Archive for the ‘Coaster Connections’ Category

A lot of folks may think that when SeaWorld closes for the season, we turn the rides off and two months later we just turn them back on again and re-open. The truth is much more involved and very interesting. All of our rides go through an annual check up, and for our coasters that involves taking them apart, inspecting the pieces, and then putting them all back together.

Close-up of a wheel on the Great White

Each ride has different maintenance requirements, similar to your car’s recommended maintenance schedule. The difference is that we treat the manufacture’s recommendations as requirements. We keep track of all our ride’s run times as certain parts have to be checked after so many hours of operation, and replaced as needed. Add to that the annual inspection and you can see that our ride maintenance team is very busy all year long.

Let’s use the wheels on the Great White, our suspended coaster, as an example. There are 96 wheels on the Great White: 32 guide wheels that keep the train following the track, 32 road wheels that ride on top of the track, and 32 uplift wheels that keep the train on the track during periods of negative G’s. All of the wheels are inspected to assess wear and to ensure they are still round. Flat spots or nicks make for a rough ride! At the same time all the parts connected to the wheels are inspected, greased if needed and reassembled.

Chain dog on the Great White

The Great White lift is 108 feet tall, requiring a very large chain to pull the train to the top. Each link is inspected for unusual wear, the chain dogs that hook into the chain are inspected, as are the anti-roll backs that would keep the train from rolling backwards on the lift if the chain or chain dogs failed. Seatbelts, harnesses, and seat padding are all inspected and replaced as needed. In short every piece of the train is thoroughly inspected, and anything showing unusual wear is replaced.
Aside from ride hardware, all of the electronics are tested: photo eyes, proximity switches, brakes, controls, and emergency stop buttons. Everything to ensure that the ride is ready for our guests.

General quality checks are performed as well, and anything that looks worn or old is replaced, painted, and cleaned. Whatever is necessary to keep the rides looking as new as possible. When all is said and done, the rides go through hours of test runs to make sure they are operating as intended. If anything major is replaced, the ride undergoes 24 hours of continuous testing before anyone rides. Each and every one of our rides receives the same level of attention, allowing guests to experience an enjoyable and safe ride. Hats off to the ride maintenance team that makes it all happen!

Gotta go, burning daylight!

The anticipation is growing. You are strapped in, heading up to the top of the coaster lift. You hear the familiar clacking and clanging all coasters make before that amazing first drop… then… nothing. The train just stops. What happens now?

It’s really rare for this scenario to happen at SeaWorld San Antonio , but our team members are ready for those few occasions when a coaster comes to a stop for any reason. All SeaWorld Ride Operations team members attend a series of Ride Scenario trainings on just what to do if and when they face this situation with guests.

When a coaster stops working, the rides team for each coaster does their best to get the ride up and running safely as soon as possible because, let’s face it, who wants to miss out on the great rides at SeaWorld. Due to all of the safety features built into coasters these days, something as small as a power blip can shut down a ride.

Now the procedure isn’t to escort guests off the ride just any time. If it looks like guests will be waiting longer than 7-10 minutes, then the team begins escorting guests off the ride; that’s what they were practicing again last night, escorting guests off the ride. Keep in mind, these team members have been practicing these different scenarios, on average, several times a month since January.

The team members took turns, on their respective rides, role playing the escorts and the guests on the ride. It was interesting to watch because the team members actually asked questions and reacted similarly to what I would expect if I were on the ride in this situation. They gave each other feedback and even coached one another.

Want to know more? This post continues at SeaWorld San Antonio’s Main blog.

With the coming weekend and the traditional summer kick-off of Memorial Day fast approaching, everyone’s mind seems to be turning to theme parks and summer fun!

I came upon a page of tips and tricks for theme park guests from Theme Park Insider . They had some great tips that can be applied to any visit to make your trip more enjoyable. At Theme Park Insider’s tip section, you can vote on and submit your own tips.

I picked out a few of my personal, tried and true favorites and tailored them with insider information for SeaWorld San Antonio:

Before you ever enter the park, there are some great deals to be found for admission to SeaWorld San Antonio, especially for repeat visitors. Look into buying an Annual Pass or Fun Card. Annual passes include discounts on food, merchandise and free parking. If you might visit SeaWorld again, even just one time, I suggest getting a Fun Card. For the price of a single day admission, you can come back all year for free, paying for itself in as little as two visits.

Avoid eating before you go on a ride. Only a few truly have this gift!

Don’t forget the value of sunblock! As a native Texan and red-head, TRUST me on this one. Even on a cloudy day, sunblock is a must outdoors in Texas. Most of the SeaWorld San Antonio merchandise locations carry some, including Buc’s Survival, Main Mast, Sea Star Market and Lil’ Skippers, to name a few.

Crokies (adjustable eyeglass holders) are indispensable if you’re a roller coaster fan. Get them at a pharmacy or gas station, and make sure they tighten to your head. Great for sunglasses, too.

Forget going to the front of a roller coaster, where there is often a separate line just for the coveted front seat. The real thrill is the back!

Don’t be afraid of weekdays or clouds! I have noticed that if you go on a day less than perfect between Monday and Thursday, you don’t have to wait in line much, if at all. You quickly learn to appreciate those few cloudy summer days because it tends to be cooler and even if it rains, you were planning to get wet anyway, right? Guests wanting to stay dry can pack personal rain gear or stop by a SeaWorld gift shop to purchase ponchos or umbrellas.

If you didn’t go on a ride and regret it, there’s still next time. Bring a braver ride mate with you. Take your time and make sure you’re ready. Tell someone to not let you off. This is also the part where that Fun Card or Annual Pass can be a real asset, since after you ride, you will probably want to go ride again and again and again and…

Hope these tips make your visit to SeaWorld San Antonio even more enjoyable, and let me know if you have any other ideas. Don’t forget to share your rides with us when you get home from the park!

Have fun and keep riding!

One of the best and worst things about my job is being “in the know” before the general public about all the new things happening at the Worlds of Discovery Parks . This is great because I love knowing what new and exciting things are happening around our parks, but not so great when you are waiting for the newest attraction to be built. Knowing early means waiting longer for opening day, in this case waiting for Manta .

We began hearing whispers about SeaWorld Orlando’s new coaster Manta last year, but the excitement really began to build after the formal announcement last summer. My family and I had been discussing taking a vacation, but I convinced them we should head to Florida since we had never been to the SeaWorld or Busch Gardens theme parks there. I also convinced them to put off taking the trip until after the ride was complete to make sure I got the chance to go on Manta. In fact, my sister laughed after I told her my alternative motive for pushing back the trip dates and said “good luck” after seeing the Manta pictures.

It looks amazing! Manta’s official opening date is May 22, but previews are happening now so some lucky guests might even get the chance to ride it early. Color me green with envy. For the rest of us, here are the latest fun Manta facts, straight from Orlando:

• Maximum drop: 113 feet – Manta’s first drop provides all the power the flying coaster needs to speed for the next 3,000-plus feet, even through multiple loops, inversions and twists.

• Top speed: 56 miles per hour

• The trains on flying coasters are the most complicated and technically advanced trains of any type of roller coaster.

• Manta speeds riders through four showcase inversions, including two in-line spins, one flat spin and one pretzel loop. Specially crafted rails make Manta one of the world’s smoothest coasters.

• At the front of each coaster train, a massive, hand-crafted manta ray leads the way.

• Comfortable straps and cushioned bars safely secure riders from chest to ankle. Held tight, safe, comfortable and face down, riders feel as though they’re flying with a huge gliding/spinning/twisting/soaring ray.

• On a flying coaster, objects and ride elements seem closer than they are. Manta is different. Ride elements, like Manta’s waterfall and the wing skim, ARE close.

• Manta’s loading platform was designed to hide the boarding process from riders. SeaWorld’s experts wanted the head-first, face-down launch to be a surprise.

Special thanks to Brittany at SeaWorld Orlando for the updated info on Manta. Now I imagine I’ll be antsy for the next three months until vacation time! I’ll have to check and see if they have a Quick Queue pass like SeaWorld San Antonio… definitely something to look into.

Until then, have fun and keep riding!

This weekend we’re combining three of my favorite things at SeaWorld San Antonio : great food, country music and coasters. We have fun planned for the next three weekends!

Sara Evans kicks off SeaWorld’s Bud & BBQ celebration on Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. Jessica Simpson performs on May 9. Billy Ray Cyrus follows the next weekend, taking the stage on May 16. The concerts are all happening at the Nautilus Amphitheater.

Another really cool thing is that these concerts are included with park admission , so long as there’s space at the Nautilus Amphitheater. On the day of the concert, you just have to stop by a tent when you get to SeaWorld, pick-up your wristband and go to the concert. The team members will give out wristbands as early as 9 a.m.

Don’t even get me started on the food, YUM is all I’m going to say. I’m convinced our SeaWorld chefs are geniuses. There are tents all over the south end of the park , between Journey to Atlantis and Shamu Theater selling a variety of food.

So come on out and enjoy some great Texas hospitality- SeaWorld style!

And don’t forget to share your rides with us … Have fun.

Today I proudly showed off two of our coasters. We had a visitor from our sister park Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa visiting SeaWorld San Antonio this week for training. Since we had a few minutes to kill today before his training started, I took him to ride the Steel Eel , which he’d been eyeing since the last time he visited for training. It was a blast and, as usual, the team members working the ride were wonderfully friendly! We also took a ride on my personal favorite SeaWorld San Antonio coaster, The Great White . I had so much fun comparing coaster stories and even having some friendly banter about who has the better rides and rides teams.

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is I getting meet new people and learn about the inner workings of our sister parks from the people who work there everyday. My new coaster buddy gave me tips for my Florida vacation planning, which coasters he thought I would like, etc.

While we were talking, I kept thinking, I’m glad SeaWorld San Antonio has a new site where guests can go to get the same kind of insider info I was now getting from my friend. We just launched What’s Under the Sea this week, the new SeaWorld San Antonio blog. Our blog team is made up of team members from areas around the park, including animal training, operations, education, even the park’s General Manager contributes to the new blog.

What’s Under the Sea will feature, among the many topics, a photo of the week, a column about community happenings and will even showcase green initiatives at SeaWorld San Antonio. The new blog site encompasses several social media tools including a live Twitter feed from our blog team. And best of all, you don’t even have to work here to get all the fun inside stories, tips and tricks about the SeaWorld San Antonio.

SeaWorld San Antonio is ready for this holiday weekend! We are ready to go for this and I wanted to let everyone know about just some of the fun things you can do while visiting with us at the park.

For the little kids in the family, this is the last weekend you can catch Big Bird’s Beach Party. The very last show is at 3 p.m. on Monday. Shamu’s Splashin’ Beach Party in Lost Lagoon has some new moves and will get the little ones up and dancing, spending some of that amazing kid energy.

For the whole family, including the big kids (some folks use the term grown-ups, but does anyone REALLY grow up? I don’t think so!) we plan to make sure all of the rides are open for those beloved thrills, chills and splashes. Lost Lagoon is now open for the season on weekends and there are plenty of great water slides to help any coaster fan cool off.

I also wanted to pass on a few tips and tricks for getting the most out of your SeaWorld San Antonio visit, especially during a holiday weekend:

* SeaWorld’s parking lot opens at 8 a.m. You can beat the crowds by heading to the park early.

* When driving to SeaWorld, consider departing earlier or allow extra time for the large volume of holiday traffic.

* The Entrance Plaza at SeaWorld opens at 9 a.m. You will be able to enjoy several park areas, including the Clydesdale Hamlet, Sharks/The Coral Reef exhibit and Dolphin Cove. Get in early and feed the dolphins before the heat of the day. Trays of fish can be purchased when Dolphin Cove opens.

* If you are planning on a day of rides, hit the park early and do the rides first. The latest any of SeaWorld’s rides open during this holiday weekend is noon.

* When planning your dining times at SeaWorld San Antonio, keep in mind that peak period for park guests to stop and eat is between 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

* For more insider tips, as you enter our gates, tune into SeaWorld’s radio station – 96.5 FM.

We can’t wait for your visit! Don’t forget to share your rides with us.

I had previously written about my three and a half year old niece Kylee coming to take a ride on a SeaWorld’s Shamu Express roller coaster for her first coaster experience ever during spring break. As with many aspects of life, plans changed, easy to do when my niece and sister live in Pearsall, Texas, over an hour away from San Antonio and I didn’t get to take Kylee to SeaWorld San Antonio for the first time this year until Christian Family Day last weekend for her new experience.

Kylee had been asking about riding “the Shamu cars” (as she calls the coaster) since last year. But standing in line, after checking her height to officially make sure she was tall enough to ride, Kylee wasn’t so positive she wanted to try the ride anymore. I wanted to make sure my niece had a great first experience. You see, I started riding coasters later in life (my first was the Hulk at Universal Studios in Orlando when I turned 21) and I didn’t want Kylee to wait so long to discover how much fun they can be.

After convincing her to wait with me in line (and with a lot of help from the singing team members on the platform keeping all the kids entertained), we finally stood in the queue line, with the “cutest coaster on Earth” right on the other side of the gates. It was finally our turn, the gates opened and we both hopped on the Shamu Express. I was nervous for her at first during the climb (in my opinion the scariest part of any coaster ride), but at the wide eyed, huge grin she had on her face after the first drop convinced me I had found a kindred coaster crazed spirit.

I’d like to add that riding the Shamu Express last weekend was a first not only for Kylee, but for me as well. I’m usually only enlisted to go on rides like the Great White by my friends or my friends’ older kids, well those friends who don’t appreciate the thrills of a coaster like I do anyway. I had never ridden the Shamu Express before. I’m proud to say I have now officially ridden every single ride at SeaWorld San Antonio at least once.

I even bought the picture that is taken of while you’re on the ride. I signed the back and gave it to my niece to remember the first of many coaster rides I’m sure we’ll be taking together. I bet there will be even more kid’s experience the Shamu Express this weekend since SeaWorld has Diego from Nick Jr. as a special guest.

I’m going to post the picture on the Share Your Rides page and I hope to see your great memories, too. Have fun and keep riding!

Tomorrow night is Earth Hour from 8:30-9:30 p.m. your local time. SeaWorld San Antonio and its team members have joined the millions around the world that have pledged support of Earth Hour. Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008, 50 million people switched off their lights to promote the idea of power conservation. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Coliseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

Tomorrow, the goal for Earth Hour is to get 1 billion people to switch off their lights as part of a global vote. By conserving power, you can VOTE EARTH as a global call to action for every individual, every business and every community. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support during Earth Hour 2009.

Here at SeaWorld, we’re pretty good about conserving energy at the park everyday. For example, we make sure to turn off lights when rooms are going to be empty and turning off computers when leaving for the day. However, for Earth Hour we’re going the extra mile.

A few things being turned off at SeaWorld San Antonio for Earth Hour include:
SeaWorld’s iconic flag pole LED lights
All non-essential computers (also unplugged)
Electronics unplugged (like lamps, radios, battery chargers, pencil sharpeners, coffee pots and microwaves, etc.)
Air Compressors
Heaters
Drinking Fountains
Ice Plant
Penguin Chiller
Water pumps around the park in guest areas

Even YOU can make a difference. What are YOU doing to get involved? Visit www.earthhour.org for more information!