SeaWorld Parks

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On Monday we were invited out to SeaWorld San Diego to Emperor Media Day! We had a great time at the event, the ride is super fun and is a great fit for the park. Unfortunately we couldn't shake the feeling that the ride area isn't quite done yet. But we'll get to that, let's start off with the good stuff. 
Written by Gregg Condon
We arrived to the park a couple of hours prior to our chosen ride time so we were able to hang around and watch media day in action, get some pictures and off-ride video of the attraction. So by the time we got to actually ride we knew what we were getting ourselves into. 
For those who don't know, I just was able to pick up a new GoPro Hero 9, we had fully anticipated using the parks set-up in addition to our own, but after watching the footage on my phone we were actually quite happy with what we had, so all the footage is ours! 
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The Emperor Ride Sign looks great!

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Sorry tall people, you can't ride

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One thing that a few people asked me was about the ride being "big guy" friendly. I had no issues at all. There are some extended seatbelts (red belts) but I didn't have a problem with either size belt.

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I love the Penguin Facts (of course)!

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That's a long list of Safety Requirements

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The views are spectacular!

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Really spectacular!

Ride Review: 

I've never hidden my love for B&M Dive Coasters. I'm not one who needs the longest, tallest, fastest, most inversions coaster. In fact, I'm more of a speed coaster person. But there's just something about the B&M Dive Coasters I have always loved. And I'm thrilled to have one in my backyard, well, my backyard 3 hours down the 5. 

The ride packs a punch, don't let it's small size fool you. It's non-stop from the drop to the brakes and I absolutely LOVE the Barrel Roll element. It's very whippy. The park definitely has a winner on their hands. 
Unfortunately with all that good, we have to kind of touch on something else. The ride isn't done. The station and queue are quite minimalist - indeed, there is almost a need for more shade for the guests & the operators. The sun on this day was already pretty harsh - and a hotter summer day could create problems for the park in terms of sunburned guests and heat stroke - yes, it can get VERY hot in Sandy Eggo.

Given they had 2 extra years it seems very odd that this is how they're opening their new coaster. 
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Yes, this is the station for the parks world class coaster.

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What queue there is, and a tent for the lockers and some penguin stuffed animals and water. That's it. No shirts, no kind of Emperor merchandise of any kind here or at any of the stores. Don't expect a lot when you are at the gift booth for now.

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If that weren't enough, the trains are already worn from sitting out in the sun for 2 years.

We honestly hate being even the tiniest bit negative given that we absolutely LOVED the coaster. But the set up of the coaster and queue/station isn't even close to what we've come to expect from SeaWorld. It really does feel like all work just stopped in March 2020 and never resumed even a little bit even though the park has been reopened for almost a year. 

But overall we feel these things can be fixed, and we fully anticipate that they will be at some point. We just hope it's sooner rather than later for both guests and the SeaWorld ride ops. 

In the meantime, make sure you get out to SeaWorld San Diego to take on Emperor, you definitely will not be disappointed in the coaster itself, and we can't wait to get out to the park to ride some more. 
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