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SeaWorld San Diego trip report 6-6-2012

Xpress

Strata Poster
I'm not going to really make this a lengthy report, was only in the park for about 3 hours. Went with a couple of friends, mainly to get a Manta cred.

So to keep it short, we arrived in the afternoon, and thanks to my wonderful friends/SeaWorld San Diego employees, got to park in the employee parking for free. $15 saved, then we moseyed on into the park. First things first, Shipwreck Rapids. Why the hell I was convinced to ride this ghastly water tube ride thing, I have no clue. Got soaked, good thing it was a warm afternoon.

Strolled on over to why I spent $53 on a park ticket and $30 on gas for. Manta. Line was about a 25 minute wait for front car. Theming was very well, albeit simple. Wish I could have gotten more pics, but my cell phone didn't take good pics in the dark portions of the queue, which was basically where all of the theming was for the line- couldn't take the T1i in there, the ride ops wouldn't allow me. Bastards. The rest of the ride was great, although the second portion of the ride lacked theming whatsoever (unless one counts dirt mounds as theming). Pics:

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Not a whole lot of good places to get pics, unfortunately. Made the best of where I could get access.

If anyone is curious, the ride was pretty fantastic, for a family ride. Lots of snappy turns, plenty of hairtime, and some good g-forces in a lot of the turns. I'd say 6.5/10.

More to come tomorrow when I'm not so tired...
 

Lofty

CF Legend
I really like the look of this to be honest. It's a nice little coaster, not the most thrilling out there, but not the weakest. I really want to ride it.
 

Hixee

Flojector
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
It looks like a fantastic family ride. I look forward to seeing more pictures if you have any! :p

It certainly looks very cool against the blue sky.
 

Xpress

Strata Poster
That's all of the Manta pics I have that I felt are worth sharing. Well maybe I have just one more...

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If it seems like a lot of the pics are really blue.. That's because there is a LOT of blue to work with.

Anyways, moving along. After getting a second cred on Manta, this time in the back row, we headed back to my friends face painting stall (they are face painters in the park) to collect our valuables, since the ride operators wouldn't allow us to bring them anywhere near the ride, let alone the queue. This is when I annoyed everyone and went about doing my own thing as I took shots of the ride :p

The Bat Ray pools were right inside of the Manta exhibit (no Manta rays, unfortunately- odd isn't it?) so we stopped on in to say HI to the bat rays.

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They literally crawl right up to you. Really gentle creatures.

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One of my friends petting one.

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The annoying hispanic kid just to the right (her left) kept screaming his head off about how cool the bat rays are, HOW THEY ARE AWEZUMS AND STUFF OMG :roll:

Since the dolphin pool was right next to Manta, we all headed over there to watch them swim about.

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And of course they were all swimming in the opposite direction that they needed to be for me to get a good shot...

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Also had to rock the manual focus since auto focus goes bezerk around shiny water.

The remaining 45 minutes of our day was spent mostly by walking to the penguins. Which of course had to be in a dark room, lit up by faint red light. No real good pics here since apparently flash photography will suddenly kill every single one of the poor penguins.

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However the next penguin exhibit had more light.

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Yet I only managed to get one good shot out of the hundred or so I took :roll: Not enough light still, so the other 99 are blurry and crap. Auto focus was useless inside of there.

To wrap up the day, we spent the time walking what seemed like miles back to the car, but not before we could get the dumbest photo of the day:

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To conclude, should have bought a season pass. Because I know I'll be whoring up Manta a lot since it's close and relatively easy to get to.

--------------------------

Manta itself actually has a lot better airtime than it looks like. You can't tell from the videos, but Mack made the most out of everything and threw in a lot of floater and pretty strong airtime. The first hill (after the 2 initial overbanks) as well as the S hill after the second launch both have the most airtime. The twisting hill is the most fun IMO. Everything else was either positive forces or floater. The launches themselves were rather quick, but nothing terribly forceful. I do foresee issues with the final turn though. The wheels were squealing quite audibly when the train was exiting the turn, which I'm guessing is from the sudden snap banking. Kind of just whips out of that turn. We shall see...

The seats were probably the best part. SO comfortable. Even though your legs are airborne, everything just feels oh so comfortable to ride, like you could sit in the seat all day long if you wanted.

EDIT: Just noticed that I was double charged for my park tickets.. Not happy right now, trying to resolve it. :evil:
 

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Cheers Xpress!

It's good to have a read of a report from somewhere different, and with a new coaster as well. I think Mack have completely got the "family thrill" market sewn up with these coasters. I just hope many other parks also realise.
 

Xpress

Strata Poster
furie said:
I think Mack have completely got the "family thrill" market sewn up with these coasters.

I agree, they did rather well with this one, SeaWorld chose wisely. Just wish it wasn't fricken $53 to get in for the day. For comparisons sake, Knotts Berry Farm is only $35 for a day admissions, and Six Flags Magic Mountain a mere $37. As to my earlier issue with the park double charging me, they have since refunded the money they owe to me.
 
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