Sea World San Diego Building New Launched Family Coaster for 2023 Season

© Sea World San Diego

Sea World San Diego will be sending visitors on a brand new adventure in 2023 when the park opens their new family launched roller coaster, Arctic Rescue, this coming Spring.  Billed as the "longest and fastest straddle coaster on the West Coast," the attraction will also feature three launches to keep the vehicles moving through the course and the excitement flowing.

 

 “We’re continuously looking for ways to add new experiences to the park for our guests and this new coaster is a great addition to our ride line-up and a perfect complement to the Wild Arctic exhibit,” said Jim Lake, SeaWorld San Diego Park President. “The ride is also an educational opportunity for guests to learn more about climate change, how it impacts animals in the Arctic and what they can do to help the issue. I truly feel that seeing these animals upclose at SeaWorld allows guests to build a stronger connection and encouragement to take action to help protect them.”

 

© Sea World San Diego

Arctic Rescue will start with passengers entering the Wild Arctic exhibit and boarding snowmobile themed coaster trains.  The ride's first launch will take place indoors, sending the trains out of the building at 34 miles per hour.  The rids is themed around sending guests on a mission into the "unpredictable arctic climate to help animals in danger" and requires that passengers be only 48 inches tall to ride.

After the initial launch the coaster's layout will feature a twisted course that feature two more launches - each faster than the previous at 38 and 40 miles per hour.  The coaster will have a maximum height of 30 feet above the ground and a total track length of 2,800 feet.  Arctic Rescue will be created for the park by Intamin and features 16 passenger trains.

The new coaster is also meant to bring awareness to the effects of Global Warming in the Arctic, where many species depend on Arctic sea ice that is quickly melting away.  The effects are forcing the animals to change how they hunt, breed and migrate - and the coaster will also bring awareness to Sea World's famous animal rescue program.

SeaWorld Entertainment Showing Signs of Delaying 2020 Rides Until 2021

© SeaWorld Entertainment

We haven't had a good confirmation yet from most of the SeaWorld Entertainment parks about whether or not they would still be opening their new-for-2020 rides this year, or pushing them back until 2021.  This is of course with the exception of the Texas Stingray at SeaWorld San Antonio, which has already opened.

Some recent developments have me thinking they are looking to open the new rides (most of which are roller coasters) next year.

Social media has been buzzing the last couple days with news of a multitude of liens being placed on the company, many of which are coming out of Florida.  The liens are being placed by contractors and other vendors that have done work for the company but not been paid for it, some have even escalated into lawsuits against SeaWorld.

The Orlando Sentinel has published a story on the liens, which they report total $16 million in Orange County, Florida alone.   They include Rocky Mountain Construction still being owed $3.5 million for Iron Gwazi, and Premier Rides owed $2.7 million for Ice Breaker.  Out in California they have been sued for non-payment of work done for SeaWorld San Diego's new Emperor dive coaster.  I have not heard of any recent news related to Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, though I've also not seen any parks in Virginia be allowed to reopen or even set a date to reopen.

© SeaWorld Orlando

It sounds like although SeaWorld Entertainment technically has the funds to pay these bills, they're holding off until the parks open and they start to generate revenue again.  At least they try to politely say that in the Sentinel story.  However, that's a hard financial crush on all the vendors who still have to make ends meet and employ good people regardless - hopefully the company makes this right, and soon.

But the point of all that is that the parks that have reopened, like SeaWorld Orlando, are not showing any progress on these new for 2020 rides and if the vendors aren't being paid you can be sure they're not showing up to help, either.

As such it feels like the rides that were supposed to all be open by now very well may be new for 2021 rides, or at the least open much later in this year.  While all the new rides are exciting to have at the parks, that would probably sadly include Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa, easily one of the most anticipated new coasters of the year.

Honestly, the delay makes sense.  With attendance levels still capped for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19, it makes no sense to open a ride that is built to draw in tons and tons of visitors.  There's really no bang for the park's buck in that sense... however it doesn't justify not paying the companies who helped create it.

Bolliger & Mabillard is building for SeaWorld San Diego

The following is an unedited press release:

Emperor – Opening Summer 2020

SeaWorld San Diego has revealed the name of its record-breaking dive coaster is Emperor, opening in summer 2020.  This new roller coaster will be the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in California, as well as the only floorless dive coaster in the state.  

Climbing to 153 feet with their feet dangling in the air, riders will be suspended on a 45-degree angle at the crown of the ride before plunging down a 143-foot facedown vertical drop accelerating to more than 60 miles per hour.

Riders will also experience inversions, a barrel roll, an Immelmann loop,  a hammerhead turn and flat spin as they race along the nearly 2,500 feet of track. Each of the floorless ride cars will hold 18 riders in three, six-person rows. The coaster will be located adjacent to Journey to Atlantis in the southeast corner of the park.

Emperor is named after the emperor penguin colony at SeaWorld San Diego, which was the world’s first zoological facility and the first place outside of Antarctica to successful breed, hatch and raise emperor penguin chicks. Twenty-three emperor penguins chicks have been hatched and raised at SeaWorld San Diego since 1979.

Emperor Fast Facts

Opening Date:  Summer 2020

Conservation Partner: Penguins International

Type of Ride:  Tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in California

Special Features:   143-foot facedown vertical drop

Immelmann

Hammerhead

Barrel roll

Flat spin

Inversions

Highly banked turns

Track Length:  2,411 feet

Maximum Speed: more than 60 mph

Maximum Height:  153 feet

Seats/Train:  Floorless ride car, 18 riders per car, 6-person rows, 3-rows per car – the first seating configuration of its kind in North America.

Manufacturer:  Bolliger & Mabillard