers at SeaWorld’s three parks still haven’t returned to the water with killer whales since the death of a trainer in Orlando in February, 22 trainers will be in the water with dolphins and pilot whales during Blue Horizons. Hoffman said that while both killer whales and dolphins are of the same scientific order, procedure has not changed with the way trainers monitor and interact with the animals. “We always evaluate our animals — their disposition, how they look,” Hoffman said. “We read their precursors and that’s just part of training the animals. Regardless of what’s going on currently, we’ve always done it that way and will continue to do so.” Blue Horizons features two pilot whales and 16 dolphins. The show also incorporates 50 birds from five different species all housed in the aviary within the stadium. “We have more dolphins than we’ve ever had in any production before,” Hoffman said. “It’s very spectacular and we’re very excited.” But the animals are not the only performers in the new dolphin show. Human performers include divers, acrobats and bungee acts. “We have a number of high-energy sequences where we go out and perform and the animals leave the pool momentarily,” Hoffman said, “and we have acrobatics and water effects and all sorts of neat things taking place.” The show’s story centers around a young girl named Marina, who each morning looks out of her window into the sea and longs to be a part of the ocean world. One morning, a dolphin beckons to her to join and she quickly obliges. “She goes out and joins the dolphins and they swim together, play together and she can be part of this amazing adventure,” Schuiteman said. For more information, visit www.seaworld.com/sandiego.