LIFE

One of my first interviews was with roller coaster designer Brian Morrow. Brian is the director of design and engineering for SeaWorld's flying roller coaster "Manta," which just opened up in May. There are only FIVE "flying" roller coasters on the planet. Never heard of one before? It's a coaster where you're strapped in with your back parallel to the track so ya feel JUST like you're, yep, gliding under water like a giant manta ray would. And this ride is far from your ordinary coaster—there's a close call with a waterfall, pretzel-loop spins and no less than FOUR inverted loops. Plus you're experiencing all of this head-first. How amazing is that?!

Of course being a complete coaster-chicken, I didn't go on the actual ride itself. But the coolest thing about Manta is ya don't have to ride to enjoy it. Yep, if you're waiting for mom, dad and your older bro to have a whirl, you can walk around the super cool aquarium right next to the actual coaster. Some of the awesome attractions included a pretty (not to mention, um huge!) pink octopus, a tank full of 300 stingrays and all sorts of underwater animals.

Photo credit – Cait Rohan

Brian: I decided I wanted to build roller coasters when I was 12. In school I would always say, "I want to do this! I want to build roller coasters, I want to build roller coasters." And all the way through college my guidance counselors and teachers told me there were no jobs doing that.

Brian: It was before the internet, so there was no way to easily search for things. I looked at magazines, newspaper articles, and finally found an internship with another theme park company that I worked for all through college. I had great mentors that taught me how to do it, and let me learn that it wasn't so much building the rides that I liked doing, but building the guest experience is what I really enjoyed. So our jobs here are far wider than just a roller coaster. They delve into shows and animals and atmospheres, and everything else. That's the part I like—the whole, the whole deal.

Brian: I was that kid who didn't have the good help or directions, so the key is to target exactly what you want to do, and the industry you want to be in. Don't get hung up on what particular aspect of it, just grab the industry and do nothing but work for them. And this particular industry, almost everybody here has at one time, worked in the park on the front line, you know, greeting guests, selling food, selling merchandise. I was a ride manager for awhile....

Brian: Yes, you have to start out there in the park so you understand what you're doing. How else do I know how guests flow through a few lines if I haven't had to run them in my past life. So step one, get a summer job in the industry and don't think that it's not important, what you're doing. At the end of the day being in the front is where the memories are made and where the interactions happen with the guests, work is kind of the supporting role of providing great attractions. It takes those guys in the front, the 12, 15, 16 year olds operating these rides, absolutely.

And also, learn all you can learn about the industry, be the expert. Get to know the people who are designing things, get to know what everybody's building, what everybody's doing, what all the different parts are, how they all operate. The internet is perfect for that. I'm always looking online, [to see] who's doing what, what's happening.

Photo credit – Jason Collier/SeaWorld Orlando

Wanna learn more about Manta? Head over to DiveDeepFlyHigh.com for more info!

by Cait Rohan | 2/1/2016