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SeaWorld San Diego (SWSD) Discussion Thread

p. 61: Jewels of the Sea Jellyfish Experience coming in 2024!

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Where are you seeing this? Link?

 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/sd-fi-seaworld-coaster-20170103-story.html

 

 

SeaWorld announces new eel coaster for 2018

 

The Electric Eel coaster, which would make its debut in 2018, proposes a combination of loops, twists and a nearly 150-foot high ascent followed by an inverted roll that will offer riders an upside-down view of Mission Bay.

 

Making good on SeaWorld’s promise to add more thrill-oriented rides, the San Diego theme park is announcing plans today for what it is calling its tallest and fastest roller coaster yet.

 

The Electric Eel, which would make its debut in early summer of 2018, proposes a combination of loops, twists and a nearly 150-foot high ascent followed by an inverted roll that will offer riders an upside-down view of Mission Bay.

 

Plans for the coaster come on the heels of already announced attractions for this year, among them the new orca encounter that will replace the long-running theatrical Shamu show, which is being gradually phased out at all the marine parks. The final One Ocean killer whale show will be this Sunday.

 

Also targeted for early summer is Electric Ocean, a new nighttime entertainment experience, and Ocean Explorer, which has as its centerpiece a 3-minute-long submarine ride that gives riders the sense of being a deep-sea explorer.

 

SeaWorld boasts that taken together, the four attractions represent the highest level of growth and investment since the park’s opening more than a half-century ago.

 

The coaster shouldn't come as a surprise, as SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby and President Marilyn Hannes have hinted in recent months that the San Diego park could expect a thrill-focused ride in 2018.

 

“This is what Joel and Marilyn promised, which is investing in SeaWorld San Diego and changing this park,” said Brian Morrow, vice president of theme park experience design for SeaWorld Entertainment. “This is the end of that process, which is the biggest capital investment over a two-year period at this park, and it’s a big deal financially and time-wise.”

 

Morrow and Hannes declined to divulge the expected cost of the coaster.

 

The new projects come at a pivotal time for the park and its parent company as it struggles to boost attendance and revenues, which have slumped over the past two years amid harsh criticism of the marine parks’ captive breeding and treatment of killer whales.

 

In a move to reboot the marine parks, Manby announced early last year that it would no longer breed its population of killer whales and it would end the theatrical orca performances. Since then, in a move to sharply cut costs, the company said it would be suspending dividends to stockholders. More recently, it eliminated 320 jobs, including about 60 in San Diego.

 

Electric Eel, with its high-intensity thrill component, should help solidify the park’s appeal among teens and young adults, Hannes said. It is meant to be the second phase of the Ocean Explorer attraction, which has a strong educational component and is oriented more to families. It will also feature an eel aquarium.

 

Ocean Explorer will be located on the southeast side of the park where Animal Connections had been and before that, the old Clydesdale barn and pasture. Both Ocean Explorer and the coaster, which will be where Arctic Plaza now is, will occupy an area west of the Journey to Atlantis ride.

 

SeaWorld San Diego has two other coasters — Journey to Atlantis, which is partly a water ride, and Manta, which opened in 2012. Where Manta’s fastest speed is 42 mph, Electric Eel will top out at 62 mph.

 

“This will definitely be the most thrilling ride here at SeaWorld, and we know from consumer research and guest feedback that guests want a thrilling ride here, so Electric Eel is the perfect way to round out our ride experiences,” Hannes said.

 

Both the design and feel of the coaster are inspired by eels, which are known for their unique hunting abilities, moving easily in and out of crevices, tying themselves in knots and among some species, generating electricity to attack their prey, Morrow said.

 

“As you’re moving up the coaster, think of it as a spiral that puts you upside down, like eels that can twist their bodies as they’re moving forward,” Morrow explained. “Once you get to the 150-foot high mark you do the full inversion but there are other movements in the ride where you’re turning.”

 

SeaWorld designers are also working on a way to mimic the behavior of electric eels at the start of the ride. As the individual vehicles prepare to launch, riders will sense the generation of electricity via lighting and sound techniques, and people in the ride plaza will also experience that with the help of LED lights and strobes, Morrow said.

 

He noted that the coasters will have multiple launches, as the vehicles move forward and backward three times before completing their 150-foot high ascent.

 

Although San Diego maintains a 30-foot height limit in the coastal zone, SeaWorld’s approved master plan allows for an exception of up to 160 feet on four designated sites. The coaster location is one of those sites, SeaWorld San Diego spokesman David Koontz said. Approval by the California Coastal Commission will be needed before the project can move forward.

 

San Diego is not the only SeaWorld park enjoying new investment. The company previously announced it's preparing to spend $175 million on new attractions across all its parks, including Florida's first virtual reality coaster at its Orlando marine park

 

If SeaWorld San Diego expects to thrive over the long-term, it’s not only going to have to stay true to its mission as an educational and animal rescue enterprise, it’s also going to have to stay current with cutting-edge theme park technology, said amusement park consultant Dennis Speigel.

 

“They have to get away from the performance aspect of their business and focus more on the educational but blend it with the technology we’re seeing develop in the industry,” said Dennis Speigel, president of Ohio-based International Theme Park Services. “Certainly, rides will be a part of their future but SeaWorld is not perceived as a ride park but a sea life husbandry park.”

 

SeaWorld San Diego will in fact delve into the virtual reality realm when it introduces this year a “one-on-one” experience with the killer whales that relies on VR goggles and footage of the park’s whales. There will be an extra fee for the experience.

 

“Think of it as a five-minute movie where the guests can go virtually under water and above water with the whales, with a headset and up-close images of these animals,” Morrow said. “The test footage is breathtaking.”

Edited by larrygator
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Should be a pretty nice addition, I'm sure the park will do an outstanding job with themeing the station and surrounding ride area.

 

And before anyone says it, yes there is a clone of this ride 500 miles north but 99% of the SeaWorld guests won't know this and won't care. Should be a nice addition.

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Excellent! These are fun rides and would be a welcome addition to almost any park.

 

Yep--pretty much "Tempesto West" or "Superman South," but these Premiere rides are fun. Should be a good fit for SeaWorld.

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Now for the real question--Will it have Tempesto's dreaded "comfort collars" or will it have lapbars with shin guards like the rest of the clones? Either way I think it will be a great ride, so nice to see another high quality coaster come to the west coast. I'd love to see a dual station on this, since they went so far with Manta to have a full exit platform and 4 trains I definitely wouldn't hold it against them to maximize capacity with 3 car trains and a dual station. I've heard lines for Tempesto are near unbearable in the summer, and I really hope that doesn't happen here.

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Excellent! These are fun rides and would be a welcome addition to almost any park.

 

THIS!!

 

I don't get why so many people are complaining about this new coaster. 1.) It's a new coaster, be happy. 2.) These coasters are a LOT of fun. They are very re-rideable, they are pretty intense, and the backwards launch is surprisingly powerful.

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure we would all have loved to see the park getting a 1,500ft tall, 300mph, spinning, inverted, Intamin Aquatrax, but that didn't happen. However, that doesn't change they fact that this is still a great coaster, and it's going to be a great addition to the park.

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Excellent! These are fun rides and would be a welcome addition to almost any park.

 

THIS!!

 

I don't get why so many people are complaining about this new coaster. 1.) It's a new coaster, be happy. 2.) These coasters are a LOT of fun. They are very re-rideable, they are pretty intense, and the backwards launch is surprisingly powerful.

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure we would all have loved to see the park getting a 1,500ft tall, 300mph, spinning, inverted, Intamin Aquatrax, but that didn't happen. However, that doesn't change they fact that this is still a great coaster, and it's going to be a great addition to the park.

 

Meh, they're fine rides - Nothing amazing about them. I didn't feel any urge to ride Phobia more than once - And I skipped Superman on my visit to SFDK last month. I'm really not a fan of the uncomfortable, new-generation Premier trains. I think my legs are too long for them.

 

An SRII is still better than Full Throttle though.

 

I get why SWSD went with one though. 150 ft, 60 mph, an inversion, "triple-launch", tiny footprint, very marketable, and half the price of a full-sized coaster. That's a pretty easy choice for a park to make.

 

I think the real thing to look forward to is SeaWorld's huge new area that this will complete. They're essentially upgrading 25% of the park. A part that was pretty dead until now.

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^^I would not really say that an SRII is better than YOLO. But I would say that an SRII is far less wasted potential than YOLO. (No coaster with brakes along its entire largest drop should exist)

 

But I do doubt that you can find any coaster that packs more thrills into a small space and budget than an SRII. (With the possible exception of the competing designs from other companies)

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I never thought it was possible for SWSD to build a coaster of this size so it's definitely a welcome addition. I've never ridden one of these but I'm excited to try it out. The main thing that this announcement gets me excited about is that we will probably see more coasters in the future at the SD location!!

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Here is the official release:

 

TALLEST AND FASTEST ROLLER COASTER IN SEAWORLD SAN DIEGO HISTORY SET FOR 2018 LAUNCH

 

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 3, 2017) – SeaWorld® San Diego unveiled plans today for its 2018 attraction—the Electric Eel roller coaster—featuring multiple-launch elements, high-energy twists, and heart-pounding loops. It will expand the park’s new Ocean Explorer realm set to open later this summer as part of the park’s largest new attraction premiere in its history.

Following the unprecedented opening of three new major attractions in 2017—Ocean Explorer, the new Orca Encounter and the all-new summer nighttime extravaganza Electric Ocean—Electric Eel will cap a 24-month period of the most robust growth since the park’s opening more than five decades ago.

 

“Electric Eel will bring a whole new level of excitement to SeaWorld in 2018,” said SeaWorld San Diego’s Park President Marilyn Hannes. “This new, first-of-its-kind coaster at SeaWorld will give riders the rare opportunity to feel what it’s like to move like an eel as they twist and flip along nearly 900 feet of undulating track.”

 

Electric Eel will feature astounding loops, twists and airtime. Multiple-launch experiences will propel riders forward and backward as they speed through the ride’s station house accelerating to more than 60 miles per hour in seconds. Riders then rocket skyward nearly 150 feet where they will brave an inverted “heartline” roll and a twisting loop for an exciting feeling of airtime as riders crest the top before breathlessly returning to the station. This adrenaline-pumping coaster will offer riders the only upside-down view of Mission Bay.

 

SeaWorld continues to evolve the next generation of marine-life experiences, setting the standard for combining immersive and innovative ways to engage with ocean animals with flat-out family fun for children and adults.

“The future is bright at SeaWorld and we remain committed to long-term investment in the park,” said Hannes. “We always strive to provide new reasons to visit SeaWorld and give our guests experiences that matter with a blend of exciting rides and incredible animal and educational experiences. We want our guests from around the world to not only have a great time, but be inspired to care about the ocean and the animals that live there.”

 

Complementing the Electric Eel roller coaster is the anticipated Ocean Explorer experience opening in 2017—which will include a hypnotic live eel habitat featuring one of the world’s most extensive collections of moray eels. Through large viewing windows, visitors will plunge into the world of the eel as they swim and dart through the caves and crevasses of their naturalistic deep-ocean environment.

 

With Electric Eel, SeaWorld’s Deep Blue creative design team will fuse the visceral thrills of a contemporary coaster with a compelling interactive and educational eel experience. Using innovative state-of-the-art technologies, this interactive experience will allow guests to discover fascinating information about these mysterious animals, including their unique predation skills and diets, growth rates and sensory abilities.

 

Electric Eel will join Manta® and Journey to Atlantis® as the third coaster-type ride experience at SeaWorld San Diego. It will be constructed on an approximately two-acre site on the eastern side of the park between the currently under-construction Ocean Explorer attraction and Journey to Atlantis. The ride is expected to open in summer 2018.

797677507_ElectricEelEntry-highres.thumb.jpg.88f26c46c39c307badce3b5a3f5fba74.jpg

Concept Art

1800955570_ElectricEellaunchstation-hires.thumb.jpg.13a912194942f2b436fdbf0267e9e28b.jpg

Launch Concept Art

Edited by robbalvey
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The real question that comes to mind is will this ride actually get approved to be built?? I realize it's part of the master plan, but I do remember how hard of a time they had getting Atalantis built and the entire reason manta is only 30 feet was to make getting approval much easier. This must be why they are announcing the ride so early..... It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months, being a San Diego native and current resident I know how difficult it is to get any major projects built!!

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I don't think they would make an announcement if they werent confident it will be approved. Plus maybe the city of San Diego realizes the trouble Sea World is in and will be more cooperative. Sea World brings in so much revenue for the city, now isn't the time to be difficult lol

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While in rare circumstances stuff happens after the fact, large development projects (including theme park rides) usually involve a lot of "back channel" work before being presented to the public. I would guess Sea World has been working with all the agencies to have everything ready for full approval prior to the actual hearings.

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I don't think they would make an announcement if they werent confident it will be approved. . .

 

Well, you know. . . There was this one time. . .

 

 

Granted, it did get built, but we see what has happened to it now.

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