Rollercoasters
William and I had ridden on rollercoasters before in England at Legoland, Windsor and Paulton's Park in Hampshire, but William did not get really excited about riding rollercoasters until we went on holiday to Florida in December 2007. These are the ones we rode in Florida. They are in the order that we rode them.
Shamu Express at SeaWorldOn our first day in Florida, we went to SeaWorld. William and I rode this children's rollercoaster at Shamu's Happy Harbour. It was a gentle start. My rating: |
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Space Mountain at Disney Magic KingdomThis is a double indoor rollercoaster as if in space. As you ride around in the dark, you pass the occasional planet or spaceman. It is quite a thrill being in the dark. My rating: |
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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney Magic KingdomEven with our FastPass there were quite long queues for this "runaway train" rollercoaster. My rating: |
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Revenge of the Mummy at Universal StudiosA scary indoor rollercoaster on the theme of the Revenge of the Mummy films. There are lots of mummies and scarab beetles and exploding fireballs in the dark. You really feel the heat. We went on this again, and again, and again! Fantastic! My rating: |
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Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster at Universal StudiosA children's rollercoaster that was very tame after the excitement of the Revenge of the Mummy. My rating: |
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Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain at Disney Animal KingdomA thrilling rollercoaster on the theme of a high speed train ride that goes wrong when the rails are torn up by a Yeti. It is a fantastic setting for a rollercoaster supported by exhibitions about the Himalaya and the legend of the Yeti. It was a very popular ride and we went on it as many times as we could with our FastPass. My rating: |
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Primeval Whirl at Disney Animal KingdomA children's rollercoaster that goes around a lot of tight hairpin bends, and over some humps and drops. Occasionally the car turns (whirls?) round too. My rating: |
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Scorpion at Busch GardensAn exciting day at Busch Gardens at Tampa Bay started with the Scorpion. With its 60 foot drop and vertical loop, the Scorpion was first time that William and I had gone upside-down on a rollercoaster. Dad and Mum came on it with us the first few times and then we went alone. It was great! My rating: |
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Kumba at Busch GardensThen on to a much more complex ride called Kumba, with its huge 135 foot drop followed by all sorts of elements such as a 110 foot drop in to a diving loop, a zero-G roll, a 114 foot high vertical loop, a cobra roll and a corkscrew. Dad and Mum had been on this one many times on previous holidays. Apparently "Kumba" means "Roar" in an African language. It certainly made us roar as we experienced extreme forces! My rating: |
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SheiKra at Busch GardensThis was an incredible experience. It is Florida's tallest rollercoaster. SheiKra is a floorless dive rollercoaster that from 200 feet drops you vertically face-down! Just to get the heart racing, the car stops to dangle you face-down just over the edge so you can see the drop below you. Then it lets go. Wow! Then there is an Immelmann loop, a second vertical dive and a splashdown. We rode this many times too! My rating: |
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Gwazi at Busch GardensNamed after a fabled lion with a tiger's head, Gwazi is a double wooden rollercoaster; the south-eastern USA's largest and fastest. The noise and the view of the track add greatly to the experience. Mum and I only went on once, but Dad and William rode both the Gwazi Tiger, a slalom ride, and the Gwazi Lion, a spiralling ride. My rating: |
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Montu at Busch GardensFast and furious: this is one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world. That means you are hanging underneath the rail! It has an Egyptian mythology theme. Montu was the god of war and had the head of a hawk. The ride includes an inverse diving loop, an Immelmann loop, a 60-foot vertical loop, a zero-G roll and wingover corkscrews. A physically very demanding ride. My rating: |
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Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney MGM StudiosBeing the only rollercoaster at Disney MGM, and one with Rock music, an upturned limo and a giant electric guitar outside, there was huge demand for this ride. Using our FastPass we unfortunately only had one ride on it, and we were not going to join the regular queue for a wait of over an hour! Our time was better spent on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The theme of this indoor coaster, a "road trip" across town with Aerosmith was good but not that good. It had a corkscrew, and lots of high-speed loops and turns set to a loud Aerosmith soundtrack. My rating: |
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The Duelling Dragons at Universal Studios Islands of AdventureThis was the world's first inverted duelling double roller coaster and is based upon the theme of duelling Dragons: a red one called Fire and a blue one called Ice. The rollercoaster cars for each dragon are coordinated so that they climb the initial hill together and then several times pass VERY close together, as if in aerial combat. Fire includes Immelmanns, a loop and wingover corkscrews, whilst Ice includes a zero-G roll, a cobra roll, a loop and a wingover corkscrew. Two very different rides and we went on each of them many times. Dad and Mum thought Fire was best, but William and I preferred Ice. Fire |
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The Flying Unicorn at Universal Studios Islands of AdventureA children's rollercoaster upon the theme of a unicorn flying through an enchanted forest. Definitely not as exhilarating as The Duelling Dragons. More fantasy than forces! My rating: |
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The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Studios Islands of AdventureThis is a coaster with something different. My rating: |
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Kraken at SeaWorldThis is a monster rollercoaster, on the theme of the mythical sea monster, that dives and loops. A lot of this floorless ride is over water, although there are also 3 subterranean dives. It includes loops, a dive loop, a zero-G roll, a cobra roll and a flat-spin corkscrew. Less brutal than some other coasters, feeling the G forces on this one was pure enjoyment. Dad and Mum loved it! My rating: |
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William's rating: 
William's rating: 
William's rating: 
This page was last updated on 3 October 2008.
