justint87

Any idea for the reason for this closure? My best guess is so more construction vehicles can be inside the construction area in order to continue with the theming on that side of the ride (waterfall and entrance area). Or possibly an expansion of the pathways towards the ride? Maybe both? I know that when the construction vehicles enter, they make a quick turn to the left and there isn't that much room so maybe to accommodate the construction vehicles to continue theming on that side could be the most logical reason.

I remember hearing about this a while back and seeing it on TV. I believe I saw it on CNN. I don't think this is an actual coaster because from what I remember, its more of an "dark ride" type of track layout (an example is trains and track similar to what you see at Magic Kingdom rides such as Winnie the Pooh and Snow White). There are no hills or drops, just going around the aisle to pick up what you need. This would explain why you can't find in on RCDB.

^ Yeah you would be somewhere around a month too early... give or take a few weeks. Back on topic, just a quick description on whats been happening at the site. Basically more trees have been put in and a lot more work has been done on the exterior of the aquarium/station including the little towers we saw in the artwork. A lot of work is probably being done on the interior of the building as well but that is out of our view.

I don't know if anyone else notice but the wallpaper on the wall blocking the construction area at the front of the park has changed. Remember when it changed from "Summer 2009" to "Spring 2009?" Well I noticed today that it has reverted back to "Summer 2009." Hoping it is just a old wallpaper change and not an actual opening date change.

^ Nice pictures, great to hear it is being built fairly quickly. Any pictures of the non-inverting loop? Would love to see what it looks like from a visitor perspective.

I saw the completed layout in person today and let me tell you, it looks better in person than in pictures. I can't wait to see it start testing and the themeing to start taking place as well.

Its nice to see track work pick up once again. They should be finish with the track work in a matter of days now, unless they decide to stop putting up track for a week again. I'm getting more excited about this ride as it nears it completion. I'm actually now looking forward to the artificial "ocean" as well as all the landscaping and finishing the aquarium. It will be nice to see how it all comes together.

Very nice pictures King_K and thanks! Its great to finally not only see supports go up, but track as well. Over at the site where they hold all the supports and tracks, I noticed that a lot of new track had arrived over the past few days. So a lot of coaster work should continue. I have a feeling a lot of new track and supports will go up over the next few weeks.

Been a while since an update but over at johnnyupsidedown, he posted a new update today. The entire MCBR is now complete and a few supports have gone up after the MCBR as well. From the look of the supports, it appears that there will be a very nice drop coming out of the brake run.

We are lucky that the ride appears to be ahead of schedule. Now I don't mean all guests, most of the guests that I encounter are also pretty excited but there are a few that are like the one I described. Back on topic about Manta construction, I can't wait to see the rest of the ride built. Everything from the rest of the track work to how this "ocean" will look like once completed.

Just a quick update from the park today. Out on the walls that surrounds the construction area, the wallpaper has changed. It now advertise Manta by saying "Taking Flight" and under it saying "Spring 2009." It looks like the opening date may have been moved up as it previously read "Summer 2009." Another thing it shows now is a picture of the ride with people riding on it (one of the pictures they release with the press release). Personally I'm glad they finally put a picture thats shows what kind of coaster it is. You wouldn't believe how many times I heard people complain at the park about how the ride doesn't look fun because of the drop. I will give you a example of what I heard from a guest at the park to his friend: "Hey do you see that drop? What is that." His friend responded by saying: "Man that looks like Scorpion." (referring the coaster at BGA) Of course these are just typical park guests, they don't usually follow the different types of coasters there are but I'm glad this picture is up because it will give guests an idea of the type of coaster this is. EDIT: You can find a picture of the new wallpaper over at Johnnyupsidedown site.

^ Nice find. It looks like there will be a great variety and there will be something for everyone to listen to. Oh and a possible May 8th or earlier opening doesn't sound too bad at all. Looking forward to it.

I think you answered my point in the same post. Just because it has the same beginning, it can be unique as well. The reason we use the first drop and inversion comparison was because people were comparing it to S:UF just by seeing that it did the same thing at the beginning. You answered my point by saying: Manta will be unique by that fact (different layout) as well as with the theme and water splash effect which follows a whole storyline of being a Manta ray. When I go to a theme park, I want rides based off a theme and it looks like Manta can possibly delivered that in a roller coaster. Oh and I hope one day to go on Tatsu, that ride looks like quite a amazing experience.

Well finally a little news about possible suitors for the Busch parks. Merlin Entertainment has confirmed that they are interested in buying Busch Entertainment according to this article. It also confirms Cedar Fair is not interested because of the price tag. www.tampabay.com/news/business/tourism/article910021.ece

Finally somebody said it. I was tired of hearing all of the Superman: UF comparison about it having the same drop and first inversion and I kept thinking that there are so many coasters that do the same drop and first inversion but never mention it. Thank you for bringing that up. I agree 100%. I used the same argument a while back on this board about how Manta is designed to be UNIQUE, it was never meant to be the next Tatsu or any other flyer. It an all new custom design created by B&M and Busch and hopefully, just like all their other designs, they come out as top notch fun rides.

^ While I don't have photos as well, I can vouch for you that what you report is true. I see the area where they unload the track Monday through Thursday as I take one of the exit off Interstate 4 that provides a great view of the area. That new track I agree is something I have never seen before. I am pretty excited to see what part of the layout this track belongs to. Oh and just a quick update, over at OrlandoRocks, they posted an construction update and it looks like they have started vertical construction on some type of building. orlandorocks.com/info.aspx?location=usf&type=rides&Attraction=rockit&sub=construction&pg=1

Well it is finally official, InBev deal to purchase Anheuser-Busch is finally complete. Shareholders on both sides have approved the deal as well as regulatory approval from both US and China. biz.yahoo.com/ap/081118/eu_belgium_anheuser_busch_inbev.html?.v=10 Unfortunately no word on the theme parks but I'm sure we will be hearing something soon within the next few weeks to the next few months. If your interested, here is the official press release from Anheuser-Busch InBev. On the press release, you could see the new logo for the combine company. www.ab-inbev.com/documents/press_release.pdf

Even though the layout that was posted at the construction site never mention this inversion that was just put in place, it did however show that it was there. If you look carefully at that 2D layout and follow the yellow line on the coaster track, it clearly shows a twist at that point of the ride. You see similar twists of the yellow line on the labeled in-line spin as well as the flat spin. Makes you wonder why it wasn't labeled. Perhaps more surprises may be on its way as the track is put up... I sure hope so.

OrlandoRocks today posted 3 pages worth of new photos of the construction of Manta. It looks like they had some type of media day today as pictures were taken from inside the construction area. On the topic of the ride, the pretzel loop is now complete and the second inversion has already gone up. Link: orlandorocks.com/info.aspx?location=seaworld&type=all&Attraction=manta&sub=construction&pg=1 *Pictures are from OrlandoRocks

Manta is really starting to take shape. Its great to finally see the pretzel loop taking shape and exiting the pretzel looks pretty fun. Thanks delirium_guy for these photo updates throughout the week. I always look forward to them.

Four inversions...? I only count three - the pretzel loop, inline twist, and wingover. Where's the fourth...? Surely they don't count the pretzel loop as two... Thats what I thought as well. I remember reading four inversions and after seeing the layout, I was confused. My best guess is that their is an unnamed inversion somewhere. My guess would be the area after the pretzel loop.

Just a quick little update of Manta from today. It looks like more supports for the pretzel loop has been installed as well as track for the bottom half of it On a side note, one of the ticket counter is walled off. SeaWorld seems to be upgrading from a board with prices to an electronic version with videos showing off their attractions as well as prices. New electronic ticket board and televisions at the ticket counters. View once you enter the park. Lift with maintenance building. More station work being done. The start of the pretzel loop as well as a piece of the bottom half. The bottom of the pretzel loop installed.

I'm excited for this coaster. It may not look good to some on paper but you never know, it may surprise you. The first half does look thrilling and I think the second half would be more close to the ground (or water) action. A little mix of Tatsu and Air? I think this will be a great addition to SeaWorld Orlando and don't forget, there is a whole exhibit and aquarium to it as well. Take it for what it is, SeaWorld wasn't aiming to make the best flying coaster, they wanted something unique and I believe they will succeed in that.

The area is actually quite larger than it appears on the cartoonish map you have. Years ago, there use to be an aquarium on that location but it closed sometime ago. The main attraction on that location before the construction was the flamingo habitat right when you walk in the park. A good portion of it was a lot of calm, relaxing, nature like trails with ponds here and there for the birds. It was quite peaceful and I enjoyed it. I posted another picture of the park map, but this time, a wider view so you can get a feel of the area it is located and its relative size. Wider view of SeaWorld's guide map.

I thought I just share with you all how the area where Manta is being built and the pathways that are currently closed are presented on the park's guide map. This seems to be the first week where they actually advertised Manta on the park map; it was never there before this week. Park map with Manta construction area and closed pathways.