Infinity Falls Explained

Infinity Falls
Location:SeaWorld Orlando
Section:Sea of Mystery
Status:Open
Soft Opened:September 28, 2018
Opened:October 4, 2018
Previousattraction:Sea Gardens[1]
Manufacturer:Intamin
Model:River raft ride
Height Ft:30
Drop Ft:40
Length Ft:1520
Restriction In:42–77
Boats:14
Riders Per Row:4
Rows Per Boat:2
Custom Label 1:Website
Virtual Queue Name:Quick Queue
Virtual Queue Image:Quick Queue availability logo.svg
Virtual Queue Status:available

Infinity Falls is a river raft ride manufactured by Intamin located at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida. The ride opened on October 4, 2018, holding the record for tallest drop on a river raft ride.

History

The 2008 purchase of Anheuser-Busch by Belgian brewer InBev led to the sale of Busch's parks to a private equity firm in 2009. The sale also led to the closure of the park's Hospitality Center on February 1, 2009.[2] In 2010, the park opened its Sea Gardens, an area that featured daily animal interactions.

On April 13, 2017, SeaWorld Orlando announced "Infinity Falls" to open in 2018, with park officials comparing the ride to class IV river rapids experience.[3] [4] [5] On August 10, 2017, SeaWorld Orlando filed a notice of commencement and began ground breaking work.[6] Permits that were found on October 12, 2017 in Orange County, Florida showed details of construction, with PCL Construction looking over the work site.[7] The ride raft was unveiled at International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Attraction Exposition 2017.[8]

Though the ride was installed by June 20, 2018, testing and finishing touches were still to be completed.[9] In July 2018, a promotion was offered by the park to passholders for first access to the attraction.[10] On July 18, 2018, the ride's tower was topped-out,[11] [12] [13] and in the same month the park polled guests to naming some of the rafts.[14] By August 2018, it was reported that the ride's delay in opening was attributed to testing and weather among several other circumstances.[15] On September 19, 2018, the walls surrounding the area came down.[16] Though the ride was still in testing, a media day was announced a few days later.[17] [18] Employee testing began on September 27, 2018,[19] with the ride soft-opened on September 28, 2018 with an official opening set in October 2018.[20] [21] Infinity Falls officially opened on October 4, 2018.[22] [23] The former Hospitality Center became a restaurant known as the Waterway Grill which opened in September 2018.

Ride experience

The area is themed to the conservation of water, varying from other attractions at the park where they're themed in conjunction with an animal or the ocean. As guests go through the queue area, they're introduced to the story line through the ride's queue and interactive games.[24] [25] The queue is of the idea that guests are explorers and scientists, part of the organization "S.E.A. Collective", settled in wetland camp along a river in the rainforest. A bridge connects the pathway to the area, with totems on either side depicting a parrot, a snake, a tree frog, and a sloth.[26] Moreover, the connected area has pay to play water cannons that individuals use to soak people on the ride through telescopes that line the course.[27]

The course takes about 5 minutes to traverse.[28] [29]

Characteristics

Infinity Falls is contained within a 2.5acres space located within the Sea of Mystery area of the park. It takes five minutes to traverse through the layout trough of 2100feet. Four pumps that contain 300hp each pump altogether 900000gal of water throughout the courses layout.[30]

Raft names

In addition to being numbered, each raft on Infinity Falls has its own name, most being play on words related to the ride experience.

  1. Winter Blue
  2. River Race
  3. Flying Colors
  4. Blue Paradise
  5. Aqua Falls
  6. Discovery
  7. River Falls
  8. Amazon Drop
  9. H2O
  10. Everfalls
  11. Marine Falls
  12. Expedition
  13. Rafty McRaftFace
  14. Sea Señora
  15. A Little Nauti

Records

Upon opening, Infinity Falls held the record for the tallest drop on a river raft ride,[31] which was previously held by River Quest in Phantasialand with a drop of 36 feet. It beat the record by 4 feet, making it 40 feet tall at its highest point.[32]

Reception

Infinity Falls was well received in the park. Prior to Infinity Falls' opening, the newest ride at SeaWorld Orlando was Mako, which opened in June 2016.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SeaWorld unveils new ride. Ober. Amanda. June 20, 2018. WESH. October 28, 2018.
  2. Web site: No more free beer at Busch theme parks. Orlando Business Journal.
  3. News: SeaWorld Orlando is building the 'world's tallest river rapid drop'. Wolf. Colin. April 13, 2017. Orlando Weekly. October 28, 2018. Euclid Media Group. en.
  4. News: SeaWorld Orlando's Infinity Falls to open summer 2018. Sangalang. Jennifer. April 13, 2017. Florida Today. October 28, 2018. USA Today. en.
  5. News: Would you take a raft ride that drops you 40 feet into whitewater rapids?. Lambert. Marjie. April 13, 2017. Miami Herald. October 28, 2018. The McClatchy Company. en.
  6. Web site: Here's the latest on SeaWorld's newest ride opening next year. Bilbao. Richard. August 11, 2017. Orlando Business Journal. American City Business Journals. October 28, 2018.
  7. Web site: Here's what SeaWorld permits hint at for future raft ride. Bilbao. Richard. October 25, 2017. Orlando Business Journal. American City Business Journals. October 28, 2018.
  8. News: SeaWorld shows off Infinity Falls rafts, set for 2018 debut. Bevil. Dewayne. November 14, 2017. Orlando Sentinel. October 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  9. News: SeaWorld: Summer clock ticking but still no Infinity Falls open date. Russon. Gabrielle. June 20, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. October 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  10. News: SeaWorld Orlando offers promotion for first Infinity Falls access. Russon. Gabrielle. July 5, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. October 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  11. News: Construction on SeaWorld's Infinity Falls is finally wrapping up, could open any day. Scavo. Megan. July 18, 2018. Orlando Weekly. September 28, 2018. Euclid Media Group. en.
  12. News: SeaWorld Orlando teases new photo of Infinity Falls. Russon. Gabrielle. July 18, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  13. Web site: SeaWorld Orlando's All-New Infinity Falls Opening Summer 2018. July 22, 2018. Space Coast Daily. en-US. September 28, 2018.
  14. Web site: SeaWorld Orlando's Infinity Falls River Team Requesting Help in Naming Rafts. July 23, 2018. Positively Osceola. en-US. December 20, 2018.
  15. News: Rapids churn in SeaWorld Orlando's Infinity Falls ride but still no open date set. Russon. Gabrielle. August 17, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  16. Web site: Walls come down as Infinity Falls prepares to open at SeaWorld Orlando!. Yates. Erik. September 19, 2018. Behind The Thrills. en-US. September 28, 2018.
  17. News: Infinity Falls nears debut at SeaWorld Orlando?. Carter. Ashley. September 21, 2018. Spectrum News 13. September 28, 2018. en.
  18. News: SeaWorld Orlando: Infinity Falls poised to open, preview set for Oct. 4. Russon. Gabrielle. September 24, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  19. News: SeaWorld employees take plunge on Infinity Falls, which opens Oct. 4. Bevil. Dewayne. September 28, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. September 29, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  20. News: Infinity Falls now soft opening at SeaWorld Orlando, grand opening on Oct. 4. Tuttle. Brittani. September 28, 2018. Attractions Magazine. September 29, 2018. en-US.
  21. News: SeaWorld's newest thrill ride Infinity Falls gets an opening date —finally. Marr. Madeleine. September 28, 2018. Miami Herald. September 28, 2018. The McClatchy Company. en.
  22. News: SeaWorld Orlando's newest attraction, Infinity Falls, opens. October 4, 2018. WOFL. October 4, 2018. en-US.
  23. News: First riders at Infinity Falls give good reviews. Russon. Gabrielle. October 4, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. October 4, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  24. News: Infinity Falls at SeaWorld Orlando: tallest drop on a river raft ride. Read. Rachel. October 22, 2018. Blooloop. November 11, 2018. en-GB.
  25. News: How SeaWorld Put A New Spin On A Theme Park Classic. Sylt. Christian. October 13, 2018. Forbes. November 11, 2018. en.
  26. News: SeaWorld goes all in with new high-tech raft ride but will it ever open?. Storey. Ken. June 25, 2018. Orlando Weekly. November 11, 2018. Euclid Media Group. en.
  27. News: SeaWorld's Infinity Falls comes with special features — at a cost. Russon. Gabrielle. August 29, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. November 11, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  28. News: SeaWorld Orlando: Rapids, 'appropriate' drenching await on Infinity Falls ride. Bevil. Dewayne. May 29, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. November 11, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  29. Web site: Infinity Falls on-ride 4K POV SeaWorld Orlando. October 12, 2018. Coaster Force. YouTube. November 11, 2018.
  30. News: SeaWorld: Going over Infinity Falls, by the numbers. Bevil. Dewayne. October 5, 2018. Orlando Sentinel. October 28, 2018. Tronc. en-US.
  31. News: Infinity Falls at SeaWorld Orlando: tallest drop on a river raft ride. Read. Rachel. October 22, 2018. Blooloop. October 28, 2018. en-GB.
  32. News: River Quest record. August 19, 2018. September 21, 2018. Phantasialand. YouTube.