#FLUME RIDE DESIGNER FULL#
The dimly lit pathway features an audiovisual experience that's timed for each group of riders, who eventually make their way up to a fully enclosed station, full of rockwork and LED screens depicting an undersea lair. Groups are sorted in this open-air area, dispatched one trainload at a time into the dark pre-ride pathway that snakes its way up to the roller coaster's station. Rock work – some of the best we've ever seen at an Australian park – takes over for the main queue, found in the middle of the ride, where queing riders are treated to the roar of the trains and screams of riders as it races through the near-vertical banked turns. And fake plants in the vertical gardens were likely a budget necessity but come across as a tad clinical rather than lush. But nonetheless it's one of the most cohesively presented areas we've seen in an Australian theme park in decades.Īt any rate, the 'New' of Atlantis is left at the door beyond Leviathan's entry archway. The bright colours and shiny finish on the statues and the chrome-scaled waterfalls have a plastic toy vibe that's hard to shake. I'm still not entirely sold on this 'New' Atlantis concept. Vertical gardens and imposing statues sit at Leviathan's entrance. Waterfalls, gargantuan Atlantean statues and vertical gardens stand at the entrance to Leviathan. It is the themed experience that separates Leviathan from most other wooden roller coasters. It won't top anyone's list for intensity or outright thrills, and other Gold Coast roller coasters have more singular standout thrills, but the entirety of Leviathan is as near to flawless as anything we've ever seen in this country.īut the physical roller coaster experience is just half of the package. It is without a doubt the best-designed roller coaster we've ever seen in Australia. Impeccably paced, perfectly engineered and fits the brief perfectly: a thoroughly enjoyable family thrill ride. There is of course that trademark rattle and playful side-to-side shuffle that wooden roller coasters are renowned for, but not a single moment of jolting, bouncing or roughness wooden roller coasters of bygone years were infamous for. Thanks to the sleek, articulated Timberline trains from the ride's designer, the ride careens the twisted mess of wooden track with effortless ease. On day one Leviathan is as smooth as wooden roller coasters can be. You won't find yourself constantly bracing for each turn like neighbouring Jet Rescue. And every twist and turn is so perfectly engineered that it's a graceful transition from one to the next. There are bursts of airtime throughout, but you float in your seat, rather than feel your body forcibly flung against the restraint like on Rivals or Superman Escape.
Sea World's efforts to position the ride as a family thrill ride are spot on. It packs a punch, that's for sure, but it's a ride that keeps things solidly in the realm of fun rather than white-knuckle thrills. Just unrelenting dips, twists and turns for the 50-odd seconds from the crest of the lift hill to the reprieve of the final brake run. There's no meandering middle section of filler (that's you, DC Rivals HyperCoaster and Steel Taipan) and it's not over before you blink (a la Superman Escape). Leviathan is an impeccably designed wooden roller coaster.Ĭompared to other Australian roller coasters, it holds up remarkably well. The first 'modern' wooden roller coaster to operate in Australia since Wonderland Sydney's closure in 2004. The first wooden roller coaster constructed in Australia in 37 years. The headline attraction of The New Atlantis has finally opened. Navigating Australia's stringent building and amusement standards and legislation saw the ride delayed a further year beyond its structural completion it's these entirely predictable commissioning delays that could perhaps have been factored into the project's timeline. COVID-19 and the associated financial challenges, working restrictions and supply chain challenges justifiably deserve much of the blame. Leviathan opened at Sea World on Friday 2 December 2022, some two years after its original planned opening date of late-2020. But three-and-a-half years from announcement to opening might be a record that's not broken anytime soon at an Australian theme park. It's not the first time an attraction has faced opening delays and it certainly won't be the last time an Australian theme park opens an attraction behind schedule.
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