Sea Viper - New Ride

[Gold Coaster]

I think Superman Escape, Jet Rescue & Scooby Doo will still be my top 3 somehow

[brissy phil]

I find this whole Sea Viper affair highly embarrassing for Sea World.

[whitsy]

Question, And it has nothing to do with the "sea viper" and how it supposed to offer a "new ride experience" even though it's just some shitty new train Anyway whatever happened to that new show that was supposed to open?

[Gold Coaster]

It's running - twice a day, 12:30pm and 4:30pm.

Edited December 27, 2009 by Gold Coaster

[Noxegon]

Did it open yesterday as planned? Anyone actually ridden it yet?

[Gold Coaster]

Did it open yesterday as planned? Anyone actually ridden it yet?

I was told it would be opening Monday [today]. BTW Richard, the first train of the day gets me to the airport at 9:30am - I don't imagine you would clear Customs before then anyway. Should I just wait for you at that car rental desk? My avatar photo is recent so you should be able to recognise me. v I agree. But I think a high quality stunt show with a decent storyline would go down well at Seaworld. The one they have now is a bit too much like something that the Scary Movie writers would create if they were doing theme park shows. While it's pretty good as a family show, crowdsoaker/crowd-pleaser, it's ddfinitely not PASS-quality humour that's for sure. Edited December 27, 2009 by Gold Coaster

[GoGoBoy]

I would much prefer an upgraded and re-branded ride as a new attraction over a new 'show' any day...

[JD_bunnies_supporter]

I find this whole Sea Viper affair highly embarrassing for Sea World.

I have to agree! its more of a publicity stunt if you ask me. I cant see a different train, on the corkscrew track increasing attendance. but i am interested to see how much better/worse it is. Edited December 27, 2009 by JD_bunnies_supporter

[Gazza]

I rode this today. To give the quick review: There really are no significant differences with how it used to run, it's still the fun little ride it has always been. To give the long review: -In terms of cosmetic updates, the station is grey and orange inside, there is a 3D sign over the station (Hi GoGoboy!) and a plasma screen has turned up in the station, but it was showing a dos error message....fail. There's no new theming or effects around the ride unfortunately. -The new trains run perhaps slightly rougher then the old ones, but really is a minor difference and it certainly hasn't been rendered unridable or anything awful like that (Collective sigh of relief). To put it in perspective, it still runs much smoother than Cyclone (And I can make that comparison confidently since I wound up at DW later in the afternoon) -Inside the new trains, the footwell is a bit deeper which is nice, the main niggle is that the bottom of the seat is moulded a bit wierdly, so there is a bit that sticks up a bit too much under your lower thigh. Putting on my nerd cap for a second, a nice little touch was that the custom grip treads on the side of the train with the sea viper logo moulded into it...barely visible in this shot: http://www.parkz.com.au/photo/large/genera...er_DSCF1936.JPG -Overall, its really just a technical update, and not any sort of new experience really, you could spot a few things like modern style hydraulic harnesses, onboard LEDs showing the status of each harness, the train self parking, and some new controls. So to sum up, same old same old, (But I think we already knew that) the main benefit of the update obviously lies with the park itself given the updated equipment. Wow, I wrote too much then!

Edited December 29, 2009 by Gazza

[rappa]

So given the kick panels at the front and the large wrap around metal plate at the rear completely destroy the concept of having a more open design, what exactly is the full story with these post design additions to the train? They look pretty ridiculous and 'stuck on.'

[GoGoBoy]

-In terms of cosmetic updates, the station is grey and orange inside, there is a 3D sign over the station (Hi GoGoboy!)

Haha thanks Gazza. So Glad they have gone back to implementing proper theme park signage. There is a video of Sea Viper on Youtube and I happened to notice the sign in that... I must say I was quite happy. Certainly much better than Jet Rescue's 2D sign. Is that all there is though? I would expect there to be additional signage and some theming (even if minimal) at the entrance to the ride eg. over or next to the pathway Edited December 29, 2009 by GoGoBoy

[Gazza]

So given the kick panels at the front and the large wrap around metal plate at the rear completely destroy the concept of having a more open design, what exactly is the full story with these post design additions to the train? They look pretty ridiculous and 'stuck on.'

The kick boards had me scratching my head, because there is no way you could get your feet all the way up there The wrap around plate looks to be a unique feature though, the other installation of these trains is completely different, and has hurty looking bars all the way up the side: (source: http://www.rcdb.com/897.htm?p=13383 ) To be honest, I'm a bit concerned that advertising this is an 'all new experience' is quite misleading and could result in guest disappointment. I personally would've let this go as a quiet update, much like how they didn't make too much of a hoo-ha about the whitewater flumes at WnW being replaced with the new green ones. Edited December 29, 2009 by Gazza

[rappa]

Funny thing is though I don't think those wrap arounds were on from the point of delivery. I'll check another photo tomorrow but I'm pretty sure they have been retrofitted later.

[GoGoBoy]

Those wrap around panels look awful... just awful. They look like something from a 1970's carnival ride. I agree with the sentiment on here - what is the point of these new 'open' carriages if you have to completely close them in? It really takes away from the modern design. Wouldn't their engineers have told them this before they ordered the trains? Are these really the best carriages they could have opted for considering the modifications which had to be made?

[Noxegon]

Thanks to everyone who helped me out over the last few days - much appreciated. I'll gladly return the favour if anyone is over my direction in the future.

[GoGoBoy]

Thanks for the photos by the way Gazza. I was just looking through them and I have to say despite my earlier negative comments regarding the additions to the trains, the trains themselves actually look pretty good from the front. I really like the seat backs although unfortunately these get covered by people sitting in them. I also think the nose of the trains (including the branding) look quite sleek

[rappa]

Hey Richard Nice to meet you today, pity time was so short and we were at MW on one of the busiest days in park history. Still, good to have Scooby and Superman running in top form Have a great new years in Sydney, let me know if you need any more tips. ***thread hijack over***

[GoGoBoy]

Hey Richard Nice to meet you today, pity time was so short and we were at MW on one of the busiest days in park history.

Any reason behind MW having one of the busiest days in park history? I hope SW has been equally as busy as they have recently added 2 'new rides' with Jet Rescue and Sea Viper. Movie World hasn't done a lot lately so I wonder what would justify this big increase in numbers

[MickeyD]

not sure if anyone else has noticed this but it seems to take the average jo a while to cotton on to what's on offer in the Parks. For years the general attitude amongst the locals was MW was crap and there wasn't enough to do there. I guess finally the tables are turning? Likewise DW has enjoyed great attendances for years without any new (worthy) additions. It's just an assumption thing the general consensus has I suppose. Other reasons as well; Traditionally the days of the 27th - the 30th of December have brought MW it's highest attendance figures for the year. Add to this fact that the weather has been terrible pretty much since xmas with yesterday being about the best of the bad bunch. People were no doubt holding off. As for SW, I guess it's that same public perception rule that many people have. I bet you'll find that alot of people out there aren't even aware the park has a new coaster - and a dam good one at that too! er no i am not referring to the sea viper;) I always thought WVTP's marketing department lets their park's down not delivering a very clear message to the public (wetnwild adds aside). On the other hand DW's advertising is always very vibrant and showcases a bewildering range of features in such a short time, really capturing the market.

[Gazza]

^Hit the nail on the head. The advertising for WnW does a damn good job at making the park look awesome, and they run some of the best theme park ads I have seen anywhere. Similarly, Stunt Driver has had a good amount of advertising, not just on TV, but train stations, bus shelters and shopping centers around Brisbane and the Gold Coast have had plenty of posters promoting it too, as well as in the newspapers. But Jet Rescue has had completely inadequate advertising as far as I'm concerned...I don't remember seeing any ads in print or on posters, and the TV advertising for the ride was at best mentioning it for a couple of seconds as part of a 'general' ad for the park....Back in January. I think this lack of advertising is to blame for the ride not having the impact it should have on attendance, which in turn would be impacting on the return on investment. That said, I don't think its too late to perhaps relaunch the ride...Do a double barrelled campaign with Jet Rescue and Sea Viper together...The promise of more excitement could really work at that public perception of the place.

[SuperYoshi]

the train self parking,

Doesn't look like it lasted long unless today was an exception. Was it smooth for you? Today and it was stopping and starting, like The Cyclone. It seemed the ride op was doing it manually.

[Gazza]

It was parking 'Cyclone style' when I was there.

[SuperYoshi]

I'd also like to add my 2 cents worth. Honestly I don't think that the coaster needed a rebranding, as someone said earlier in the thread people are familiar with Corkscrew, its what people think of Sea World. It also doesn't help when the company does not put enough effort into advertising it. I heard many people talking about how they were going to ride the Corkscrew when I was entering the park, completely clueless that the corkscrew was no more, and that a (IMO) failed attempt of re launching a ride stood in its place. The ride experience hasn't changed much for me, and there are no big visual changes. A new coat of paint and a sign makes it a new ride? We'll if that worked then we would be getting new thrill rides at Dreamworld every year. IMO WVTP failed at this, they should've sticked to the corkscrew. Done all of the "under the hood" refurbishments and replaced the trains, but kept the name. If anyone loves this "new" ride please don't shoot me, It's good. But not worth the re-branding.

Edited January 10, 2010 by JAKE__

[Reanimated35]

It was parking 'Cyclone style' when I was there.

I was watching it the other day when JetRescue was broken down and thought its stopping pattern was weird, then i realised it stopped just outside the station on those initial brakes. Then it just sat there for 5-10 minutes, then when it finally made it back, it sat in the station for ages then left empty... then that cycle repeated itself. Fortunately they managed to get everything sorted after that, and JR opened again (had to fix some valve looking thing under the station) but for a short while, SeaWorld had 2 broken coasters :S

[bluman]

Was that last Monday? We were in the queue when it happened. Apparently the breaking system wouldn't allow the train to return to the station and an engineer had to come in to override the sytem. They then reset and sent the train through 2 cycles before allowing passengers back on. I didn't realise Jet Rescue was down at the same time. Bermuda Triangle had issues earlier in the day too!

I was watching it the other day when JetRescue was broken down and thought its stopping pattern was weird, then i realised it stopped just outside the station on those initial brakes. Then it just sat there for 5-10 minutes, then when it finally made it back, it sat in the station for ages then left empty... then that cycle repeated itself. Fortunately they managed to get everything sorted after that, and JR opened again (had to fix some valve looking thing under the station) but for a short while, SeaWorld had 2 broken coasters :S