Sea Viper (roller coaster)

The Sea Viper was a steel roller coaster at Sea World on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Sea Viper
Previously known as Corkscrew
The Sea Viper's station.
Sea World
LocationSea World
Coordinates27°57′24.9″S 153°25′35.26″E
StatusRemoved
Opening date17 September 1982 (1982-09-17)
Closing date17 July 2014 (2014-07-17)
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerArrow Dynamics
ModelLoop & Corkscrew
Lift/launch systemChain Lift Hill
Height28 m (92 ft)
Length600 m (2,000 ft)
Speed70 km/h (43 mph)
Inversions3
Duration1:35 minutes
Height restriction130 cm (4 ft 3 in)
Sea Viper at RCDB
Pictures of Sea Viper at RCDB

History

On 17 September 1982, Sea World opened the Corkscrew roller coaster.[1] The ride was the first to feature three inversions in Australia[1] and the second roller coaster for the theme park (the Thrillseeker opened within the prior year).[2][3] The Corkscrew was attributed to a 20% increase in attendance in the year after opening.[2]

In 2005, Sea World approached Kumbak to develop a new train for the then Corkscrew roller coaster.[4][5] Throughout 2009, the Corkscrew roller coaster was repainted from white to orange. In the middle of 2009, a sign appeared outside the attraction stating that Sea Viper, a "new ride experience", would be opening by summer.[1] In November 2009, the Corkscrew roller coaster closed to allow the original Arrow Dynamics train to be replaced with a new low-profile train manufactured by KumbaK.[1][6][7][8]

Sea Viper was closed in early 2014 for maintenance, however, it was announced on 17 July 2014 that its closure would be permanent.[1][9][10]

Ride

The ride began with the train being sent down a small hill followed by a 180° turn to the right under the queue. A chain lift hill then took riders up to a height of 28 metres (92 ft) before going down another small hill followed by a larger 180° turn. The track then drops to near ground level and enters a vertical loop. The ride then continued to run parallel to the station and up a hill before descending down a curved drop and into the double corkscrews. The second corkscrew passes directly under the Sea World Monorail System before curving up and back over it. The train's speed was reduced in a brake run before arriving back in the station.

  • An overview of the Sea Viper's layout. This picture was taken when the ride was the Corkscrew.
  • The Sea Viper's train entering into the first of two corkscrews.
  • The original Corkscew train in the first corkscrew.
  • A closeup of Sea Viper's train when it was on display at the IAAPA trade show in 2009
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References
  1. "Sea Viper (Sea World)". Parkz. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  2. Sea World. "History and Development of Sea World". MyFun. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  3. "Thrillseeker (Sea World)". Parkz. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  4. "KumbaK makes comeback!". Park World Online. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  5. "Sea World (AU) - Sea Viper (2009)". Kumbak. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  6. Marden, Duane. "Sea Viper  (Sea World)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  7. "PhotoMaps by NearMap". Satellite imagery showing both trains. Near Map. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  8. Sea World. "Sea Viper | Sea World". MyFun. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  9. "Sea Viper Roller Coaster Ride At Sea World". Sea World. Village Roadshow Theme Parks. July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  10. Burke, Liz (8 August 2014). "Sea World has started dismantling its Sea Viper - aka Corkscrew - roller-coaster". Gold Coast Bulletin. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
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