Steel Eel is a steel hyper coaster at SeaWorld San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas, built by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing. It opened on March 6, 1999, as what was then the single-biggest ride investment the park had made, giving guests a fast, airtime-focused counterpart to the park’s inverted coaster experience.
The ride was designed around sustained floater airtime rather than inversions, sending trains over a 150-foot first drop and a string of camelback hills. With a top speed of 65 mph and roughly 3,700 feet of track, Steel Eel remains one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the San Antonio area.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: SeaWorld San Antonio
- Manufacturer: D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
- Opened: March 6, 1999
- Height: 150 feet
- Top speed: 65 mph
- Length: about 3,700 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
After leaving the station, trains climb a chain lift hill before plunging 150 feet at a 60-degree angle, the steepest drop of the ride. From there, riders cross two camelback hills before hitting a mid-course brake run, then descend a second, roughly 130-foot drop banked at 44 degrees into a series of four more camelback hills that keep delivering airtime until the final brakes.
Each of Steel Eel’s two trains seats 36 riders across six cars, arranged two-by-two in three rows per car. A full circuit takes about 1 minute and 40 seconds and pulls up to 3.5 G, with the ride built for repeat laps rather than a single big-thrill moment.
History and Legacy
Steel Eel arrived at SeaWorld San Antonio in 1999 following strong guest response to The Great White, the park’s earlier inverted coaster, and was conceived to give the park a second, distinctly different steel coaster credit. Its Morgan Hydraulic Coasters pedigree places it among a small family of hyper coasters built by the same manufacturer in the late 1990s.
More than two decades later, Steel Eel remains part of SeaWorld San Antonio’s ride lineup, still drawing coaster enthusiasts for its old-school airtime hills at a time when many parks have shifted toward launch coasters and inversion-heavy layouts.
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A fan and a mist in one, rechargeable. Very popular in queue lines once the afternoon sun hits.
Build a working coaster on the kitchen table and learn why the first drop has to be the tallest. A good gift for young coaster fans.
Steel Eel FAQs
How tall is Steel Eel?
Steel Eel stands about 150 feet tall, with a first drop of the same height at a 60-degree angle.
How fast does Steel Eel go?
The coaster reaches a top speed of about 65 mph during its first drop.
Does Steel Eel have any inversions?
No, Steel Eel is a non-inverting hyper coaster that focuses on airtime hills rather than loops or twists.
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Photo: Lonelysoulq (talk) / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.