Pipeline: The Surf Coaster — Attraction in Dr. Phillips

The ride itself is awesome! The cast members and logistics of the line/ getting off the ride were a cluster though.

My little one isn't tall enough (And also isn't into roller coasters yet) so in the interests of making a YouTube short on the newly- coming channel (CypridDreamsAdventures) we did the kid swap option. My family member went on when it said 25 minute wait... it took him an hour to get on the ride... then he got the voucher that specifically said PIPELINE at the top that was to allow me through the fast pass line. I handed it to the cast member and he said oh these aren't good for this ride. I insisted he look at it, as it was in fact ONLY for this ride. He let me proceed. By this time the stand by line was up to 80 minutes.

The fast pass line merges into the regular line pretty closely to where you see them separating people per rows. The front row line can fit about 10-12 people in it, or 5-6 couples - there's 2 seats per row. It had about 8 people in it. The kid sorting people into rows for riding completely disregarded the fast pass lane for about 30 minutes, then told half the people waiting for front row that they couldn't pick their seats. He dispersed them into other rows, and got a ton of resistance from these people, understandably. The whole reason the front row waiting line is a barred of section to fit up to a dozen people... they had already been waiting, there was no problem otherwise besides him just wanting them to move. I was also insistent on riding in the front row, as the whole reason I even dealt with kid swap and the multiple delays of getting the ride going was to experience it for the first time, and record it from front POV. otherwise I wouldn't have cared. Luckily there was another Uneven party and he had dispersed so many people out of the front that he HAD to let me and the other lady get the front row. I mean, someone has to be there.. I'm not sure why he almost wanted to be argumentative with the guests, but it was not appreciated by anyone in line at this point. I wish I had gotten his name to add in here.

Fast forward to the actual ride post, it was great! Those "seats" were not uncomfortable and I was kind of nervous as to how easily it just fits over your standing body. The engineering team must be top tier! No buckles to fasten, and height adjusts up/ down.

When the ride finished though, you are waiting in the Florida sun for the guests on the previous ride to get off, new guests to board, the thorough safety checks of body size and height, prior being removed for said limitations etc... I'm hoping they put a shade over the spot you end up waiting, as it was about 5 minutes strapped snugly into a standing coaster, in 98° Florida summer heat, while all was said and done. In our instance, a man was removed for his height. 78" maximum, per the signage, and he could stand within the limit-- but I'm guessing his legs were too long, because he couldn't stand in the coaster with the harness down and his legs not slightly bent at the knees.

This ride is new, and I'm sure they will be tweaking things here and there.... but this is just a raw perspective that is hopefully helpful to fellow...

DO NOT RIDE

Whilst the concept is fun, I came away from this ride with a potential spinal injury. Part of the concept of the ride is airtime over the humped sections of track, your feet lift off the deck, but when you come down the other side, the seat, which is narrow like a bike seat, can hit a hard stop causing a severe spinal/tailbone jolt. I rode this 2 weeks ago and am still in agony and awaiting an MRI scan to confirm if anything is damaged, but my symptoms have worsened in the time since.

There are several reviews here reporting the same and I fear the amount of reviews in no way represents the number of people who walk away from this ride hurt. I love Seaworld's Coasters (particularly Mako) and had greatly looked forward to a return visit having not been to Florida since 2019, but sadly this ride ruined the last 2 days of our holiday and made the 10 hour flight back to the UK completely unbearable.

I contacted Seaworld to report this and they have not been in touch,...

Pipeline is an evolution of the 24 years dormant standup coaster model. The seats are adjustable for the whole ride and rise and fall like the tide along with the G forces. Airtime makes the seats lift up, high Gs make them sink down. This makes a normally uncomfortable riding position more tolerable and flexible.

As for the coaster by itself, it's fun. It has a fast accelerating launch with an airtime hill in the middle. A big overbanked turn at the start, a twisted airtime hill, and a smooth Corkscrew. The rest of the ride is a series of low to the ground helixes and airtime hills in different directions. It's short and sweet as any standup coaster should be.

The ride should have a more shaded and better themed queue. It's even more barren and hot than Ice Breaker was. Otherwise a great ride to differentiate itself from SeaWorld's other coasters and the other rides in Central Florida. Pipeline is wholly unique...