SeaWorld Just Unveiled 3 New Coasters, Including the World's Steepest Flume Drop
SeaWorld will debut three new roller coasters in 2023, one each at three of its parks.
SeaWorld is getting a jump on unveiling next year's theme park openings. It has unveiled three new roller coasters that will join its watery worlds in 2023. There will be one new ride each at parks in Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego.
As you might have expected, the new rides come with a string of superlatives so long even Daenerys Targaryen would suggest they wrap things up. This trio lays claim to being the world's first surf coaster, the longest and fastest straddle coaster on the West Coast, the world's steepest flume drop, North America's only vertical lift flume coaster, and the tallest flume drop in Texas.
At SeaWorld Orlando, Pipeline: The Surf Coaster will join Ice Breaker, a coaster that opened earlier this year. It is billed as the world's first surf coaster. The park says that "riders will encounter the rush of hanging loose on a massive wave while in a standing position as the coaster sends them through several gnarly twists and turns." It contains five airtime moments, a "wave curl" inversion, and a top speed of 60 miles per hour. Overall, the ride looks like you're standing on a gigantic surfboard, which itself is an enticing bit of design.
The park in San Diego will welcome Arctic Rescue. This ride will be the longest and fastest straddle coaster on the West Coast when it opens. The set-up looks not totally dissimilar to the vehicles you ride on Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal Studios Orlando. You'll start inside the Wild Arctic exhibit before being launched into the open while straddling a "unique snowmobile-style vehicle."
Lastly, in San Antonio, the park will add Catapult Falls, the world's steepest flume drop and the tallest flume drop in Texas. It will also be the only vertical lift flume coaster in North America. It looks like an open-air elevator that carries you up to the top of the big drop. Catapult Falls launches riders from a standstill to 30 feet per second on a water track. The 53-degree drop rushes toward the watery finale at 37 miles per hour.
Exact opening dates have not yet been announced, but all three will open in the spring of 2023.