Undertow at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Never upside down A spinning coasterbuilt by Maurer

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California

Undertow

POV
Ride it: front row POV
Front row
Front row
What riders love
  • Not a fan of spinning coasters, expected a headache but was surprised by a fun and intense coaster.
  • I didn't know when it was going to rotate, which was a nice jump scare surprise when it happened.
  • The spinning was good on my ride, which made it even better.
  • Great family coaster along the California coast.
  • This is a fun little ride in a great location.
  • Taking the drop backwards means the elements that follow can be a bit surprising.
  • It has a good layout and has some fast feeling moments where you gain a surprising amount of speed, and when facing backwards, the first drop is pretty good too.
Undertow Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

Undertow front seat on-ride HD POV Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

youtube.com › CoasterForce

Undertow - 4K On-Ride POV | 🇺🇸 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

youtube.com › Diary of a RollerCoaster Girl

Undertow engineering testing off-ride HD Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

youtube.com › CoasterForce

UnderTow Review Santa Cruz Beach BoardWalk

youtube.com › Mario Torres

UNDERTOW Spinning Coaster! Summer 2013 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

youtube.com › Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Undertow at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

youtube.com › Tam Communications

Undertow at Santa Cruz beach Boardwalk

youtube.com › Brendan Carey

Undertow (Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk) Promo Video - 2012

youtube.com › Marc W.

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

But then you have the epic spinning factor as you glide through the chaotic and smooth layout, before hitting some great hills and laterals.

Reed Dutton

As always, a lapbar is a plus, so the ride itself is actually pretty comfortable, smooth with limited room for headbanging for taller riders (self in question is 6’1’’).

Andre Chris-Sargent

This was a smooth ride with some fun forces.

Erik C.

It’s visually appealing and smooth but I wished it was more intense.

Cali Thoosie

Like if u think that ride hurts ur neck it does mine hurricane was waay better

@daryljessee5518

Not a fan of spinning coasters, expected a headache but was surprised by a fun and intense coaster.

Jesse Hwang

Intensity is quite low, though the fear level might be a bit high if you happen to be sitting backwards for the first section.

Andre Chris-Sargent

The spinning element makes for a good time, but overall, it’s a pretty tame experience.

John Montague

It has a good layout and has some fast feeling moments where you gain a surprising amount of speed, and when facing backwards, the first drop is pretty good too.

Eli Lassiter Michael

It’s crazy how that ride looks super scary, but when I went on it, it was just fast, not scary at all :) so I went on it 5 times

@PowderedSalt

First half is filled with fun memorable moments, while second half is full of only dead spots.

NorCal Coaster Media

The main issue is **capacity.** Running 3-4 trains, each with a capacity of only 4 riders, the line moves slow.

Andre Chris-Sargent

The only downside was capacity, as the line moved very slowly.

Erik C.
Height fear

I remember going down the first drop in the back, that was pretty scary not gonna lie

Much of my ride was faced backwards, making it impossible to see what’s coming, creating a fear-inducing ride experience like my head could be slammed at any moment by the numerous poles.

Jesse Hwang

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

50 ftHeight
70 GiantDipper 50 Undertow
40 mphTop speed
Giant Dipper55 Undertow40 055 mph
0Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

FunGreat viewsSmooth rideLess scary than it looks

Criticised for

Long waitsSlowed by trims

It’s visually appealing and smooth but I wished it was more intense.

Cali Thoosie, Captain Coaster review

This coaster is definetly fun and the location is great, right over the boardwalk, but it just doesnt do much for me.

Kevin Li, Captain Coaster review

This was the first coaster I rode alone, as well as the first rotating coaster I rode, and lemme tell you it was fun.

Gibson Williams, Captain Coaster review

Although many coasters are marketed as ‘family coasters’ and really only resonate with the younger ones, this is not the case for Undertow, as it makes for a very fun ride even for seasoned coaster veterans.

The Coaster Kings, published review

First half is filled with fun memorable moments, while second half is full of only dead spots.

NorCal Coaster Media, Captain Coaster review

Not a fan of spinning coasters, expected a headache but was surprised by a fun and intense coaster.

Jesse Hwang, Captain Coaster review

Photos

Undertow at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0
Undertow at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0

2 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History

October 19, 2013Opened

A spinning coaster, built by Maurer.

$5.5 millionTo build

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: FASTILY (CC BY-SA 4.0), dconvertini (CC BY-SA 2.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Reed Dutton, rider review on Captain Coaster: “There is just so much fun to be had…”; Jesse Hwang, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Not a fan of spinning coasters, expected a headache…”; Gibson Williams, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I didn't know when it was going to rotate,…”; Erik C., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The spinning was good on my ride, which made…”; Reed Dutton, rider review on Captain Coaster: “And when I mean surrounding area --- I mean…”; Fsoer Realm, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Great family coaster along the California coast.”; John Montague, rider review on Captain Coaster: “This is a fun little ride in a great…”; Reed Dutton, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The unpredictable first drop (surprisingly flowy and even sometimes…”; Andre Chris-Sargent, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Taking the drop backwards means the elements that follow…”; Eli Lassiter Michael, rider review on Captain Coaster: “It has a good layout and has some fast…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: CoasterForce's front row POV, Undertow front seat on-ride HD POV Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.