SeaWorld's VP of rides and engineering Jonathan Smith was very insistent when he talked to me and other reporters at IAAPA that the movement in the restraints sets this apart from stand-ups that B&M used to make. Here's his exact quote:
“This is not a stand-up roller coaster, it is a surfing coaster. So there’s a lot of differences between the two. There is some movement on the restraint system, so you’re going to experience wave jumping motions as you’re maneuvering these elements. If you think about surfing, you never stand erect, or straight up, you always kind of bend your knees and control your center of gravity, and that’s what you’re going to be able to do here on Pipeline.”
SeaWorld and B&M very clearly do not want this ride associated with the older stand-up models. Whether this makes a big difference or is just PR spin will be determined once we're on the ride. Unlike some other coaster trains, the media did not get the chance to test out these seats at the expo.