Infinity Falls

Infinity Falls
Infinity Falls drop
SeaWorld Orlando
AreaSea of Mystery
Coordinates28°24′28″N 81°27′44″W / 28.4078788°N 81.462298°W / 28.4078788; -81.462298
StatusOperating
Soft opening dateSeptember 28, 2018
Opening dateOctober 4, 2018
ReplacedSea Gardens[1]
General statistics
ManufacturerIntamin
ModelRiver raft ride
Height30 ft (9.1 m)
Drop40 ft (12 m)
Length1,520 ft (460 m)
Boats14 boats. Riders are arranged 4 across in 2 rows for a total of 8 riders per boat.
Height restriction42–77 in (107–196 cm)
WebsiteOfficial website
Quick Queue 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

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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

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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.[25][26] 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

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A raft for the ride shown at the Intamin booth at IAAPA IAE 2017

Infinity Falls is contained within a 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) space located within the Sea of Mystery area of the park. It takes five minutes to traverse through the layout trough of 2,100 feet (640 m). Four pumps that contain 300 horsepower (220,000 W) each pump altogether 900,000 U.S. gallons (3,400,000 L) of water throughout the courses layout.[30]

Raft names

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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

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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

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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.[23]

References

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