New Launched Roller Coaster - Electric Eel - Coming to SeaWorld San Diego in 2018

Continuing the recent trend of early 2018 announcements, SeaWorld San Diego has revealed plans for an exciting new roller coaster, named Electric Eel, to open at the park in 2018.

© SeaWorld San Diego

Electric Eel will feature "multiple-launch elements, high-energy twists, and heart-pounding loops" and also be the tallest roller coaster at the park, standing 150 feet in the air.  The coaster will be one of Premier Rides' Sky Rocket II designs, the same as Tempesto which opened at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2015.

The coaster will be an expansion of the all new Ocean Explorer realm, the first section of which will open later this year and feature multiple rides and attractions.  The addition of the coaster will make the themed area the largest new attraction premier in the park's history.

© SeaWorld San Diego

Riders aboard Electric Eel will start in a themed station, depicted above in concept art, and be launched forward up part of the ride's track, then launched backward even faster, before launching forward again at more than 60 miles per hour.  Once the trains blast up to 150 feet above the park they slowly encounter a full heartline roll, then dive downward through a twisting loop.

The ride will be complimented by a new live eel habitat that will open this year as part of the new Ocean Explorer area.  The habitat will feature large viewing windows that allow visitors to "plunge into the world of the eel as they swim and dart through the caves and crevasses of their naturalistic deep-ocean environment."  The roller coaster will also feature compelling interactive and educational experiences using state-of-the-art technologies.

The new ride will become a part of Ocean Explorer on a two acre site on the eastern part of the park, near Journey to Atlantis.  Here's a teaser video the park has released for the attraction: