When you think of the most thrilling, gut-wrenching, and dizzying roller coasters on Earth, central Florida might not be the place that comes to mind. More commonly associated with princesses, pirates, wizards, and whales, the Orlando area has made its name with family attractions and theme parks by big business park operators, and it IS a great place for parents, grandparents, and kids.
But before you go thinking Florida’s all dark rides and character meet-and-greets, check out our countdown of the 10 most thrilling coasters in Central Florida. You may be surprised to see that, with all of these rides listed in one place, Florida is a GREAT destination for thrill-seekers. And if your teenager is dreading an upcoming family vacation, show him a couple of these photos and see if it’s all doom and gloom afterwards…
10. Cheetah Hunt
Image: Busch Gardens Tampa
Location: Busch Gardens Tampa
Busch Gardens’ Cheetah Hunt is a sight to behold and a lot of coaster to take in. The 4,429 foot long coaster soars over the park’s African savannah, dives through trenches, and hits three LSM launches all meant to recreate the breathless wonder of the fastest land animal alive as it hunts. The ride’s impressive statistics and thoughtful pacing make it among the greatest family-appropriate coasters on Earth, but for all its pomp and circumstance, it’s very firmly a family coaster. A real thrill and a joy to ride, Cheetah Hunt is certainly one of the best coasters in Central Florida.
9. Manta
Image: SeaWorld
Location: SeaWorld Orlando
Flying coasters have always been a wonder. The unique rides position riders below the track with their spine parallel to it, offering the unique (and for many, disturbing) sensation of looking down at the Earth and flying, unsure where the track will lead to next. Manta took the breathtaking ride configuration and interpreted it not as a bird, but as the graceful underwater flight of a manta ray. The ride’s queue twists through underwater caverns where the creatures can be seen soaring overhead, transitioning smoothly to the weightless ride and its graceful layout. It buzzes past waterfalls and along caves before a signature finale splashdown where the manta’s wing appears to dip into the water toward onlookers.
8. SheiKra
Location: Busch Gardens Tampa
The first of B&M’s famous Dive Machine model to maintain a 90-degree freefall, SheiKra is a pulse-pounding plunge of a ride. Named after the African hawk species said to dive straight down to snatch its prey, SheiKra features a 200-foot, absolutely-vertical freefall. Impressive enough but imagine it strapped into a super-wide, eight-across train with a wingspan more impressive than the biggest birds of prey alive today. Seated on either end, you’ve got nothing above OR below as every turn in the track is taken more dramatically, like their Wing Rider model on steroids. SheiKra may be one of the best examples of overwhelming speed and power coupled with B&M’s smooth and graceful maneuvers.
7. Revenge of the Mummy
Location: Universal Studios Florida
When Universal opened the Revenge of the Mummy, it billed the ride as the world’s first psychological thrill ride. Believe it or not, it’s an appropriate title. The ride is half dark ride, half coaster, and packed with some pretty impressive special effects. When the unexpected transition to roller coaster does occur, it’s a music-filled journey through pitch-black darkness. Truthfully, it’s not very tall OR fast, and if it were themed to anything else it would make a pretty nice family coaster. But in the dark and given the Mummy treatment, the ride is truly impressive and earns high praise from even the most hard-to-please thrill junkies.
6. Expedition Everest
Location: Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest is reportedly the most expensive attraction ever built by Disney, and it shows. A towering 199-foot tall snow-capped peak, an impressive Audio Animatronic figure, detail enough to fill an entire day of sightseeing, and attention to detail unseen since Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure. And that’s not even mentioning the coaster itself! The forwards / backwards ride is more forceful than you’d imagine and features a dizzying 80-foot plunge plus a surprisingly convoluted layout. It’s still a family ride, of course, but it’s among Disney’s most thrilling.
5. Dragon Challenge
Location: Universal’s Islands of Adventure
When Universal’s Islands of Adventure opened in 1999, it was billed as the most technologically advanced theme park on Earth. It was a fair statement! While impressive dark rides and animatronics experiences were the bulk of the hype, the Dueling Dragons coaster was equally impressive. Actually made up of two intertwined B&M inverted coasters, sophisticated computers weighed each train to precise measures and adjusted brakes along the ride to ensure that the trains would “duel” at three near-miss points. At those points, riders would come within 18 inches of the other train.
A few inexplicable accidents forced Universal’s hand as they announced that the Dragons would never duel again. At nearly the same time, the ride was absorbed into the under-construction Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade where it got its new name. Today, the two coasters (called “Hungarian Horntail” and “Chinese Fireball”) are still among the most thrilling in Florida, though the red-tracked Fireball is often given the advantage by enthusiasts for its superlative statistics.
4. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Location: Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Disney’s first inverting coaster in the US, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney Studios Paris is seriously thrilling. The ride begins with a heart-pounding countdown to a 0-57 mile per hour launch in less than 3 seconds, which blasts the train into a confusing and knotted course of inverting track, twists, overbanked turned, and hills. The ride goes upside down three times as it zooms through a blacklight, comic-book style recreation of Hollywood, and is surprising enough to captivate even well-traveled coaster enthusiasts.
3. Montu
Image: Busch Gardens Tampa
Location: Busch Gardens Tampa
Commonly considered the best inverted B&M coaster in the world, Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa is located in the park’s Egyptian section… which is instantly recognizable by its location amid obelisks, pyramids, and sand pits. The ride itself features many of the elements seen on other B&M inverts, but something about its pacing, placement, seven inversions, and attitude just registered with fans who consider it a gold standard for the model.
We can’t help but love how the ride dives into sandy pits held back by ancient stone walls along the ride’s course. Very cool! In its early days, trains departing the ride’s station would glide over a pit of very real crocodiles. The animals have since been relocated, but that was one heck of a thrilling send-off for riders aboard an already-crazy coaster.
2. Kumba
Image: Jeremy Thompson, Flickr (license)
Location: Busch Gardens Tampa
Named for the African Congo word for “roar,” Kumba lives up to its name as the coaster’s deep rumbling bass fills the park. With seven inversions (including a round-the-lifthill loop not repeated until Kings Island’s Banshee) and a 135 foot first drop, Kumba dives through almost 4,000 feet of track during a 3-minute ride time. Aggressive, active, and twisted, the ride is thrilling beyond belief.
1. Incredible Hulk Coaster
Location: Universal’s Islands of Adventure
One of the most instantly-recognizable symbols of Universal’s Islands of Adventure, the Incredible Hulk Coaster opened with the park in 1999 and has remained iconic ever since. The 110 foot tall ride is unique, as it was the first B&M coaster in the world to use a launch (though B&M, infamously devoted to using only reliable and tested systems, built only the track, leaving Universal to outsource the launch to a third party; B&M will try their hands at their own launch with 2015’s Thunderbird at Holiday World.)
The ride features a 0 – 40 mile per hour launch in 2 seconds, blasting riders uphill with the same force needed to launch a jet. The upward thrust digs riders into their seats before cresting into a 110 foot high zero-G roll over the water. The train then blasts downward at the ride’s top speed (67 miles per hour) and into the ride’s iconic cobra roll over the park’s central lagoon. The blazing green ride is perhaps as fun to look at as it is to ride. After its cobra roll and vertical loop, the coaster leaps over itself and dives backstage where the rest of its convoluted and twisted circuit double the inversion count.
Basically, Hulk’s got it all: crazy inversions, awesome speed, a twisted circuit that’s unguessable, a super unique launch, and a postcard-ready layout.
