Sea World Orlando: Rides

Orlando, Florida: Sea World has been known since its inception for its world renowned animal shows and exhibits. But more recently, the executive leadership of the corporation has added rides and attractions to compete with local theme parks, resulting in the transformation from marine park to an adventure park. Sea World in Orlando features over ten rides in total with two of the countries best rollercoaster among them.

The first ride was introduced with the park in 1973. The 400 foot Sky Tower takes riders on an aerial view of the park from a two story rotating observation tower. Here guests will have a birds eye view of Sea World along with the rest of Orlando.

The first major thrill ride was opened in 1998. Journey of Atlantis take its passengers on a trip to the mythical city of Atlantis. The peaceful journey is cut short when the boat is hurled down a 60 foot drop and soaking splash down at the bottom. But its not over there, the boat becomes a coaster for the finale. After disembarking the boat, riders pass through the gift shop which has many great aquarium attractions that should not be missed.

A short time later, Sea World entered the rollercoaster world with the introduction of Kraken in 2000. The coaster is based on a mythological sea monster. On its journey, the coaster reached speeds of 65 miles per hour while encountering 7 inversions and a 144 foot drop. The floorless rollercoaster was the first floorless coaster in the southern United States.

The park added a few more rides in 2006 with the addition of Shamu’s Happy Harbor. The expansion to the park features several new children’s rides. The highlight of the area is the Shamu Express, a kids coaster based on the parks icon Shamu. The area also features a carousel, Jazzy Jellies, Swishy Fishies, Ocean Commotion and Flying Fiddler to provide thrills for the younger members of the family.

Sea World raised the bar once again in 2009 with the opening of its newest attraction, Manta. The ride experience begins from the time you enter the queue. The attraction features 3,000 animals in ten aquariums throughout the site of the ride. The ride itself looks like a Manta ray and the coaster takes its riders on the flight of the ray. Riders are position to ride face down to help enhance the feeling of flight. The coaster reaches speeds of 56 miles per hour while dropping riders 113 feet and featuring 4 inversions for a 3.7 G experience. Manta was Named the Best New Ride by Theme Park Insider and continues to improve in popularity amongst coaster enthusiasts.

As ride technology improves and the demand for more thrilling rides increases, only time will tell what Sea World will introduce in the future to keep competitive with the other Central Florida amusement parks.

For photos of the rides and the rest of the park, visit my Sea World Orlando photo gallery.

Updated September 30, 2010