Steel Eel FTW?

Just got back from Sea World San Antonio yesterday and was totally blown away by Steel Eel, but I never hear much talk about it.

Of all the morgans that I've ridden (save PR which is only half Morgan), it has more air than all of them...combined. And it's consistant ejector over every hill. I would even say it has more air than all the B&M hypers I've ridden.

Why isn't there more love for Steel Eel?

Location, location, location. I just think Sea World Texas, despite having the 2 coasters, isn't really on the radar of most enthusiasts. Or at least paying admission if you are only interested in Steel Eel and a B:TR clone seems a little steep.

I rolled through San Antonio once and went to SFFT, but skipped Sea World. Sure I wanted to try the coasters, but couldn't justify the cost.

I rode it last summer and I totally agree with the greatness of Steel Eel. If I were to make a list it certainly would be in my top 20 coasters, might even crack the top 15.

I've been on all seven Morgan hypers, and I'd take the view that Phantom's Revenge is the best, followed closely by Steel Eel. Beyond that, the other five feel much the same (and yes, that includes Steel Dragon 2000).

What's the situation on the mid-course break? I've never been on the ride but from the sounds of it it isn't catching too hard but I've read previously it could catch pretty hard.

---

I rolled through San Antonio once and went to SFFT, but skipped Sea World. Sure I wanted to try the coasters, but couldn't justify the cost.

---

I'd recommend giving it a try. I had a weekend last Fall where I spent the first day at SFFT, and expected to spend just the first few hours at SWSA catching the coasters and a few other things. I ended up spending the entire day at SWSA, and had just a fabulous time.

I rode it last year, as well. It definitely is one of the best Morgans out there, with PR being probably my favorite, too. However, I didn't notice "ejector" air over every hill--only maybe 2 or 3 hills. The ending was a little weak, though maybe that had to do with the MCBR trimming the speed.

Out of the 3 Sea Worlds in the US, Texas is the largest, newest, and my second favorite. Orlando is still the gem of the 3, but I liked Texas for sure better than San Diego. The Texas park has the most rides :)

Btw...what does "FTW" mean??

j/k ;)

The Eel is proof that Morgan can do more than retrofit Arrow hypers... ;)

...and yes, being the "non-ride park" in San Antonio does mean it's less accessible. But we made time nonetheless. Staggered ride openings didn't help at all. Oh, and someone looking for credits can now get four at the park. ;)

FTW = For The Win

I'm kind of on the fence about the Morgans. I've only been on Steel Force and Phantom's Revenge, but while the latter really hits the mark in a big way, the former just feels lifeless and unexciting to me.

Perhaps a voyage to San Antonio will be necessary if I can get my Texas trip plans together in the near future...

------
EDIT: Wow, I totally missed that j/k. Of course, the first time I saw that acronym, I thought it was just a reverse of WTF -- and I spent the next hour trying to figure out exactly how one could do that to "the what."

*** Edited 6/22/2008 11:39:08 PM UTC by Nitro Dave***

Steel Eel would get more attention if it had a few more feet added to it to break 200. If it had it would be ranked as one of the top hypers in the country. Not tall enough to be a hyper, no loops so its not a looper. Its just one of those odd ball coasters that can't be categorized. Folks who come across it continue to ask, "Hey, why aren't more people talking about this coaster?" It is that kind of coaster.

The photos make it look like a bland ride. If I were ever to go to San Antonio I would probably hit Sea World, but would never plan a trip around it.

---

rollergator said:

Oh, and someone looking for credits can now get four at the park.

---

Right. I was thinking about my visit in 2003. Then again, a kiddie and weak-looking JTA doesn't add that much ride value for me.

And I have had a really good time at SW San Diego when going with kids, but if I'm on a roller coaster tour, I'm looking for more bang for my buck. Like I said, I really wanted to try it, but we didn't. Maybe next time.

It's a solid ride, but I wouldn't say it has ejector air. Just some very good floater air. My only problem with it are the Magnum-esque triangular bunny hills at the end. I hate slamming down into my seat at the bottom of each hill. Damn Morgan trains.

I can't believe enthusiasts would pass up a Busch park with a junior hyper and a Batman clone. I've always thought SeaWorld was easily the more charming (*magic word*) of the two San Antonio parks. Busch landscaping, Busch food, Busch animals. SFFT's got its own charm, but you can still tell it's a Six Flags park.

I haven't been to SFFT this trip, but if my last trip is any measure, SWSA is definitely the winner here in San Antonio. Sure, it doesn't have the credits, sure it doesn't have S:KC or Polty or the shows, but it has great service, reasonable policies and prices, and animals, animals, animals. I was expecting to spend a half day there and was sad to go when the park closed. The hospitality house doesn't hurt it either.

What's Intamin calling it's junior hypers? Mega-lite or something?

^"Inta-minis".... ;)

:)

The entrance fee to SWSA is anything but cheap. That being said, the park is amazing. The Coaster Zombies only spent 1/2-a-day there (we had to drive back to Houston), but we had a great time--except for the insane heat (how do you Texans deal with it?).

The park is beautiful, and having Steel Eel doesn't hurt either. I caught the Shamu show, and then walked around for a while just checking out some of the sites. Then, I went back and had a ERT on S.E.

Because Sea World is so structured due to when the shows happen, people travel from show to show, so things freed up in the afternoon for plenty of riding time. S.E. is truly a great coaster at 150 ft.

eightdotthree, maybe the pictures make the ride look bland to you, but that's because you haven't seen my pictures. And when do photos or a video really accurately simulate how your ride will be?

Look, I've been prasing Steel Eel for years now. It is a fantastic ride. And while I wouldn't catagorize the airtime as 'ejector', there was good, long sustained float. Hell, I think Steel Eel is the best representation of "Sweet Morgan Air" (tm).

I've often said that, depending on what day you catch me, Steel Eel could be within my top 5 steel. The funniest thing about my first ride was there was a couple in front of me who apparently had an assload of change with them. On the 'out' hills you could just see all these coins floating cause of the airtime!

Definitely a coaster worthy of praise.
lata, jeremy

And here I thought FTW was just a silly way of writing WTF. ;)