Specific Type: Family Launch Coaster
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Since 2013, SeaWorld has been swimming in controversy. After the release of the documentary Blackfish, the nationwide theme park chain has been the subject of great media attention as well as declining attendance. As a result, SeaWorld took action and announced plans in 2016 to refocus the presentation of their parks. Rather than focus on animal-based entertainment, the company planned to focus more on marine life education, as well as SeaWorld’s animal rescue programs. As apart of this refocus, SeaWorld San Antonio announced the addition of a brand new roller coaster, the park’s first since 2007, for 2017. Set almost entirely over the park’s lake, Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster, is a family launched roller coaster designed by Intamin . Promoted as the first of its kind in the United States, Wave Breaker marked the return of Intamin to the American coaster industry after a three year hiatus since their last roller coaster project in the country.
Riders begin their experience by boarding the jet-ski like trains emblazoned with the SeaWorld rescue symbols. Straddling their seats as if they were on a jet-ski, riders sit in an upright position and begin their journey with a right turn quickly taking them into a building. Suddenly, riders are given a mission briefing from TV screens presented on both sides of the train, informing riders of what animal rescue they will be performing. Once the briefing is complete, a countdown begins, the door ahead opens and the trains are propelled forward at 44 mph and swoop upwards and to the right and fly over an airtime hill, before taking a downwards left turn towards the lake. The train encounters a number of tight transitions and turns close to the surface of the lake, carrying riders through a series of wide left and right turns with intermittent snappy s-bend elements. After a 180-degree left turn, the train enters the second launch track, catapulting riders to the highest point on the ride of 61 feet, before sweeping down towards the water once again. The train shifts right before taking a large left turn over a small island in the middle of the lake. The train straightens out over the water, before taking riders through one smaller right turn upwards, and then one more into the final brake run, leaving both younger and older audiences thrilled after a wild experience on this |
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