Secret's out on new Sea World ride
An artist's impression of a boatacoaster-style attraction to be built at Sea World, replacing the Bermuda Triangle ride
THIS is a new ride Sea World did not want you to see -- yet.
The Gold Coast theme park has been given the green light by the Gold Coast City Council to build its latest thrillseeker attraction, a water-coaster, to replace the now demolished Bermuda Triangle, one of the park's original rides.
But Sea World tried to keep the new attraction under wraps, refusing even to say when it would open or what it would be called.
While cryptic posts on the park's Facebook page only indicate it will be a storm-themed ride, further details of the new attraction were contained in public planning documents lodged with the city council.
Mack Rides, the company building it, show an artist's impression of a "Poseidon-style" ride on its website.
In an interview with German business magazine InsideB, managing director of Mack Rides, Christian von Elverfeldt, revealed his company had sold a water-coaster to an Australian park, and it was scheduled to open in 2013.
The revelation looks set to continue a period of relatively high investment at Australian theme parks, and will bring a style of coaster to the Gold Coast currently seen throughout America and Europe.
Water-coasters use wheeled boats running on a steel track, featuring the dips and turns of a roller-coaster, before splashing down into a channel and floating like a flume ride.
It is believed the ride has been in the pipeline since 2008 but planning obstacles made it a four-year process.
Council approval was finally granted late in November.
