Park Review
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Orlando, Florida
The Place: Sea World of Florida I still do not understand why I keep getting up earlier on days I visit parks than the days I go to work, but it just keeps happening. Today was no exception, as I was out front at 8:30. Shortly thereafter we headed to Sea World of Florida. I was not going to see the fish, as I had done the �family� thing at both this park and the one in San Diego. No, this trip was to get on two monster rides and hopefully spend around four hours at the park. After paying seven dollars to park, we walked over and entered, only to find that, although the gate and front area of the park opened at nine, the rest did not open until ten. A little disappointed, we ate at in the plaza and saw a few exhibits in the front of the park. The stingrays were neat (as usual), and the dolphins were very friendly because it was feeding time. We also went to a wonderful section called Manatee Rescue that let me see the animals I have supported via the �Save the Manatee Club� for some time. �Sea Cows� are still one of my marine life animals, and it still bothers me that their destruction seems so close every year. But you are not reading for a political lecture. Let me just say that Anheuser-Busch, a corporation that does a lot for the environment, did not disappoint with this exhibit. It managed to entertain, educate and get people up close with manatees, all of which are great things for this animal�s future. There was some nice music around the Manatee section, as I heard Buffett and some reggae. But other parts of the park had what amounted to little more than glorified Muzak. It would be nice if Busch could invest in some classical music. I think some classical standards, or even some Italian music from the Mediterranean, would give the park a more welcoming feel than if it shared the same Muzak as the Piggly Wiggly. After chatting with an attendant at the closed-off section of the park, we headed back to Kraken (Bolliger and Mabillard, 2000, Floorless steel looper) after the gates opened at ten. I was surprised how many people were heading to the coaster, but our wait was not bad. In fact, the longest part of the line was waiting to get in the queue. The height guide is out front, so we had to wait while parents tried to get kids �just� high enough to get in (I saw at least one rejected). The queue of the wonderfully named Kraken was very nice. Compared to some of the other Orlando parks, this queue is not mind blowing, but compared to most other corporate themers (coughSix Flags Over Georgia�s Batmancough), this was very well done. I also appreciated the fact that there were separate lines for the front and back seats. The ride ops were moving pretty randomly; sometimes they would hustle and dispatch right as the other train passed the mid-course brake, other times they stacked for quite a while. After a few train wait, we boarded the front seat, were locked in and were off. The course is pretty standard B&M - loop, diving loop, camelback, cobra roll, turn to the brake run, loop, dive into some theming and a corkscrew into the brakes. One thing I noticed on the first run was that there were many (I believe four) trim brakes along the course of this ride. All I can say is that if this ride is this forceless running with no trims and only a kiss at the mid-course, I hate to think what it would be like with those things on - it would barely make it through the course! We took another ride in the front seat, and I left with the impression I expected to have - namely that Kraken is a coaster built for a wide range of ages and thrill tolerances. Perhaps my expectations were set low to begin with, but I did not come off disappointed, as I thought this was a very middle-of-the-road coaster. Later in the day we took two rides in the back seat that improved things some, but overall it did not have many moments (I still love any diving loop and camelback combination!). The part after the mid-course was nicely themed. The loop was in a trench, and after that the train dove into a tunnel filled with waterfalls that led directly into a corkscrew. It made for a unique ending and gave onlookers a nice place to watch the people on the coaster enjoying themselves. Journey to Atlantis (Mack/PGAV Architects, 1999, water coaster) was located next door and had a 25-minute wait. The queue theming was good, and Bill and I were stuck with the unlucky job of sitting in the front seat. After the boat was released from the station house, it floated through the �story� part of the ride as we followed Hermes on our journey. I must hand it to the people at Busch - this was a very entertaining and unique storyline. My only problem was that the speakers seemed a bit crackly and, at times, it was a touch hard to follow the story developments. After leaving the themed area, we were hauled up a chain lift, rounded a dry turn (ala Long Island Adventureland�s flume) and went up some more. This is one area that could use some action. I would have liked to see some statues lining either side of the lift spraying water over the boat in arcs, or perhaps our guide Hermes doing a trick or two. The drop itself was very good and gave some nice airtime, but what happened next was not so pleasant. After the drop we got somewhat wet, which is fine - it is a water ride. However, after the boat left the run out channel, the bow suddenly tipped down and gallons of water splashed all over Bill and me. Both of us were mad about that and then, before the next chain lift, there was another small conveyor that took the boat up three feet, and on the drop the bow again dipped and let tons of water in. I do not mind getting wet (or even drenched) when it is part of the ride, but getting soaked as a result of bad design does not sit well with me. Even if it were a hot summer day, I would have thought it was just too much water. After the second chain lift, we swooped through Medusa�s lair and had a coaster-like finale and splashdown. Overall, I thought Busch and Mack collaborated to make a wonderful ride that tells a unique story and is fun for most in the family. After exiting the ride, we took two more spins on Kraken, I bought a magnet while Bill bought everything in the souvenir stand, and it was time to go. We had to say goodbye to Bill as he headed back to Atlanta and Eric and I sped off through the pouring rain for an afternoon at Disney. One problem I found was that the exit signs were not very well marked, at least in the area we were. It was raining hard and difficult to see anything but a small sign above the road. Needless to say, this did not leave Eric as a happy man in the driver seat when we had to find our way back through the parking lot.
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