Thursday, May 27, 2004

Whee Roller Coaster Time!

	I will be forgoing the Top 50 for this post to bring you another top chart, but this one much more interesting and maybe even useful to some of you. I went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure yesterday, apart from the sunburn and blistered feet, it was great. The new Revenge of the Mummy ride premiered on the 21st and I got to ride it yesterday as well (more to come on that) and I finally got to ride The Incredible Hulk. Due to this, I'm now making a list of the best and worst coasters of the central florida area. I will also list the best and worst theme parks, simulated rides, shows, etc as well. Maybe some of you are coming down for a summer vacation and you don't know what theme park to go to, if any, and maybe this may help you in deciding. Roller Coasters There are 13 big coasters in the central florida area (at the moment. Several new coasters are in the planning or being built). This list does not include "family" roller coasters, which are usually small, don't invert, and don't goes terribly fast. Click name to see picture. 13. Python Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 70' Speed: 50 mph Duration: 1:10 Number of Invertions: 2 Year Created: 1977 My Thoughts: This is probably the shortest coaster in central florida. It is also one of the oldest. The invertions cosist of two corkscrews back to back (seen in the picture) after the drop which gives a small, fast rush. There's no playing around with this coaster. 12. Big Thunder Mountain Location: Walt Disney World - The Magic Kingdom Type: Steel/Sit Down Speed: 36 mph Length: 2780' Number of Invertions: 0 Year Created: 1980 My Thoughts: I dunno if you can really consider this a big coaster, but it's not a family one. No invertions, just lots of humps and dips. It's a Disney coaster, you can't expect much. 11. Space Mountain Location: Walt Disney World - The Magic Kingdom Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 90' Speed: 27 mph Duration: 2:35 Number of Invertions: 0 Year Created: 1975 My Thoughts: It's the oldest and slowest coaster but still a great coaster. Why? Because it's in the dark. The theming for the ride is great. In the loading station, if you look up, you can actually see the other trains along the track. Well you actually see their glow in the dark sides which make them look like shooting stars. Just don't put your hands in the air, you might hit something. 10. Scorpion Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 65' Speed: 50 mph Duration: 2:15 Number of Invertions: 1 Year Created: 1981 My Thoughts: Even though th Scorpion only has one invertion, thats really not the best part of the ride. The track in confided into a small space and the ride has about 3 horizontal loops which provide alot of G-Force. It's not long and not super great, but it's a classic. 09. Gwazi Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Type: Wooden Height: 90' Speed: 50 mph Duration: 2:30 Number of Invertions: 0 Year Created: 1999 My Thoughts: This is the only wooden coaster in the central florida area and it's absolutely great. This one is unique because it runs two trains at once. the theming is Lion vs. Tiger. Normally I would classify this as two coasters, but both tracks are pretty much the same so thers really no difference except they go up on oppsite sides of the coaster. It's a great ride with wild drops that will lift you out of your seat. 08. Rock-n-Roller Coaster Location: Walt Disney World - MGM Studios Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 80' Speed: 57 mph Duration: 1:22 Number of Invertions: 3 Year Created: 1999 My Thoughts: This is one of the first coasters to incorporate an acceleration technique which launches the coaster to 57 mph in 2.3 seconds. It goes straight into a 80 foot loop. There are 2 more invertions in this coaster which also takes place int he dark. Another uniquity to this coaster is that it revolves around the theming of the band Aerosmith, which plays 1 of 4 random songs while on the ride. It's an awesome ride, and a must do for any amusement park goer. You won't realize that you're even upside down. 07. Dueling Dragons - Ice Dragon Location: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Type: Steel/Inverted Height: 125' Speed: 55 mph Duration: 2:25 Number of Invertions: 5 Year Created: 1999 My Thoughts: The whole concept of this coaster is absolutely amazing and the theming is even better (consists of dragons who have been dueling over many years and people are riding on the back of the dragons). This coaster is another double coaster, but this one has two distinct tracks, unlike Gwazi, so I seperated them into two different coasters. Ice is the weakers as far as thrill goes but it contains some of the best invertions on any coaster, including a Zero-G Roll (Heartline Spin) or what is refered to as a Camel-back in sit down coasters. This coaster is inverted, which mean your feet hang; my favorite type of coaster. If you like invertions and turns, you may favor Ice more than Fire. 06. Revenge of The Mummy Location: Universal Studios Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 125' Speed: 40 mph Duration: 4:00 Number of Invertions: 0 Year Created: 2004 My Thoughts: The newest coaster on the list. This coaster premiered just 6 days ago and I got to ride it the other day. It's not a typical coaster. It's more like a simulation/coaster. First it moves you along slowly showing specific scenes relating to the Mummy and his curse and then the roller coaster part is a symbolism of the Mummy's wrath. It's a great coaster in the dark again and even has a little surprise ending. 05. The Incredible Hulk Location: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 110' Speed: 67 mph Duration: 2:15 Number of Invertions: 7 Year Created: 1999 My Thoughts: One of the most famous coasters in central florida. The Hulk is a new type of coaster which deals with the generic roller coaster ideas with a new twist. This one also launches you instead of dropping you like a traditional coaster would. You got from 0-67 moh in a few seconds and into a inverted roll right off the bat an then into several other invertions till you hit the bg roll which is absolutely huge. The coaster is longer than it seems. Besides giving me a headache, it was very very good. 04. Kumba Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 143' Speed: 60 mph Duration: 2:54 Number of Invertions: 7 Year Created: 1993 My Thoughts: A revolutionary coaster in it's day, Kumba is one of the tallest and fastest coaster in central florida. Also one of the longest. It also tends to be very loud, hence it's name, which means "roar." It gives me a bad headache sometimes, but thats a different story. Kumba is really tall and drops really fast and has several invertions which jerk you around alot. It's long so I like it alot but apart from the jerky ride and noise, it's a great coaster. 03. Dueling Dragons - Fire Dragon Location: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Type: Steel/Inverted Height: 125' Speed: 60 mph Duration: 2:25 Number of Invertions: 5 Year Created: 1999 My Thoughts: Fire Dragon is the better of the two on Dueling Dragons. It has a bigger drop, longer track, faster moving and the same amount of invertions which jerk you around alot in the back. The initial drop is the best part of the coast, something Ice lacks. Overall a great overall coaster and the best part of Dueling Dragons by far. 02. Kraken Location: Sea World Orlando Type: Steel/Floorless Height: 149' Speed: 65 mph Duration: 3:39 Number of Invertions: 7 Year Created: 200 My Thoughts: The only coaster Sea World has, cause when you think Sea World, you think awesome coaster! Well they did good. This is unlike the inverted coaster from which the track is above you, this coaster is floorless, which means the track is below you but your feet still hang. Its not long enough by my standards, even though the duration is great, thats because it's tall and takes a while to get up to the top. It does a great job of interacting with it's surroundings, going into the ground and above things and below itself in cetain areas. It's got a nice smooth ride and overall is a great ride. 01. Montu Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Type: Steel/Sit Down Height: 150' Speed: 60 mph Duration: 3:00 Number of Invertions: 7 Year Created: 1996 My Thoughts: The best coaster in central florida by far. If you go to Busch Gardens you can't miss this coaster. It is right in front of the parking lot so everyone sees it coming in and deservingly so too. It's the longest "ride" coaster on the list. When it seems like it's over it isn't. The coaster also interacts well with the area dipping into the ground where people are and twirling above them. Kinda like showing itself off. At night this coaster is the best, closely followed by Kumba which is nearly pitch black at night. Smooth, quiet, no headaches from this one. The free fall point is one of it's best features. Awesome caoster for all to enjoy. Theme Parks 08. Animal Kingdom 07. Epcot 06. Magic Kingdom 05. Sea Wolrd Orlando 04. Universal Studios 03. MGM Studios 02. Islands of Adventure 01. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Simulated Rides These are rides which simulate a "rea" experience by hydrolics and a screen or a fake environment and a track. 10. Pirates of the Carribean (Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World) 09. Earthquake (Universal Studios) 08. Dinosaur (Animal Kingdom - Walt Disney World) 07. Twister (Universal Studios) 06. Wild Arctic (Sea World Orlando) 05. Back to the Future (Universal Studios) 04. Test Track (Epcot - Walt Disney World) 03. Star Tours (MGM Studios - Walt Disney World) 02. Spiderman (Universal Studios Islands of Adventure) 01. Mission Space (Epcot - Walt Disney World) Well there you have it. Have fun lol. Tell me if you've been on any of these and what you think if you actually read it all. Song of the Moment: Who cares

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