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After of months of watching and waiting, the
day finally came. March 5th was here and I was going to ride Steel Eel. This is the first
roller coaster I have ever watched be built from the ground up. This may be why the wait
to ride it was so hard. I have never wanted to ride a roller coaster this bad.
As soon as we were allowed in the park I went
for a back seat on Steel Eel. I ended up in the forth row from the end. After about a
short wait and a few test runs, the first train quickly filled up with the waiting coaster
enthusiasts and we were off with Dana Morgan and his crew observing.
Going up the lift hill reminded me of the
other hypercoasters I have ridden, Wild Thing and Magnum. While Steel Eel is at least 50
feet shorter than both of these it still looks like the lift goes up forever. As the first
car reached the top of the lift it slowed and the people in the front seat were treated to
a 5 second view of the 150 ft drop before the third car made it over the top and the train
started to rapidly fall down that first drop. Being near the back of the train I
experienced the sensation of being yanked over the top of the hill and floating above my
seat until the train hit the bottom of the drop.
At the bottom of the drop, the track curves
to the left and up to the second hill where more air time is experienced before the train
takes a short drop above a walkway and up to the top of the third hill, where once again
there is some air time.
The third drop is almost as excellent as the
first. As what happens on the first drop, the rear of the train gets yanked over the top
of the hill and riders in the back seats once again float above their seats as the train
plummets over 100 feet to the ground.
After the third drop, the train climbs up the
hill to the straight section of track where the block brake is located (currently not
being used) and riders have a few seconds to rest before train takes a sharp turn to the
right and once again drops all the way to the ground.
On this return trip to the station is a
series of camelbacks which result in airtime over each hill. After the forth camelback the
train cruises into the brakes where the train is quickly slowed before entering the
station.
I ended up riding Steel Eel 13 times during
the press event and 4 times afterwards. I rode in many different seats throughout the
train and can say there is airtime in every one. The view from the front is great and the
experience of hanging over the top of the lift looking straight down for a few seconds is
awesome. Due to the location of Sea World and height of Steel Eel, on a clear day you can
see downtown San Antonio nearly 30 miles away from the top of Steel Eel. The back of Steel
Eel treats riders to the experience of being pulled over the top of the first and third
hills and floating above their seats for a few seconds and more intense air time over the
camelbacks.
Weather you would classify Steel Eel as a
hypercoaster or not is up to you. Many people say it isn't because it is only 150 feet
tall and the ride is too short. I can tell you this from my personal experience, It looks
like a hypercoaster and it most definitely rides like a hypercoaster! Sea World San
Antonio made an excellent decision when they decided to build this ride and D.H. Morgan
did an excellent job designing it and getting it open on time. From the comments I was
hearing from the general public during a season passholders party after the press event
and from the following day, Steel Eel is going to be a very popular coaster this summer
and for many summers to follow!
