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Journey to AtlantisFlume rideMinimum height to ride: 42 inches About Journey to AtlantisJourney to Atlantis adds a third thrill ride to SeaWorld's San Diego park, this time a Mack water coaster, combining elements from a roller coaster and a flume ride. I didn't get the chance to ride Journey to Atlantis until a couple years after it opened in Orlando. By the time I visited, the original queue video had been replaced with a mind-numbing loop featuring a mime getting drenched. (Gotta warn the clueless who haven't figured out that people get wet in a park called SeaWorld.) As a result, I never completely understood the ride's backstory, which I have heard was explained in the original queue video. The attraction's arrival in Southern California raised my hope that SeaWorld would take this opportunity to clarify the ride's narrative elements, improve the audio in the dark ride portion give passengers a better sense of the story along the ride. Well, SeaWorld's certainly addressed the Orlando version's narrative problems in San Diego. But not in the way I would have liked. SeaWorld's taken the cheap way out and chopped the dark ride portion from the attraction entirely. Most of San Diego's Journey takes place outside, from the loading platform through almost all of the flume and roller coaster segments of the ride. Only one, very notable section of this ride occurs inside. Despite the loss of the dark ride, this Journey does contain two unique technical elements that make the ride worth a visit. The first won't strike most riders as particularly remarkable. You might not notice it at all. But as a former ride operator, I found this feature brilliant. SeaWorld's installed a track switch at the loading platform that allows operators to take a boat off the main circuit so passengers with disabilities can board and debark taking as much time as they need. When I worked Thunder Mountain at Disney World, we had to hustle "wheelchair guests" on and off the ride in a hurry, for if we took more than 45 seconds, we couldn't get the train out of the station in time for the next to arrive, causing the ride to shut down with trains backed up all around the track. With this track switch, delays are no longer a problem, as other boats can continue to circulate while a passenger with disabilities can take his or her time boarding. This feature needs to become standard on all theme park circuit rides. Okay, enough with the ride-op geekiness. Hop aboard and discover that Journey to Atlantis doesn't waste time getting to the action. A quick jaunt up a lift track and you're immediately dumped into the ride's 60-foot main flume drop. As with other SeaWorld attractions, on Journey riders aren't supposed to get just a little bit wet. They are supposed to wallow in torrents of H2O until utterly soaked. To that end, SeaWorld provides plenty of water cannons, spouts and fountains to drench anyone fortunate enough to be sitting in a seat that missed the splashback on the flume drops. Still, I didn't get drenched on this version as I did in Orlando, where our boat returned to the loading station with a good two inches of standing water in the bottom. Just a good showering here. After a turnaround, passengers enter the show building for the defining element of San Diego's Journey to Atlantis. Audio narration explains that the people of Atlantis lost their connection to the sea, taking it for granted. (Brutal payback there, guys.) And that *we* must prove our ability to face the forces of the sea, and learn to communicate with the dolphins, lest we face the Atlanteans' fate. Nice set-up, but might I suggest a lesson from journalism school? "Show, don't tell." Some animation would help reinforce the plot and heighten the suspense throughout the ride. But before I can stew too long about SeaWorld's gutting the dark ride, my attention is drawn to the car ahead flying straight up in the air. Hello? That's right, instead of a traditional lift hill or launch start, Journey to Atlantis takes its ride vehicles up to the coaster's crest with an elevator. What this ride misses in drama, it delivers in breathtaking technology. Our boat floats forward into a small chamber with video of Commerson's dolphins projected on one wall. A moment later, it's our turn to fly up the darkened tower, emerging into sunlight as our boat drops smoothly into a sweeping roller coaster curve. One quick hop up and we sweep through another long curve into our splashdown behind the loading station. A few more water spouts spray the remaining dry sports on our shirts and it's time to call it a ride. Don't rush too quickly through the exit and miss the 130,000-gallon Commerson's dolphin exhibit. These protected mammals sport distinctive markings that evoke SeaWorld's famous Shamu and the park reports this display is the only one of this species in the Western Hemisphere. -- Last edited by Robert Niles Photos from Journey to Atlantis
Safety
Readers' Opinions
this ride is pretty fun, however you may wanna make sure your backpack is water proof.you will get wet,my best friend and I went to sea world on a non busy day so if you go when it's not so crowded you can get on more then 3 times do to the lines not being so long. - Juji Natsumi The only reason to go on this ride is to get wet on a particularly hot day. The vertical lift is mildly intriguing if you're into the mechanical design of rides but most probably won't give it a second thought. Both the flume portion and the coaster portion are underwhelming. Skip the ride and just check out the Commersons dolphins at the exit. - David Eggert 9/10 Ok, this ride is ... awesome. The line has porpoises so it is awesome. The flume is huge, and awesome. The coaster part falls short a bit because, it is short. My 7even year old brother (who had all ready ridden Matterhorn when he was 6ix) loved the flume, was scared by the coaster, was surprised by the dolphin elevator, and stared at the porpoise tanks at the beginning. - Jack Borgeson A fun water-coaster ride. This ride features two drops and of course the neat elavator that takes riders to the coaster portion of the ride. I believe this ride could have had a stronger and better theme. It would have been nice if this ride featured a dark ride visuals like the Orlando version. Anyway this is a fun ride and a great addition to Sea World. If your interested in staying dry or getting wet the first two rows of the vehicle get very wet and the last two tend to stay drier. This is a popular ride but it is also a fast loading ride so waits are usually in the 20-35 minute range in the day and non existant at night. Also this ride tends to break down a lot so my suggestion is visit this ride in the morning before it experiences problems. Whatever you do don't miss out on this awesome ride. - Manny Barron Very much of concept ride. Flume coaster. I think that the ride would have been better if the water was at the end. What I found really cool was the elevator for the boat/car. I have never seen that before. - Guido Climer awesome ride without a doubt a truly remarable experience - mike brunson I live in San Diego and I have a year pass to Sea World, so I've been on this ride several times. I don't think it's that great of a ride (and maybe that's because I prefer super fast and tall roller coasters and this one isn't). I mean, it's a great family ride and all...it's just not that fun in my opinon. But I'll admit the elevator thing is pretty cool. - Chloe ! In my opinion, this "Journey to Atlantis" is far superior then all the others. The first drop is really fun. Plus, the elevator is a definite new expirence. And the last drop is an amazing rush! Definately worth any wait! - Geordie Bain A fun coaster/ flume combo, the theme of this ride seems very rushed and under-funded. From the poorly maintained projection screens, to the speech that you can barely understand, this ride doesn't have the atmosphere to be up there in the best of the best. All you see most of the time is parking lot, and freeway. Don't get me wrong, it's still a fun ride, but the theme may as well not be there. Beautiful tank at the end though! - Brandon Mendoza
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