Lurker here, first post, figured I could contribute to the discussion.
I rode five times Saturday (6/4) and three times Sunday (6/5). Between those eight rides I've ridden in every row, and I've ridden in the front twice.
I've ridden Fury 325, Nitro, Intimidator (Carrowinds), and Apollo's Chariot so I have those for a baseline.
The first drop is perfectly designed for the height of this coaster: the way the coaster crests the top then gets to its maximum angle throws you out of your seat and keeps you out of it regardless of the row you are sitting in. This is something that I always felt was been missing from the other three B&M hypers I've been on. The back row is the best row for the first drop, providing the closest thing to ejector air that I can think of from B&M.
After that the coaster paces very nicely through to the turnaround right before the hill trim. The first airtime hill gives a great pop of air to the front seat over the top all the way to the bottom, a bit more than floater air for the middle seats, and nice air after the top of the hill in the back. The hill with the trim provides the most air in the front and floater air for every other row. Even with the hill trim the two hills directly after leading up to the MCBR provide better air than I can remember on the three B&M hypers mentioned above (with the speed hill being my favorite element on the ride). You do get a good pop of air into the MCBR if you're sitting towards the front of the train.
After the MCBR you barely get anything even resembling floater air over the next airtime hill, and the twists before the final brake run are taken at an absolute snail's pace...no forces even remotely worth mentioning other than to mention that they are completely forceless.
For the exception of the hill trim, the pacing for the first half of the ride into the MCBR is absolutely amazing and the airtime is the best I've felt on a B&M hyper. Based on the reactions of people on the train (and my constant giggles) the first half of the ride is all anybody really cares about right now and it alone is good enough for people to get back in line.
But we need to discuss the trims. There's got to be a calculated reason for them, but man I can only dream of riding this thing like the official POV shows. Each ride I've heard audible groans from people on the hill trim...there's nothing worse than losing quality momentum right before what would otherwise appear to be a perfectly designed airtime hill. While there's still plenty of air on the next two hills after that hill, I certainly wouldn't mind even more without the trim. The mid course brake run in my opinion ruins the ending of the ride...again there's no forces to speak of over the 'airtime hill' after the MCBR and the little curves before the station have no kick to them at all. I will note that between Saturday and Sunday, the ONLY time I noticed less trim force was when I somehow ended up on a train that was less than half full. Other than that the trims felt consistent between both days.
Mako is now my favorite roller coaster in Florida based purely on the first half of the ride. In my opinion it's a better ride than Nitro, Apollo's Chariot, and Intimidator. But it really pains me to know that this ride could be even better...and dare I say...a near perfect coaster...without the trims.
