Sea Viper a step in the right direction

Sometime last year, the Corkscrew at Sea World underwent a paint job that changed the colour of the track to a bright, vibrant orange. There were no explanations given for it until much later, when it was revealed that they would be introducing new trains and a new name for the ride.

Before the information was released, I wrote a blog entry about how the new paint job would take away from the ride's nostalgic factor, but with the release of the new name and train, all I can say is that I ended up feeling like (and probably also looking like) a total jackass from that last blog entry, despite what I think were well-justified claims at the time.

Sea Viper is essentially the Corkscrew brought into the 21st century with a flashy new logo and fantastic new trains. And speaking of the trains, they are simply awesome: simplistic, stylish, very comfortable and incredibly roomy. The trains also give off a vibe that they were designed to be as light and aerodynamic as possible, completely ditching the old fibreglass shells to give it a sleek, raw look.

The horse collar restraints have been redesigned to allow a lot more freedom for the limbs and a greater peripheral view. However, it seemed odd they have placed some nylon mesh nets on the outside of the trains that go over your shoulder. Be aware that if your head does exceed the height of the restraints like mine does, the restraint is a perfect shape for your neck to slam into.

Still, I feel that Sea World missed out on a great chance to optimise the throughput of the ride by introducing a second train as I am sure the track has enough block sections to run two. Nonetheless, the lines still move along quite fast due to the short duration of the ride.

The ride itself is just as smooth and fun as it always was, if not smoother, due to the new trains. The widened view also really enhances the several near misses encountered during the ride and makes them just that little bit more convincing.

Overall, Sea Viper is a great enhancement of an old ride, even though it didn't really need it to begin with. Let's hope that this becomes a trend within Sea World and carries over to Bermuda Triangle -- lights on in the missile room, LED strings represent the lava and NO radio talkback? What a letdown!

Photo: Sea World