SeaWorld Orlando 02/22/24 - Maybe a Little Jaded On the Old, But Thrilled With the New

SeaWorld Orlando was running a promotion for gold passes members in mid-February of this year where we could get free after-3 pm Quick Queue. I decided to pop over on a Thursday evening to snag laps on Ice Breaker and Pipeline, neither of which were open on my last visit, and then see what else I could grab in the short period of time I had after work.

I went in, grabbed my voucher, and headed to Pipeline. I immediately ran into a bit of confusion. First off, nobody was at the front of the line enforcing Quick Queue/standby separation. I would learn a few minutes later that nobody was enforcing it at the merge point, either, but as we were talking a difference of maybe ten to fifteen people’s worth of wait time, it hardly mattered. Still, it was a bad look, because anybody could avail themself of the park with nobody to stop them, and just as bad, what if a standby guest got upset? Who would be there to stick up for you? I’m reaching a bit, I know, but a setup like this was just asking for trouble, and I think SeaWorld putting guests in charge of self-enforcement is pretty well out of touch with the world we live in in 2024.

I then noticed that the voucher didn’t cover Pipeline, so I opted to hop out of line and not be that guy. Besides, the station looked crowded and I wasn’t able to easily tell how long it would be before going to my specific row, so I figured I’d try something else and come back later.

I walked over to Ice Breaker where Quick Queue, while still not being overly essential, at least afforded a more measurable benefit. However, the same problem existed as at Pipeline: no enforcement. It’s not like I was behind a ton of people, but seriously, anybody could’ve just walked up Quick Queue. Not a good look.

The ride operators were pleasant enough, but that famous SeaWorld sluggishness was on full display. I don’t think a train got out of that station in under three and a half minutes, with lap bars usually not even locked until the other train on the track was parked on the brakes outside the station. There were several instances of ride operators having to take glasses to the bins and such which, again, wouldn’t be an issue if the ride entrance had anyone there. Eventually, though, trains would make there way out, and I soon found myself in the front row of the back car.

Ice Breaker was much more fun that I was expecting. I feel like I’d never read much in terms of strong sentiments one way or the other, but this, to me, was peak family coaster goodness. I can see it maybe being a bit much compared to that moniker, but it was quite a solid thriller for its size. There were some nice airtime moments, and the rear spike was great in the back car. I had a lot of fun on it, and kudos to Premier and SeaWorld for this addition.

I headed back to Pipeline afterward and found the line much as I’d left it, but I opted to wait it out as it was the other ride for which I’d came and I didn’t want to do all the extra walking to go somewhere else and then come back to it. The line moved…so-so. Unlike Ice Breaker, they were only running one train, which is something I generally find borderline ridiculous. I get the whole notion of wear and tear, but come on: this is a market with top-notch operations at all the other major players in town. SeaWorld had only two operators checking the train on each coaster I rode that evening, which is…fine, but two trains should’ve been on the track. They were dispatching this one a bit quicker than Ice Breaker, but it was still slow, so a station wait still meant you would be there for a bit.

As for the ride? Well, again, it delivered, and more than I’d been led to believe. As opposed to Ice Breaker, I’d heard more prominent praise for this one, but I still feel like it was undersold. In a general sense, this is a stand-up concept that really works. I maintained that Mantis was the best B&M at Cedar Point, so I’ve always been able to overlook the flaws in the design, but it’s amazing to see that they could be overcome and a whole new world of possibilities be opened. As for the specific design of Pipeline, they really capitalized. Airtime takes on a whole new meaning when you’re in a standing position, effectively jumping off of a moving vehicle and hovering for a bit before coming back down. Along those lines, there were more moments of it than I’d realized. I felt like I heard that there was one really strong moment, and maybe my memory is just fuzzy on that, but there were several really sustained moments. It was great.

Having checked off the two new-to-me credits, I headed toward the back of the park with the hope of getting laps on Mako and Kraken. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t that concerned with a lap on Manta that evening. I got to Mako first, apparently right after a downtime, and walked into a nearly empty station. The same issues surrounding a lack of monitoring of Quick Queue existed here, too, but like I said, the station was practically empty, and I got the impression that this was not some abnormal situation. That whole part of the park felt…quieter, so maybe the ride was not overly crowded for some time. Anyway, I decided to skip the myriad of open rows to get into the front row after maybe a one-train wait thanks to another group of three allowing me to join. Two-train ops on this one, by the way, and compared to the other two, the crew here showed that even if they didn’t always deliver, they at least had the ability to avoid stacking.

Oh, and kudos to them for not having seatbelts on this. Come on, Cedar Fair.

This is where I referenced maybe being a little jaded in the title. It felt a bit like…I’ve done this. I’ve experienced this enough to where sensations come off as highly predictable and almost…duller. There were still some moments of greatness, but it felt like I was almost watching something happen versus actually experiencing it. It’s odd, because I don’t ride coasters of this caliber with the regularity I once did, but I can’t pinpoint why it feels so underwhelming now. I don’t know if it’s repetition, evolution in roller coaster design that has raised the bar in intensity, or even just being by myself, but something about this Mako lap just didn’t do what I was expecting. Now, that said, I’ve found Mako to be solid if a bit middle-of-the-road for B&M megacoasters, so it might just be that I forgot that it wasn’t a major thriller to begin with, but despite it probably being the objectively best ride of the night, it was Ice Breaker and Pipeline that brought me the greatest joy.

I went off to get a Kraken lap afterward, but it was closed, and it looked like that is standard operating procedure given the way they just fenced off the midway to that part of the park. I considered trying Manta after all, but ended up just deciding to call it a night.

Now, I know I’ve leveled multiple criticisms and this review has probably skewed more negative than positive, but I do want to credit SeaWorld for legitimately being a nice park. My frustration is that I don’t think they deliver in terms of ride operations, and when riding things is a key part of my experience that day, it really becomes pronounced. It’s also frustrating because they absolutely could do better, and just seeing the lack of effort over so many years to improve this aspect of the experience is disappointing. I’ve little to no criticism of the other aspects of the SeaWorld experience, and were it not for the operations, I’d even go so far as to call it one of the best overall parks out there. It’s like this one nagging thing that holds them back.

With all that said, though, it’s important for me to end on a high note: SeaWorld has done a good job of carving out a niche to replace the orcas as the focal point. The coaster collection is the best of any park in town by a considerable margin, with not a slouch in the bunch and the quantity continuing to grow. On top of that, while Ice Breaker and Pipeline don’t seem to be quite as done-up as the others, it’s not like they stick out as being generic in their styling. They both fit, and I feel like SeaWorld has shown that you can get a park with the balance of theme and thrills that you’d see in many of the strong European parks. I’m glad to see the approach they’ve taken here and I truly do hope to see them continue to succeed.

Maybe “Free Quick Queue” means “Free-For-All Queue”.
It was actually the day of the incentive prize pizza party and ride ops got to go home at 3.

I've heard this kind of feedback about SeaWorld in the past. Is it just because it's the off season or is it always like this?

I don’t recall making any summer visits, and I suspect that they probably up the train count on rides like Pipeline on weekends and during rush periods, but slow operations have been a staple of SW/BG parks as long as I’ve been going. You might luck out and get a decent crew once in a while, but generally speaking, they’re among the slowest out there.

sirloindude:

I suspect that they probably up the train count on rides like Pipeline on weekends and during rush periods

Seriously? Even on a Saturday, they’ll only run one train on Pipeline? Oof.

My last visit was on a Saturday and everything ran one except Ice Breaker.

When I was there last week I saw Kraken had a sign up that it closes at 5:00. They are doing the same thing at BGT with Kumba, there was a sign there stating it only runs from 11 - 5. The Skyride also runs 10:30 - 4 on Monday - Thursday and until 6 on Friday - Sunday.

I have found Quick Queue enforcement just varies each day. Ice Breaker almost always has someone at the entrance checking for Quick Queue, same for Kraken because you board at the exit. The other rides they check sometimes.

YoshiFan:

When I was there last week I saw Kraken had a sign up that it closes at 5:00. They are doing the same thing at BGT with Kumba, there was a sign there stating it only runs from 11 - 5

There are plenty of parks where this kind of thing would be expected and understandable. But not parks with a single day ticket price point of $100+ where you can see Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando from the tops of the tall rides.