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SeaWorld Orlando: General Discussion
- Thread starter Danny
- Start date
jon81uk
TS Member
The new coaster replaces the dark ride that used to be before the penguins. The animal attraction stays, but the ride connected to it is changing.
Danny
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Had my first rides on Mako, Ice Breaker and Pipeline last week.
It's always difficult trying to judge how good a B&M Hyper is going to be based on the POVs, especially when all the 'mid-tier' ones seem to blend into one. Mako is absolutely at the top end of the class for me, however. It has the perfect blend of addictive airtime, delightfully floaty turns, snappy transitions and speedy rushes. Poor queue line drainage aside (there was a full-blown lake forming in the queue on the IAAPA Celebrates evening), everything about it as a hyper felt almost spot on. The operations compared to the rest of the park weren't bad either, and it appears to be ageing well thus far. Top of my hyper rankings for sure, with only Fury 325 sitting above it from that calibre of B&M models.
Ice Breaker was one of the most unexpected joys of my whole venture back to Orlando. Yes, Premier seem physically incapable of producing trains that are comfortable or proficient for operations, but other than that it was such great fun! The first ride was done at night during the IAAPA Celebrates event, and I was taken totally by surprise at just how ludicrous the poppy shots of airtime are. The swing launch doesn't feel dull or tedious either, it's a whacky opening act into a completely unsuspecting coaster that is nail on the head for family thrills. My only criticism for this other than the seemingly sparse theming (which I know Sea World are going to address as time goes on), is the god-awful trains. I'm just grateful for not having to experience it with the "comfort" collar.
Kraken was down for maintenance during my visit sadly, so it remains a decade since I last rode. Next year, hopefully!
One of the things I was really looking forward to about the return to SWO was getting back on Manta. It was still fresh and brand new when I last rode it, and held my number one spot for almost four years - the coaster that properly got me into coasters! Sadly, the queue line is looking a lot grottier with peeling paint on the bare blue concrete walls towards the actual loading area, but the indoor aquarium part remains pleasant and tranquil.
My biggest gripe, however, is the operations. An American enthusiast I met and had a chat with in the Mako queue joked about the current lineup of attractions in Orlando running on "B Mode". Manta, however, is running on "WTF" mode. The second station seemingly lying dormant gathering dust. An abundance of ride staff on the platform for only ONE person to be checking ALL the restraints. It took 20 minutes from standing in a loading bay to actually getting off the ride, spending an eternity suspended on the brake run waiting for a dispatch. Whilst the ride itself is still as enjoyable as I remember (although back row on the pretzel loop didn't feel anywhere near as intense as my last visit, whereby my tonsils felt like they were being ripped from my throat), the woeful operations put a regrettable dampener on what should have been a lovely reunion. Damn it.
Finally, there's the new kid on the block. Pipeline was a late opener, but showed signs of testing so I hung around the entrance to beat the surging rush as soon as it was confirmed on the app. This paid off dividends as I was able to lap it before returning for a 25-minute front-row queue later in the day. Pipeline is certainly... an experience. The back-row rides were taken first thing when the coaster was still a little sluggish, meaning there wasn't much in the way of intensity. At this point, I was struggling to decipher the feeling people were communicating about being ejected from the board for a bizarre concept of stand-up air time.
The front-row ride certainly answered this one. What an utterly absurd experience in a... good way? Even trying to anticipate when you are about to be propelled off the train seemingly doesn't help, and being suspended several inches in the air stood up is rather unique. The best way I can describe it is like jumping on a trampoline but in slow motion. The elements oddly complement the feeling, particularly towards the 3/4 mark of the layout. Whilst on paper the layout itself is nothing to shout home about, it's a rather nice cocktail mix of inversions, air times and graceful transitions that summarise it in the same way that Air/Galactica is as a true flying coaster. It doesn't try to sell itself as something it isn't. It's a nice step up from family-thrill to white-knuckle thrills - the launch isn't overly punchy but it certainly isn't stagnant either. When you consider the weight of the train and the riding position, it still makes Icon feel like a damp squib.
There's plenty of work going on around Penguin Trek's construction site, and I managed to have a seat on the train at IAAPA. I don't want to pass too much comment yet without obviously riding, but I'm sure it's going to be a nicely elevated, comfortable family coaster which in the grand scheme of things, the park actually lacks. There won't be much of theming, so it remains to be seen until the flying theatre is installed as to what direction the park are taking on this level.
It's always difficult trying to judge how good a B&M Hyper is going to be based on the POVs, especially when all the 'mid-tier' ones seem to blend into one. Mako is absolutely at the top end of the class for me, however. It has the perfect blend of addictive airtime, delightfully floaty turns, snappy transitions and speedy rushes. Poor queue line drainage aside (there was a full-blown lake forming in the queue on the IAAPA Celebrates evening), everything about it as a hyper felt almost spot on. The operations compared to the rest of the park weren't bad either, and it appears to be ageing well thus far. Top of my hyper rankings for sure, with only Fury 325 sitting above it from that calibre of B&M models.
Ice Breaker was one of the most unexpected joys of my whole venture back to Orlando. Yes, Premier seem physically incapable of producing trains that are comfortable or proficient for operations, but other than that it was such great fun! The first ride was done at night during the IAAPA Celebrates event, and I was taken totally by surprise at just how ludicrous the poppy shots of airtime are. The swing launch doesn't feel dull or tedious either, it's a whacky opening act into a completely unsuspecting coaster that is nail on the head for family thrills. My only criticism for this other than the seemingly sparse theming (which I know Sea World are going to address as time goes on), is the god-awful trains. I'm just grateful for not having to experience it with the "comfort" collar.
Kraken was down for maintenance during my visit sadly, so it remains a decade since I last rode. Next year, hopefully!
One of the things I was really looking forward to about the return to SWO was getting back on Manta. It was still fresh and brand new when I last rode it, and held my number one spot for almost four years - the coaster that properly got me into coasters! Sadly, the queue line is looking a lot grottier with peeling paint on the bare blue concrete walls towards the actual loading area, but the indoor aquarium part remains pleasant and tranquil.
My biggest gripe, however, is the operations. An American enthusiast I met and had a chat with in the Mako queue joked about the current lineup of attractions in Orlando running on "B Mode". Manta, however, is running on "WTF" mode. The second station seemingly lying dormant gathering dust. An abundance of ride staff on the platform for only ONE person to be checking ALL the restraints. It took 20 minutes from standing in a loading bay to actually getting off the ride, spending an eternity suspended on the brake run waiting for a dispatch. Whilst the ride itself is still as enjoyable as I remember (although back row on the pretzel loop didn't feel anywhere near as intense as my last visit, whereby my tonsils felt like they were being ripped from my throat), the woeful operations put a regrettable dampener on what should have been a lovely reunion. Damn it.
Finally, there's the new kid on the block. Pipeline was a late opener, but showed signs of testing so I hung around the entrance to beat the surging rush as soon as it was confirmed on the app. This paid off dividends as I was able to lap it before returning for a 25-minute front-row queue later in the day. Pipeline is certainly... an experience. The back-row rides were taken first thing when the coaster was still a little sluggish, meaning there wasn't much in the way of intensity. At this point, I was struggling to decipher the feeling people were communicating about being ejected from the board for a bizarre concept of stand-up air time.
The front-row ride certainly answered this one. What an utterly absurd experience in a... good way? Even trying to anticipate when you are about to be propelled off the train seemingly doesn't help, and being suspended several inches in the air stood up is rather unique. The best way I can describe it is like jumping on a trampoline but in slow motion. The elements oddly complement the feeling, particularly towards the 3/4 mark of the layout. Whilst on paper the layout itself is nothing to shout home about, it's a rather nice cocktail mix of inversions, air times and graceful transitions that summarise it in the same way that Air/Galactica is as a true flying coaster. It doesn't try to sell itself as something it isn't. It's a nice step up from family-thrill to white-knuckle thrills - the launch isn't overly punchy but it certainly isn't stagnant either. When you consider the weight of the train and the riding position, it still makes Icon feel like a damp squib.
There's plenty of work going on around Penguin Trek's construction site, and I managed to have a seat on the train at IAAPA. I don't want to pass too much comment yet without obviously riding, but I'm sure it's going to be a nicely elevated, comfortable family coaster which in the grand scheme of things, the park actually lacks. There won't be much of theming, so it remains to be seen until the flying theatre is installed as to what direction the park are taking on this level.
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Danny
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I think it'll be perfectly fine as an entry-level family thrill - certainly better quality than both Manta and Arctic Rescue at San Diego's Sea World for comparison. Yes, the external theming surrounding the immediate exterior layout will inevitably leave a lot to be desired, but track and train themselves should be great fun, and the theming internally will be an improvement.
John_P
TS Member
A new update from the park on Penguin Trek and some footage of the indoor section at the start.
From: https://twitter.com/SeaWorld/status/1760779066892857851?t=LyanYj5sPTFFP-geIZiTkg&s=19
From: https://twitter.com/SeaWorld/status/1760779066892857851?t=LyanYj5sPTFFP-geIZiTkg&s=19
Alsty
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala
Not sure where else to post this, but Vekoma are suing B&M for infringement of their patent. They claim the Surf Coaster uses elements that are protected, specifically the design of the trains with the stand-up restraint system that moves up and down with the passenger
news.bloomberglaw.com
You can read the lawsuit here.
SeaWorld Orlando’s Pipeline ‘Surf Coaster’ Spurs Patent Suit
The company behind SeaWorld Orlando’s Pipeline ride faces a lawsuit alleging what’s touted as the “first ‘wave-jumping’” roller coaster infringes the patent of a Dutch manufacturer that’s provided theme-park attractions for industry giants.
You can read the lawsuit here.
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