SeaWorld announces new eel coaster for 2018

Making good on SeaWorld’s promise to add more thrill-oriented rides, the San Diego theme park is announcing plans today for what it is calling its tallest and fastest roller coaster yet.

The Electric Eel, which would make its debut in early summer of 2018, proposes a combination of loops, twists and a nearly 150-foot high ascent followed by an inverted roll that will offer riders an upside-down view of Mission Bay.

Plans for the coaster come on the heels of already announced attractions for this year, among them the new orca encounter that will replace the long-running theatrical Shamu show, which is being gradually phased out at all the marine parks. The final One Ocean killer whale show will be this Sunday.

Also targeted for early summer is Electric Ocean, a new nighttime entertainment experience, and Ocean Explorer, which has as its centerpiece a 3-minute-long submarine ride that gives riders the sense of being a deep-sea explorer.

SeaWorld boasts that taken together, the four attractions represent the highest level of growth and investment since the park’s opening more than a half-century ago.

The coaster shouldn’t come as a surprise, as SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby and President Marilyn Hannes have hinted in recent months that the San Diego park could expect a thrill-focused ride in 2018.

“This is what Joel and Marilyn promised, which is investing in SeaWorld San Diego and changing this park,” said Brian Morrow, vice president of theme park experience design for SeaWorld Entertainment. “This is the end of that process, which is the biggest capital investment over a two-year period at this park, and it’s a big deal financially and time-wise.”

Morrow and Hannes declined to divulge the expected cost of the coaster.

The new projects come at a pivotal time for the park and its parent company as it struggles to boost attendance and revenues, which have slumped over the past two years amid harsh criticism of the marine parks’ captive breeding and treatment of killer whales.

In a move to reboot the marine parks, Manby announced early last year that it would no longer breed its population of killer whales and it would end the theatrical orca performances. Since then, in a move to sharply cut costs, the company said it would be suspending dividends to stockholders. More recently, it eliminated 320 jobs, including about 60 in San Diego.

Electric Eel, with its high-intensity thrill component, should help solidify the park’s appeal among teens and young adults, Hannes said. It is meant to be the second phase of the Ocean Explorer attraction, which has a strong educational component and is oriented more to families. It will also feature an eel aquarium.

Ocean Explorer will be located on the southeast side of the park where Animal Connections had been and before that, the old Clydesdale barn and pasture. Both Ocean Explorer and the coaster, which will be where Arctic Plaza now is, will occupy an area west of the Journey to Atlantis ride.

SeaWorld San Diego has two other coasters — Journey to Atlantis, which is partly a water ride, and Manta, which opened in 2012. Where Manta’s fastest speed is 42 mph, Electric Eel will top out at 62 mph.

“This will definitely be the most thrilling ride here at SeaWorld, and we know from consumer research and guest feedback that guests want a thrilling ride here, so Electric Eel is the perfect way to round out our ride experiences,” Hannes said.

Both the design and feel of the coaster are inspired by eels, which are known for their unique hunting abilities, moving easily in and out of crevices, tying themselves in knots and among some species, generating electricity to attack their prey, Morrow said.

“As you’re moving up the coaster, think of it as a spiral that puts you upside down, like eels that can twist their bodies as they’re moving forward,” Morrow explained. “Once you get to the 150-foot high mark you do the full inversion but there are other movements in the ride where you’re turning.”

SeaWorld designers are also working on a way to mimic the behavior of electric eels at the start of the ride. As the individual vehicles prepare to launch, riders will sense the generation of electricity via lighting and sound techniques, and people in the ride plaza will also experience that with the help of LED lights and strobes, Morrow said.

He noted that the coasters will have multiple launches, as the vehicles move forward and backward three times before completing their 150-foot high ascent.

Although San Diego maintains a 30-foot height limit in the coastal zone, SeaWorld’s approved master plan allows for an exception of up to 160 feet on four designated sites. The coaster location is one of those sites, SeaWorld San Diego spokesman David Koontz said. Approval by the California Coastal Commission will be needed before the project can move forward.

San Diego is not the only SeaWorld park enjoying new investment. The company previously announced it’s preparing to spend $175 million on new attractions across all its parks, including Florida’s first virtual reality coaster at its Orlando marine park

If SeaWorld San Diego expects to thrive over the long-term, it’s not only going to have to stay true to its mission as an educational and animal rescue enterprise, it’s also going to have to stay current with cutting-edge theme park technology, said amusement park consultant Dennis Speigel.

“They have to get away from the performance aspect of their business and focus more on the educational but blend it with the technology we’re seeing develop in the industry,” said Dennis Speigel, president of Ohio-based International Theme Park Services. “Certainly, rides will be a part of their future but SeaWorld is not perceived as a ride park but a sea life husbandry park.”

SeaWorld San Diego will in fact delve into the virtual reality realm when it introduces this year a “one-on-one” experience with the killer whales that relies on VR goggles and footage of the park’s whales. There will be an extra fee for the experience.

“Think of it as a five-minute movie where the guests can go virtually under water and above water with the whales, with a headset and up-close images of these animals,” Morrow said. “The test footage is breathtaking.”

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg