Australia's Sea World to Build New Wooden Roller Coaster for 2020

© Sea World

Sea World theme park, located on the Gold Coast in Australia, has announced a major expansion, costing $50 million, that will last over the next 18 months.

Sea World, which is a part of the Village Roadshow group of parks, will build The New Atlantis, a themed section that will contain three separate thrill rides when complete.  Featuring plenty of statues, water falls, fountains and hanging gardens, The New Atlantis will be an immersive addition to the park.

Opening in December of 2019 (which is the park's summer season) is Vortex, a large Top Spin type of attraction.  Located right on the edge of the park by the water, the ride will have plenty of fountains under it and feature multiple rotations, inversions, and forces up to 3.5gs.

Up next in April of 2020 is Trident, a 170 foot tall swing ride that is themed as a giant trident - giving it a fitting name indeed.

© Sea World

The third ride, and easily the most exciting is Leviathan, a brand new wooden roller coaster opening in December of 2020.  Concept art for the twisted ride can be seen above, and according to RCDB the ride will stand around 105 feet tall and be designed by The Gravity Group.  The coaster's layout appears to wrap around itself several times, and one news article about the expansion mentioned that one of the ride's cars will be turned around backward.

The park also released a video showing off the new rides, including some animated shots of Leviathan in action.  Check it out below.

Sea World Australia Announces Summer Season Additions

© Sea World Australia

It's cold and often dreary in my neck of the woods right now, but Australia is celebrating their Summer season, and Sea World has several new additions to show off.  Granted this year the park is not debuting anything quite as catchy as last year's Storm Coaster (a Mack water coaster), but for an 'off year' it is nice to see any additions, really.

The first item is a new dolphin show that "celebrates the remarkable relationship between dolphins and humans, taking guests on an unforgettable journey in an encounter with one of the world’s most intriguing animals."

© Sea World Australia

Regarding the new dolphin show, park Manager of Entertainment, Michael Croaker points out that “Sea World is well known for its world class entertainment as well as its focus on conservation and education. The new dolphin show will highlight the powerful bond shared between the magical marine mammals and humans all while educating guests on how they can make a difference to actively care for marine life."

© Sea World Australia

The second addition to the park is a first for all of Australia, a meet and greet location with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  This is the first time the crew has appeared in any theme park in the country, and the group - along with their Shellraiser - will be appearing daily.

Sea World Australia already features many other Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.  For more information on Sea World Australia, click here.

Sea World Australia Opens New Storm Water Coaster

Combining a Mack water coaster with some pretty neat theming has resulted in the newly opened Storm Coaster at Sea World - Gold Coast in Australia.  The parks down there are just starting their summer season, so a new ride opening is perfect timing for the crowds on holiday!

Themed to the effects of a strong tropical cyclone, the Storm Coaster features the final plunge seen above that takes coast guard themed boats below the water level, then up into rapids that lead to a themed indoor section.  Designed by Mack rides, the Storm Coaster is a clone of the water coaster at Djurs Sommerlan.  It stands just under 100 feet tall and has a large helix section after the initial lift hill, a maximum speed of over 40 miles per hour and around 1,500 feet of track.

The theming used to show the effects of the storm includes many crashed shipping containers, upturned boats, and other props under the ride's main path.

After the final plunge there is, of course, a splash, but during the gradual turn back to the boarding area there are special effects scenes of damage that depict faux flames and water explosions - a pretty neat way to end the experience.  There's a low-quality point of view video of the Storm Coaster as part of this news article, if you want to take a peek.

The Storm Coaster replaced the Bermuda Triangle dark/splash ride at Sea World - Gold Coast, which closed in 2010.  I'm pleased to see another instillation of the Mack water coaster hardware, as there have been relatively few over the years.  North America park visitors will recognize the system as having been used on Journey to Atlantis in both SeaWorld Orlando and San Diego.

Sea World Australia's New Coaster

Sea World Australia, located on the Gold Coast (see insanely beautiful photo above), is currently working on a new coaster that is scheduled to open during their summer 2008 season.

Theme Park Photography has some very nice photos of the ride under construction. It's launched and is full of low to the ground quick turns. Called Jet Rescue, it appears as though this just may be the world's 2nd Aquatrax ride from Intamin. The trains for the ride are themed to jet skis. Cool!

It looks like fun, whatever it is.