SeaWorld San Antonio Begins Construction on New Record-Breaking Coaster
SeaWorld San Antonio is in the midst of a massive expansion. Just after the park opened Wave Breaker, an Intamin jet-ski coaster, as well as an impressive flat ride package, it seems more is to come in 2020.
Over the last few weeks, the park has been filing permits with the local government to begin land work to build a new ride (which are all public). Permit #2454386 calls for:
SITE WORK AND RIDE FOUNDATION ONLY. **QUEUE BUILDINGS, COVERED WALKWAY, MOTOR HOUSE, STATION HOUSE, MAINTENANCE BUILDING, TRANSFER HOUSE, UTILITY BUILDING & PHOTO BUILDING WILL NOT BE PERMITTED AT THIS TIME. THESE STRUCTURES ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF WORK AND WILL BE PERMITTED SEPARATELY.** **PROPERTY ZONED ED. SEE GIS ZONING MAP IN OLE.
From the specific language used (station house, maintenance building, transfer house) it is clear that the park is getting a new coaster. From the work currently seen at the park, footers are being poured every few feet, making it even more clear that the ride will be a wooden coaster.
One question aroused by this recent revelation is who would the manufacturer be? SeaWorld Entertainment has worked with both Gravity Group (Oscar’s Wacky Taxi) and Great Coasters International (Invadr) in the last 3 years. The fact that the permit includes the words “Maintenance Building, Transfer House” indicates that the ride will likely be a GCI creation as those structures typically aren’t found on Gravity Group coasters.
This new coaster is likely going to be a regional record breaker. For that to happen, the ride has to be taller than 96 feet and longer than 3236 feet to become the largest wooden coaster in the region. Furthermore, if the ride exceeds a speed of 51 MPH, it will be the fastest wooden coaster in the region as well.
Photos of the new footers have been posted to the Roller Coaster Database and can be seen here. Even though footers are being poured and the permits are pretty telling, nothing is confirmed until the park officially announces it.
For tickets and more information, visit the official SeaWorld website by clicking here.
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