Tidal Twister Review!

[Paradox]

SeaWorld San Diego opened up the brand new Tidal Twister roller coaster last month. This unique attraction is built by Skyline Attractions, and is the first Skywarp Horizon model that was built by the company.

I was able to ride Tidal Twister twice last week, and was able to experience the ride on both sides of the train. It is a very fun attraction, and one that I will go into more detail shortly.

The first thing I noticed while walking up to the ride was the landscaping. The landscaping was very well done and the ride is integrated perfectly in the area of the park with the amphitheater and Shipwreck Rapids. For those not wanting to ride, pathways adjacent to the coaster allow spectacular angles of the ride in action.

The ride starts out with a unique tilting mechanism which I have not experienced on any ride before. The ride tilts downward to line up with the track which results in a very interesting form of hang time that riders can experience.

The cars themselves are comfortable, but nothing to rave about. I found that the cars that hold four people are quite tight, especially if four adults are in that car. The front cars of the trains are definitely the place to ride for a more comfortable ride experience.

The ride itself surprised me. It starts out slow but when it gets moving the ride offers a very fun ride. It only has two elements, but those two elements are just plain fun. The best part of the ride was going through the inversion backwards, which offered unique forces that I have never felt on another coaster before.

My only complaint about the ride is the station. There is very little shade, which gets very hot when loading and unloading from the ride. I also have a pet peeve for uncovered stations. Thankfully we didn't have to stand in the hot sun for too long!

Overall, Tidal Twister is a unique, fun, and fitting addition to the park. The best way to describe it is a ???thrilling family coaster.??? It is perfect for children who want to experience their first inversion on a coaster, but don???t quite want to experience the intensity of Electric Eel. Indeed, I saw lots of families getting in line for this coaster and coming off the ride smiling. At the end of the day, that???s the goal of a successful coaster.

For anyone doubting that this ride is a coaster, it is not completely powered throughout the whole course and does coast for a little bit. It even has the ability to roll back which I think undeniably sets this as a coaster.

Here are some pictures of the ride!





They did a really good job fitting it into this area. The colors look great and the ride brings a good atmosphere to this part of the park.

Unfortunately, the other Skywarp at SFDK was closed when I went so I am not able to compare, but I've heard from others that Tidal Twister is better!

Overall, SWSD is a great park and probably my favorite SeaWorld park (I do prefer it to Orlando!). The park has a very nice lineup of rides and I really hope I can visit in the near future for Mako. I enjoyed all of the rides at the park, but the real star in my opinion was Manta. The ride has a near perfect layout for a family coaster and mixes thrills in so nicely. There are some moments with good positive g's and great airtime at the end, plus the interaction with scenery is fantastic!