Electric Eel is a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

launched

coaster Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a commuter rail service in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight s ...

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld San Diego ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The coaster opened in 2018 and became the park's tallest and fastest roller coaster until the opening of Emperor in 2022, and is themed around the

Electric eel The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts ...

. An educational centre and exhibit can also be found by the attraction.

History

On January 3, 2017, SeaWorld San Diego announced their intention to add the Electric Eel roller coaster in time for the summer 2018 season. The coaster would be a launched coaster from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-based

Premier Rides Premier Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States. The company was the first to use Linear Induction Motors (LIMs) on their roller coasters. Jim Seay has been the sole owner and company president since 1996. The first r ...

, and alongside three new attractions opening later that year would mark a 24-month period of the park's largest growth since their opening in 1964. Electric Eel was proposed in January 2017 to be located on the park's eastern side, near the existing

Journey to Atlantis ''Journey to Atlantis'' is the name shared by three Water Coasters located at SeaWorld theme parks. These attractions, while different from one another, tell a similar story of a trip to the mythical land of Atlantis. Each one combines roller coas ...

water coaster, and given its notable height, would be painted lighter colors from the 60-foot mark and higher in order to comply with transparency

requirements In product development and process optimization, a requirement is a singular documented physical or functional need that a particular design, product or process aims to satisfy. It is commonly used in a formal sense in engineering design, includi ...

. Work began later that year, and crews installed more than 200 diameter columns up to 40 feet below ground in order to support the ride's 11,000-square-foot foundation mat, which was completed by November 2017. Vertical construction began shortly after, and wrapped up on January 17, 2018. During a media tour on the said date to commemorate the topping off, the ride's car was first unveiled. On March 29, 2018, amid the ride's test runs, SeaWorld officials set Electric Eel's opening date for May 12, 2018. However, on April 17, the date was moved up to two days earlier than originally planned, on May 10, whereas park representatives cited the project to be well ahead of schedule. As planned, Electric Eel officially opened to the public on May 10, 2018.

Ride experience

Queue

The

Queue area Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. Such a group of people is known as a ''queue'' (British usage) or ''line'' (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing ''in ...

meanders around an ocean floor landscape located in front of Electric Eel, near the Ocean Explorer park area. The usage of handrails and permanent shade structures is minimal, and educational signage spread throughout the queue offer facts about the

. The queue also features an original musical score by composer Rick McKee.

Layout

Riders are launched forwards out of the station and up into a partial twist. The train then falls back through the station, where it is accelerated backwards into another twist. Once again, the train rolls back into the station and riders are accelerated for the third and final time to a top speed of . It then travels up to a height of and twists into a slow

heartline roll Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements". Com ...

at the top. Upon exiting the roll, riders twist down into a full a full

non-inverting loop This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or t ...

before coming to an eventual stop in the station. One full cycle of the ride experience lasts approximately 50 seconds. The coaster also features a high-energy soundtrack by Rick McKee (matching the movements of the coaster) for riders on the boarding platform.

Characteristics

Statistics

Electric Eel is tall, long, and reaches an advertised top speed of . The ride operates with a single 3 car train, with each car holding 6 riders in 3 rows of 2 for a total of 18 riders per train. Combined with steady operations, the advertised capacity is 720 riders per hour. The attraction sits on 1.2 acres of land, and the station occupies an area of 1,130 square feet.

Model

Electric Eel is a

Sky Rocket II Sky Rocket II is a steel roller coaster model made by American manufacturer Premier Rides. The first Sky Rocket II was Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which opened on June 30, 2012, and the latest is Sky Loop at Riyadh Wi ...

model coaster from

. The compact launched coaster model is one of three bought by the

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...

group, and the second one to be installed. The other two are

Tempesto Tempesto is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Built and manufactured by Premier Rides, Tempesto opened on April 25, 2015. History On October 7, 2013, Busch Garde ...

(2015) at

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly known as Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park located in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Located approximately northwest of Virgini ...

James City County, Virginia James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...

, and

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

(2019) at

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa and Asia. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park opened on Ju ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. The attraction has also been cloned elsewhere, with the original being Superman: Ultimate Flight (2012) at

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA) is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 ...

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...

, although unlike many of the other units installed the SeaWorld coasters operate with a longer train, increasing capacity by 50%.

Contractors

A large number of firms were involved in the design and construction process of Electric Eel, with credits being handed out to the following: *Ride Manufacturer: Premier Rides *General Contractor: Rudolph and Sletten Inc. *Subcontractor: Cemrock Landscapes Inc. *Lead Design Firm/Architect: PGAV Destinations *Structural Engineer: EDM Inc. *Geotechnical Engineer: Hayward Baker *MEP Engineer: EXP Inc. *Engineering Consultants; Christian Wheeler Engineering *Rick McKee: Original Musical Score

References

External links

* {{SeaWorld San Diego Roller coasters in California 2018 establishments in California Roller coasters introduced in 2018 Roller coasters operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment