I found myself in Orlando for a quick business trip which gave me an evening to check out the New Penguin Trek at SeaWorld Orlando. Penguin Trek is a sit down launched family coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). It opened July 7, 2024 and is essentially a prototype, being the first B&M sit down family launch coaster. The ride is located in the Antarctica area of the park and replaces the Antarctica: Empire of the Penguins dark ride.

It’s great to see the Antarctica area of the park alive again. The previous dark ride was the only attraction in the land and was integrated together with the penguin exhibit. The penguin exhibit stayed open after the ride closure, but this area of the park felt rudderless for a while. Now it’s bustling with activity as the roller coaster brings kinetic energy to the area as it interacts with the walkways throughout Antarctica and is also visible from outside it.

The wait times on Penguin Trek are some of the longest in the park right now as should probably be expected being it’s a new ride. Quick Queue is also given priority here, so even a moderate standby line can move pretty slow. Thankfully much of the queue is indoors and air conditioned with lots of interesting stuff about penguins and Antarctica to read while you wait. After passing through the main queue area you enter the station and there are some great views as you cross over the tracks and see trains enter and exit. I got in right after a rain delay, but on a random Monday evening 75-120 minutes was not an abnormal wait time. Note you load and unload in the same place, so no real need for a locker as there is a place for drink bottles and loose articles.

The trains themselves were very comfortable and felt quite open. The park describes the ride as having a snowmobile feel and I didn’t really get that like I did with something like Arctic Rescue at SeaWorld San Antonio, but that’s a minor thing.

“Race Through the Ice on Penguin Trek! This will be the coolest research mission you’ve ever joined! Prepare for Penguin Trek, an unforgettable family launch coaster adventure through the breathtaking vastness of Antarctica. Board your snowmobile and race along with your expedition team at up to 43 miles per hour, navigating twists and turns and narrowly escaping the crumbling hazards of an icy cavern. Reach the end and you’ll make the ultimate discovery: a real penguin habitat! This new indoor/outdoor family ride is the most immersive addition to the Coaster Capital of Orlando, and with a height requirement of just 42”, it’s the perfect journey for families to share.”

-SeaWorld Orlando (https://seaworld.com/orlando/roller-coasters/penguin-trek/)

The ride has a very family friendly 42″ height requirement and a maximum height of 78″. This I believe is causing some issues. In the short time I was waiting to board I saw 3 people of moderate to large size have to do the “walk of shame” and leave the train because the restraint could not close adequately enough to have the sensor show on the in station screen that it was locked. Ride operators would push and have people shift in the seat, but usually with no luck. I have a love/hate relationship with those screens in that it makes it easier for the operators for sure, but it also lets everyone in line know exactly where someone who might be delaying dispatch is seated. In SeaWorld’s defense there is a test seat outside the attraction where people can check this before waiting in line, but few people do. In B&M’s defense I also imagine it’s hard to get a seat to fit safely both a 42″ and 50 pound kid as well as a 72″ and 275 pound man. So if you’re on the bigger side, just checkout the test seat before getting in line.

The ride itself is tons of fun. You start off going through what feels like a dark ride section with colored lights, music and screens that feel like a cave. This is about 30 seconds long which is pretty sizable with probably the best theming outside Atlantis you’ll find in the park. I believe much of this area are the remnants of the old dark ride which are recycled very well here. You then launch outside, up a hill and into your first series of banked turns. The launch uphill is fast, but not so forceful that you’ll be reminiscing about the former Lightning Rod launch at Dollywood. The ride twists and turns some more through some s-turns and bank turns along with some small hills that didn’t really produce any airtime in my 3rd row seat. You then hit a second launch and do it all some more. There’s no real signature element, but it feels fast and it’s fun and you zig and zag all over Antarctica before returning to the station.

Below is a POV from CoasterForce who in my opinion does some of the best on-ride videos. It’ll give you a very good idea of the ride experience, especially the fantastic indoor portion of the coaster. If you look closely you see some evidence of the “shake” on the train that some people have talked about with this ride, but honestly I didn’t feel anything and certainly nothing that was bothersome.

The exit for the ride is quite unique and interesting. You exit by a small glassed area of penguins, but this is only the beginning. After going down a ramp you actually enter into the queue line for the old penguin dark ride and walk it in reverse until you reach some doors for the penguin habitat. You may have to wait here a minute or two in a holding area that’s meant as a buffer between the warm ride area and the cold of penguin exhibit. After everyone has been grouped up they’ll let you into the habitat where in open air (no glass) you get to see the penguins playing and frolicking on the ground and in the water. It is quite cold, so if it’s summer and you’re in shorts and t-shirts you may only be able to take it for so long. It’s really a great area with lots of staff to answer questions. You can then exit where of course a gift shop can be found and be on your way. There’s no quick bypass to this that I saw along the way other than emergency exits, so expect a little time between when your ride is done and when you’ll reach outside again.

Penguin Trek is really an excellent addition to SeaWorld Orlando. It really fills a gap between Super Grover Box Car Derby and something like Ice Breaker. SeaWorld has kind of become B&M land with Manta, Mako, Kraken, Pipeline and now Penguin Trek all made by B&M. People coming to IAPPA (annual theme park convention in Orlando) can just visit SeaWorld as B&M’s showroom. This ride is not a technical marvel that will make you want to turn around and get right back in line, but still a solid fun coaster with great theming and indoor elements you don’t typically see at a SeaWorld park. Overall a very solid experience that shouldn’t be missed on a SeaWorld visit with the park being more well rounded and better because it’s there.