SeaWorld Tops Out Orlando's Tallest Roller Coaster

January 7, 2016 at 7:13 PM · Sea World's descent to 'Six Flags' continues with more cheap coasters.

January 7, 2016 at 7:36 PM · Yeah, building more themeless coasters is not going to help Sea World. The marketplace has left them behind and they just don't know how to recover.

January 7, 2016 at 9:06 PM · Tallest until the Skyplex is completed.

January 7, 2016 at 9:19 PM · There are plenty of ways to recover. The ideology of the park and marine life gives them endless options to create new worlds, mythical areas, conservation, etc ... instead they have taken the direction let's just throw a few 'cheap' Six Flag type attractions at it.

Whilst the Penguin attraction was a disaster in execution, the actual idea behind it wasn't too bad - and that should be the area they head too. Rather, than a mish mash of Six Flags and Marine life.

Don't think they have any visionary at the helm to make any changes.

January 8, 2016 at 3:51 AM · Let's not discredit Sea World for building a relatively themeless coaster. I'd say that Universal doesn't theme it's B&M's much better than Sea World. (The new Hulk might change that.)

With Kraken, Manta and Mako, Sea World will have a very solid trio of B&M coasters. Maybe the best trio in the US. It'll help them to set themselves apart from the offerings of its Orlando competitors. And maybe more teenagers will convince their family to spend a day at Sea World on their next theme park vacation.

January 8, 2016 at 4:57 AM · To the previous anonymous posters.

Roller coasters are not cheap. I actually debunked another anonymous poster who made such a claim when USJ announced their new Jurassic Park coaster. The newest roller coasters generally cost around $20-$25 million to build. And if that sounds cheap to you, then I'm jealous, because you're income would be higher than that of my family and every single person I know combined. Just because a ride doesn't have any fancy audio-animatronics or 3D screens doesn't mean they're not expensive. And quite frankly, there are actually a lot of people out there who would visit SWO
for Mako. Within our little sphere of diehard theme park fans is another sphere of diehard iron ride fans. These people don't care as much about how intricately themed or incredibly detailed your rides are, just give them a slew of world-class, record-breaking coasters and they're fine. You just don't see those people so often on this site because Disney and Universal are usually the hot topic around here. I would like to conclude by saying that SWO already tried themed entertainment with Empire of the Penguin, but that ride didn't really recieve many good reviews despite being the first ride in the US to incorporate the highly-praised trackless tech from Pooh's Hunny Hunt and Mystic Manor. So, for now, it seems like skewing more towards the iron ride demographic is the only way to go.

January 8, 2016 at 5:48 AM · I've got mixed feelings about this. I do agree with the "Six Flags" inspiration going on over there, but also hear a LOT of Brazilians visiting SeaWorld for that exact reason: roller coasters. So maybe it is a good way to draw visitors to the Orlando park.
Anyway, I guess it will be a couple of years before we can actually verify what exact strategy SeaWorld parks will follow to increase its numbers...

January 8, 2016 at 7:30 AM · Actually, B&M coasters are wildly considered to best the absolute best on the planet. They are are safest with the best restraints ever developed and also the smoothest and the most reliable. SeaWorld will now have 3 world class coasters and all 3 are made by Switzerland's B&M. During difficult financial times, caused by the Blackfish film, the new CEO has taken a bold but brilliant move by installing a well themed and attention grabbing coaster that will absolutely draw in huge attendance increases and this will exist for several years as the reviews of this masterpiece spread. It is a well known fact that great new coasters increase park revenue for several years. Good luck to SeaWorld (parent of Busch Gardens) but please give up on the Orcas. That negative publicity is not going away anytime soon.

January 8, 2016 at 7:50 AM · SeaWorld is listening to what the visitors to those individual parks want and it's a good strategy. SeaWorld Orlando is more thrill oriented so they're adding a new coaster. SeaWorld San Diego is more conservation oriented so they're altering their shows to please their visitors, and SeaWorld San Antonio is getting some additions that are tailored to their demographic. Looks like CEO Joel Manby is taking this company in the right direction.

January 8, 2016 at 8:47 AM · I don't understand the negativity towards seaworld for adding more rides. I haven't been here since the mid-90's when I was a little kid. I can't wait to come here this Fall because I just found out they have a bus going straight to Bucsh Gardens Tampa as well!

January 8, 2016 at 1:01 PM · Mako may be relatively light on theming, but one thing it is not is cheap. While the exact price hasn't been released, based on the cost of other B&M hypers it is likely in the $25-30 million range. While Universal has some big roller coasters, SeaWorld is the real thrill capital of Orlando and they are trying to do something different than their competition. If the park needs visitors and their primary market is tourists who are likely also visiting Disney and/or Universal, which is more likely to attract them: A new dark ride that is a step down from what their competition offers, or the largest roller coaster in Florida?

January 10, 2016 at 8:05 AM · A lot also depends on the weather. Last 2 visits we made to Orlando it rained almost constantly. The construction video shows overcast skies, so I am wondering if calling the Florida the sunshine state is no longer true. The more miserable the weather the stronger the theming needs to be to attract people. We are thinkng of going in Sept/Oct this year, but I am having difficulty persuading the family that we will see sunshine. Last visit was in May 2013 it was really miserable wet and windy. Any advice?

January 11, 2016 at 4:15 PM · Before heaping praise or criticism on the new CEO, remember the lead time for designing / ordering / building coasters is approx. 3 years.

January 11, 2016 at 4:25 PM · ^ That's just typical Florida summers right there. Our summers usually feature torrential downpours. During that time, a really bad lightning storm is pretty much just a Typical Tuesday for us. But the rest of the year is pretty sunny overall. And this isn't anything new, that's how Florida's been since the dawn of time due to our geographical position. But hey, it's home! If you wanna visit while the weather is still warm without dealing with the rain, I suggest visiting either right before Hurricane Season, which would be Spring all the way through early June, or anytime between October 1st through Halloween. Hope you read this and it helps!