Manta
C6 · B&M Masterworks
C6 · № 34/150
Manta
SeaWorld Orlando · US · Bolliger & Mabillard Flying Coaster
“A great steel ray skims the lagoon in the Florida sun.”
UNOFFICIAL · NOT PARK-ENDORSED
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Fast facts
- Manta is a steel Bolliger & Mabillard Flying Coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. bolliger-mabillard.com
- The ride opened to the public on May 22, 2009. coasterpedia.net
- Manta stands 42.7 metres tall and reaches 90 km/h. en.wikipedia.org
- Its course includes four inversions. en.wikipedia.org
- The ride was designed for 1,500 riders per hour. en.wikipedia.org
- The project cost was reported as fifty million dollars. en.wikipedia.org
- SeaWorld describes Manta as the only flying roller coaster of its kind in Florida. seaworld.com
The story of Manta
SeaWorld Orlando announced Manta in 2008 as a new kind of park landmark: a flying coaster joined to an animal setting, so that the traveller would pass from the quiet world of rays into a face-down flight above the water. en.wikipedia.org
Bolliger & Mabillard supplied the Flying Coaster, and construction carried on through 2008 into early 2009. The finished ride was steel, carefully staged with a dual station and built for steady summer crowds. bolliger-mabillard.com· en.wikipedia.org
At the media preview in May 2009, IAAPA reported that guests approached the coaster through an aquarium setting, with more than 3,000 animals in 250,000 gallons of water. Even the visitor who did not ride could still enter the marine display. iaapainthequeue.blogspot.com
Manta opened on May 22, 2009, during a difficult season for Orlando tourism. Local reporting noted how important the new attraction was to SeaWorld and to the city’s visitor trade, while the ride itself soon became one of the park’s principal steel achievements. coasterpedia.net· leisure-business.com
Sources
- bolliger-mabillard.com Preferred source
- coasterpedia.net Preferred source
- en.wikipedia.org Acceptable source
- seaworld.com Acceptable source
- iaapainthequeue.blogspot.com Acceptable source
- leisure-business.com Acceptable source
This background is AI-drafted from public sources and human-reviewed before publishing — approved 20 August 2026.