By Lookout Staff

April 5, 2023 -- What's green, has two heads and weighs more than 6,000 pounds?

The new $1.5 million Sea Dragon ride that officially opens to the public Friday morning at 11 a.m. at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier.

The new Sea Dragon sports the familiar bright green, scaly exterior of the original version that retired last month after swinging 40 feet above the wooden planks for 27 years.

Guests who attend Friday morning's opening "have a chance to receive a free commemorative T-shirt, Sea Dragon themed cotton candy and stickers to celebrate the new ride’s opening while supplies last," park officials said. (for more information click here)

“We are delighted to open the all-new Sea Dragon to the public and expect guests to love it even more than its predecessor that recently retired after 26 years of service,” said Nathan Smithson, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Pacific Park.

New Sea Dragon (Courtesy Pacific Park)

“We know our guests had an unbridled enthusiasm for the original Sea Dragon, and its incredible popularity prompted us to introduce the all-new Sea Dragon. "We reimagined the ride experience while providing the same classic swing ride that guests know and love so well," Smithson said. Designed and built by Chance Rides Manufacturing, Inc. in Wichita, Kansas, the new ride features new enhancements, park officials said. Custom music and sound "amplify the experience," wind generators and a misting system "make riders feel as if they are riding the dragon out over the open ocean" and shaking seats "replicate the stormy seas," park officials said. The new Sea Dragon will also light up the evenings with LED energy-efficient lights lining the ride car and 40-feet tall ride supports.

Like the original, which provided thrills for more than 12 million riders, the new Sea Dragon is 26 feet long, has two 12-foot-tall heads and moves back and forth in a 180-degree arc, "giving riders a series of 40 feet drops and thrilling launches," park officials said.

After providing its last day of thrills on March 8, the original Sea Dragon took its last ride the following day as helicopters whisked it away flying 250 feet over the Pacific Ocean.

After landing at the Port of Hueneme in Ventura County, the old dragon was transported by truck to its retirement destination at City Museum in St. Louis, Mo.

There, park officials said, it will "continue to fly high on top of the museum’s roof and sit next to a Big Eli Ferris wheel, slides, and other eclectic attractions."