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The Great White (SeaWorld San Antonio)

Coordinates: 29°27′08″N 98°41′47″W / 29.452270°N 98.696517°W / 29.452270; -98.696517
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The Great White
The Great White
SeaWorld San Antonio
LocationSeaWorld San Antonio
Coordinates29°27′08″N 98°41′47″W / 29.452270°N 98.696517°W / 29.452270; -98.696517
StatusOperating
Opening dateFebruary 1997
CostUS$21,000,000
General statistics
TypeSteel – Inverted
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
DesignerWerner Stengel
ModelInverted Coaster - Batman
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height108 ft (33 m)
Drop81.2 ft (24.7 m)
Length2,562 ft (781 m)
Speed50 mph (80 km/h)
Inversions5
Duration2:00
Capacity1400 riders per hour
G-force4.6
Height restriction54 in (137 cm)
Trains2 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.
Quick Queue available
The Great White at RCDB

The Great White is a steel inverted roller coaster at SeaWorld San Antonio,[1] and the first roller coaster to be built at a SeaWorld park. It is not only the first inverted roller coaster in Texas, but also the first one in the state to be built by Bolliger & Mabillard.[2]

Characteristics

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Despite its shortened track length, The Great White follows an identical ride layout as the Batman the Ride coasters at numerous Six Flags parks. At 2,562 feet (about 150 shorter than Batman's 2,693 foot layout), the coaster doesn't allow riders as much time to "recuperate" between inversions, consequently offering an extreme, forceful ride experience. Furthermore, The Great White sits lower to the ground, often deceiving its riders with elements such as "foot-choppers" as there are many trees and shrubs surrounding the coaster's track. The Great White is sometimes considered to be more intense than its Six Flags' cousin because of its added 8th row (Goliath has only seven rows per train) and shorter track length (2,562 feet, compared to Goliath's 2,700 feet. Its layout consists of the following inversions:

When The Great White opened, its queue line wrapped around a large-scale shark aquarium, similar to the manta aquariums found in SeaWorld Orlando's eponymous flying coaster Manta, opened in 2009. Unlike Manta, however, The Great White did not offer separate entrances for riders and non-riders to view its aquarium exhibit. The display was later removed.[4] SeaWorld San Antonio's shark exhibit was relocated to Discovery Point's 450,000 gallon Explorer's Reef aquarium, which additionally offers Shark Tours.[5] [6]

References

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  1. ^ Fodor's (2008). Fodor's Texas. Fodor's travel guides (1st ed.). New York: Fodor's Travel. ISBN 978-1400007196.
  2. ^ Marden, Duane. "SeaWorld San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas, USA)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  3. ^ Marden, Duane. "Great White - SeaWorld San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas, USA)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. ^ "Great White at SeaWorld San Antonio.", COASTER-net.com, retrieved April 20, 2024
  5. ^ "Seaworld Explorer's Reef - Texas Shark Exhibits - SeaWorld San Antonio.", SeaWorld.com, retrieved April 20, 2024
  6. ^ "2024 SeaWorld San Antonio Park Map." (PDF), SeaWorld.com, SeaWorld San Antonio, retrieved April 20, 2024