Sea World (Australia) Wild, Polar Bear Cub & Storm Update

[azza29]

^The cynic in me does wonder if parks theme rides to disasters because it means they can get away with less maintenance on the themeing - i.e. Apocalypse at either SFA or SFMM.

[Mrlittle]

The ride looks fun. Not sure if I will ever make it to Australia to ride but who knows. Thanks for sharing the photos and video.

[SoCalCoasters]

Excellent looking coaster!

 

Will there actually be any fire effects added or is this the final look?

 

There were some fire effects in the CGI POV, and I've seen some marketing copy which mentions fire, but they don't appear to have been turned on yet.

 

Looking forward to seeing it with fire.

[IronWolfman]

Very well done, and a great move by Sea World Australia to build Storm and theme it so well. I'm impressed.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

Well this flew under the radar! How did I not see anything regarding this ride sooner?

[AusCoasterFan]

Wow. Looks really good - well themed also. I will still dearly miss the Bermuda Triangle. That really would be hard to beat in my opinion.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

^The cynic in me does wonder if parks theme rides to disasters because it means they can get away with less maintenance on the themeing - i.e. Apocalypse at either SFA or SFMM.

Why wouldn't they? It's simple, and disasters are thrilling.

 

I didn't even know this ride was being built but now I have something to tell our Australian exchange student about and see if he's been to this park.

 

I think the theming looks really great, and I like how immersive it is for a seemingly simple ride. Sounds cold right now when it's like 40 degrees here but I believe it's summer there, so perfect timing?

[Hurricane]

Storm looks great! Village Roadshow certainly didn't disappoint. I'm hoping to get down to the park in the next few weeks to check it out

[PCW_Nut]

Wow! Honestly, I am kind of taken aback at how amazing this looks. Sure, the ride is simple enough but with the thematic elements added in and some neat tricks it really sets it apart from other water rides like this.

 

I'd love to have something like this nearby,

[cfc]

^Exactly--I just don't care for bare-bones flume and splash boat rides. I'm much more likely to ride something like Storm, Escape from Pompeii, or the log ride at Knott's.

[Erik Johnson]

Looks good! I am glad they built another one of these type of rides.

[vuurvogel]

Great looking ride, excellent theming. Well done Ausies. I will come and visit one time. (More reason to go)

[rosscoe]

Great to see another new ride open on the coast, nicely themed as well. But too be a bit of a downer, I wish one of the Aussie parks would build something with a bit of length, I think the last ride that was longer than 90 seconds was Scooby Doo and thats at least ten or more years ago.

[ozziboy]

^ While I certainly wouldn't call it long, Abyss takes 2 minutes to ride which is more than 90 seconds!

 

Storm looks like a great addition to Sea World, which after years of nothing much, really needed something major like this to draw people back there, especially with the distance involved for those living way over on Australia's west coast.

 

Personally, I love these water-based splashy coasters, and if its as much fun as the Divertical splashdown I rode in Italy, crowds will love it.

 

I also think its style pays nice homage to Sea World's heritage, which has always had a water/fire based attraction in that spot; Both Lassiter's Lost Mine and Bermuda Triangle had dark ride, flame and splashdown elements.

[cfc]

^Was Bermuda Triangle the ride in the "volcano"? It was closed when TPR was there in 2011.

[Gav]

Yep, stood dormant for a couple of years till they got around to gutting the show building and putting storm coaster in.

The ride was cloned at Movie Park Germany, so it still lives on in some form.

[cfc]

^I've ridden the one at Movie Park and thought it was the best ride there. Looks like Storm will be a good replacement.

[_koppen]

Mack water coasters are one of my favorite family coasters type, and I'm really happy to see another one opened. The one at Djurs is awesome, and the theming on this one looks really cool. I love how they have combined the coaster with a dark ride section.

[jray21]

Thanks for the report, it looks like a fun ride! The barge tires definitely make it authentic!

Edited December 6, 2013 by jray21

[Gav]

Media day was today, and the local newspaper posted a POV.

 

Too bad it is mounted though, you can't see a lot of the theming detail to the sides.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hahc79Z1H2A

[Jon Sabo]

I really enjoyed the video and love the theme in and around the ride!

[SoCalCoasters]

Awesome to see a POV, looks like a great ride.

[Woodie Warrior]

The POV was cool. I wish parks in the US (other than Universal or Disney), would put in a ride as well-themed as this one.

[azza29]

Local media are reporting the cost of the new ride was $20m. A bit higher than I would have expected, but I guess theming doesn't come cheap! Sea World have added a lot in the last 12 months - Seal Harbour, new Polar Bear enclosure, and now Storm Coaster. I really hope this pays off and they'll be able to keep investing in the park.

[better_by_design]

This is a really awesome looking ride - Mack does a great job combining interesting, fun, and family into a complete package, and huge kudos to Sea World for using themeing to tell a story AND add to the thrill.

 

As someone above mentioned, it's great to see a theme on this that is well executed and NOT about an animal or myth. Even though it's 'just' a disaster ride, they look like they knocked it out of the park on making this all real looking.

 

As far as thrills go, having the splash dive into the whitewater and under that propeller is total genius - much MUCH more interesting for the rider than a big outdoor splash - I'm curious if it has a "headchopper" feel when riding.

 

Great show!