Kraken is the giant Bolliger & Mabillard floorless coaster at SeaWorld Orlando.
And Kraken is certainly a fitting name for this beastly looper.
The ride is large in scale and features a tangled mess of track
running alongside the water. Kraken may be one of the older roller coasters at SeaWorld Orlando,
but it was arguably their most important. Find out why and also how it rides in this review!
1999 was a major year for the Florida theme parks, specifically in regards to thrills. Busch
Gardens Tampa opened Gwazi, a Great Coasters International dueling wooden roller coaster.
Walt Disney World finally opened the long delayed Test Track at Epcot, which would become
the fastest attraction at any Disney resort. And they also opened Rock “n” Roller Coaster
at the then Disney’s MGM Studios. This Vekoma launch coaster would be the first coaster at an
American Disney park to invert guests. Universal Orlando would open a brand new
theme park in Islands of Adventure with immersive theming and Orlando’s wildest
roller coasters. The park’s two most thrilling coasters would both be from Bolliger & Mabillard.
The park would feature the Incredible Hulk Coaster, a launched 7 inversion sit-down coaster,
and Dueling Dragons, two dueling inverted coasters with 5 inversions on each side.
And SeaWorld Orlando would open…nothing. At the time, SeaWorld Orlando was primarily
an aquatic park. The park had a series of shows and exhibits complimented by a small handful of
mechanical rides. They dabbled in large-scale, themed attractions the prior year when they opened
Journey to Atlantis, a Mack water coaster. This ride was very well received with its elaborate
sets, thrilling drops, and soaking splashes. B&M debuted their floorless coaster in April 1999
with Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure. This was an updated take on the company’s sit-down coaster,
as the trains would remove the floor and have the legs of riders dangling above the track.
Riders immediately praised this model’s power and smoothness.
In early May 1999, just a few weeks before Islands of Adventure or any of Florida’s new-for-1999
coasters would open, SeaWorld Orlando announced Kraken. This would be a B&M floorless coaster
that would become Florida’s tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster when it opened in 2000.
Kraken would stand roughly 150 feet or 46 meters tall, reach speeds of 65 mph or 105 kph,
travel 4177 feet or 1273 meters of track, and also include 7 inversions along the way.
Adding a massive thrill coaster like this was a gamble.
It would become the most thrilling attraction at SeaWorld Orlando at the time by a long shot.
But SeaWorld Orlando saw the positive reception of two thrill coasters they
added to their San Antonio park. Great White was an inverted coaster also from B&M
and then in 1999, they opened the Steel Eel mega coaster from Morgan.
This gave SeaWorld the confidence sea creatures and thrill coasters could mesh together.
Kraken opened to rave reviews for SeaWorld Orlando and this coaster’s success is what has
led the park to adding additional coasters down the road such as Manta, a B&M flying coaster,
and Mako, a B&M hyper coaster. While the latter two coasters are arguably more
popular than Kraken today, this coaster still has as strong place in the park’s lineup.
Kraken’s placement in the park is interesting. I love how the first half runs alongside water
on one side. But on the other side, you can see some less-than-appealing backstage areas.
The second half has some exciting underground trenches.
The one by the entry plaza in particular looks amazing. The cave is located around water,
has some nice rockwork, and the kraken’s massive tentacles are sprawling outwards from it.
This is an exciting visual that entices riders to experience this coaster.
Kraken usually has a very short wait. Most days, it’ll be a walk-on for most rows,
even if it’s running just one train. On busier days, the park will often run two trains.
And each train seats 32 riders across 8 rows. And no matter how many trains Kraken is running,
the crew usually gets them out quickly to keep the minimal line moving.
The one exception is if you want to wait for the front row. The line for this row starts pretty
far back. If it’s filled entirely and the coaster is running two trains, it can take an extra half
hour. While the front does have the unobstructed view, I find the back row is the ride’s best seat
so I usually just head there anyway. And one note for those with Quick Queue,
you are assigned either row 2 or 7. You cannot get any other row.
The only time Kraken consistently had a bad line was during the 2017 season.
That was the year Kraken was renamed Kraken Unleashed
and given virtual reality goggles. This experience significantly reduced the coaster’s throughput.
Dispatches would take an eternity and lines would move slower than Peyton Manning sprinting.
This is why VR was removed in 2018, but the Kraken Unleashed branding remained around the attraction.
But maybe that could change soon. Kraken is going through some visual changes at the moment.
Until recently, Kraken had a distinctive paint scheme. I really liked it. The coaster had aqua
track and pastel yellow supports. But now it’s being painted green.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of a green B&M in Orlando,
I am always going to think of the Hulk. While I prefer Kraken’s older paint scheme,
what matters most is that this will still be one of the best floorless coasters out there.
Kraken has the traditional floorless trains with the over-the-shoulder restraints. I have
no issue with these restraints, but they are pretty hard if you experience any headbanging.
Thankfully, Kraken is usually pretty smooth outside of a minor rattle in a few valleys.
However, I have noticed the ride can have a noticeable rattle in
several of the ride’s valleys when the trains aren’t fully loaded and that can make it a
little easier to hit your head in a few spots. Once secured, you gently dip out of the station,
turn towards the lift, and head towards the top. On the way up, you get some great views of Mako.
Once you’re at the top, you subtly turn to the right and then head down the 144 foot or
44 meter tall drop. And this is one of the best drops on a B&M looper.
This one isn’t curved like most of their other loopers. This one is a straight drop. It’s not
overly steep, but if you’re in the back, you will get some weak floater airtime on the way down.
The first inversion is a giant vertical loop. And honestly, it’s probably the
weakest inversion on the ride. It doesn’t offer many positive Gs and the element is
taken too quickly to offer any hangtime. The next inversion is a solid dive loop.
It delivers some decent positive Gs into the element and if you’re towards the back
of the train, you’ll get a tiny pop of airtime at the start of the flip.
After being pulled to the ground, you head towards the ride’s best element- the zero-G roll.
This element is wild. It’s extremely snappy and you’re pulled through the element while
you’re levitating out of your seat. It’s a beautiful display of both grace and power. It’s
one of B&M’s best zero-G rolls in my opinion. The valley that follows offers some leg-numbing
positive Gs before you charge through the cobra roll. Both flips are mildly
snappy and thankfully free of headbanging, which is a flaw on some of B&M’s other cobra rolls.
You then twist upwards into the mid-course brake run. And while this turn looks like
filler in POVs and off-ride footage, I’ve always found it to have some force to it.
The mid-course brake run usually only taps the train lightly and then you are treated to an
awesome drop. It sharply dives downwards and to the left. Everyone gets some nice
laterals and those towards the back also get some decent floater airtime simultaneously.
And the drop plunges into an underground trench. That’s followed by the ride’s second vertical
loop and this one is way better. This one is fast and forceful.
And the element finishes where it started- in that underground trench.
You then climb out of the trench, pass by the entrance plaza,
and drop into an underground tunnel. This hill is too elongated to offer any airtime, but
it’s an amazing visual both on-and-off-ride. The tunnel, while short, has a decently forceful turn.
This also tends to be one of the few spots that can semi-regularly cause some headbanging
so I recommend bracing yourself here. When you emerge into the daylight,
you are abruptly whipped through a very nice corkscrew. It has a lot of snap to it.
You then gradually rise up into the brake run, ending your ride on Kraken. This is both a long
and well-paced coaster. Outside of the first vertical loop,
all the other inversions are decent to great. And this coaster has a good sense of speed since it’s
not only pretty fast, but it uses those narrow underground features in the second half well.
So what would I rate Kraken? I would give this floorless coaster an 8 out of 10. This is a very
fun looping coaster. The ride does pretty much everything I could want in a floorless coaster.
It has plenty of inversions, many of which are strong.
It offers a smooth and reridable experience. It has good transitions. And then it also has some
solid drops and cool underground elements to differentiate it from the others.
This is probably my 3rd favorite floorless coaster. Superman Krypton Coaster is easily
my favorite. But this is slots in right behind Six Flags Discovery Kingdom’s Medusa for me.
While Medusa has a similar layout to Kraken and a worse location,
I find that coaster is more consistent which is why I give it the slight edge.
While I prefer both Mako and Manta to the park’s older B&M coaster, Kraken still holds its own.
So those are my thoughts on Kraken, the Bolliger & Mabillard floorless coaster at SeaWorld Orlando.
What are your thoughts on this multi-looper? Do you agree it’s one of the best floorless coasters
out there? I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!