Hey Thrill Seekers,
I love roller coasters… no really, I love ’em. I’d gladly (and have) ride them until I felt sick. I know I’m not alone on this one as I get to speak to customers everyday who also share the love of a good coaster.
I’ve been pretty privileged to have ridden almost all of the coasters available to ride in Florida so I thought I’d take the time to name the 10 Coasters you have to ride before you die.
Just a little disclaimer,
- The 10 aren’t listed in preference order.
- I can, and will include coasters I haven’t ridden or haven’t been built yet!
- By coaster, I’m including all attraction types, Dark Rides, Drop rides, 3D rides…everything (its my post my rules) đ
- I suffer from terrible motion sickness, so Forbidden Journey, Spider-Man and the like, will not be included this doesn’t mean they aren’t great rides.
1) Manta at SeaWorld
Manta at SeaWorld is a very special coaster, there isn’t another ride in Florida that offers the same experience, its the closest you’ll ever get to being Superman!
Riders are taken on a 3,359ft long thrill ride above the park, reaching a top speed of 56 miles per hour while tackling four inversions. But its the unique rider position that gets Manta on my list, on a typical coaster the occupant is sat in a seated upright position, on Manta the ride is in a prone position facing the ground!
The experience is totally different and I defy anyone not to love this coaster…
Ride it like you’re Superman
2) The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Ask anyone who’s ridden this beast of a coaster what they remember most about the ride and 9 times out of 10 they’ll mention the start! Like many coasters The Hulk starts at the bottom of a launch hill, on “normal” coasters you’ll climb this hill slowly until you reach the top and then the ride begins… Not The Hulk though! The launch hill is used to catapult the rider from 0 to 40 mph in approximately two seconds, it creates an amazing rush that in my opinion should be crammed in to every coaster ever made. đ
The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure is 3,700-foot-long and features a top speed of 67 miles per hour.
Ride it before you’re 40
3) Sheikra at Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens is packed with great coasters but the ride that gets the most “oooh thats amazing” has to be Sheikra!
SheiKra reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour  and has a total track length of 3,188 feet which is all very impressive but its the 200 foot drop that’s the real star of this ride!
Once the train reaches the top of the 200 ft hill climb it turns right and  moves over the first drop, it then stops for about four seconds (seems a lot longer) and then descends the 90-degree drop hitting speeds of 70 miles per hour! Looking straight down before you drop if a special experience and one that really gets the blood pumping…. love it!
Ride it before you’re too scared to.
4) Rock ‘n’ Roller CoasterÂŽ Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Imagine The Incredible Hulk Coaster but indoors!!! That’s pretty much what Rock ‘n’ Roller CoasterÂŽ Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is… and I love it!!!
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starts with a whiplash inducing 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds burst as riders experience 4.5 G’s as they enter the first inversion, to put this in perspective, it’s more G’s than an astronaut feels on a space shuttle launch!
Setting the coaster inside is a really unique experience as it’s only lit by the fluorescent signposts darted around the track I found I lost all bearings and didn’t know if I was going to go left, right, up or down…
Ride it like you’re Steven Tyler
5) Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts Bank at Universal Studios
Yes, yes, yes I know its not even out yet… and Universal have been very short with the details they’ve released but as per my rules at the start of the post… I can add whatever I like! đ
Also I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a detailed video (which I can’t share with you I’m afraid) of exactly what the coaster will be like. Set inside the Goblin run bank, Gringotts at Diagon Alley, the coaster is an indoor ride with some unique “breakaway” track sections and incorporates the use of visual 3D elements. Riding position appears to be the seated position but unlike traditional coasters I believe this one will go forwards, backwards and even sideways!
Ride this as soon as you can!
6) Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa
Another entry for Busch Gardens but well deserved Montu is the first coaster you see when you pull into the car park and all thrill riders will instantly say “I’m riding that”…
An unsung hero of coasters Montu stands 150 feet tall. With a top speed of 60 miles per hour, the ride features seven inversions including two vertical loops measuring 104 and 60 feet, respectively, an Immelmann loop, a zero-g roll, a batwing and a corkscrew. In other words its a Beast of a Coaster! Riders experience up to 3.8 times the force of gravity on the 3 minute ride.
Ride it first!
7) Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios
The most temperamental coaster on our list, it feels like every six months or so we hear a report of it breaking down (safely)… but that’s the attraction.
Rip Ride Rockit is an amazing coaster experience, its unique selling point isn’t the massive 167 ft drop you encounter almost immediately, its not even the 65 mph top speed you hit… its MUSIC!
Before your train leaves the station you’re given the opportunity to select a song to listen too, there are over 30 songs available covering all genres, you have to be quick though or your choice will be selected for you at random. The design of the seats means that you can only ever hear your selection… one thing to remember is that you’re being filmed during the ride! You don’t want to be that person caught on camera singing to Britney Spears like no tomorrow…like some… đ
Ride it like a rock star.
8) Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa
Yeah like I said read my small print đ Falcon’s Fury hasn’t even got an official release date yet but this is one ride I cannot wait to experience. For those who don’t know Falcon’s Fury is a drop ride measuring 335 feet in height, the height alone is pretty impressive and will make it North America’s tallest free standing drop ride… but this isn’t the best part… the best part is the unique riding position… FACE FIRST!!!
Yup for those brave enough you’ll be taken 335 feet up in the air, turned so you’re looking at the floor then dropped at speeds up to 60 mph creating a G-Force of 3.5!!!
Ride as soon as its openÂ
9) Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios
The Revenge of the Mummy ride at Universal Studios as the name suggests, is based on the movie franchise. It makes my top 10 based heavily on how I felt when I first rode it.
The coaster is set indoors and has a great knack of telling a story at the same time as thrilling the rider. Unlike other coasters it also has an element of 4D by blasting the rider with a heat blast that fells so real you naturally recoil.
Ride with your Mummy
10) Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa
I was very lucky to be one of the first people to ride Cheetah Hunt when it originally opened and I’ve loved it ever since. The 3 launch coaster is like nothing else in Florida and for me is the coaster that represents its theme the most.
The idea behind Cheetah Hunt is that the rider gets to experience the thrill of the hunt from the point of view of a Cheetah, the ride has three launch areas throughout the ride which gives the rider a boost which literally removes you from your seat đ
Ride when your feeling animal like
So there we have it my 10 Coasters you must ride before you die…
Which rides would your list include?
Smiles included…
Jamie
