Coordinates: 28°24′39″N 81°27′50″W / 28.4109°N 81.4639°W / 28.4109; -81.4639

Pipeline: The Surf Coaster

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Pipeline: The Surf Coaster
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Pipeline's overbanked turn
SeaWorld Orlando
LocationSeaWorld Orlando
Park sectionSea of Power
CoordinatesLua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
StatusOperating
Soft opening dateMay 12, 2023 (2023-05-12)
Opening dateMay 27, 2023 (2023-05-27)
General statistics
TypeSteel – Launched – Stand-up
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
ModelSurf Coaster
Lift/launch systemLSM launch
Height110 ft (34 m)
Length2,950 ft (900 m)
Speed60 mph (97 km/h)
Inversions1
Duration1:50
Height restriction54–78 in (137–198 cm)
Trains2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
ThemeSurfing
WebsiteOfficial website
Pipeline: The Surf Coaster at RCDB

Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, or simply Pipeline, is a launched stand-up roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the roller coaster opened on May 27, 2023. Pipeline is a Surf Coaster model from B&M and is themed to surfing, featuring surfboard-shaped vehicles.

The roller coaster is a prototype where the seats of riders shift up and down along the course layout. It reaches a height of 110 feet (34 m) and a maximum speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), and it features a track length of 2,950 feet (900 m). Following Mako, Manta and Kraken, Pipeline is the fourth B&M coaster at SeaWorld Orlando.

History

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The roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard filed a patent trademark for "Surf Coaster" on May 28, 2019.[2] A project codenamed "Project Penguin" was revealed in January 2020 after site-work plans were filed with Orange County officials for a new attraction in 2021.[3][4] The new project was planned to be built toward the front of the park near a pathway that runs along Bayside Stadium.[5] The area had been used in the past for festivals in the park.[5][6] Subsequent plans were made in June and September 2020, which also confirmed the new project to be a "custom launch coaster" featuring a stand-up restraint design. Early reports speculated that the Surf Coaster model would be built at SeaWorld Orlando.[2][7]

Teasers for SeaWorld Orlando's new roller coaster began in April 2022. A picture of trees with roller coaster track in the background was depicted in the first teaser. Construction fencing began appearing along the surrounding area.[3] In June 2022, the park teased with the warning, "High surf advisory".[8] The teaser warning would later be used as a hashtag to tease and promote the roller coaster on social media.[9] Due to the fallout from Hurricane Ian in September 2022, the official unveiling of the new coaster in an announcement was delayed.[10]

The final teaser video was released in early October 2022. In the video, the attraction's construction progress was on display.[11][12] On October 18, 2022, the park officially unveiled Pipeline: The Surf Coaster in an announcement.[13][14] The scheduled opening was revealed to be spring of 2023.[15] It was marketed as the first surf coaster in the world.[16] Track construction went vertical in late October 2022.[17] Pipeline's trains were put on display at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo on November 15, 2022.[18]

Construction of the track completed a month later on December 19, 2022,[19][20] which was followed by testing in March 2023.[6] The official opening date was revealed as May 27, 2023, with a soft opening preview period for passholders starting on May 12, 2023.[21]

Ride experience

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After exiting the station, the surfboard-themed train launches 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) into a 110 feet (34 m) overbanked turn to the right. Following the overbanked turn, the train turns left into an inversion billed as the "wave curl" inversion by the park, before the train goes up and turns right into one of two helix elements. After succeeding the 360° helix, the train immediately turns into a second overbanked turn. Traveling into a banked airtime hill, the train turns right and then whips to the left into a second, 270° helix. Then, the train turns left immediately after the helix, before turning right, into the final brake run.[22][23] The total duration for the roller coaster is approximately one minute and fifty seconds.[24]

Characteristics

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Pipeline: The Surf Coaster is a surf coaster model manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard. Though the ride strikes similarities with the stand-up roller coaster model, the ride was clarified as not being one, as stated by Jonathan Smith, SeaWorld's vice president of rides and engineering. Smith expressed at the IAAPA Expo on November 15, 2022 that the differences were that unlike stand-up roller coasters where riders stand "erect", the restraints on surf coasters have movement.[25] The roller coaster is the fourth Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando, the other three being Mako, Manta and Kraken.[9][16]

Track

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The steel track for Pipeline: The Surf Coaster is approximately 2,950 feet (900 m) long and the height of the highest peak, the first overbanked turn, is 110 feet (34 m).[26][27] The color of the track is teal and the supports are white.[28][29]

Theme

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Pipeline: The Surf Coaster is themed to surfing,[30] especially surfing cultures in California and Australia.[17] The park bills the launch section of the roller coaster as a "surfing launch", along with "wave jumping motions", which shift rider's seats up and down to resemble the feeling of surfing.[31][24][32] Additionally, the roller coaster's trains are designed to mimic surfboards.[13] The roller coaster's only inversion is titled the "wave curl" inversion, which is based on the "cork alley oop" surfing maneuver.[33]

See also

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References

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