San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego Hopes ‘Tidal Twister' Will Increase Park Attendance

SeaWorld hopes the Tidal Twister will raise their attendance numbers, which dropped significantly after the 2013 documentary "Blackfish"

One of San Diego's biggest tourist destinations has debuted its latest attraction -- a winding, high-speed roller coaster that is meant to simulate ocean tides. 

SeaWorld San Diego's Tidal Twister opened to the public on Friday with two dueling tracks that twist, turns and dips to give guests the feeling that they are riding an ocean tide.

Guests will ride one of two 16-person coasters that travel along separate figure-eight tracks at 30 mile-per-hour speeds. At the center of each track, guests will experience a zero-gravity roll, according to the theme park.

SeaWorld hopes the Tidal Twister will help raise their attendance numbers, which have already gone up 3.6 percent for the first quarter of 2019 when compared to last year, according to SeaWorld's investor report

SeaWorld has been trying to recover from the 2013 "Blackfish" documentary that suggested the treatment of captive orcas provokes violent behavior. The release dropped the park's attendance number's significantly. 

In 2017, SeaWorld ended their use of killer whales as performers in their entertainment shows and found a new way to showcase their orcas through an encouter-style program.

The park's attendance went up 20 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to the latest Theme Index report. SeaWorld's last rollercoaster, the Electric Eel, was debuted during that time. 

The attendance increase was higher than any other theme park in the United States, though SeaWorld San Diego's attendance was still far behind other theme parks across the country, the study noted.  

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