MAKO – A New Species of Coaster!

By Guest Blogger Jeremiah Good

MAKO Shark – Isurus oxyrinchus

Found all over the world

Weighing up to 1000 pounds

Length ranging from 6 to 12 feet

Fastest shark with speeds up to 60 mph

MAKOâ„¢- B&W Hyper Coaster

Found only at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fl.

Highest point 200 feet

More than a mile in length

Top speed of 73 mph

Early morning May 10, a month prior to official opening date, a handful of brave souls gathered to take a first look behind the walls of SeaWorld Orlando’s newest coaster – MAKOâ„¢.

With still a lot of work left to be done we were given a look at MAKOâ„¢ Plaza and our first glimpse of the queue entrance.

Once we all gathered, Brian Morrow – VP of Theme Park Experience and Design gave a short presentation of the work he and his team did on bringing MAKOâ„¢ to life.

Brian also gave us our first look at MAKOâ„¢ in action. As someone who loves coasters, this was very thrilling.

Now that you’ve had a chance to watch the coaster in action, I urge you to go back and take note of two things as it flew past us.

First, it is silent. For a ride of this size and speed, that is amazing. Second, listen to the music change in the plaza. As Brian pointed out to us, there are different lighting and music changes each time the car flies past to give those guests walking by a taste of the attraction.

Walking into the queue we experienced something that SeaWorld has become great at doing — we felt almost as if we ourselves were a creature of the sea exploring a new environment. Even though the line is not complete and there was work still going on all around us, it was evident this area was not going to be just a lot of switchbacks, but a rich storytelling element for the attraction.

After a short climb we were at the load station, which continues that feeling created by the queue — it puts you in the role of the MAKOâ„¢ shark.

Brian, showing his passion for the theme and story of the attraction, gave a short presentation on how technologically advanced the loading area will be. He claimed that no matter whether you are in the first row of the vehicle or the seventh, you will get a part of the story.

We were unable to ride MAKOâ„¢, but we did get to follow its path from the station out to the back area where we really got the sense of how massive this attraction is.

Standing in the shadow of the extreme 200-foot drop and right at the point where each car will achieve the maximum speed of 73 mph , Mike Denninger – VP Theme Park Development gave us a chance to lean more about MAKOâ„¢ standing just a few feet away from the track.

Not only is MAKOâ„¢ the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster in all Orlando, it also has a very unique feature — 92 percent of the ride takes place over water, again adding to the theme that you are living the part of the Mako shark.

MAKOâ„¢ opens to the public on June 10, 2016, only at SeaWorld Orlando. I can guarantee this will be the attraction everyone will race to at park opening for a long time to come!

Official Press Release “MAKO Surfacing at SeaWorld Orlando June 10th”

About Jeremiah:

Born and raised in Southern California, Disneyland was always Jeremiah’s home park. Walt Disney World was just a dream. After he relocated to Florida, the theme park capital of the world, his dream came true. With the opportunity to enjoy a different theme park every day of the week you never know where he will be.

Disclaimer: AllEars.Net was invited by SeaWorld Orlando to attend this media preview. Jeremiah’s views are his own.