SeaWorld has confirmed the long-standing rumor. Another roller coaster is on the way to SeaWorld Orlando.
With the rumored codename of “Project Toboggan,” this roller coaster is expected to be a family-friendly thrill ride. After the success of opening the world’s first surf coaster, SeaWorld Orlando isn’t slowing down.
SeaWorld confirmed the arrival of roller coaster track today in a tweet. With a delivery from Switzerland, it appears track installation will begin very soon.
Unofficial ride concept POV
Fan designs like this have built hype and perhaps pushed SeaWorld Orlando to announce this project early. SeaWorld Orlando has announced projects like this in the past, with more official details happening in fall and a ride vehicle reveal at the IAAPA Expo in November. This timing seems to line up.
Rumored ride theme
With the name toboggan, and being in the Antartica section of the park, the obvious theme seems to be snow. From surf to snow would also be a good spin for the marketing term for their new coaster offerings. Busch Gardens Williamsburg, SeaWorld San Antonio and SeaWorld San Diego all share a roller coaster ride vehicle design.
It all began with Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster at SeaWorld San Antonio. This innovative above-water family coaster “made waves” and proved to be a ride system that SeaWorld Entertainment liked.
Much like with the San Diego version, Arctic Rescue, this Orlando roller coaster could be themed a snowmobile. Or, it could be entirely different from what we were expecting.
Black coaster track in a small area
The shared photo clearly shows black track. This could lead us to believe the entire track itself is black, or it could be meant to confuse. This roller coaster could have an indoor loading area with a short show element to begin the ride. If so, this black track could be from the inside where the theming isn’t needed for the track. Then the coaster track transitions to snowy white or another color outdoors.
As for the coaster itself, rumors all point towards a family friendly ride. This would make sense with the amount of room allocated for this ride. It would also make sense to add more family options with the recent installation of Pipeline: The Surf Coaster and Icebreaker. Pipeline: The Surf requires riders to be 54 inches tall, stand during the ride and go through an inversion. Icebreaker requires riders to be 48 inches tall and has numerous stomach dropping moments as well as a multi-launch element.
The addition of a family friendly ride with a height requirement somewhere near 40 to 44 inches would be greatly appreciated by families with younger kids. This ride is also on nearly the exact opposite side of Sesame Street Land. While pre-schoolers wouldn’t be riding on this, it seems SeaWorld has areas of age groups.
Age group areas at SeaWorld Orlando
Sesame Street Land is great for younger kids. Nearby is Infinity Falls, Icebreaker, Orca Stadium, Mako and the Wild Arctic. This area of the park has big thrill, family friendly options, animal experiences and a show.
The Antartica area currently has same style offerings nearby with Kraken, Journey To Atlantis, Manatee Rescue and the Dolphin Stadium. A major thrill ride, a ride that families can enjoy and animal experiences. The addition of this family coaster would offer a family attraction that wouldn’t soak the whole group.
The third theoretical section of SeaWorld Orlando has Manta, Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, Sky Tower, Dolphin Nursery, Stingray Feeding and the central hub of the park for events.
If you are willing to think of SeaWorld Orlando in these three sections, you can see areas that each has thrill rides, family entertainment, options for young kids, animal encounters and shows. This family style roller coaster makes sense where it is.
What next? We have to wait for another tweet or Facebook post for that. For now, we know that SeaWorld Orlando is getting another roller coaster. I previously wrote an article for Attractions Magazine detailing why this roller coaster direction makes sense for SeaWorld Orlando.
Construction isn’t limited to SeaWorld though. DreamWorks Land construction has gone vertical at Universal Studios Florida. Read up on this upcoming kids offering.
