Manta is a steel launched roller coaster at

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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. The ride was manufactured by MACK Rides and opened to the public on May 26, 2012. It utilizes the same ride system that was used in

Blue Fire Blue Fire is a launched roller coaster at Europa-Park. The coaster opened in 2009 as part of a new Iceland-themed expansion to Europa-Park. As the first launched coaster built by Mack Rides, Blue Fire was the park's tenth roller coaster and th ...

which opened in 2009 at Europa Park.

History

Rumors about a new roller coaster for SeaWorld San Diego date back to mid October 2007 when details of a possible 2010 project were leaked. This plan was cancelled in mid-2008. In early January 2011, construction documents were discovered which detailed the plans for a $10 million manta ray-themed ride and animal exhibit due to open in 2012. On February 9, 2011, SeaWorld San Diego announced that they would be opening a Mack launched roller coaster called ''Manta'' in 2012. In late 2018, SeaWorld San Diego premiered a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

overlay of the attraction called Merry Manta. The first launch area would feature holiday music and dynamic lightning that created three different shows. Riders would also twist through a sea of glowing Christmas trees while the cool holiday air rushed by.

Ride

''Manta'' features two launches. Riders reach speeds of up to on the two-minute, long ride. The ride stands at a height of and features a drop including an underground portion of . The limited height was required due to height restrictions in place by the California Coastal Commission.

Trains

''Manta's'' four trains each feature manta ray shaped fronts. The 5-car trains each seat riders 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 20 riders per train. There is also elevated seating for the second row of each car.

Media

''Manta'' begins with a 270 degree projected media experience at the first launch. The train rocks forward and backward in synchronization with the projected film of a coral reef and school of rays. The media tunnel and film was produced by Falcon's Treehouse. For Electric Ocean, Manta changes after 7PM to Manta re-charged. The film projection for Manta re-charged features an array of colored lights projected on the screen. Various versions of this launch re-purpose Rick McKee's soundtrack from the Mako coaster at

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Or ...

Animal exhibit

The previously existing ''Forbidden Reef'' exhibit was incorporated into the attraction, featuring a touch pool above and an aquarium below The exhibit features 65

Bat rays The bat ray (''Myliobatis californica'')Gill, T.N. (1865). "Note on the family of myliobatoids, and on a new species of ''Aetobatis''". ''Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y.'' 8, 135–138. is an eagle ray found in muddy or sandy sloughs, estuaries and ...

, 10 Shovelnose

guitarfish The guitarfish, also referred to as shovelnose rays, are a family, Rhinobatidae, of rays. The guitarfish are known for an elongated body with a flattened head and trunk and small, ray-like wings. The combined range of the various species is trop ...

, 2 White sturgeons and more than 400 other

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

References

External links

Concept pictures and information
at NewsPlusNotes
Manta Official Site on SeaWorld Parks
at SeaWorldparks.com {{SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego Roller coasters operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Roller coasters in California