Kraken Unleashed

[UAN17]

Not sure if fan art or official but found on Twitter @seaworldtyler

 

[Scott W.]

Not sure if fan art or official but found on Twitter @seaworldtyler

Great find!

 

[UAN17]

Same source as above...looks like both these and Kraken are official images

 

[shiekra38]

So the JTA refurb must be out then?

Excited to have a VR coaster local

 

[Parkscope Joe]

• More vehicles will be run and more team members present to compensate for slower load times

The "more vehicles" part makes ZERO sense to compensate. If you can't push vehicles out of load then adding more vehicles doesn't matter.

 

[IzzyB]

The "more vehicles" part makes ZERO sense to compensate. If you can't push vehicles out of load then adding more vehicles doesn't matter.

could they extend the load/unload area to fit two coasters?

 

[TheGentTrent]

If the VR headset is attached to the coaster, how are they going to be able to clean them without compromising dispatch time?

 

[Brian G.]

FWIW we will be at the media event tmw. We'll have all the goodies later on.

 

[IAIN TRAYNOR]

Newbie here so please go easy.

The only VR coaster I've ridden has been Galactica at Alton Towers. Not a great experience at all. Seriously slow despatch times due to having to clean the headsets after each cycle especially due to them being attached to the seats. The time taken to fit and adjust the headset to each guest means there is a ride host to each row of seats.

The experience itself wasn't great as the headset needed constant adjustment throughout the ride due to it moving around. This was probably due to it being a B&M flyer and the posistion you are in. Observing from the ground I noticed most riders with both hands on the headsets trying to hold them in posistion.

The VR was juddering at times and the timing slightly off with the elements of the ride and therefore didn't impress me much.

Unloading time is only as good loading time so at the end of the ride I was left hanging outside for over 10 minutes before entering the station.

That's only my experience, others of course will differ and Kraken will of course will be different again. I just hope SeaWorld will have more luck than Alton Towers with VR as it has been plagued with problems from the start, one of them being overheating of the VR sets to the extent that they drilled holes in the headset housings to allow airflow and I'm sure you'll agree England isn't the warmest place most of the year round.

I believe VR will have it's place on robotic rides like forbidden journey at IOA, though imagine how much you would have to slow that ride down to allow for loading and unloading with VR. The queue would be back to city walk.

VR on a coaster, well I'm yet to be convinced.

 

[Scott W.]

New, Exciting Attractions & Encounters Planned for 2017

could they extend the load/unload area to fit two coasters?

I'd say part of the problem is that it's a floorless coaster and requires a bit more complexity than a normal station because of the moving floor but it can be done like on SheiKra, it will just be a long station and if they're planning on enhancing the queue, I don't see any reason why not.

This raises the question though, will it still be a floorless coaster?

If the VR headset is attached to the coaster, how are they going to be able to clean them without compromising dispatch time?

That's a good point. I was in the JP Discovery Centre, last week and tried the glasses attached to the dinosaurs so you can see what they see and they were vile.

There is a lot of sweat in that Florida heat.

 

[Honor_Knight]

This is so lazy of SW. Building an entire NEW coaster did little to bump attendance, so now slapping some VR goggles on their oldest coaster will help?
#goingoutofbusiness

 

[GAcoaster]

This is so lazy of SW. Building an entire NEW coaster did little to bump attendance, so now slapping some VR goggles on their oldest coaster will help?
#goingoutofbusiness

While it is their oldest coaster, it is still a good coaster and they are (in a cost effective way) adding a new feature to it to make people come back and ride it again. That is a SMART move.

 

[Brian G.]

Talking with Brian Morrow about Kraken VR and 2017's additions. Will have soon.

 

[Scott W.]

Talking with Brian Morrow about Kraken VR and 2017's additions. Will have soon.

He's truly a great salesman. I'm completely sold now.

 

[IzzyB]

He's truly a great salesman. I'm completely sold now.

Agreed. When I first heard about this I thought it was dumb and not a good move. The more I hear about it, if it comes true, it will be pretty cool. Looking forward to the summer party too. Food and Wine should be fun too.

 

[Brian G.]

Article should be up shortly. It covers a lot, but if you have any questions about what's not covered... I'll probably have an answer for that.

 

[UAN17]

Any idea how long Kraken will be down to implement VR?

I suspected I'd miss out on a few key rides going in May but my favourite Orlando Coaster is a bit of a downer...but I guess that's what makes Orlando so great, the continuous enhancements.

 

[Brian G.]

Any idea how long Kraken will be down to implement VR?

I suspected I'd miss out on a few key rides going in May but my favourite Orlando Coaster is a bit of a downer...but I guess that's what makes Orlando so great, the continuous enhancements.

They have no timetable of when it's going down, but said soon. I'd guess end of Oct/beg of Nov.

The "more vehicles" part makes ZERO sense to compensate. If you can't push vehicles out of load then adding more vehicles doesn't matter.

could they extend the load/unload area to fit two coasters?

Morrow said the loading platform will be redesigned, along with the addition of more team members. The idea is since the the headset is already connected, that will cutdown on dispatch time.

 

[Brian G.]

Also, this is a long one... but here's the full announcement



And the article with all bits of info:

SeaWorld Orlando Announces 2017 Attraction Plans; Adding Virtual Reality to Kraken « Orlando United

 

[UAN17]

They have no timetable of when it's going down, but said soon. I'd guess end of Oct/beg of Nov.





Morrow said the loading platform will be redesigned, along with the addition of more team members. The idea is since the the headset is already connected, that will cutdown on dispatch time.

Seems a hellish long down time but hopefully I'll get a welcome suprise and the project will finish well ahead of schedule. Maybe some caution in their summer announcement with it being new tech? I'm probably just dreaming too much!