Monday, January 7, 2019

New B&M Dive Coaster - Mako - Opening in 2020 at SeaWorld San Diego


© SeaWorld San Diego
Everyone has to love a surprise announcement!  That's just what SeaWorld San Diego did this past weekend when they announced a brand new roller coaster named Mako for the park's 2020 season.  The ride will be one of B&M's dive coasters, featuring a vertical first drop to start the ride, and is already being marketed by the park as "California's tallest, longest and fastest dive coaster."

Behind The Thrills first gave us a look at the ride's concept art, up top, over the weekend.  Their story features plenty of photos from an event the park had where the ride was announced.  The park also plans to spruce up other areas of the property in the coming years, including the Shark Encounter and Penguin exhibits, according to the site.

© SeaWorld San Diego
Back to the coaster, the park released some additional statistics today.  First, the coaster will be located behind Journey to Atlantis, in what is currently a section of the parking lot.  Mako will stand 153 feet tall and feature a 143 foot first drop.  It will have almost 2,500 feet of track, and hit a top speed of 60 miles per hour.  Elements on the ride include a "barrel roll, Immelmann loop, a hammerhead turn, and a flat spin."  Mako will utilize floorless trains that have three rows of six riders.

Planning and approvals for Mako are going to start soon, so expect more details and probably a full layout to be released before too long.  For now, the coaster seems most comparable to Liseberg's Valkyria, at least in terms of B&M dive coaster height and length.

It sounds like this is the first of many exciting announcements that SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment have planned for 2020!


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