New SeaWorld coaster rises in Orlando
Manta, a flying rollercoaster from Bolliger & Mabillard, is rising at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. Park visitors can already see the construction cranes and the main lift hill, and even trace the path of Manta on a diagram posted at the construction site.
When complete, riders will fly face-down in a horizontal position underneath the belly of a coaster train shaped as a giant manta. With a wing span of 12ft, the train will climb 140ft in the air before soaring over the landscape below, including a section over water. Guests will glide, swoop and dive to 56 mph, through four inversions on 3,35ft of track.
The idea is that guests will feel as if they are a ray, taking flight effortlessly from sky to sea.The four-acre attraction is to be located inside the main entrance to SeaWorld, becoming a new icon for the park.