Six SeaWorld Guests Hospitalized After Roller Coaster Gets Stuck
Six people went to the hospital Friday after the Manta roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando stopped mid-ride for seven minutes. The coaster just paused.
Orange County Fire Rescue transported the guests to a nearby hospital as a precaution on March 6. Their injuries weren't life-threatening, but they felt unwell enough to need medical evaluation.
What SeaWorld Said
SeaWorld told local news the ride experienced a "brief operational pause lasting approximately seven minutes." Six guests reported not feeling well during that time.
The park said those individuals were transported to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution" and that guest safety is their top priority. The ride resumed operations shortly after.
What the Manta Actually Does
The Manta is a flying roller coaster that flips riders head-first and face-down in an inverted position. SeaWorld's website calls the thrill level "extreme."
Riders "fly like a manta ray" while experiencing a "head-first, face-down inverted nosedive." It's the only flying roller coaster of its kind in Florida, according to the park.
Sounds fun until you're stuck in that position for seven minutes while nothing's working.
Why Seven Minutes Matters
Seven minutes doesn't sound long until you're hanging upside down on a broken roller coaster. Blood rushing to your head. Anxiety building about what's wrong and whether you're safe. Your body stuck in an unnatural position with zero control.
Even if the ride stopped right-side up, being stranded high in the air for seven minutes creates panic. You don't know what broke. You don't know if the track is compromised. You're just stuck there waiting.
SeaWorld's Track Record
This isn't the first problem with the Manta. A woman sued SeaWorld after allegedly getting hit in the face by a duck while riding it. Another guest reportedly got smashed by a snowy egret.
Those incidents involved birds flying into the coaster's path. This one involved the ride itself malfunctioning and stranding people for seven minutes.
The Bottom Line
The Manta promises an extreme thrill experience with head-first inverted nosedives. Friday it delivered an extreme experience of a different kind by breaking down and leaving riders stuck for seven minutes.
The park got the ride running again quickly. Whatever caused the malfunction apparently wasn't serious enough to keep it closed. But it was serious enough to hospitalize six people.
Roller coasters are supposed to thrill you, not send you to the emergency room. SeaWorld says everything's fine now. The Manta is back open for business. Whether those six people will ever ride it again is another question entirely.
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