''Storm Coaster'' is a water coaster located at the Sea World

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

on the Gold Coast,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The ride is designed by

Mack Rides Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Ge ...

of Germany and combines the flume and splashdown elements of a

log flume A log flume or lumber flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Loggi ...

, with the

chain lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from ...

and drops of a

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel Railway track, track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely ...

. Original plans for a Water Coaster at Sea World were released by the local council in 2008; however, they were put on hold. In 2010, the

Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a loosely defined region in the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly bounded by Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Since the mid-20th century, it has been the focus of an urban legend sug ...

ride closed, sitting dormant until mid-2012 when construction for the ''Storm Coaster'' began. After demolition works were completed, track for the ''Storm Coaster'' arrived at Sea World, taking five months to erect. ''Storm Coaster'' officially opened to the public on 6 December 2013. ''Storm Coaster'' is themed to the effects of a Category 5

Tropical Cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

at a coastal

shipping port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manches ...

. The ride stands tall and features a top speed of . The ride has not been well received, with park goers missing the old Bermuda Triangle ride that was on the same site.

History

In January 2008, the

Gold Coast City Council The City of Gold Coast is the Local government in Australia, local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774, it is the second most populous local ...

released plans for a Mack Rides Water Coaster at Sea World. The ride would have been located at the front of the park, with the ride's

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

situated where the

Penguin Encounter Penguin Encounter is an animal exhibit at the Sea World (Australia), Sea World amusement park, theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Australia, featuring King penguin, king and Gentoo penguin, gentoo penguins. History On 24 M ...

exhibit exists and the main track extending out and over the car park. These plans were shelved. In December 2008, Sea World opened Jet Rescue, an

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...

JetSki Coaster. In June 2012, Sea World applied for a permit to demolish the

water ride system and the interior of its

show building Show building is the name often given to various enclosed structures at theme parks that contain attractions such as rides and entertainment shows. The exteriors of such buildings may be themed on some or all sides, but their hidden "backstage" a ...

. The Bermuda Triangle had been sitting dormant since its closure in October 2010 and had been earmarked by the park as a site for a future attraction. On 12 July 2012, Christian von Elverfeldt from Mack Rides revealed Australia would be receiving a water roller coaster in 2013; leading to speculation that Sea World might have revived its plans. Further development application filings, and reports by the

Roller Coaster DataBase Roller Coaster DataBase (RCDB) is a roller coaster and amusement park database begun in 1996 by Duane Marden. It has grown to feature statistics and pictures of over 12,000 roller coasters from around the world. Publications that have mentioned ...

and the

Gold Coast Bulletin The ''Gold Coast Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper serving Australia's Gold Coast region. It is published as ''The Gold Coast Bulletin'' on weekdays and the ''Weekend Bulletin'' at weekends. It is owned by News Corp Australia. History The ...

, confirmed this speculation. In September 2012, Sea World asked

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n firm Dynamic Motion Rides (DyMoRides) to develop a theming and show design concept for the yet-to-be-announced ''Storm Coaster''. DyMoRides was ultimately contracted for the full

turnkey A turnkey, a turnkey project, or a turnkey operation (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it can be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds ...

project in April 2013. DyMoRides subsequently contracted PEL Creative for creative direction, Full-On Lighting for lighting design, Volume One for audio and visual effects, and Sculpt Studios for theming design. Prior to the commencement of construction, Sea World announced a new attraction for 2013 and released a promotional image on their

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page which read "''The storm is building. It's gonna be a big one.''". Demolition works began in August 2012. Due to this construction, nearby attractions, including Viking's Revenge Flume Ride, Jet Rescue and the Skyway, were intermittently closed throughout the latter part of 2012 and into 2013. The first pieces of ride track arrived on site in April 2013, with vertical construction commencing in the following month. An official announcement for ''Storm Coaster'' made by Sea World in May 2013 detailed the ride would feature of track and a series of water and fire effects. Although an opening date of September 2013 was initially set, Sea World later revised this to be Summer 2013. By September 2013, the ride's track was complete, with focus moving towards theming and testing the ride. On 2 December 2013, ''Storm Coaster'' soft opened to the public, with an official opening held four days later.

Characteristics

''Storm Coaster'' is a Water Coaster designed by Mack Rides. The track layout is identical to ''Skatteøen'' at

Djurs Sommerland Djurs Sommerland () is an amusement park located in Djursland, Denmark, just north of the village of Nimtofte, 23 kilometers west of Grenaa, and 36 kilometers east of Randers. The park opened in 1981, and it has progressively expanded every yea ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The ride stands tall and features a top speed of . Unlike most roller coasters which have two rails and a wheel assembly to wrap around the track, ''Storm Coaster'' features six rails where the wheels run within the track. The ride features six

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

-themed vehicles that each seat eight riders in four rows of two. Riders are restrained through the use of both lap bars and seat belts. ''Storm Coaster'' is reported to have cost $20 million, making it the single biggest investment in an Australian theme park attraction.

Experience

''Storm Coaster'' is themed around the effects of a Category 5

at a coastal

. Theming surrounding the ride depicts a path of destruction from the storm, with boats, cars,

shipping containers A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...

and other debris strewn throughout. However, the port is in the eye of the storm and everyone must evacuate via Coast Guard rescue boats. Riders enter the queue area by passing through a shipping container with a rusty ''Storm Coaster'' sign on it. A short outdoor path leads riders towards a stack of containers. Riders enter the containers through a series of black rubber flaps, before emerging into a warehouse. Once at the

riders board one of the Coast Guard boats. After departing the station, the boats travel through a short flume section before emerging from the building and ascending a

. Once at the top of the hill, the track dips and turns 180 degrees to the right, entering a

mid-course 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, an ...

. A sweeping 180 degree downward turn to the right is followed by an upward turn into another brake run. The ride then drops below ground, passing under the queue path before emerging over an

air-time In the context of amusement rides, air time, or airtime, refers to the time during which riders of a rollercoaster or other ride experience either frictionless or G-force, negative G-forces. The negative g-forces that a rider experiences is what ...

hill, where riders experience a feeling of

weightlessness Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...

. This hill drops into the

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

of an upturned boat and is followed by the ride's

splashdown Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft or launch vehicle in a body of water, usually by parachute. This has been the primary recovery method of American capsules including NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Orion along with th ...

. On the boat's return path to the station it passes a variety of lighting, fire, and water effects. Riders exiting ''Storm Coaster'' pass alongside the ride's finale, with the chance to get soaked by other boats in the splashdown area.

Reception

The reception of ''Storm Coaster'' has been negative. The Bermuda Triangle which was situated on the same site and was demolished for the Storm Coaster was a fan favourite among Sea World visitors and had a cult following. Other negatives include riders calling it one dimensional due to the same 2 turns being the bulk of the ride and it not being thrilling compared to other roller coasters on the Gold Coast.

References

External links