The newest, and wettest creation at SeaWorld Orlando is still under construction but we had the chance to go beyond the wall at Infinity Falls. The new whitewater raft ride will take guests into a raging river, deep in the Central American Rainforest. There you’ll have animal experiences, amazing food and learn about what you can do to help the rainforests of the world before plunging down the biggest drop on a raft ride. But Infinity Falls is more than just another water ride.
Video-Check out the full tour of Infinity Falls
We do cover a lot of ground here, and there’s a lot happening, but let’s break it down a little and take a look at each stop.
Water is Home. That’s the message of Infinity Falls. The ride is all about water conservation, and it takes many ways to get to that message. The raft ride is just the centerpiece of that message, and of the whole area, which is comprised of several different elements.
The attraction makes its home in the former Terrace Restaurant area of the park. The building was home to the Passholders lounge, which many were wondering if it would return. The passholder lounge will indeed return, though it will be in a new location, but still the same building. The new lounge will have much of the same benefits as before, but in a new setting.
There’s also the new restaurant, Waterway Grill. The restaurant will be counter service, but will use touchscreen kiosks to speed up the order process. The food will be a variety of different dishes, some with a Central American flair. With conservation being the key element, 5% of all sales at Waterway Grill will go to The Everglades Foundation, which will continue the message of “Water is home” by contributing to the preservation of Florida’s home waterways. There will also be an amazing new bar, which will serve a lot of local and craft beers, which will change throughout the year. There will also be two fan favorite dishes from the Seven Seas Food Festival served on a permanent basis.
The ride itself will take guests in an adventure with S.E.A. Collective, as Scientists, Explorers, Adventurers research the area. Animals will be in the area throughout the day, with four totems marking the animals that will be visiting guests.
The ride area looks amazing, as there are a lot of set pieces that the ride will venture through. Jutting rock work, amazing bridges and tons of unique features will make your whitewater trek seem very treacherous, but it’s going to be fun for the entire family with a height requirement of just 42″ inches. The ride will start guests off in a new Flamingo enclosure, which will see the tropical birds relocated from their home in front of the restaurant.
Waterfalls will part at the last minute as guests go near, which will keep them from getting completely drenched, but will still help in soaking guests. The ground breaking lift will take riders up 30 feet in about five seconds, where they will drop 40 feet into the ride. Each raft will seat eight riders, and the ride should be able to have 1032 riders per hour which will be the biggest capacity ride in the park. This will be made possible by the continuous loading system, and the separate ADA loader, which will load riders with disabilities (or those needing more time) apart from the other rafts, and insert them in the line up without slowing down other riders, which will keep guests flowing in.
Guests waiting in line will have plenty of shade, as a massive 20,000 lb ficus tree is being transplanted for the ride. The line will have a very organic and earthy feel, as guests wait, which is kind of the opposite of where queues are going.
Finally, there will be WhiteWater gifts, the all new gift shop, which is being stocked now. The gift shop will open very soon, and will give guests the chance to see some of the area before it fully opens.
Slideshow-Check out more pics from SeaWorld Orlando’s Infinity Falls!
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There is no solid opening date that the park would share, except for “Summer 2018”, which could mean anytime between now and September 20th, technically. The good thing is with the weather, there’s only a few days in the year that wouldn’t be good for a water ride.
We’re very exciting for SeaWorld Orlando’s take on a raft ride, which seems to be equal parts fun and still drives the conservation message home.
Special thanks to Ericka Dorman for the amazing pics. Video will come later, so check back for more!
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