Tidal Twister at SeaWorld San Diego is one of the most polarizing rides in the industry.
The first comes off its classification. Is it a coaster or is it a flat ride?
But the more pertinent one is just how bad this ride is? Nearly everyone I know who has ridden
this ride has a negative opinion on it. So much to my amazement, I actually found the ride fun.
Let me explain why in this review. Skyline Attractions was founded in 2014.
This company has made some great coaster designs over the years, particularly for
Great Coasters International, but their first forays into manufacturing their own coasters
got off to a bumpy start. That is…if you even consider them coasters.
In 2016, the company unveiled their skywarp model. This was a more complex take on the highly
popular Larson Super Loop for two reasons. First, the rides would be more than just one
vertical loop. They could have immelmanns, inline twists, camelbacks, and so much more.
Second, the rides could be classified as coasters. Whereas super loops have the train fixed to a
track that moves, the skywarps have a coaster train that moves on its own along the track. Drive
tires launch the train through the circuit so it is rolling and coasting through the elements.
The first Skywarp was Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster and it went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
This ride opened in 2018, but it was a disaster. The ride had extensive downtime.
I managed to get on it and it was one of the worst coaster experiences I’ve ever had. It
rattled profusely and when combined with those bulky over-the-shoulder harnesses,
it led to a lot of headbanging and discomfort. And I know I wasn’t the only one.
This ride operated sporadically in both 2018 and 2019. It was standing but not operating leading
into the pandemic and then the park removed it. Given my ride on Harley Quinn, I was a bit nervous
when SeaWorld San Diego announced Tidal Twister. This ride opened in 2019. But this would have a
much different layout. Whereas Harley Quinn was comprised of two immelmanns, Tidal Twister was a
smaller horizon model. It was comprised of an inline twist with a camelback going over it.
However, this has been another problematic coaster. The ride seems to be closed more
often than it’s open. It was closed for maintenance with a crane next to it in 2020.
For most months in 2023, the ride is scheduled to go down for a 3 days for preventative maintenance.
Then I’ve heard this ride has often been closed on slower weekdays. On the days the ride operates,
it doesn’t open before noon per the app. And it may open far later than that.
When we visited SeaWorld earlier this month, we specifically went on a Saturday to maximize our
chances of it being open. However, it was on the ride closure boards when we reached the
toll booths. But right around sunset, we saw the ride testing. After a successful cycle,
we got on. I then tried to film the ride with people afterwards, but it faulted
so we went to go see the Orca Encounter show. We caught it testing once the show ended and got
back in line. And immediately after my ride, it broke down yet again. So I don’t know how
many cycles it ran that day, but it wasn’t a lot. I’m very fortunate to have gotten on it.
So in short if you see or hear this ride running, make a beeline over there because
it may not be open for long. You may have to go over there a few times because it’s in its own
little corner and you can’t really see it until you’re right on top of it because it’s so short.
And because of how little it ran, from my experience, the app may not update fast enough.
And that is a shame because I do see merit in this attraction. It seems to be a good first inverting
coaster for kids. It has modest speed and very little height. The ride is just 22 feet or 7
meters tall, so it’s a lot more approachable than the park’s other looping coasters.
Most people I saw trying to ride this were younger kids with their parents.
I also think this ride looks pretty cool off-ride.
You have a unique paint scheme with purple track and pink supports.
Then the near-miss of the train navigating the inversion and bunny hill is mesmerizing to see.
Now I say train. While it may appear to have two separate trains from a distance. It’s actually
one super long and weirdly connected train. This is going to be a complex description.
You have two passenger sections connected by a long line of wheel bogies. Each passenger
section is comprised of 5 cars. The front two cars seat two rides apiece and are facing outwards. The
middle three cars each hold 4 riders a piece, as pairs of riders sit facing inwards at another pair
of riders. So each side holds 18 riders and the full train can hold 36 riders. That’s not bad.
However, every time I’ve ridden a Skywarp or any footage I’ve seen of a Skywarp,
only has it running one side. Since the trains load simultaneously on different load platforms,
running both sides necessitates double the staff. So I’m guessing running one side is a
staffing thing, but with all the technical issues these rides have had, I can’t say for sure.
Once it’s your turn to ride, you can pick any open row. If the row you want is taken,
you can request to wait an extra train, but know the ride very well could break down.
I only tried the ends, but I imagine those are the best seats for the improved view.
Once seated, you have these big over-the-shoulder harnesses. Based on their size and positioning
next to your ears, they are in a prime spot to cause headbanging if the ride were as rough as
Harley Quinn. So I was a bit nervous on my first ride, but it ended up being fine. Thankfully.
When you board the vehicles, they are lifted off the track to be level with the load platform.
It’s a weird system that reminds me of the old Bayern Kurves.
But once the ride starts, they slowly tilt down to the track. I would not be surprised if this
complex mechanism causes a lot of the downtime. You then have a series of drive tires in the
station that start “launching” the train back and forth. These tires aren’t on the track. Rather,
they’re off to the side similar to some flat rides. The train did start to jitter when the
tires engaged, which made me think I was in for another Harley Quinn. But fortunately,
the ride is smooth everywhere else. You just get a little shake going past the drive tires.
This process of rocking back-and-forth takes over 1.5 minutes and you’ll hear some interesting
noises all through this process. If you think those Zamperla giant discoveries take a long time
to get going, say hello to Tidal Twister. After a few passes, you get stall on the
inline twist for a few seconds. So you get some ridiculous hangtime.
Eventually you make it over to the other side. Now the direction of travel can vary ride-to-ride.
I boarded the far side of the load platform for my first ride. The train ended up
going clockwise for the full laps, so I went forwards. Thinking that would be consistent,
I sat on the opposite side the next time. I wanted to go backwards. But the train ended up
completing the full laps going counterclockwise. Not sure if it’s randomized or weight dependent.
As the ride gets more speed, the inline twist gets a bit weaker. You still get good hangtime,
but it’s not as copious as the earlier passes. Now that bunny hill on the other hand doesn’t
really do anything even when you’re at your max speed of 30 mph or 48 kph.
On the fifth lap, you start to slow down, so you the hangtime increases in duration.
On the next pass, you stall out. So you get top notch hangtime yet again. The train then
slows down much quicker than it accelerated and you come to a stop where you began.
The train then lifts back to the load platform. So what would I rate Tidal Twister? I would give
this contraption a 5 out of 10. How much you like this ride comes down to two things. One,
can you appreciate just how weird the ride mechanisms are? Two and more importantly, do you
love…and I mean love…hangtime. This is one of the best coasters for that sensation. The early and
later passes through that inline twist will have you hanging upside-down for possibly 5-6 seconds.
Since I enjoy hangtime, that part was really cool. This experience isn’t uncomfortable for me,
it’s just awkward at points considering how long it takes to get going.
I’m a bit worried about this ride’s long-term future given its operational history thus far,
but if they can get this running consistently, I wouldn’t find seeing it stick around.
While there are a lot of better coasters out there,
this attraction does compare favorably to a good flat ride.
And long-term, I’m a bit optimistic on future skywarps. Skyline themselves have admitted the
first two were learning experiences and they have a fleet of next-generation models on
their website addressing the reliability and comfort issues of the first two.
So those are my thoughts on Tidal Twister at SeaWorld San Diego and the Skywarp model in
general thus far. What are your thoughts on this weird ride? Let me know your thoughts-
whether it’s a coaster or not, or if it’s enjoyable? If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!