Orlando's theme parks are home to some of the most exhilarating thrill rides around. From exciting roller coasters, drenching water rides and unique drop towers, you'll find dozens of ways to get your adrenaline pumping! Here are the top ten biggest drops in the Central Florida theme parks.
Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
By far the tallest attraction on our list, Falcon's Fury is a freestanding drop tower that takes riders up 300 feet before dropping them down, face-first, towards the ground. As you rise up to the top, a trip that takes about a minute to complete, you get an incredible view of downtown Tampa and miles beyond. Then the ride system pivots your seat 90 degrees midair, so you're facing the ground as it sends you soaring straight down at 60 mph. This one is only the for absolute bravest riders in your group.
SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa
Also at Busch Gardens Tampa, the SkeiKra dive coaster is a unique roller coaster sporting a floorless design, allowing your feet to dangle beneath you. It's most surprising feature however, is that just before the first massive drop, the coaster train stops for a few seconds, allowing you to look straight down at the 90 degree spill you're about to take. The fall is 200 feet and you reach speeds of 70 mph almost instantly as soon as you start to fall. As if that weren't enough, the coaster then takes you into an Immelmann loop, and then onto a second drop into an underground tunnel. It's an action-packed experience that coaster fans don't want to miss.
Mako at SeaWorld Orlando
Mako is the newest extreme coaster in Orlando, and Central Florida's first "hyper coaster." The first drop on this ride packs a punch, with a height of 200 feet and a top speed of 73 mph. One of the best features of this attraction named after one of the ocean's fastest sharks, is all of the air-time moments. That's when you feel like you're weightless, and start to come out of your seat a little. You really feel like you're flying when you're gliding along on Mako.
Kraken Unleashed at SeaWorld Orlando
Prepare for excitement as you climb up nearly 150 feet on the chain lift hill of this floorless coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. Based on the mythological creature, Kraken Unleashed drops you 144 feet at a speed of 65 mph. Then it twists and inverts you along a 4,000-foot long track, never letting you catch your breath – because, after all, you're in the clutches of the Kraken.
Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit at Universal Orlando Resort
You get to pick a song for your coaster experience on this unique ride inside of Universal Studios Florida. The music starts thumping as your heart rate starts pumping because this ride starts with a 90-degree lift hill that sends you straight down 167 feet right out of the gate. You'll reach 65 mph and head into an exhilarating non-inverted loop. And all of that is just in the first few seconds of the ride!
Doctor Doom's Fearfall at Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Prepare to be shot straight up 185 feet, only to freefall back down 151 feet immediately after on Doctor Doom's Fearfall inside of Marvel Super Hero Island at Islands of Adventure. That initial launch up propels you with more thrust than a 747 jet, hitting you with more G-force than a space shuttle. Sound frightening? That's exactly what Doctor Doom is counting on.
The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Feel the power of the Hulk as you're catapulted from 0 to 40 mph in 2 seconds, sending you 150 feet into the air, and then into a weightless zero-gravity roll. Feel your adrenaline pumping as you race up to 67 mph, and drop down 105 feet on this high-speed superhero-themed roller coaster.
Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Board your raft and prepare to explore the gentle giants that roam Jurassic Park. Of course, as is always the case, something goes wrong and the dinosaurs escape, sending your boat off course. Next thing you know, you find yourself face to face with a T-Rex, before the floor falls out beneath you. Your boat falls down an 85-foot drop reaching a speed of 50 mph, before splashing down into the water below.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Unlike any other drop-tower attraction around, the Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios takes you on a strange journey through the fourth dimension, and into The Twilight Zone. After experiencing a close encounter with the ghosts that haunt the old hotel, you enter the old elevator shaft that was once struck by lightning. With randomized drop profiles, you can never be sure how many times the tower may drop you, but you can be certain of one thing – there will be at least one full 130 foot drop, where you fall 13 stories at a speed faster than gravity.
Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom
With a drop of only 50 feet, Splash Mountain certainly has the shortest drop on our list, but it is one of the most beloved flume rides in existence. With hundreds of animated characters and a fun story, riders love Splash Mountain for more than just the drop. And even at only 50 feet, don't underestimate the thrill of reaching 40 mph while dropping head-first into the briar patch with Br'er Rabbit.
|