Sea World Orlando: 11/15/01

Here's the third park I used that Platinum Busch pass at, and I think I've been getting my money's worth!

The park is beautiful. It reminds me a lot of the park formerly known as Sea World of Ohio. Speaking of which, after checking out the Penguin Encounter, I'm more certain than ever that Six Flags has no idea what they're doing when it comes to maintaining the habitats. I figured bird crap everywhere was normal, but the Orlando park showed that it shouldn't be that disgusting. What a bummer.

Anyway, the shows I caught were the dolphin show and the whale show, in what has to be the most amazing habitat and stadium I've ever seen. I couldn't believe how much room the whales had!

Now, about Kraken... what's going on with this ride? Layout wise, I have to say it's a great combination of the usual elements, and I dig the tunnel, but is this thing running on the original wheels? It was rough in the back and the front, like tooth filling rattling rough (if I actually had any fillings, that is). I was shocked. It was just below the threshold of being uncomfortable. I was able to spot some wheels and they're noticeably not of a uniform color, indicating some rough spots. Overall, I liked the ride, but hope they'll clean those things up. At least the first two cars of the train shown at the IAAPA B&M booth has new wheels!

And now a little rant... The Florida parks are complaining about the low traffic to their parks, but at the same time they're denying people one of the easiest reasons to come back in the slow season: Zero wait times! Everyone was running single trains, and in some cases it meant 20 to 30 minute waits. Now, I don't mean to be really picky, but what incentive does one have to visit if the waits are still that long in the off-season? You might as well wait until summer when the kids are out of school, it's drier, etc.

Journey to Atlantis was one of the coolest water rides I've been on (until visiting IOA later that day). The drop doesn't mess around, so that's fun. The story and effects are a little goofy, but still fun. What I couldn't get enough of though was the coaster segment. Holy crap was I not expecting that. After the second lift you've got a serious coaster drop and a great banking S-turn before splashing down at a level higher than the bottom of the coaster drop. Cool!

So why the debate on whether or not to call this a coaster? Why not? Give me a break, if you can consider some crappy little kiddie coaster a few hundred feet long a coaster, this certainly qualifies in my book.

If you get a chance, be sure to check out the little aquarium hooked into the gift shop at this ride. It's neat to see the sharks, rays and fish in the domed ceiling and below the floor. Great idea!

If you dig the marine life, this is worth the stop in Orlando. The only major irritation, aside from the disregard for Kraken's wheels, was the fact they wanted money for their observation tower. What's the deal with that?

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Thats extremely disapointing to hear about Kraken becoming rough. Ohh, the horror of it!! When I ride it the last year at christmas time, it was smoother than any B&M creation. I hope the wheel problem is fixed by the time I visit in December.

As to Kraken running rough...
Must have been a bad summer for the coaster... I rode it in March (in the front, in the back, in the middle) and it was one of the smoothest coasters I have ever encountered.

As to Journey to Atlantis...
Okay... does this end the debate onece and for all? Jeff says it is a coaster (which is what I have been saying ever since March), so can we all just agree that the thing is a coaster! What was even better was riding that thing the first time and being surprised by the coaster segment. That part is fun enough, but its absolutely wicked when you ride it for the first time and you don't know that is there until you get to it. When we rode JTA for the first time, my wife and I were expecting a water ride and were very surprised to find a second lift hill and what was waiting at the top. I like the way they "feature" the water drop by having it as the focal point of the ride, but then have the coaster park hidden from view... great way to take people by surprise on their first ride.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 11/19/2001. ***

I remember how much we were complaining about why Journey to Atlantis wasn't in the records as a coaster, but now, finally... *sigh* :)

Anyways, I went in July and Kraken was smoothe as ice! It was actually probably my first or second favorite coaster in Florida(can't decide between it and DD-Fire), but when I'm there, nothing to complain about. Sad to hear it's become rough, but I honestly hope it was just you. ;)

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Danny

PKI 2002- "The Rollercoast is Toast!"

What were the waits like for Kraken? I might be going there over spring break.
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"It's always great for us to put the newest and the best rides into the roller coaster capitol of the world" Sandor Kernacs 11/20/01

When I went in July, the waits were 10 minutes tops, but usually walk-on. Journey to Atlantis is another story as its wait is usually 30-45 minutes.

I went about the same time as Koaster King went and the line peaked at about 30 minutes but then they added a third train and it was reduced to a walk-on. JTA however was an hour all day until right about an hour before closing then it was a walk-on.