SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

Anyway to get a soft opening ticket for my visit?? We are going to Sea World on Sunday!

 

Thanks,

You have to get the tickets at the park and there is no guarantee they will continue doing soft openings from day to day.

[ttime118]

Anyway to get a soft opening ticket for my visit?? We are going to Sea World on Sunday!

 

Thanks,

You have to get the tickets at the park and there is no guarantee they will continue doing soft openings from day to day.

 

 

Ok, thanks! Fingers crossed I'll get lucky. Where would I check to see if I can get tickets or not once I'm there?

[BigBad]

How would you say it will rank for big fans of B&M hypers like me? Maybe some of the testing footage had the trains running faster than they will let them go with riders, but it looked like it could end up being the best of the B&M hypers a few months ago.

[robbalvey]

Anyway to get a soft opening ticket for my visit?? We are going to Sea World on Sunday!

 

Thanks,

You have to get the tickets at the park and there is no guarantee they will continue doing soft openings from day to day.

 

 

Ok, thanks! Fingers crossed I'll get lucky. Where would I check to see if I can get tickets or not once I'm there?

At the entrance to the ride. That's the ONLY place to get them.

[robbalvey]

Sounds like Mako's soft opening has now closed.

[Barge84]

Overall, if you like B&M hypers with lots of floaty airtime, you'll love Mako! It's a great addition to the park and everyone came off very excited about the ride so I think it will do amazing things for the park which they really need right now!

 

 

Thanks for the update. I wasn't all that excited about Mako until I drove by it a couple of weeks ago. Glad to hear that your review was positive.

[robbalvey]

Overall, if you like B&M hypers with lots of floaty airtime, you'll love Mako! It's a great addition to the park and everyone came off very excited about the ride so I think it will do amazing things for the park which they really need right now!

 

 

Thanks for the update. I wasn't all that excited about Mako until I drove by it a couple of weeks ago. Glad to hear that your review was positive.

You like rides like Helix so I expect this to be in your top ten!

[Philrad71]

Thanks for the video, Robb - it looks like a great addition to the park!

[Password121]

I imagine the trains are shorter because of some of the tighter turns (not snappier, but tighter) towards the end, but I have to wonder if the back has slightly weaker airtime compared to other B&M hypers because of this. I've always found the back of Nitro (which has two more rows than Mako) to be a little better than the front.

 

Thanks for the review/update!

[dwfan42]

Just took two rides on Mako. Here are my thoughts....

 

- Very similar to other B&M hypers.

- Lots of floaty airtime

- Keeps it speed pretty well throughout the entire ride.

- Except for the trim, it honestly hits that pretty hard.

- Rode once in the very back and once in the very front - Front seat had a *little* stronger floater over some hills, back had better airtime coming down the drop.

 

Overall, if you like B&M hypers with lots of floaty airtime, you'll love Mako! It's a great addition to the park and everyone came off very excited about the ride so I think it will do amazing things for the park which they really need right now!

 

I was expecting Mako to be a world class hyper, but after reading this I'm not as excited. The footage from the testing and when employees rode it looked insane, but the onride POV that was posted seemed like it was low on airtime- The trim seems to really ruin the ride. I've never been on a hypercoaster yet, so I am excited to ride Mako. The closest I've gotten to a hyper is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Which I loved- it's really underrated and has lots of airtime imo). How does Mako compare to HRRR at Universal Orlando in terms of airtime?

[dwfan42]

And if anyone rode, how are the positive Gs?

[Nozzy]

My first ride I rode glasses with straps (Pivothead camera) and then the second ride I was told "no glasses even with straps." A ride op supervisor told me after the second ride "We just changed the rules on the fly because someone lost a pair of prescription glasses [without a strap.]" He said they are evaluating this rule, but I really hope they do allow glasses with straps because that's kind of lame if they don't, IMO.

My skydiving instructor and I are cracking up over this. Do you have a strap that you can cinch tight? I can see why just a strap is insufficient, but with the strap tight around your head...really???

Yes, it's a strap that tightens around my head. I've been on over 1,500 roller coasters in the world and I've encountered *MAYBE* 50 rides that they wouldn't allow glasses on, even with a strap. In fact, you can wear glasses with a strap on the other two B&Ms at SeaWorld so why not this one? Like I said, I hope that rule changes because it seems sort of silly.

 

Heck, they've never even stopped me from riding Manta without a glasses strap. I really hope Seaworld doesn't go crazy over one pair of lost glasses- it happens, even on Wild Mice. Id like to see how high up I am and how fast I'm going!

[Barge84]

Overall, if you like B&M hypers with lots of floaty airtime, you'll love Mako! It's a great addition to the park and everyone came off very excited about the ride so I think it will do amazing things for the park which they really need right now!

 

 

Thanks for the update. I wasn't all that excited about Mako until I drove by it a couple of weeks ago. Glad to hear that your review was positive.

You like rides like Helix so I expect this to be in your top ten!

 

Now, now... I thought we'd agreed to never discuss Helix again.

[robbalvey]

Overall, if you like B&M hypers with lots of floaty airtime, you'll love Mako! It's a great addition to the park and everyone came off very excited about the ride so I think it will do amazing things for the park which they really need right now!

 

 

Thanks for the update. I wasn't all that excited about Mako until I drove by it a couple of weeks ago. Glad to hear that your review was positive.

You like rides like Helix so I expect this to be in your top ten!

 

Now, now... I thought we'd agreed to never discuss Helix again.

We aren't discussing... I'm just quietly judging...and laughing...ok maybe not so quietly..

[Barge84]

Overall, if you like B&M hypers with lots of floaty airtime, you'll love Mako! It's a great addition to the park and everyone came off very excited about the ride so I think it will do amazing things for the park which they really need right now!

 

 

Thanks for the update. I wasn't all that excited about Mako until I drove by it a couple of weeks ago. Glad to hear that your review was positive.

You like rides like Helix so I expect this to be in your top ten!

 

Now, now... I thought we'd agreed to never discuss Helix again.

We aren't discussing... I'm just quietly judging...and laughing...ok maybe not so quietly..

 

This is me exiting the thread...

 

[Khat26]

Mako looks like a solid ride. I was just hoping that it would be unB&Mlike like Fury. I'll temper my expectations and enjoy the hell out of it. If it's anything close to Goliath SFOG, I'll be stoked.

[calebk71]

I agree that Mako seems like a letdown because it is so similar to other Hypers, yet, us enthusiasts know of these Hypers worldwide. Most of B&M's Hypers are almost cookie cutter, so this was something I expected. Tall lift, airtime hill, airtime hill, etc..., hammerhead, more camelbacks, MCBR, mini camelbacks, some turns, and then the brake run. The general public probably won't know the difference, so I think Mako fits perfectly, as Robb said. I think it will do well, but, let's hope the trim doesn't turn Mako into a Raging Bull copycat.

[ragerunner2]

Looks like a great addition to the park and it gives them a major non inversion coaster, which helps balance their collection out better. I also like the theming, the plaza area and the station. It also brings to Florida a coaster experience that has been missing, a true hyper. Great job Sea World.

[southpuddle]

Anyone at the park today that can confirm whether or not they're doing a soft open again?

[robbalvey]

Anyone at the park today that can confirm whether or not they're doing a soft open again?

 

A quick search on Twitter leads me to believe that yes they are:

https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=mako%20seaworld&src=typd

[Onionbelt]

Nice impressions Rob! I really enjoyed Mako and I'm glad Florida finally has a solid hypercoaster.

 

I was expecting Mako to be a world class hyper, but after reading this I'm not as excited. The footage from the testing and when employees rode it looked insane, but the onride POV that was posted seemed like it was low on airtime- The trim seems to really ruin the ride. I've never been on a hypercoaster yet, so I am excited to ride Mako. The closest I've gotten to a hyper is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Which I loved- it's really underrated and has lots of airtime imo). How does Mako compare to HRRR at Universal Orlando in terms of airtime?

If Mako is your first hyper I'd say you're in for a treat, I much prefer it to HRRR. But I've never gotten that much air on HRRR. Just a few pops before each block brake.

[dwfan42]

Nice impressions Rob! I really enjoyed Mako and I'm glad Florida finally has a solid hypercoaster.

 

I was expecting Mako to be a world class hyper, but after reading this I'm not as excited. The footage from the testing and when employees rode it looked insane, but the onride POV that was posted seemed like it was low on airtime- The trim seems to really ruin the ride. I've never been on a hypercoaster yet, so I am excited to ride Mako. The closest I've gotten to a hyper is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Which I loved- it's really underrated and has lots of airtime imo). How does Mako compare to HRRR at Universal Orlando in terms of airtime?

If Mako is your first hyper I'd say you're in for a treat, I much prefer it to HRRR. But I've never gotten that much air on HRRR. Just a few pops before each block brake.

 

Thanks for the response. The thing I think will ruin the ride is the trim. Regardless, I am exited to ride. Also, do you get the "stomach-drop" or "butterflies-in-your-stomach" feeling on the hills and drops? Thanks a lot man

[nicman]

^You do on pretty much every roller coaster.

[DoubleDown]

Wait...am I mistaken? Or is the lead car not the awesome shark nosed one they previewed back in February?

[rcrider4]

It is, they just added a design to the top that was previously just a solid color. The sides still look the same.