Mediocrity at SeaWorld Orlando

I had a lackluster first-time visit to SWO, which was disappointing after some top-notch days at Busch Gardens.

Overview

SeaWorld Orlando was the last new park of the trip; I made it out here on day 10. I visited from 9:30AM-10PM and rode Mako 8 times, Manta 3 times, Kraken twice, Ice Breaker twice, Journey to Atlantis once, and Super Grover's Box Car Derby once. Perhaps fatigue was hitting me, but I was not impressed by this park. The coasters themselves were excellent. Park operations were terrible. Starting with security: only one metal detector lane out of six was open. Manta and Ice Breaker had significant downtime. Ice Breaker and Kraken only ran one train. Wait times on the app did not match posted signs. Both were erroneous 90% of the time. Weather delayed rides for 3 hours. Also, lots of rides closed well before park closure at night. Most areas badly needed spruced up, repainted, or otherwise updated. Except for the coasters, SeaWorld Orlando was a big disappointment. I have the opposite opinion of SeaWorld San Antonio, which lacks standout coasters but has a nice atmosphere. That's weird. However, I'll gladly give this park another chance when I'm in Orlando next time; especially since they're adding another B&M coaster.

Coasters

Mako is my favorite coaster at the park. It's a very well-executed B&M hyper. This coaster has tons of good, sustained airtime and is smooth. Mako's drop is standard for a newer hyper, which provides excellent airtime and speed. Then, the massive overbank nearly feels like an inversion. The hill after the turnaround does indeed give five seconds of floater airtime in every row. Mako "feels" faster in the back, but the view in the front is great too. The setting along the water adds to the excitement, there are headchoppers reminiscent of those on Fury 325, and the twisty section over the pathways and lagoon makes for an awesome finale. I waited 15 minutes at most for Mako, and that was for the front row. I prefer Raging Bull for its drop, but otherwise Mako is superior. Some small complaints that I have about Mako are that the hill after the MCBR is weak, the ride needs repainted, and the ceiling theming in the station was either broken or turned off during my visit. A low-to-the-ground element during the first half would've been really cool too.

After downtime for mechanical problems and heavy rain, I was thankful to get a few rides on Manta. Getting past the awkward ride position, this coaster is awesome! The pretzel loop is really intense and the standout moment on the ride for me. However, the three subsequent inversions are a ton of fun too. I love the aquariums in the queue. When riding, I really did feel like a manta gracefully swimming and playing. Parts of the ride near the end sprayed/misted me with water. The train gets really close to the rock structures, trees, waterfall, and lagoon's surface. It's almost too close for comfort. I rode in the back row twice and once in row 3. I definitely liked the back better for being tugged through the layout. Manta had slow dispatches and at times nearly a 2-hour wait. It's been 11 years since I got a ride on Tatsu at SFMM, but I think I still prefer that flyer.

I got two pretty different experiences riding Kraken. My morning ride was bumpy and slow. When I re-rode in the afternoon, it had better pacing and was a bit smoother. Both times I queued for 20 minutes. This floorless B&M has a good layout and some nice theming in spots. However, nothing really stood out, and I much prefer Superman Krypton Coaster for its terrain and better elements. For now, I have Kraken ranked just below Scream!, another SFMM coaster that I loved back in 2011 but need a current re-ride for comparison.

Ice Breaker, which opened a few months ago, was only operational for a few hours on the day of my visit. Fortunately, I rode it twice in that window, waiting 35 minutes each time. Ice Breaker's intensity, ejector airtime, and snappy turns took me by surprise. The most jarring moment occurs on the second forward launch before the top hat. At this spot, riders get slammed down pretty hard then are jerked and twisted upwards. Ice Breaker isn't my kind of ride with the short, extreme airtime instances and rapid turns. Furthermore, dispatch times were awful, and Premier's discomfort collars and train design really hurt the thrilling experience. My favorite part of the ride is launching back and forth at the beginning. I wonder if SWO knew that this ride would not be suitable (gentle enough) for young children just starting out with coasters.

I like Journey to Atlantis better than the coaster with the same name at SeaWorld San Antonio, as there is a much longer and varied ride experience. The indoor section before the lift hill is really neat. Lines can get really long, and it is subject to downtime. The coaster aspect of JTA was decently thrilling. Although, I didn't get very wet on this ride.

I don't have comments on Super Grover's Box Car Derby.

Other Rides

Infinity Falls is the best river rapids ride I've done. I like that it's at least twice as long and twice as thrilling as the average water ride. I rode it at night, which added to the excitement. As expected, I got soaked!

Food & Merchandise

I got the combo at Panini Shore Cafe for $21 for lunch. My turkey panini didn't taste fresh. I ate a yummy pepperoni soft pretzel at Mama's Pretzel Kitchen for $16 for dinner. I struggled to find a good coaster shirt at SWO. After browsing several gift shops, I settled on one for a steep $32.

Cost

I bought the $220 14-day SeaWorld/Busch combo admission ticket as part of a package. It included a one-time use Quick Queue card for the most popular rides as well, but I only used it on Manta at SWO and saved maybe 30 minutes. Check out the cost breakdown of my entire trip here.

Photos

These photos were taken by me. Please credit this website if used.