Inside Universal Forums

Welcome to the Inside Universal Forums! Register a free account today to become a member. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members and unlock our forums features!

  • Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.

SeaWorld Orlando's Future Plans

My guess is they're just waiting on permit approvals... the SFWMD permit just got approved on March 5th. The initial permit that was filed with Orange County on 1/13 is still awaiting plan revisions, and the new permits filed for the project on 2/10 and 2/19 are still awaiting plans to be uploaded. I'm assuming now that the SFWMD permit is approved the rest of the permits can start moving forward - hopefully we see some new documents next week!
 
This is gonna come off as sort of an unpopular opinion here, but I'm really hoping that this isn't a wing coaster. I just don't see the need for it. You already have a sitdown looper in the park. Three out of the four biggest coasters at the park are B&M's, and those same three all have a high height requirement, just like this would. It would also be pretty expensive.

A better option (and this is where the unpopular opinion part really comes in) would be the Vekoma STC/Family Boomerang combo/clones that are going to Tripsdrill and Tayto Park over in Europe. They're compact, cheaper, have a low height requirement (at least for the boomerang, not sure about the STC), and you get two coasters instead of one. You add another family coaster, which the park needs. You get a ton of station interactions. It would provide something unique to the park (the STC is more of an airtime-filled invert than it's predecessors). It would fit in the same amount of space. It's a great fit. It's not the highest or fastest or most unique thing in Orlando, but it'll get the job done better than a wing coaster would.

Some images and a video are below to show what I'm talking about.


1587619423438.png

1587619467049.png

1587619685974.png
 
Last edited:
This is gonna come off as sort of an unpopular opinion here, but I'm really hoping that this isn't a wing coaster. I just don't see the need for it. You already have a sitdown looper in the park. Three out of the four biggest coasters at the park are B&M's, and those same three all have a high height requirement, just like this would. It would also be pretty expensive.

A better option (and this is where the unpopular opinion part really comes in) would be the Vekoma STC/Family Boomerang combo/clones that are going to Tripsdrill and Tayto Park over in Europe. They're compact, cheaper, have a low height requirement (at least for the boomerang, not sure about the STC), and you get two coasters instead of one. You add another family coaster, which the park needs. You get a ton of station interactions. It would provide something unique to the park (the STC is more of an airtime-filled invert than it's predecessors). It would fit in the same amount of space. It's a great fit. It's not the highest or fastest or most unique thing in Orlando, but it'll get the job done better than a wing coaster would.

Some images and a video are below to show what I'm talking about.




My only concerns on these would be that boomerangs have horrible capacity and I still don't like Vekomas. People keep saying that the new breed of Vekomas are great but I have too much experience with their old SLC's and other coasters. I keep hoping that parks here in the states will try out more coasters from Mack or Gerstlauer.
 
This is gonna come off as sort of an unpopular opinion here, but I'm really hoping that this isn't a wing coaster. I just don't see the need for it. You already have a sitdown looper in the park. Three out of the four biggest coasters at the park are B&M's, and those same three all have a high height requirement, just like this would. It would also be pretty expensive.

A better option (and this is where the unpopular opinion part really comes in) would be the Vekoma STC/Family Boomerang combo/clones that are going to Tripsdrill and Tayto Park over in Europe. They're compact, cheaper, have a low height requirement (at least for the boomerang, not sure about the STC), and you get two coasters instead of one. You add another family coaster, which the park needs. You get a ton of station interactions. It would provide something unique to the park (the STC is more of an airtime-filled invert than it's predecessors). It would fit in the same amount of space. It's a great fit. It's not the highest or fastest or most unique thing in Orlando, but it'll get the job done better than a wing coaster would.

Some images and a video are below to show what I'm talking about.

I think something like this will come after a few more major coasters come in...They're still very much in "attract people back" mode

A B&M is a statement piece.
 
I think something like this will come after a few more major coasters come in...They're still very much in "attract people back" mode

A B&M is a statement piece.

Man, I wish they would stop thinking that bigger is better and start doing things that actually make the park better. They already have three monster B&M's! Build a great park and people will come.
 
Speaking of things that this park needs, why the heck isn't there any major flat rides in this park? I'm normally not the biggest fan of them, but this park really needs some. That S&S Screaming Swing going to BGT should have gone here, along with maybe a Zamperla Midi-Discovery and a drop tower.
 
I can't say I've ever heard anyone complain about too many B&Ms in a park

It's not really that there's too many B&M's, it's just that there isn't enough of everything else. If they were to get that Vekoma combo I mentioned above, some flats, and a simulator/dark ride, I'd be all for another B&M. But as it stands right now, it's not a great addition.
 
If it's going to be the centerpiece for their new front gate area, B&M's are arguably the most reliable and aesthetically pleasing roller coasters... so if this project still ends up happening and it is indeed a B&M, I can understand why they made that decision for this particular project.
 
Last edited:
You've obviously never run into the "Boring and Mundane" crowd who loathe them and call them all forceless and a waste.
:wave:

Ok, I won't go as far as call them a waste. But I can definitely see "boring" and these days "mundane" since there are so many B&Ms out there. Oddly enough though, 2 of my favorite B&Ms are at SWO (Manta amd Mako). But Kraken, ok now we're back to that "boring and mundane" thing we talked about earlier.
 
Last edited:
You've obviously never run into the "Boring and Mundane" crowd who loathe them and call them all forceless and a waste.
Yeah the same people who raved about Mean Streak until it became obvious it hammered your brain into oblivion :D
(And I'm sorry but the first seven seconds of The Hulk are the best anywhere lol)
 
:wave:

Ok, I won't go as far as call them a waste. But I can definitely see "boring" and these days "mundane" since there are so many B&Ms out there. Oddly enough though, 2 of my favorite B&Ms are at SWO (Manta amd Mako). But Kraken, ok now we're back to that "boring and mundane" thing we talked about earlier.

A lot of the sit down B&Ms all follow the same recipe. Lifthill, loop, diving loop, zero g roll, cobra roll, brakes and then either a loop and corkscrew or double corkscrew. Kraken, Kumba and Scream are pretty similar. Individually, they're great but the public want something a bit more unique.

Hulk's launch makes it kind of special.
 
A lot of the sit down B&Ms all follow the same recipe. Lifthill, loop, diving loop, zero g roll, cobra roll, brakes and then either a loop and corkscrew or double corkscrew. Kraken, Kumba and Scream are pretty similar. Individually, they're great but the public want something a bit more unique.

Hulk's launch makes it kind of special.
Unpopular opinion: I don't really like Cobra Rolls on any coasters particularly Suspended Coasters. In general I think the combination of Cobra Rolls and Over The Shoulder Restraints is a bad idea. I much prefer the Butterfly Loop like on Montu over the Cobra Roll.

To pull this back to SeaWorld. Speaking of "boring and mundane" B&Ms Wing Coasters are top of that list. The first time I rode GateKeeper I was impressed with how "meh" it was.
 
Unpopular opinion: I don't really like Cobra Rolls on any coasters particularly Suspended Coasters. In general I think the combination of Cobra Rolls and Over The Shoulder Restraints is a bad idea. I much prefer the Butterfly Loop like on Montu over the Cobra Roll.

To pull this back to SeaWorld. Speaking of "boring and mundane" B&Ms Wing Coasters are top of that list. The first time I rode GateKeeper I was impressed with how "meh" it was.

The problem with wing coasters is how wide the trains are. Lateral Gs are amplified because of the width so to even get a moderate force on one side, the opposite side is going to be far more tame. I've always thought that a wing coaster lends itself more to a hyper coaster layout than a looping coaster.

I'm still interested in the surf coaster idea that was trademarked by B&M and hopefully the name suggests it could fit in at SeaWorld. SeaWorld as a collective have been good customers to B&M and I could see them easily getting first dibs on such an idea.
 
Unpopular opinion: I don't really like Cobra Rolls on any coasters particularly Suspended Coasters. In general I think the combination of Cobra Rolls and Over The Shoulder Restraints is a bad idea. I much prefer the Butterfly Loop like on Montu over the Cobra Roll.

To pull this back to SeaWorld. Speaking of "boring and mundane" B&Ms Wing Coasters are top of that list. The first time I rode GateKeeper I was impressed with how "meh" it was.

"Meh" is an understatement for Gatekeeper. Wild Eagle at Dollywood was far better for some reason. Overall, wing coasters are better in theory than in practice but that is my opinion.
 
"Meh" is an understatement for Gatekeeper. Wild Eagle at Dollywood was far better for some reason. Overall, wing coasters are better in theory than in practice but that is my opinion.
I loved Wild Eagle. It literally felt like I was flying over the landscape. Also one of the smoothest rides I'd ever been on
 
Top