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What You Likely Don’t Know about SeaWorld’s Wave Breaker and Rescue Team

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After our first visit to SeaWorld and my daughters’ mixed reactions from riding a roller coaster (The Steel Eel) for the first time, I was a bit hesitant to accept Sea World’s invitation for my family to attend the Press Event for their newest roller coaster, Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster. But, I love roller coasters and I desperately wanted to go back to Sea World, this time with my whole family, so we accepted their invitation. This post is written in exchange for passes to the park.Riding Wave Breaker at SeaWorld San Antonio

Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster

“Wave Breaker is an exciting and novel coaster for families to ride together, and adds to SeaWorld’s strong lineup of top-rated coasters,” said SeaWorld San Antonio Park President Carl Lum. “But what truly delights me is that this attraction best represents what SeaWorld is all about – it brings together the best of SeaWorld in one thrilling ride, and carries a message that leaves guests feeling inspired.”  

I was so excited to ride another roller coaster at Sea World with my family, but didn’t realize that our experience would educate me so much about Sea World and the incredible work they do all the time to help sea animals. And that’s exactly why they built this roller coaster – to give people the thrill that Rescue Team members feel every day helping sick and injured animals and educate the public about the work they do, and how we can make small changes to help sea animals too.

Before you even get on the ride, you weave through the entrance area where you learn about the more than 30,000 rescues by the SeaWorld Rescue Team over the past 50 years. Then when you get on the ride you are assigned a specific animal to save on your mission – a sea turtle, dolphin, or sea lion. I rode the ride twice and “rescued” both a dolphin and a sea lion. After the briefing of your mission, you race into action on a 2,600-feet track, along with 15 other riders, reaching speeds of up to 44 miles per hour and heights up to 61-feet!

The ride gives you the sensation that you are racing across the park’s lake, getting your adrenaline going, just like real Rescue Team workers feel when they go on a mission. And your seat is styled like a jet ski, so you can lean into the curves, and really feel like you are racing across the water, and having an amazing time.
“Wave Breaker provides a coaster experience unlike anything in the current theme park landscape,” said SeaWorld Vice President of Theme Park Development Mike Denninger. “While other coasters feature dramatic changes in speed, once you hit Wave Breaker’s first launch you are moving fast throughout the entire ride. When you combine that consistent high speed with the banked and serpentine turns throughout the ride track that is 90 percent over the surface of the water, you get an unparalleled ride experience.”  
I got to talk to Mike Denniger after I rode the Wave Breaker and ask him a few questions.
Mike Dennison and Wave Breaker at Sea WorldHe’s worked at Sea World for 27 years (starting out taking people’s tickets) and loves it. He said he designed Wave Breaker to be both a family thrill experience and to educate about the rescue experience. The ride is decided less dynamic with no upside-down loops, or stomach lurching drops (which we did experience on the Steel Eel) in order to make it more accessible to people of all ages – you only need to be 48″ tall to ride. However, it is certainly not a kiddie ride! It engages the rider differently, especially as they sit in a jet ski vehicle – it feels like they are steering and engaging in the experience.
Mike told me that the ride took 2-3 years to complete, with only 7-months of that being actual construction time, and emphasized that ride really begins at the entrance where you learn more about the Rescue Team and all they do.
So, it was really neat to meet with two real life Rescue Team Members – Jody Westberg and Kim Peterson. Wave Breaker Rescue Team - Jody Westberg and Kim Peterson
Call me naive but I really didn’t know much about SeaWorld’s rescue efforts! It was great talking to them and learning more about the program and all they have been doing and continue to do every day for the benefit of our ocean’s creatures.

SeaWorld Rescue Team

Sea World is one of the world’s foremost zoological organizations and a global leader in animal welfare, training, husbandry and veterinary care. The company collectively cares for what it believes is one of the largest zoological collections in the world and has helped lead advances in the care of animals. The company also rescues and rehabilitates marine and terrestrial animals that are ill, injured, orphaned or abandoned, with the goal of returning them to the wild. The SeaWorld® rescue team has helped more than 30,000 animals in need over the last 50 years.
The Rescue Team partners with all of the Sea Worlds, the US Fish & Wildlife and Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network on the Gulf Coast here locally, among many other organizations. Whenever they get a call about an ill or injured animal, usually found on the seashore, they first ask questions to assess the needs, and work to make sure both the animals and those working with it will be safe. (They even once rescued a great white shark!). The purpose of their organization is three-fold: Bring back, Rehabilitation, and Return to the Wild. The end goal is to always return the animals back into the wild.
However, the length of time to rehabilitate sick animals can vary. For birds, it’s usually shorter at about 3-4 weeks. Sea mammals about 6-8 weeks, and Sea Turtles can take months to be rehabilitated as they recover from being cold stunned.
Because Sea World is such a large organization, with multiple resources like engineers and builders, they always have the ability to get the structures and supplies they need to take care of any animal they need to help. Animals are rehabilitated at SeaWorld Parks by skilled veterinarians, and because Sea World cares for so many diverse species of animals, they know very well what is “normal” behavior and what isn’t, which helps in treating each animal.
Animals frequently need help because they are entangled in fishing gear and equipment or sick, often from mylar and latex balloons. They hope that through this ride and other educational programs they run, like their weekly Saturday morning show Sea Rescue on ABC that they can help people start making better choices, simple choices like using biodegrable balloons,  fishing lines, and more.
Both Jody and Kim expressed how much they loved their jobs, stating that their favorite rescue is their current one, and each new call brings that same exhilaration that you experience on this ride.
Learning about the great work Sea World does every day for the world’s ocean life is inspiring for sure. And I can see why they would love the work they do!
riding Wave Breaker at SeaWorld San Antonio - 2
Only one of my daughters, Lisa, ended up riding on it with me, and though she closed her eyes and didn’t breath for most of it, I think she still enjoyed it. I thought it was great roller coaster, and not scary all, just thrilling, and fun.
after riding Wave Breaker
I highlight suggest you go and check it out for yourself if you can! It’s a great ride and helps educate you too.Wave Breaker Ride at SeaWorld San Antonio

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Comments

    • It would have been fun if you were there for the preview so we could have met in person, though I didn’t stay for the party afterward. I think it’s great you have passes to the park! If we lived a bit closer I’d think about it too.

      Reply

  2. What a cool idea for a roller coaster!! I love Sea World, and would absolutely LOVE this kind of experience!

    Reply

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