Scott And Carol Present - Seaworld Announces 2017 Additions At IAAPA

The following is an unedited press release:

SEAWORLD PARKS & ENTERTAINMENT REVEALS RIDE CARS, NEW ATTRACTION DETAILS AT IAAPA ATTRACTIONS EXPO

Orlando, Fla. (November 15, 2016) –  This morning Joel Manby, President and Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment revealed exciting details about the company’s 2017 attraction expansion,  one of the largest new attraction years in the company’s 53-year history.  Also this morning, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens revealed three of the ride vehicles that will take guests on exciting adventures in 2017.

The press event and product reveals kicked off the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo, the attractions industry’s premier trade show and conference hosting more than 32,000 attractions industry professionals from around the world in Orlando this week.

“We are extremely excited with the scope and depth of the new attractions and events coming to our SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks in 2017,” shared Manby.  “From first-ever technologies and ride vehicles to inspiring new experiences, our 2017 new attractions are uniquely suited to create meaningful and fun vacations for our guests.”

The three ride vehicle reveals were: Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster™ at SeaWorld San Antonio, Submarine Quest, part of the new Ocean Explorer realm at SeaWorld San Diego, and InvadR, the wooden hybrid coaster debuting at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

The following is an unedited press release:

Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster™, SeaWorld^® San Antonio

A new generation of coaster, the first of its kind in North America, combining the thrill of the sea, the adrenaline rush of a multi-launch roller coaster and the inspiration of animal rescue is coming to SeaWorld San Antonio. 

Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster boasts a variety of features inspired by the reality of jet skiing across a body of water. The unique jet ski-style car design is the first such coaster design in North America and engages riders in a straddled seating position. The design will allow riders to lean into a series of banked and serpentine turns, and grip the handle bars as they race over hills designed for maximum airtime, and a pair of high acceleration launches. Inspired by the Emmy^® award-winning program, Sea Rescue^®, the coaster enables riders to feel what it’s like to race alongside SeaWorld’s heroic animal care team and veterinarians as they spring into action at a moment’s notice to help rescue animals in distress.  The queue line will reinforce SeaWorld’s rescue mission through interpretive and educational videos.  

Wave Breaker Ride Stats:

  Maximum Height                             61 feet

·         Length of Track                                2,600 feet, the majority of it over water

·         Maximum Speed                              44 mph

·         Number of Trains                             3

·         Number of Vehicles                         8 per train

·         Number of Passengers                     2 per vehicle, 16 total per train

·         Minimum rider height                     48 inches

·         Launch speeds                                  Launch 1: 38 mph, Launch 2: 44 mph

·         Ride elements                                   Banked and serpentine turns, airtime humps, straddle seating    

·         Ride Manufacturer                           Intamin

The following is an unedited press release:

Submarine Quest, SeaWorld San Diego

The signature attraction for SeaWorld San Diego’s new Ocean Explorer realm is Submarine Quest,

taking guests on a global expedition of scientific exploration as researchers on a mission to collect data and learn how to help protect animals. This three-minute experience will include an onboard digital navigation dashboard, as well as a few other surprises along the journey, enhancing the riders’ understanding of our fragile ocean ecosystem.

Submarine Quest Ride Stats:

·         Minimum rider height                    The ride is intended to be a family ride

·         Track Length                                  759 feet of elevated track moves through the entire realm

·         Ride Duration                                 3 minutes

·         Number of Vehicles                        7

·         Number of Passengers                    6 riders (maximum) per vehicle

·         Ride Restraint                                 Individual lap bar

·         Manufacturer                                  Chance Rides

The following is an unedited press release:

InvadR™, Busch Gardens^® Williamsburg:  Booth #2773

A new wooden roller coaster, InvadR, will join Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s collection of world-class thrill rides.  The family thriller will be the park’s first wooden coaster and eighth roller coaster in total. 

This “hybrid” coaster, with steel supports and a wooden track, will utilize repurposed ride cars from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s popular (and now retired) wooden coaster, Gwazi. 

A minimum height requirement of 46 inches make it an ideal ride for adults and children to share together, but the coaster will still feature exciting ride elements, including a more than 70 foot drop, and nine airtime hills. Located in the New France village of Busch Gardens, guests will travel more than 2,100 feet through a wooded terrain and underground through a tunnel.

InvadR Ride Stats:

·         Minimum rider height                    46 inches

·         Ride Elements                                74-foot drop and nine airtime hills

·         Track Length                                  2,118 feet of track                                                          

·         Maximum Speed                            48 mph

·         Ride Duration                                 1 minute 30 seconds

·         Number of Trains                           2

·         Number of Vehicles                       8 per train

·         Number of Passengers                   2 per vehicle, 16 per train

      Ride Manufactuer                          Great Coasters International, Inc.

Also New in 2017:

Kraken^® Virtual Reality (VR) Roller Coaster, SeaWorld Orlando – Coming Summer 2017

SeaWorld will debut its first digitally enhanced ride experience as the legendary Kraken roller coaster is transformed into a virtual reality (VR) roller coaster experience.  This thrill ride will be the only VR coaster experience in Florida.

Guests will embark on a deep sea mission alongside sea creatures inspired by extinct and legendary animals of the past, including the mighty Kraken.  A custom digital overlay with uniquely designed headsets, fully integrated both mechanically and electronically into the coaster train, delivers a new one-of-a-kind adventure.  The addition of VR to this fan-favorite brings a new level of excitement and interest in Kraken, for both new and returning guests. 

Electric Ocean, SeaWorld Orlando and San Diego – Coming Summer 2017

Electric Ocean will debut next summer at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Diego as a brand new, end-of-day spectacle event. As the sun goes down, the lights and energy go up, offering guests a different kind of fun after dark. The ocean comes to life with bioluminescent lighting, music and pathway entertainment, immersing guests in a glowing sea of wonder.  

New Orca Encounter, SeaWorld San Diego – Coming Summer 2017

SeaWorld San Diego will introduce new, inspiring, educational orca encounters, rather than theatrical shows, as part of its ongoing commitment to education, marine science research, and rescue of marine animals. These live documentaries will focus on orca enrichment, exercise, and overall health. This change will start in its San Diego park next year, followed by Orlando and then San Antonio by 2019.

The new Orca Encounter will be based on orca behavior in the wild: what they eat, how they hunt, how they navigate and how they communicate, helping guests gain a deeper appreciation and respect for the orcas and empowering them a sense of determination and purpose to help preserve the future of these majestic animals.  This new encounter will look at broader themes such as research, rescue, conservation, habitats and distribution, husbandry and care, and social structures. 

The new behavioral-based orca experience, will inspire as well as educate guests about the majesty of these complex animals, and reinforces the company’s commitment to provide educational experiences with the park’s resident orcas.

A Western View - Getting Ready to Strike Gold

There was a time not long ago when coaster enthusiasts spoke of California's Great America in Santa Clara, CA as if it were just a memory of a once great park.  Over the last 13 years or so, the park which once was a beacon of thrills and live entertainment, seemed to slowly become an afterthought to not only its visitors, but to the company that owned it as well.

Not anymore.

On Saturday, I was very fortunate to be invited to a behind the scenes look at California's Great America's newest roller coaster, Gold Striker.  Along with a peek at this amazing looking new ride, the park gave us a look at other things they have in store for the upcoming 2013 season.  With the many local issues with the city, 49ers, and local businesses all in the rear view mirror, it's clear that Cedar Fair no longer sees this park as the redheaded stepchild of the company, and has a renewed interest in seeing it become great once again.

We started off our day with a quick presentation inside the Great America Theater.  The park briefly discussed Gold Striker and reminded us of the impressive stats the ride will have, including the longest tunnel on a wooden coaster drop as well as 85 degree banked turns.  We were also shown a mockup of what the ride's sign will look like.

Later came a presentation about the parks entertainment options and theming initiatives for the upcoming season.  Cedar Fair intends to see Great America become known for it's entertainment once again.   Not only will they be having some favorites, like the hit ice skating show Happiness is...Snoopy, return; they will be also adding 3 new shows.  On Broadway will be a mash-up of hit Broadway musical numbers; where Pop Fusion will be an outdoor music based show similar to Luminostiy at Cedar Point only, as they pointed out, "without all the millions of dollars." From what I've experienced with Great America in the past, I'm sure it will still be great on a lower budget.

For you Haunt fans out there, the park is already planning for this year's event, and this year, there will be 3 brand new mazes for you to experience.  One will be completely new where 2 will be brand new mazes that will replace former mazes in their original locations.


After the presentation, we were split up into small groups and shown around Gold Striker as well as the rest of the park.  My group was taken to the ride first.

The ride's future entrance.

This area will be full of switchbacks for the long summer queue.

From this area, you will get amazing views of the trains flying by.

Here the train will reach full speed as it flies past guests in line.

After ducking back under the structure, you will enter this tunnel which will be themed as a mine shaft.

Another view from where the train flies past the queue near the station.

Crews were preparing to place the roof on the station.

The 85 degree banked turn.

The ride will exit into the ride photo area which will be located under the arches to the left.  The store to the right will become a gift shop for Gold Striker merchandise.

We were taken behind Xtreme SkyFlyer for another view of the ride.

After the tour of the ride area, we were taken around the park where many rides and park buildings are really receiving some TLC.  Not only will the park look better, it's also going to sound better.  It was discussed that the park is in the process of bringing back themed music.  No longer will we hear Top 40 hits in areas like Orleans Place, but rather themed instrumental music that fits the area of the park you are in.

The future home of the park's new Subway, for those of you who would like to eat fresh.

Barney Oldfield received new paint.  The queue will also receive theming that tells the story of Barney Oldfield and why the ride is named after him.

The games area receiving paint

Drop Tower was making test runs.

At Psycho Mouse, the giant mouse head is being repainted while the roof of the queue house is being replaced.

Centrifuge looks practically brand new with it's fresh paint.

It was confirmed the Spongebob is on his way out of the park and will be replaced with a new film.  The film will be announced at a later date, but we were told that the current rumors for the subject of the ride film are way off.

This sign is set to be removed in the coming week.

The Columbia Carousel is now sporting a gold spire, which is appropriate given it's new neighbor.

Speaking of that new neighbor, here is one last shot of how it has completely changed the look of the front of the park.

Special thanks to Roger, Ryan, Tyler, Cleighton and Albert at California's Great America for the great event.  We can't wait to ride Gold Striker in the coming months!

A Western View - Southern California's New Big Hitters

Lately I’ve been focused on photo updates and lost sight of writing articles that are more than just captions.  Today we’re going to switch it up and I’m going to review the 2 major dark rides that recently opened in Southern California, Disney California Adventure’s Radiator Springs Racers and Universal Studios Hollywood’s Transformers: The Ride – 3D.

Radiator Springs Racers

First up is Radiator Springs Racers, which opened last Friday at Disney California Adventure (DCA). Cars Land is the final puzzle piece to the DCA billion dollar overhaul, and Radiator Springs Racers is the star attraction of the all-new land. 

Upon arrival to the park around 7:20am I noticed the usually busy Disneyland looked like a ghost town with almost no one trying to enter the park.  Across the esplanade, DCA had hundreds, if not thousands, awaiting their chance to enter.  It was very clear that Disneyland’s little brother has finally been noticed by guests to the resort.   The majority of the crowd opted to get fastpasses before waiting in line, making it easy for me to sneak into a short 15 minute wait thanks to the single rider line.

The ride begins with a slow, but breathtaking, drive along the land’s amazing rockwork and past a waterfall.  Disney uses spectacular music to emphasis the sites you see.  It’s hard not to get chills as you emerge from a small tunnel and the waterfall comes into view while the great music reaches a crescendo.

Not only does the ride have great theming, but so does that queue.

Next you head into the building getting into a few near misses with Mack, Van and Minny, and even a train.  You’re greeted by the Sherriff, who warns you to slow down, and then hands you off to Mater.  The Mater animatronics are some of the most impressive I’ve seen.   Not only is the face motion spot on, but his entire body movement as he drives looks just as it does in the films.   After some cow tipping shenanigans you find yourself in Radiator Springs where we meet most of the town folk.

Here is where Lightning and Sally separate the cars so they can race along side of each other.  You are sent into either Ramon’s paint shop or Luigi’s tire store.  Both rides I ended up in Luigi’s where you stop and view your car.   Guido quickly drops under the floor and moments later your car’s reflection is shown with new whitewall tires.

Moving from the shops you have a brief encounter with Doc Hudson who gives you some advice and sends you to the starting line.  Again, Disney works their magic as the animatronic looks amazing and syncs perfect with the car audio.  Just as you pass Doc you hear him on the “radio” finishing his instructions before the race.  The switch from the animatronic audio to the onboard audio is seamless as if he never stopped talking.

 

And then the moment for the big race is here.   Going into the ride knowing it only went at a relatively slow 40mph, I was expecting to only be mildly thrilled.   Surprisingly though, the ride has great positive forces in the banks and even gives you some decent airtime over the hills.

After the race is over you drive into a cavern with taillights jutting from the roof and floor.   This scene was the only one I didn’t care for as the props looked like they were made of plastic and didn’t blend well with the amazing rockwork.  Here you get a final word from Mater and Lightning and then you head into the station to exit.

Overall the ride is amazingly solid and a lot of fun.  The dark ride portion is one of the best Disney has ever done and the race is up there on the thrill scale for a Disney ride.  Radiator Springs Racers gets a strong A grade from me. The ride is sure to be a must for all visitors for many, many years to come, just expect to have to wait.

Transformers: The Ride – 3D

Next up, Universal Studios Hollywood has put in its bid for dark ride dominance in Southern California with the new Transformers: The Ride – 3D.   The ride, which was announced nearly 3 years ago, opened officially on May 25^th and has been getting some outstanding reviews.  I set out on a mission the ride and judge for myself.

The entrance is not easy to miss. 

Like Radiator Springs Racers, I was able to utilize the ride’s single rider line and bypass the large 65 minute wait in a mere 10 minutes.  I can’t say enough about single rider lines, as they work sometimes better than a fastpass system for wait times as long as you are ok separating from your group.

Once aboard I had a vague idea of what to expect.  Prior to my visit, I made it a point to avoid any POVs on YouTube and be fully surprised with the experience.  I have ridden Curse of DarKastle at Busch Gardens Williamsburg; so I thought I knew what the ride would be like, at least from a movement standpoint going from screen to screen, but boy was I wrong. 

The ride is incredibly fast paced.  It gets going from the first scene and never lets up.  Drawing from my memory of DarKastle I recall always noticing when we got to a new movie screen, with Transformers the surroundings and videos blended seamlessly.  There was a few times where I felt speechless at the quality of theming and sheer size of the sets, only to realize that huge scene I was looking at was all CGI projections on a screen.  I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced such visual quality from a projected film on an amusement park attraction.

Like the park's Simpsons ride, Transformers has humorous and fun videos playing in the queue.

The ride’s story is easy to follow and exciting to watch unfold, and just like Indiana Jones Adventure, the ride never forgets you are simply tourist thrown into an extraordinary story.   Your transforming ride vehicle, EVAC, even talks you and tries to keep everyone calm as he tries to get everyone out of harms way.  I feel like this adds something to the ride, making it easier on the riders to suspend disbelief. 

By the end of the ride, the cars return with laughing cheering guests who are still riding the adrenaline rush.  And this ride succeeds in getting your adrenaline pumping, in fact I’m not sure a non-coaster has ever got my blood pumping quite like this thing.

After my ride I thought about how I would describe this attractions.  It’s not an ok ride; shoot, I can’t even describe it as a great ride.  The only two words I can really say are game changer.  What this ride says is that Universal will no longer back down in submission to Disney’s iron grip on the Southern California market.  This ride doesn’t just say Universal can also build big themed dark rides, it says they can build them better.  I will make one of the boldest statements I’ve probably ever said about a ride; Transformers is the best amusement park attraction I have ever experienced.  My grade for it is an A++.

That will wrap us up this time.  Check back later this week for a brief look at Buena Vista Street before we bring you full coverage of the openings of LEX LUTHOR: Drop of Doom and SUPERMAN Ultimate Flight.

A Western View - Superman's Shield

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom invited us out early this morning to witness the park placing the large Superman shield onto their new coaster, Superman Ultimate Flight.

The ride recently had its track work complete and looks amazing!

But the real reason we are here is to see the massive 2,000 pound Superman shield put into place.

The shield looks great during the day and will use LED lighting to be lit up at night.

It wasn’t all about the shield today; workers were out in full force checking track bolts and painting the tunnel.  Inside the tunnel, there will be lighting effects all the way down.  Premier Rides was also onsite finishing up the LSM alignments preparing for ride testing. 

The park also had some queue theming out on display.   I know Lex Luthor, but I’m not familiar with the other villains.  We weren't taken into the queue or station, the park wants to keep some thematic elements as a surprise for opening day.

Thank you to park reps, Nancy Chan and Charles Laureano, for the special look today, we can’t wait to ride this thing.  Superman Ultimate Flight officially opens to the public on Saturday June 23rd at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.  Media and Season Pass Previews will take place on Friday June 22nd.

A Western View - The Man of Steel Rises

2012’s wild card attraction continues to ride and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom’s skyline has begun to change.

Superman Ultimate Flight has risen and by the writing of this, its track work should be complete.  The ride is truly impressive in person; it towers over its surroundings.  Superman is easily the most unique new attraction of 2012 and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.

 As I stated a few days ago, signs around the park have quietly been changed from “Late Spring” to just “Coming Soon.”  Word spread earlier this week that the park accidently posted June 21^st as the Season Pass Preview and June 22^nd as opening day on the official website.  The park quickly removed the date, but the damage was done.  According to sources within the park the date is accurate right now as a target, but will likely change if any issues arise.

The park is heavily advertising the Season Pass Preview night, though no date is yet given.

The ride’s “cliffhanger” drop is seriously wicked and should give a great thrill.

And that drop head straight into the impressive non-inverting loop.

Even though it was a Sunday, crews were out in full force constructing the ride.  At least 4 track pieces were put in place over the course of the day.   The main focus was the incline out of the launch.

We had the luck of watching the park place a few pieces.

Looks like one support is a little stubborn and doesn’t want to fit properly.  

The ride actually has a number of supports that appear to have been modified and welded.

The ride awaits its giant Superman shield.

That will wrap everything up for today.  We hope to bring you more coverage in the coming week before