Happy Friday Thrill Seekers,
Hopefully you’ve all had a chance to read my previous blog posts detailing my time away on a recent FAM trip to Orlando, hosted by SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment. I had the opportunity to visit all 4 of their brilliant parks; SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove. I thought I would conclude the trip with a run down of my top 5 roller coasters that I had the chance to experience in Busch Gardens and SeaWorld.
SheiKra at Busch Gardens
Although everyone in our party in Orlando agreed on our top 2 favourite roller coasters, there was a bit of a debate on which should be first and second. Those of you that have seen my blog post about Busch Gardens would have already seen my gushing review of SheiKra, a floorless dive coaster. I think it is the first hair raising drop that makes this my firm favourite coaster of the trip. After a 200ft vertical chain-lift climb you are suspended at a 90-degree facing the ground allowing you to see the enormity of the drop in front of you. You are then released, plummeting at 70mph to the floor. Just in time you are swept upwards into the only inversion of the ride, followed by another 90-degree drop at 138ft leading into a splashdown and spraying water into the air before slowing down into the station. It is best to get a seat on the front row to fully appreciate the height and speed of the first drop. After riding this coaster 4 times I found that the best ride experience for me was on the furthest left seat of the front row.
Why not try it out and see if you agree?
Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens
Cheetah Hunt is a close second in my top 5 coasters. This is Busch Garden’s newest roller coaster experience. As the name suggests it is themed around the world’s fastest land animal, the cheetah. It is also the world’s only triple launch roller coaster. The first launch shoots you out of the station at 30mph, however it is in the second launch that you experience the full strength of the cheetah. This propels you forward at Cheetah Hunt’s top speed of 60mph, straight into a 102ft incline. You then spiral down, like a cheetah circling its prey before dropping 130 feet into a tunnel. After some quick directional changes you are taken through the rides only inversation before hitting the final. This catapults you forward at 40mph into some more direction changes in which you can hear nothing but laughter from the riders until you come to a stop at the station. This is a perfect thrill ride for families and roller coaster enthusiasts alike. I think this is another ride that is best enjoyed from front row. We managed to ride twice in a row!
Manta at SeaWorld
Manta is third in my top 5 roller coasters, however it is my favourite ride at SeaWorld! This coaster is designed to mimic a giant Manta ray spinning, dipping and gliding through the ocean. Once locked in securely by a harness over your body and ankles your seat is tilted forward into your flying position so that you are facing the floor. You then leave the station and climb a 140ft incline. There is a few seconds as you slowly move over the top of the incline where there is no longer anything beneath you, which is where I think you really start to feel like you are being suspended high above the ground. There is not much time to think however, as you the speed head first to the floor then swoop up into the first inversion. Here you’ll experience up to 3.7Gs, followed by a corkscrew. You are then slowed down before dropping just above water. Manta finishes with 2 more inversions, each spiralling you to the sky before flipping you back over to face the ground. It is the unique face-down riding position that makes this one of my favourite rides and as it is the only flying coaster in Florida you won’t experience anything else like it.
Kraken at SeaWorld
Sticking with SeaWorld, the Kraken comes fourth in my top 5. This is the only floorless coaster in Orlando and is themed around the mythical sea creature. As you climb the 149ft chain lift to the top be sure to have a good look at the surrounding area as you can see most of Orlando from the top! You then hertle to the ground at almost 65mph and straight into the first 2 inversions. This is followed by a zero-g roll where you experience a feeling of weightlessness, my favourite section of the ride. You will then speed through 2 more inversions before entering an area themed as the Kraken’s lair and the final corkscrew. It is the speed of this coaster and the number of times that it takes you upside-down that makes the Kraken one of my favourites. I also find that being a floorless makes it feel much faster than some of the other floored coasters in Orlando.
Sand Serpent at Busch Gardens
The Sand Serpent at Busch Gardens may not be a conventional choice as a top 5 roller coaster but we had so much fun that I had to include it. The Sand Serpent is a steel wild mouse style coaster that is really aimed at families, but as we found it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. You climb a 45ft chain lift hill to the top, where the track levels out. The car runs straight until you feel as though the car is going to go right off the edge, but you are then quickly spun back around to face the opposite direction. Once you have reached the other side of the track you zoom down the first drop then spike back up to the second level of the maze. This continues until you reach the bottom. With top speeds of 28mph it is nowhere near as fast as some of the other thrill rides in the park, however there is still lots of little seat lifting drops that can give you that butterfly feeling in your stomach. We were in hysterics the whole way down and got some hilarious photos! As it was a smaller coaster some of the others that had skipped the bigger thrill rides were able to go on as well…instead of holding the bags!
So there you have it, my top 5 coasters from my recent trip to Florida. Although I never thought it possible I’m now even more addicted to roller coasters!
I couldn’t recommend the SeaWorld Parks highly enough and at the moment you can get a 3 Park SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens Ticket for the price of the 2 park ticket, not only that Orlando Attraction Tickets have frozen 2013 for 2014.
So what are you waiting for, get yourself a plane ticket 🙂
Smiles included…
Rachel
