SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

[KarlaKoaster]

And let's end the virus talk there and keep this back on track for Sea World!

 

If you insist...

 

Money saving tip: It's $5 to feed the Sea Lions at Sea World but you can now feed the gators for free!

[fbvideonew]

[/fbvideonew]

-Facebook

No mask, but she's taking social distancing seriously. One out of two isn't bad.

[mikeykaise]

What was she trying to swim out to get?

[Haymaker]

What was she trying to swim out to get?

 

Reminds me of the knucklehead that jumped into Jurassic Park River Adventure at IOA to grab his hat.

[mikeykaise]

[bgtlover]

Yeah I saw that lol, I mean it's not funny but at this point is nothing is surprising.

 

Speaking of Seaworld I know Icebreaker isn't open yet and am aware of the lien issues etc., but for anyone that's been to the park is there any activity at all on the job site or is it just completely shut down like this thing might get pushed to open in 2021? As far as I was aware the track was complete and trains were on site, just curious if there's any landscaping or people working on/around the site currently.

There hasn't been anything done to the site since shortly after the park closed. Premier had barely started testing the switch track before the park closed (they were gone a couple days before the park closed, in fact), they never did a full test run before leaving. Some of the landscaping and queue work was still being done shortly after the park closed, but were all sent home soon after when the parks halted all construction.

[Hilltopper39]

Yeah I saw that lol, I mean it's not funny but at this point is nothing is surprising.

 

Speaking of Seaworld I know Icebreaker isn't open yet and am aware of the lien issues etc., but for anyone that's been to the park is there any activity at all on the job site or is it just completely shut down like this thing might get pushed to open in 2021? As far as I was aware the track was complete and trains were on site, just curious if there's any landscaping or people working on/around the site currently.

There hasn't been anything done to the site since shortly after the park closed. Premier had barely started testing the switch track before the park closed (they were gone a couple days before the park closed, in fact), they never did a full test run before leaving. Some of the landscaping and queue work was still being done shortly after the park closed, but were all sent home soon after when the parks halted all construction.

 

Thanks for the update, that's kind of what I had figured unfortunately. I'm assuming it's mostly the same situation with Iron Gwazi over in Tampa even though that project was a lot closer to completion. Hopefully things get back to normal soon and maybe both of those rides get a late summer or fall opening. I mean SeaWorld opened a new river rapids ride in October a few years ago so there's hope lol.

[AmyUD06]

SEAS has to actually pay for these new rides before they can operate. Don't hold your breath.

[coasterbill]

There's no benefit to opening new rides when nobody can come to the parks anyway between quarantine restrictions in random regions of the country, travel bans internationally and daily capacity limits.

[Hilltopper39]

^Well yeah, that's why I said hopefully things get back to normal soon, but soon might be October or it might be next June, wtf knows anymore.

[Guy T. Koepp]

I know. I'm just not telling. Tee Hee Hee!

[coasterbill]

Friendly reminder to passholders to make sure you stop at guest services before the end of the year (On the left near the entrance)... as they’re giving out $50 in in-park credits and free drink vouchers which can be used on select beer due to covid.

I didn’t even know this was a thing but Brit did and I got a lot of beer

This even works with those old busted paper passes (and ours are from Williamsburg).

[Hilltopper39]

18 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Friendly reminder to passholders to make sure you stop at guest services before the end of the year (On the left near the entrance)... as they’re giving out $50 in in-park credits and free drink vouchers which can be used on select beer due to covid.

I didn’t even know this was a thing but Brit did and I got a lot of beer

This even works with those old busted paper passes (and ours are from Williamsburg).

That's amazing, hoping to get down there in a few weeks so I'll be sure to check that out.

 

We took the kids to Aquatica a few weeks ago for a day and had a really good time. Much more crowded than I was expecting (it was on a Sunday in September) but still very manageable. park entry was a breeze, walked right through the temp. scan tent, straight to the park entry and in. There were Shorter lines in the morning, but got much longer later in the afternoon so pretty much a normal day at a water park in Orlando. Food lines looked pretty long but, we didn't eat there so it wasn't an issue but be warned. We did get some slushies and a pretzel for the kids and they required you to put your mask on to buy anything from the food stands/merchandise kiosk. I did see team members enforcing that to people who were just stopping by for a refill in their swim suits, so good for SeaWorld.

 

The new slides that were supposed to open this year look really fun, can't wait to go back and check them out. Will be nice to have another attraction on that side of the park. It had been a few years since I'd been to Aquatica and while it's maybe showing some age in areas it still might be my favorite waterpark in Orlando. Just a really solid collection of slides in a beautiful setting.

[coasterbill]

Well it’s *definitely* the best waterpark in Orlando for the next few months. Lol

[Hilltopper39]

22 minutes ago, coasterbill said:

Well it’s *definitely* the best waterpark in Orlando for the next few months. Lol

Lol, I don't know Island H2O might give them a run.......

We did drive by there and they had football games playing on the giant screen over the wave pool, looked pretty awesome tbh.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

On 10/15/2020 at 11:21 AM, coasterbill said:

Friendly reminder to passholders to make sure you stop at guest services before the end of the year (On the left near the entrance)... as they’re giving out $50 in in-park credits and free drink vouchers which can be used on select beer due to covid.

Wow! That's nice!! 

[Animal]

The Ice Breaker animated POV looks pretty good, I think it will have a good amount of airtime and may be a surprise hit! With that being said can someone PLEASE explain to me why Premier insists on putting the comfort collars on every new ride???? It literally makes no sense considering rides like full throttle and Superman Ultimate Flight don’t use them and it works perfectly. In fact I thought Ultimate flight was a way better experience than Electric Eel mainly because of the collars. This ride doesn’t even go upside down and they’re still putting them on there. SMH

[SharkTums]

3 hours ago, Animal said:

The Ice Breaker animated POV looks pretty good, I think it will have a good amount of airtime and may be a surprise hit! With that being said can someone PLEASE explain to me why Premier insists on putting the comfort collars on every new ride???? It literally makes no sense considering rides like full throttle and Superman Ultimate Flight don’t use them and it works perfectly. In fact I thought Ultimate flight was a way better experience than Electric Eel mainly because of the collars. This ride doesn’t even go upside down and they’re still putting them on there. SMH

AMEN!!!

It's so dumb to me that a company (Premier) which made headlines and won awards and praise from all of us for taking OTSR's OFF of rides that didn't need it is now needlessly putting OTSR's back on rides that don't need them!!! UGH!!!

AND THERE IS NOTHING COMFORTABLE ABOUT COMFORT COLLARS.

Sorry, I'm just really passionate about this and I think it's crap. 

[DBru]

^My thoughts exactly! 20 years ago Premier were industry leaders in improving rider experience by retrofitting their trains with lap bars only. Then 10 years ago they showed us these exact trains (Sky Rocket @Kennywood) don’t need OTSRs... and now they’re putting them on every one of their new coasters?! Do Premier and these parks not realize how much the “comfort” collars suck? Because they do. So frustrating and a super disappointing trend.
 

Looks like they’re going on the new Manhattan Express trains too. Such a wasted opportunity.

[Garet]

Perhaps Universal also aren't fans of the comfort collars?

[A.J.]

It's just an unfortunate turn of events for SeaWorld that Velocicoaster and Ice Breaker will be opening in the same calendar year.

[Hilltopper39]

Ice Breaker looks great, it's gonna be a lot of fun but my only complaint is the 54" height requirement (assuming that's what it'll be since the other Premier sky rockets at SW parks are 54"). SeaWorld has 3 amazing B&M's that are all 54", this coaster would be a perfect intermediate ride for younger riders if it were 48" or 50" or something but that's not the case.

[BRTeller]

On 11/21/2020 at 12:20 PM, Animal said:

The Ice Breaker animated POV looks pretty good, I think it will have a good amount of airtime and may be a surprise hit! With that being said can someone PLEASE explain to me why Premier insists on putting the comfort collars on every new ride???? It literally makes no sense considering rides like full throttle and Superman Ultimate Flight don’t use them and it works perfectly. In fact I thought Ultimate flight was a way better experience than Electric Eel mainly because of the collars. This ride doesn’t even go upside down and they’re still putting them on there. SMH

If my memory serves me correctly, this isn't Premier that's doing this. It's Busch/Seaworld that insisted on them for Tempesto and carried the trend into their other installments at other parks. What I don't understand though is why they're adding them to a non inverting coaster since that was the logic with Tempesto.

[grsupercity]

I thought I read somewhere the collar is quicker to check then a seat belt and that a secondary restraint system lowers insurance cost?

[michaellynn4]

I think it may be a Busch thing, too. The only versions of the Sky Rocket model I see with collars are the ones installed at Busch / Seaworld parks. Phobia up at Lake Compounce operates without the collars, and two installations over in China from a couple years ago also don't operate with them. Either way, having ridden models both with and without the collars, I also don't get them as they seemingly serve no purpose aside from the lower insurance costs rumor that keeps getting bantered about.

[KarlaKoaster]

4 hours ago, Hilltopper39 said:

Ice Breaker looks great, it's gonna be a lot of fun but my only complaint is the 54" height requirement (assuming that's what it'll be since the other Premier sky rockets at SW parks are 54"). SeaWorld has 3 amazing B&M's that are all 54", this coaster would be a perfect intermediate ride for younger riders if it were 48" or 50" or something but that's not the case.

I'm sure I read the Ice Breaker height restriction will be 48" - I remember they were really pushing the exact family-friendlier tone when they initially announced the coaster.

On the topic of the trains, I think Premier's current rolling stock is just about the worst out there from any of the major manufacturers at the moment, especially when you compare them to Intamin and Mack's current designs. I think they're ugly, not easy to get in/out of and the comfort collars are a really stupid solution to a problem that doesn't really exist.