I got to experience Barracuda Strike on March 9, 2026, on just its 3rd day of operation, The ride looks great in the park, especially with how it incorporated the water. It’s a very short ride, but for a “family” coaster it packs some intensity with whippy turns and transitions. Low capacity is going to be a concern here with only one train, but Barracuda Strike fits nicely in SeaWorld San Antonio’s coaster lineup.

Barracuda Strike is a B&M family invert that most closely resembles Phoenix Rising at sister park, Busch Gardens Tampa. Barracuda Strike is 10 feet taller (90 ft vs 80 ft) and thus claims the title of Tallest Inverted Family Coaster in North America! If you’ve ridden Dragonflier at Dollywood it’s a fairly similar experience, but Dragonflier is slightly faster at 46 mph vs 44 mph for Barracuda Strike. The time from leaving the station to hitting the brakes is under a minute, but it’s action packed the whole way. That moment you crest the lift hill and dive towards the water below and then turn is the best moment on this ride. The broken boardwalk below your feet just before the final brake run and the way it weaves through the supports of Steel Eel are nice elements too.

The station looked great, nothing over the top, but some nice screens and metal fish hanging above that have a wind chime effect. The restraints are comfortable and they do have bins for loose articles which they heavily enforce with all glasses needing a strap or they must be removed. The capacity here is a bit concerning as they have a screen showing dispatches the last hour and current hour. They appeared to be averaging 12-14 dispatches/hour (probably because of patrolling loose articles) and thus a MAX of 240-280 riders/hour. For some perspective, Great White, its bigger B&M cousin just across the park handles up to 1,400 riders/hour. On a Monday night at 6pm we waited about 15-20 minutes, but on a busy day with heavy Quick Queue use I’d expect this to have the longest standby time in the park. Also be aware this ride has a maximum 77” height if you’re on the taller side.

Overall Barracuda Strike is a great addition to SeaWorld San Antonio. The low capacity could be a bit worrisome on busy days as how long would you wait for a 1 minute ride? SeaWorld San Antonio is somewhat of a local’s park though that often doesn’t feel very busy on weekdays or borderline weather days. On a previous trip on a cool Sunday in November this past November everything was a walk-on, so a day like that may be your best bet for multiple rides. Barracuda Strike is technically a record breaking coaster, but even though it doesn’t really break much new ground it is very well executed and a bunch of fun.