2015
Sea World pre-dates the other theme parks on the Gold Coast. It is like Sea World Orlando’s poor man’s cousin’s adopted cat. Growing up, we would go to ride the Corkscrew (triple looping steel coaster which was later rebranded to the Sea Viper), the Viking’s Revenge (flume ride), the Bermuda Triangle (boat ride through internal/external themed areas), the pirate ship and then have lunch while we watched in awe at the water-skiing show. You know how many of these great attractions are left? None. Apparently there used to be another coaster called the Wild Wave which is also long gone, but I don’t actually remember that one at all.
Out of all the parks on the Gold Coast, Sea World is the one that needs the greatest injection of funds and the biggest overhaul. I appreciate that the park provides somewhat of a sanctuary for injured wildlife and love the work of the staff who work to release the animals back in to the wild. For the ones that can’t leave though, I wish their environments were more suitable. It makes me depressed to watch the polar bear swim to one end of the enclosure, turn over, and repeat. He looks so bored and sad. The other enclosures just seem inadequate for the animals great and small. The staff clearly love the animals, but can only work within their budgets I guess.
I only needed a few hours to see everything. The Jet Rescue coaster (Intamin flat track coaster) opened in 2008 and is probably the best of the rides. This has a fast launch at the beginning and in the middle, and I think it is a little better than the similar model at Dreamworld (MotoCoaster). With the Corkscrew/Sea Viper gone, and the Bermuda Triangle dead and buried, Sea World tried to entice back the thrill seekers with a new investment called Storm Coaster (of Mack fame) which opened in 2013. This is a steel coaster/flume ride, and with the exception of the drop in to the water, really falls flat. It is pretty slow, uneventful and really short. It also known for breaking down a lot too. The internals of the Bermuda Triangle ride were far superior. I wish they had just kept the other two going and added this as a third option.
On my previous visit in 2011, the water skiing show had become a pirate show. Four years later it was good to see some more jet ski action and fun party tricks return to the water.
Over the years, various new attractions have opened, but they have generally been aimed towards kiddies. Most of the park seems great for 3-6 year olds, but it doesn’t really make any kind of list for those wanting to experience good rides. If I ever win the lotto I will leave some funds to Sea World in my will.
2022
In January 2022, I returned to Sea World as part of my 40th birthday celebrations with my lovely friend Jill. It was our first holiday post Covid lockdown, so we stubbornly signed up for the fun parks knowing full well that summer school holidays was the absolute worst time of year to go.
We were super excited to see a new precinct in development, known as the New Atlantis. An epic wooden coaster was going up (Leviathan), in addition to the Vortex (looks like Dreamworld’s Wipeout). This ride apparently opened in December 2020, but other visitors mentioned it had been closed for ages. There was also a tall chair swing style ride similar to the wind seekers in America. While this whole area was out of action, it gave us hope that Village Roadshow had finally injected the funds so desperately required to push the park into the 21st Century. While disappointed that these rides were not operating despite the original dates suggesting a mid 2021 opening, we totally understood that Covid, staffing, and building material delays were out of Sea World’s control.
The ride queues were all horrendously long as expected, with Jill’s melting ice-cream falling to the ground adding insult to injury. If nothing else, she provided wonderful entertainment for the crowds who were amused by her excellent interpretation of a toddler throwing a tantrum.
The locker situation was soul destroying. Storm Coaster insisted that all guests put loose items in lockers prior to getting in the queue. However all the nearby lockers were full, and so we had to wander all the way back to Jet Rescue to grab one of those. You had to laugh, but the queue to get a locker was about 45 minutes long too. By the time we got back to the queue, we were in desperate need of water, but could not be stuffed going back to get our drink bottles, had no money on us to buy drinks at the stalls, and there were no bubblers around.
I went home with a pounding headache, too much sun (thanks to terrible queue designs lacking shade), and Covid. Yep, happy birthday to me!
2023
I was super hyped to hear that The New Atlantis was open, so once school holidays had finished in 2023, I flew back to the Gold Coast to experience the 3 new attractions. I was hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, as Sea World was getting blasted in the press. The rides had been promoted for several months, with huge amounts of money spent to get people to the park specifically for these rides. However the rides were frequently closed with no explanation, despite the website still stating they were opened. Sea World resorted to putting out a video explaining why safety was their number one priority, and that their ride stoppage/unload rate was very low (0.0004%). This is all fine, but people were not cranky with ride stoppages at all. They were cranky at being deceived into attending a park that had not opened the attractions as promised. The marketing spin was astounding, and a great example of how to gaslight consumers. I think that SeaWorld should have delayed the opening of the precinct and saved themselves a PR nightmare.
So with that in mind, I met up with my favourite fun park buddy Bec (Terror) to see what might be opened. After spending the night at SeaWorld Resort (bit of a splurge/childhood dream), we headed off early to get in the Leviathan queue. Huzzah it was open! We immediately logged on the virtual queue system which had been a disaster during previous trips to Movie World. It worked beautifully, showing openings as soon as the rides themselves were ready to go (generally around 10.15am). We popped ourselves into the Leviathan virtual queue while waiting in the physical queue. As the park was super quiet, we didn’t actually need to use the virtual system as there were no lines. We laughed at the irony of the virtual queueing system being great only when it wasn’t needed…
The theming of Leviathan was brilliantly done. We loved the intricate designs throughout the queue system, the undercover inclusions, and the excellent audio visual components that brought the mythical sea serpent to life. Staff were efficient, taking no nonsense in the queuing areas to make sure people weren’t holding things up by lining up only for the front row.
As we sat in our seats, I had instantly regretted my lack of activity during Covid lockdowns. The seats were freaking tiny! The lap bars pulled across the body, and for the first time in my life, the lap bar did not actually go all the way across, resting at a slight angle. The staff gave it the ok, but I believe if my hips were any bigger I’d be screwed. I encourage all larger riders to put themselves in the test seats prior to entering the queue as I suspect this is the most restrictive seating arrangement of any Australian theme park ride!
What about the actual rollercoaster? It was worth the wait. I love the look of wooden rollercoasters, and there is just something about them that takes me back to my childhood. There was a great combination of drops, speed and airtime. The ride was very rough, but not because of the wooden structure. There were a fair few sharp banked turns, so your body got thrown to the left quite forcefully. After a second ride, Bec and I agreed that we were thrown around less if we sat on the left side of the train.
Once again, a brand new rollercoaster gave us the option of riding backwards in the backrow, at the disgusting price of $25 per person. Ethically we really hate this. Even if you can’t afford to buy a fast pass, you can still experience the exact same ride as those with more money, albeit with a longer wait. However with back seat extras, not everyone has the ability to be able to afford to ride and will therefore miss out altogether. We debated the pros and cons but ended up paying an extra $50 for 90 seconds of fun.
There was a 20 minute ride delay while we waited for a turn. This was not due to any technical errors, but due to a guest who was refusing to leave the ride area which meant they could not load the next train. We heard some shouting and screaming, and eventually a young adult with a disability and her carer came out the exit. The staff handled this really well, keeping us all informed about what was happening and why. Kudos also to the carer for remaining calm in what I am sure would have been a stressful situation, particularly as she had to walk out past the growing queue to get to the exit.
We used the extra waiting time to chat with staff about the new precinct and the issues they were having (noting that at this stage, the Vortex and Trident were still closed despite the website and front gate saying they were open). I greatly appreciated their honesty instead of the usual spin like “it is normal for new rides to experience some delays,” or “I’m not sure, you will need to talk with guest services.” They said that any time there were staff shortages, Vortex was usually the first ride to close. This was because it was the least inclusive ride due to height and age restrictions (children under 10 could not ride), so less people would miss the ride being closed. We discussed the idea of a ride age restriction, which didn’t make much sense to me. Surely if you were tall enough to ride, and your parents/guardian knew whether or not you could manage, that would be enough? What happens if a child of the right height lies and says they are 10, but they are younger? How can the park police that?
Anyway, after some chit chat, we headed back to the load section for the backwards experience. We asked the staff how many others had bought back seat tickets that day, and they said none. So in 2 hours, they made $50 from the public. If they had reduced the cost to $10 per person, they would have made at least $220 in that same 2 hours assuming people would be happier to pay a lower amount. The backwards facing experience was truly awesome, with epic drag and some minor whip lash for good measure. However still being disgruntled about the inequitable experience took away some of the shine.
Bec and I then jumped on Jet Rescue and Storm Coaster, which in comparison to Leviathan felt very tame. For good measure I rode SpongeBob’s Boating School Blast. This kiddy coaster was simply a list ticking exercise to notch up another coaster ride. This was probably the tamest version of the standard kiddy coaster I have experienced, plus there were only two laps instead of the usual three.
Thrilled by the lack of crowds, we headed towards the front gate to go and get some lunch in the city. Wouldn’t you know it, right at that moment, Vortex opened! So myself and four other people had the entire two rows to ourselves. Bec sat this one out, knowing her limits with spinning rides these days. Heck, I’m not far behind her! Unlike the former Wipeout at Dreamworld, the top spin model Vortex does not spin on the angles, but remains horizontal. There is still enough fun to be had with the forceful spins however, so felt lucky that it had opened at all.
With a cherry picker up at Trident, who knew when this ride was every going to open again? Apparently Trident can be very temperamental even in low winds. Considering the park is built in an area known for winds coming across the ocean, it made us wonder whether a different kind of ride would have been less problematic!
We didn’t stay for any of the shows, but loved that the water-skiing stunt show was back in the main area bringing back some of that 1980s magic!
I am excited to say that Sea World has the potential to step up in the Australian theme park scene. Assuming operators can get the New Atlantis precinct functioning consistently, the diversity and quality of the rides is going in the right direction!
Roller Coaster Ramble 