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Coaster Riders Will Wing It On SeaWorld's Manta

Artist rendering provided by Sea World.

The concept for the new ride is inspired by the gliding motions of mantas, SeaWorld officials said.

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 29, 2008

ORLANDO - SeaWorld Orlando this morning unveiled plans for an attraction to open in 2009 called Manta, a coaster ride that simulates the underwater experiences of the manta ray.

The concept was inspired by the gliding motions of mantas, SeaWorld officials said.

Guests will fly facedown in a horizontal position underthe belly of a coaster train shaped like a giant manta with a 12-foot wing span.

Riders will swoop and dive at speeds up to nearly 60 mph through four inversions on 3,359 feet of track.

"This ride is uniquely SeaWorld," said Dan Brown, vice president and general manager of SeaWorld Orlando. "SeaWorld is famous for connecting guests with the sea and its amazing creatures, and Manta does this in a way that has never been done before, creating a true sense of oneness between human and animal.

Riders will feel as if they are the creature itself, taking flight effortlessly from sky to sea — so close at times that the Manta's wings skim the waves, Sea World officials said.

"Guests will be inspired by the grace and power of live rays, then feel as if they, themselves, are gliding through air and water," said Joseph Couceiro, chief marketing officer for SeaWorld's parent company, Busch Entertainment Corp.

The 7-acre, 140-foot-tall attraction will tower over SeaWorld's 200-acres, just inside the entrance, officials said.

The Manta journey will begin as guests enter a mythical village with artisan-created engravings that celebrate manta ray legend and lore.

In addition to the ride, guests can view "face-to-fin" encounters with 300 rays, as well as thousands of fish. Those will include shark rays, spotted eagles rays, leopard rays, cownose rays and oscillate river rays.

The Swiss coaster-engineering company Bolliger & Mabillard designed the ride.

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