Penguin Trek is a family

launched roller coaster The launched roller coaster is a type of roller coaster that initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanism ...

located at

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is an animal theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Although separately gated, it is often promoted with neighboring parks Discovery Cove and Aquatica as well as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, all of which are owned and operated ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, United States. The ride is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard and features both indoor and outdoor sections, providing an experience simulating an Antarctic snowmobile expedition.

History

Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin was a motion-based

dark ride A dark ride—or ghost train when horror themed—is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live spe ...

that ran from May 2013 to March 2020, billed at the time as the largest attraction of its kind at any

United Parks & Resorts United Parks & Resorts Inc. (formerly SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. or SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment) is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates twelve recreational destina ...

theme park. The ride was temporarily closed alongside SeaWorld Orlando due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, but failed to reopen with the park; the adjacent penguin exhibit stayed available on its own. Construction walls and survey markers first went up around the Antarctica show building in December 2022. SeaWorld Orlando filed further permits in February 2023, calling for building modifications as part of what then became referred to as ''Project Toboggan''. Work on the attraction’s foundations commenced outdoors in July, with the first pieces of coaster track arriving later that month from Clermont Steel Fabricators in

Batavia, Ohio Batavia ( ) is a village in Clermont County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 1,972 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Batavia was surveyed on May ...

. The final track piece was officially lifted into place on January 30, 2024. Work then shifted towards constructing of the sets indoors, making up the queue, station, and first portion of the coaster. SeaWorld Orlando officially announced Penguin Trek on September 28, 2023, later revealing one of its lead cars on display at IAAPA Expo Orlando on November 14, 2023. The trains began testing for the first time at the end of April 2024, and the surrounding Antarctica precinct was opened to the public on May 25. Penguin Trek officially held its grand opening on July 7, 2024, featuring Puck The Penguin – the mascot of the former Antarctica attraction – and a contingent of children from Scouts of America in attendance.

Ride experience

The ride starts in an indoor Antarctic themed section with glaciers, snow, and an

LED display A LED display is a flat panel display that uses an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as pixels for a video display. Their brightness allows them to be used outdoors where they are visible in the sun for store signs and billboards. I ...

before leaving outdoors, utilizing a

linear synchronous motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. Characteristicall ...

(LSM) launch and taking a wide right turn. A series of twists and turns including a

banked turn A banked turn (or banking turn) is a turn or change of direction in which the vehicle banks or inclines, usually towards the inside of the turn. For a road or railroad this is usually due to the roadbed having a transverse down-slope towards the ...

lead to another LSM launch. This second LSM launch leads to a

overbanked turn Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical operation and safety ...

. The ride takes a left with a

airtime hill Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime (rides), airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical opera ...

and then a wide left turn before reaching its final

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...

, slowing down the train before it reaches the station. Riders have compared the ride experience to that of

sledding Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, Skel ...

and

bobsledding Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

due to the rides' use of airtime hills and turns.

References

{{SeaWorld Orlando