http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/124391

ENJOY!

OK, time to describe the ride....

OK, first it was REALLY nice not to have to drive more than few minutes to a ride opening (I live in San Diego)...

Stopped by Krispy Kremes for breakfast, Hot Original Glazed are AWESOME!

Got to the park about 8 AM, and hooked up with a few friends of mine, and ended up meeting more later (To anyone who stopped and said hello, it was a pleasure meeting you...)

Well, the official announcement had Journey to Atlantis opening at 10 AM for AP previews, with the park opening at 9 AM...

The gates actually opened about 8:20 AM, and after going thru the security check, and the admission turnstyles, we headed off towards the entrance to the JtA area... well somehow we were the ONLY group allowed to proceed to the area, they kept everyone else at the main entrance area.... a few employees stopped by and said hello... (and the SW folks were AWESOME today, the schedule of shows was more than a typical Summer day!, they went beyond the call of duty to make sure the day went well for all that attended!) As for the employees, as normal, they were great... friendly and actually cared about the guest said....

Well, we stood around while they got the area set up for the preview...

It was my first time for a SeaWorld opening, and they played the National Anthem at 5 minutes before 9 AM (opening)... reminded me of the Knott's/Cedar Point opening, and also Six Flags.... why doesn't Disney offer the same salute, heck every sporting event also starts the day with the national anthem.....

Well, at 9 AM, we got to go from the holding area, to the front of the queue (an hour prior to the announced opening).. the queue was open, and we walked thru it to the front of the line... the ride was still going thru the morning testing.... (The start-up safety announcement is "Crazy"... Attention, the lift is about to start, clear the lifts... and it goes on for a LONG time... (Safety is good!)... you need to be there to get this comment!

At about 9:20, they started to load.....

First off the queue is nothing fancy, but still nicely themed, the cement floor is nicely done, sea shells and dolphins in the pavement... speakers setting up the story, and lots of shade :) The walls have some nice texture, and the line moves quickly....

I ended up on the first boat leaving the station... the loading area is well done, three different stations (the ride is designed to run 3 boats at a time), so you have 3 loading stations (like Splash has 2). JtA also has a seperate loading area for "Special Assistance" folks, like GRR. They were running two Special Assistance boats for most of the day, they have there own entrance, and the ability to take as much time as needed to load the boat.

If you get lucky enough to load in the middle loading area, check out the "feet" that mark your loading position, you might just end up with two left feet.... (that is just one of many 'hidden' things).

Well, the boat takes off, you go up the hill, the entire ride has a great audio story line, this ride uses speakers along the track, and not in the vehicle, which prevents a lot of the sound issues (like Space or Screamin').

The ride takes you down a drop hill, it looks like a waterfall is about to get you soaked, but at the last minute it turns off....

Then you go thru a nice mellow area (well, except the folks watching have access to the "squirt guns" at 25 cents a pop...)

You head to the tunnel area, where a water fall is released to your right, and then you enter a special room.... this is unique, it twist and turns the boat... and ends up taking you about 85 feet up, to a coaster track... which is very well done.... the end of the coaster track has you in a splashdown (think Matterhorn, 10 times better)...

I am so glad this ride is close to home, and will be just a short drive...

Heck, now my AP is good for more just than free beer ;)

DB...Nice to see you again.

My 'take' on the ride is a bit different...

The two water drops are fairly minor and not thrill inducing...you can get a bit wet on the first drop (I did on the 2nd ride but not on the first ride...we were in the back seat on both rides...it was a walk on early in the day but we didn't 'need' a third ride.)

The coaster section reminded me of the Go Coaster or the Dragon at Legoland. A few turns that were smooth and sleek but no big thrill. The 'special room' is a nice touch but virtually leads to the 'not much' part of the coaster turns...so seems a waste of the tech and $$ to built it.

Unless there are FX missing from the 'room' a few dolphins projected on the sides didn't exactly bring any responses from the riders.

The big negative for 'some' riders will be after the ride...the long stairs leading down to the photo room and then back UP to the exit level. Makes it a pain to run for that re-ride when it's not too crowded.

All in all I salute Sea World for attempting a coaster type attraction...but it's really nothing to to crow about as a 'thrill ride'...it's just...well...nice. I guess I'm terribly jaded and maybe looking forward too much to the Mummy at USH...but this ride belongs at Legoland IMHO. It IS a family ride that the little ones should get a charge out of...sort of a first primer.

There will be MANYto disagree with me I'm sure...but to be truthful...I wasn't near as disappointed as Lori was and others we talked to also said it was 'OK'. I don't know why I expected a 'dark ride' experience somewhere along the ride...guess I read some reports from the Florida version...but aside from the 'room' there are none.

The Commerson tank is nice and they are as frantic as ever zipping around in high speed circles.

It will be nice to ride on a hot summer day.

My thoughts, excerpted from my trip report (http://www.colddeadfish.net/swsd052304tr.html):

My spoiler-free opinion of the new attraction is that it's ok. I'm glad I went on it once, but I don't see myself going on it often. I've been on the version of the attraction in Sea World Orlando once, almost five years ago, and I have to say that this version is far inferior. There is one thing that's very different about the San Diego version, but I don't think it makes up at all for all the missing elements. One of the things I absolutely loved about the Orlando version is that if you just walk up to the ride without knowing anything about it, it just looks like a flume ride. You can only really see the main drop, and when you get on the ride, it even feels completely like a flume ride. It's not until you've finished the drop that the boat is taken to the back, and it gets hooked onto a track, and the roller coaster portion of the ride begins, totally unexpectedly. In this version, you can see the roller coaster section from the parking lot, so there's no mystery at all. This is perhaps one of those instances when I can't fairly judge the attraction on its own merits. Having been on the other version, I have no way of knowing how I'd feel about this version if this had been the only version I knew about. The ride is a bit short, and while it's worth a 30 to 40 minute wait on a first ride, I don't think it's worth more than that, nor is it necessarily worth that for a second or subsequent ride.

Following are spoilers about the ride.

You load into a boat that seats 8 people. You are immediately taken up and then round a bend and then you plunge down the flume that's visible from the front of the ride. The drop seems much shorter than the drop in Orlando, but I don't know the exact measurement differences. You are then taken to an area in the back, and the part that's really different in this version is that the entire boat gets taken on an elevator. It's a really weird effect. As you ascend, there are projected pictures of Commerson's dolphins around you. When you get to the top, you go through a few turns and that's pretty much the portion of the ride that you can see from the parking lot. At the end of it, you get a little more of a splash, and then you're back to disembark. I think the ride suffers greatly from missing the beginning portion of the ride in Orlando, when you go through a little town and get a bit of information about the story of the ride. I don't recall the story making all that much sense, but it's a nice ride and gives you a little more time in the boat. During this version of the ride, there are voiceovers being played in various parts, presumably telling some kind of story, but it's very difficult if not downright impossible to hear, so you really don't get any of it.

The other side of the store is where the exit of the attraction is, and further past the store is the Commerson's dolphin exhibit. They're in an Atlantis-themed enclosure, and with several large glass windows, it's fairly easy to get a good view of them. I love that they're available to see again. Since they closed the Commerson's dolphin exhibit several years ago, they've just been kept backstage and not available for public view. The old exhibit was also not designed very well for viewing nor for the dolphins themselves. This is a much better location.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040521-9999-7m21splash.html

I think it's time to stop giving these whiny 'concerned citizens' equal time. They lost...just like the whiny 'concerned citizens' lost on the ballpark and their gloom and doom predictions were proved to be just hot air.

Busy Bodies have a complaint. So what's new and SO WHAT.


Enjoy the ride.

Here is a link to a good full video of the ride...

http://mousehub.com/videos/sw/jta.wmv

ENJOY :)

I have to agree with cstephens. It was ok but not great. We went this weekend and got off saying "that was it?". It was kind of fun but I agree it's more along the lines of the coasters at Legoland than a thrill ride.

the reason when you are getting off the ride that you go down all those staris is so you go under the main lifthill break area at the very start of the ride. unless you want to get ran over by the boat. id rather just take some steps.

Does anyone know if this ride has a single riders line, like in Orlando?

Thanks Darkbeer and everyone else for your reviews of the ride! Darkbeer, your captions were cracking me up! Thanks for the smile!

One of the things I absolutely loved about the Orlando version is that if you just walk up to the ride without knowing anything about it, it just looks like a flume ride. You can only really see the main drop, and when you get on the ride, it even feels completely like a flume ride. It's not until you've finished the drop that the boat is taken to the back, and it gets hooked onto a track, and the roller coaster portion of the ride begins, totally unexpectedly.

Thats what I was thinking looking at the ride. I loved how in Orlando, it was a complete shock when it turned into a roller coaster. I loved it! I may still have to make my way down to SD to hit SW though!

Commerson tank? A whale tank?

The Commerson tank is nice and they are as frantic as ever zipping around in high speed circles.

It will be nice to ride on a hot summer day.

Ok, Dalphin tank ;)

Commerson tank? A whale tank?