Screamin’ Fun on Pacific Park’s Sea Dragon

Published on July 31, 2024

Nothing rocks quite like the Sea Dragon. Our huge swinging ship ride (in the form of a vibrant green, two-headed dragon) is made to truly thrill.

Similar to the well-known “Pirate Ship” rides, the Sea Dragon consists of a long, multi-seated gondola that swings back and forth in a 180-degree arc. Talk about angular momentum!  The 40-feet drops make you feel like you’re riding on the back of an enormous serpent through towering waves. Then add the shaking seats, sea-spray misters, custom soundtrack, and LED light show in the evenings, and you’ve got a pretty memorable experience.

In fact, riders on the Sea Dragon were screaming with delight so loudly, the Park was asked to install a plexiglass sound barrier! It sits on the west side of the ride to prevent the sound carrying all the way down the beach.

The Sea Dragon is definitely a fan favorite, and it’s not hard to see why. The swoosh of the ship, the life-like dragon heads, and the anticipation before each thrilling drop. Many have chosen the Dragon as a ‘must ride’ throughout decades of Park visits.

The Sea Dragon Gets an Upgrade

This public fondness made it especially newsworthy when we replaced the original Sea Dragon in 2023. Over 12 million guests had ridden the great serpent, and we finally had to make way for a more modern version.

So, on March 9, despite weighing 6000 pounds and measuring 26 feet in length, we lifted the big old Sea Dragon from Santa Monica Pier using a heavy-duty helicopter. It sailed 250 feet in the air over Santa Monica Bay to California’s Port of Hueneme. From there it travelled to City Museum—an artist-built, architectural and industrial museum in Downtown St. Louis, MO. It now sits regally on the museum’s roof next to a Big Eli Ferris wheel. It’s the perfect retirement home for the original thrill serpent!

Pacific Park celebrated the original Sea Dragon’s long tenure of service by displaying it outside the amusement park before its helicopter ride. Guests could say goodbye, take a photo, and share videos, photos and memories. See them here!

But, never fear, we replaced the beloved old Sea Dragon with a better-than-ever $1.5 million version. The scaly bright green exterior remained, and so did the high-swinging thrills. However, the Dragon got some upgrades too: custom music and sound to amplify the experience, wind generators and a misting system to emulate a rocking ride over the open ocean, and shaking seats to replicate the stormy seas. The new Sea Dragon even lights up in the evenings with LED lights.

History of the Sea Dragon

The original Sea Dragon ride opened at Pacific Park on May 26, 1996, and was named to honor the classic Sea Serpent wooden coaster from LA’s original ocean-front amusement park located just south of where the Santa Monica Pier is now.

The Sea Dragon is a type of “swinging ship” ride; a style known in various amusement parks as a Pirate Ship, or Pirate Boat, or Galleon, or Bounty…you get the picture. The first known predecessor of this ride was invented by Charles Albert Marshall of Tulsa, Oklahoma between 1893 and 1897.  Originally called “The Ocean Wave,” the ride  was first used in the Marshall Bros Circus in 1897.

Pacific Park’s custom, all-new Sea Dragon ride is designed and built by Chance Rides Manufacturing in Wichita, KS. Chance Rides is a family-owned business making amusement rides, coasters and people movers in a 40-acre facility.