Kraken Ride Review
Upon entering the parking lot at SeaWorld Adventure Park in Orlando, a massive steel structure can be seen rising above the trees - Kraken. This isn't your typical B&M coaster in Florida - this coaster is "floorless." Yeah, I know that Montu and Dueling Dragons are "floorless" too, but Kraken sends its riders' feet dangling above the steel tubular track for over three and a half minutes. After riding the Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park, I knew that it would be difficult to search for a better all-around coaster. It took one year for me to discover a coaster that delivers in every category imaginable to an enthusiast. Kraken's variety of inversions, huge height and unrelenting speed make it the greatest coaster on the East coast of the United States.
Journey to Atlantis, at 110 feet, is no longer the tallest thrill ride at the park. Kraken rises to an unprecedented Florida height of 151 feet! The queue for this attraction consists of five connected, open-air building with clever sayings and illustrations painted on the walls. The longest I had to wait for this attraction was 10 minutes, and that was for the front row. There was a 2-3 minute wait for every other row all day long.
The seats are actually fairly comfortable for a coaster. They are similar to all B&M seats except they are slighty modified on the back. Within about 3 and a half hours, I rode Kraken 16 times. I got a chance to really analyze every element of along the 4100 feet of twisted track - over and over again.
The first drop out of the station is a great way to start off a great ride. The view from the zenith of the lifthill is spectacular. Discovery Cove and the Walt Disney World Resort complex can be seen to your right and Universal Orlando and the International Drive attractions can be seen to your left. Now onto the second best element of the ride - the steep drop over the lake. This is definitely the best first drop of any coaster in the Southeastern United States. The view and sense of flying is best from the front seat and it feels like you are leaving the world behind for a few minutes. It also feels like your feet will get caught in the track below when sitting up front. The rush of sitting up from cannot be described - it is so amazing!
The first vertical loop packs some heavy g-forces between the middle and back rows. The ride photo is taken between the the first vertical loop and the diving loop. After the diving loop comes the best element of the ride - the zero-G roll. Oh my! This element is best experienced when sitting on the far left seat of any row. Riders basically float out of their seats for about three seconds! While legs are dangling one way, the coaster dives down and to the left creating an edge-of-your-seat feeling. The following Cobra-roll is by far, the smoothest and fastest one out of all the superb B&M machines in the state. The brake run slows down the train slightly, but it is hardly noticed when sitting in the back row. The initial drop following the brake run is a winner! It is very steep and over six stories high. Then comes a nice little vertical loop half buried in a trench. The train then zooms up out of the trench and then into a half flooded cave. Upon exiting the cave, riders are hit with the grand finale - a compact corkscrew.
Kraken is my favorite roller coaster in Florida and it will be a hard one to beat! Now, here are my ratings.........
Front Row (any seat) A+
Middle Rows (middle and right seats) B+
Middle Rows (left seats) A
Back Row (middle and right seats) A-
Back Row (left seat) A
Facts:
Speed = 67 mph Length = 4100 feet
Time = 3 min 38 sec Drop = 144 feet
Inversions = 7
2000 Florida Theme Parks Online Ride Reviews
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