ORLANDO, Fla. – SeaWorld Orlando park leaders Tuesday unveiled the new ride vehicle for their all new rollercoaster, Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, at IAAPA at the Orange County Convention Center.
The attraction, currently under construction near the front of the park, is set to debut in 2023.
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“This is a surfing experience. First ever at a theme park, so it is the world’s first surf coaster. Our surfers get to experience wave jumping motions, feeling like they’re actually surfing,” said Jonathan Smith, vice president of rides and engineering at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
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SeaWorld is working hand-in-hand with its partner B&M Rides to bring this all new attraction to life. The newly patented ride vehicle is designed to look like a surfboard with the reactive vehicle restraint system moving and leaping upon every twist or turn riders will face.
“So it’s like you’re controlling your center of gravity on your surfboard while you’re maneuvering these wave elements,” said Smith.
Leaders said when guests board the rollercoaster, they will have to step up onto the unique surfboard-shaped ride vehicle.
In terms of construction, leaders say they are in the middle of ride installation, building stations and the supporting buildings for the attraction.
“We’ve finished the first element which is the hammerhead wave. We’ve also finished our second element leaving us in the middle of erecting a wave curl inversion as it stands today,” Smith explained. “So there is electrical work going on, concrete work, iron work. A little bit of every discipline is on site today as we are installing the ride. It’s a pretty exciting time to be there.”
The ride will feature a number of thrills as it races up to heights of 110 feet in the air along the 2,950 feet of track. The surf coaster will send riders on a journey reaching max speeds of 60 mph, with five different airtime moments and lasting a total of 1 minute and 50 seconds.
Pipeline: The Surf Coaster has a projected height requirement of 54 inches.
When the coaster opens in spring 2023, it will join a lineup of other exciting attractions, including Mako, Kraken, Manta and Ice Breaker.
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