BGT 5/30, first SheiKra ride

With my first day off since May 1, I had no choice but to drive to Tampa (from Orlando) to get my first ride on SheiKra. I got my Platinum passport the day before, so I was ready to go.

I knew since it was Memorial Day I needed to get there when the park opened, so I set my alarm for 6, out the door at 7 and at the gate by 9.

Approaching the park, SheiKra has a pretty impressive imprint in the skyline. First, with SheiKra, the entrance is rediculously hard to find. I probably waited 15-20 minutes. We were not able to select a row, and I ended up in row 2 and was able to trade seats with someone to get the right-end seat.

The lift: Yes, its steep... so steep in fact, i had to be sure to secure my valuables (cell phone, park passport, car keys) from sliding out of my pockets... that ruined a little bit of the anticipation. The turnaround at the top is probably the best coaster venue so far for the random screaming out of phrases, because its so quiet. The hold over the edge is fantastic, probably my favorite part of the ride.

The drop: SheiKra, quite obviously, is all about the first drop, and its great. Not quite sure how to describe it aside from the fact that the only contact you feel is your back against the back of the seat (your butt certainly isn't in the seat).

The immelman: Fantastic airtime, particulary on the left side (my second ride)

The stop before the second drop: Somewhat of a momentum killer

The second drop: Like the first drop, only shorter.

The splashdown: In my opinion, strictly for show... it does look great though.

The bottom line: The first drop of SheiKra is one-of-a-kind and is amazing. The ride altogether, though, is too short, in my opinion. I certainly commend BGT and B&M for this coaster, and I'll definitely go back to ride it again soon.

8.5/10

I took some pictures http://usera.imagecave.com/kenny_schmitt/SheiKra/

Nice photos. The first drop looks awesome.

Isn't this one of those dive machines?

Indeed. I think it's the third one to be built, behind Oblivion in the UK and another in Taiwan.

just a question, how many trains does Sheikra run?

Good question, im not sure. Probably in the ballpark of 5 - 7.

The boarding area is really neat too, its a two-train loading station, with a totally seperate "plank" for each of the rows, being about 20 feet off the ground. I should have taken a picture of it but I didn't want a ride-op to make a stink if they saw a camera or cell phone.