Buckle up for a heart-pounding adventure with the best roller coasters in Florida ALL RANKED!
All of us roller coaster enthusiasts flock to Florida to visit a plethora of theme parks.
Florida is the Theme Park Capital of the World offer Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa and more!
As Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer once said, “there’s so much to see and do here that I bet you didn’t do it all!”
Most people head on over to one, maybe two of these theme parks during an entire visit.
However, we Roller Coaster Enthusiasts want to make sure they are getting on the best of the best, which Florida can offer when it comes to amazing coasters.
But the big question is: Where are the best roller coasters in the state of Florida?
Today, I will be going over just that and what makes these the best of the best-of-the-best in the Sunshine State! This includes the following:
- History of the ride
- What to expect on each roller coaster
- Stats to know before you go
- Guest satisfaction and review
- Roller Coaster awards
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What You'll Get in This Guide Today: show
5. Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
This steel roller coaster cracks open our list at number five.
Created by B&M coaster manufacturer, the hypercoaster calls SeaWorld Orlando theme park its home.
It is named after the Mako shark and is located in the sea of mystery section of the theme park.
The name derives from the fact that the mako has been identified as the fastest species of shark in the ocean.
History of Mako at SeaWorld Orlando
When it was first teased in April 2015, the only fact we knew is that it would be 200 feet (ft) and it was marketed as the longest, tallest and fastest coaster in the city of Orlando.
Something that is still one of the selling factors this day!
On May 27, 2015, SeaWorld officially announced the construction of Mako, which was named after themako shark.
The first pieces of track began to ship from Ohio to Orlando in August and started to arrive on site two days later.
Then on January 6th of the following year, we were happy to see that the lift hill wasofficially topped.
The first car of the train was shipped and revealed on February 16th with the car design exhibiting the face of a mako shark. The very last track piece placed on March 15th of 2016.
When did Mako open at SeaWorld Orlando?
Mako’s soft opening was on June 2, 2016, with the media day to introduce the roller coaster taking place a week later. A day after, its official opening to the public was on June 10th of 2016.
In addition to the ride’s opening, a summer-dedicated event named “Summer of Mako” was hosted from June to August 2016 throughout the park and its sister water-park, Aquatica.
Guest Reviews and Satisfaction of Mako Roller Coaster
Generally, the guest satisfaction is mostly positive for Mako!
Some have stated it was excellently done, with the feel of a retro coaster and plenty of airtime. At the time, some had called it the best coaster in Orlando, Florida.
Awards for this Florida Roller Coaster
In its opening year, it ranked number three in the Best New Ride category for the Golden Ticket Awards.
With the exception of 2020, during the pandemic where there was no awards given out at all, it has managed to place at least in the top 40 in the Top Steel Roller Coaster category.
Roller Coaster Stats for Mako
- Height: 200 ft
- Drop: 200 ft
- Length: 4,760 ft
- Speed: 73 miles per hour (MPH)
- Launch/Lyft System: Chain
- Trains: 3 Trains with 7 Cars
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4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT)
Did you know that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is the first coaster at Walt Disney World to feature Marvel characters?
It is Disney’s first backwards launch coaster and EPCOT’s first roller coaster in general.
Next on our list is this enclosed coaster created by Vekoma.
History of Guardians of the Galaxy
The attraction was originally slated for EPCOT’s 40th Anniversary, and was announced at D23 Expo in 2017.
Unfortunately, it would inevitably be pushed for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary due to delays from the pandemic.
Ellen’s Energy Adventure would close in August 2017 to make way for the Disney roller coaster, in which construction began later that month.
The show building was refitted to house the coaster. However, the first piece of track wouldn’t be laid until November of that year however.
At the 2019 D23 Expo, the attraction name would be revealed and would be named such due to the 1994 contract withUniversal Parks & Resorts, which pre-datesDisney’s 2009 purchase of Marvel Entertainment.
Filming for the ride, starring some of the original cast took place in October 2021.
The first sneak peek footage was released in March 2022, with it being revealed that Terry Crews would play a new character the following month.
When did Guardians of the Galaxy open at Disney World?
The attraction had its grand opening ceremony on May 27, 2022, opening to the public on the same day.
What to Expect on this Florida Roller Coaster
The attraction is showcased like a pavilion in World Showcase. It features exhibits and presentations of the culture of the Nova empire, Xandar.
Without giving too much away, you’ll board a vehicle to help the Guardians stop a celestial being from destroying earth.
Why We Love this Florida Roller Coaster
The ride is unique in the fact that you are assigned six potential songs to ride the coaster to and they are the following:
- September by Earth, Wind and Fire
- One Way or Another by Blondie
- Everybody wants to rule the world by Tears for Fears
- Conga by Miami Sound Machine
- I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls
- Disco Inferno by The Trammps
Guest Reviews and Satisfaction for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
The general guest reaction is that it is a fun and enjoyable thrill experience with some praising that they were grateful for an actual coaster at a disney theme park.
Some however did find issue with the spinning and backwards due to motion sickness.
Roller Coaster Stats for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Launch/lift system: LSM Launch
- Length: 5,577.4 ft
- Speed: 60 MPH
- Ride Time: 3 mins 20 secs
- G force: 2
- Trains: 8 trains with 5 cars
3. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
Hagrid’s made quite the impression upon its debut with its opening day boasting 6-8 hour waits.
And the people did in fact wait. These days you can catch it with about an hour to and hour and a half wait time on a good day.
This multi-launch steel coaster in located in the heart of the Hogsmeade section of Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure.
History of Hagrid’s Motorbike Roller Coaster
This Florida roller coaster cost $300 million to manufacture with Intamin and took the crown from Expedition Everest as the highest costing coaster to make in Orlando.
It arrived as the sixth Harry Potter-themed attraction to exist and is partially enclosed.
What ride did Hagrid roller coaster replace?
Dueling Dragons Challenge is what Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure replaced; however, it did come back to life briefly as a Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) house during HHN 32.
Construction of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
The construction began in January 2018 after a land clearing process took place.
According to Alan Gilmore, art director of thePotterfilms and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, over a thousand trees were planted to create the woodland that would set the theme of the Forbidden Forest.
We (the Potter fan community) were all super happy to see the attraction going vertical in May 2018 with the castle portion later being built in August.
By October, Hagrid’s hut was being built, trees were being planted in the surrounding area and the track layout was finished.
By mid-December, the first train was placed on the track to prep for testing in February.
When February came, the opening date was announced along with other details including the name of the coaster and the ride vehicle design.
While the testing phase took place, the Fluffy animatronic was completed in April of 2019.
Following this, 13 inch Cornish pixies were added throughout as well as the unicorn animatronics being installed in May of 2019.
What to Expect on this Florida Roller Coaster
The late Robbie Coltrane reprised his role as Hagrid and filming took place at the Warner Bros Studio in London, alongside Mark Williams, who played Arthur Weasley.
Due to health issues, Coltrane used a body double with the exception of filming of his head and face.
He was also unable to attend the opening ceremony; however,Evanna Lynch,Warwick Davis,Tom Felton,Rupert GrintandJames and Oliver Phelpsdid.
The attraction takes muggles through a journey through the Forbidden Forest on Hagrid’s motorbike where you’ll see magical creatures such as:
- Fluffythe three-headed dog
- Cornish Pixies
- Devil’s Snare
- ACentaur
- Blast-Ended Skrewt: a creature that was never featured in any of theHarry Potterfilms
Guest Reviews and Satisfaction for Hagrid’s Roller Coaster
The general consensus amongst guests is that the ride is an adventure of fun and full of awesome twist and turns.
However, some find issue with the ride due to the size issue for some who can’t fit into the ride vehicle, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Awards for this Florida Roller Coaster
Since its debut, it has won a few Golden Ticket Awards.
It ranked second in the Best New Coaster Category in 2019, 1st place in the Best New Attraction installation category and has made the top 30 of the Top Steel Roller Coaster Category in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Making it one of the best roller coasters in Florida!
Roller Coaster Stats for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
- Launch/Lift System: LSM Launch
- Height: 65 ft
- Drop: 17 ft
- Speed: 50 MPH
- Trains: 10 trains with 7 cars
- Launches : Multiple
Hagrid’s Roller Coaster Launches
- 1st: 0–20 mph in 1.2 secs
- 2nd: 22–30 mph in 1.5 secs
- 3rd: 0–32 mph in 3.5 secs
- 4th: 27–35 mph in 2.3 secs
- 5th: 21–41 mph in 2.5 secs
- 6th: 37–44 mph in 1.7 secs
- 7th: 0–50 mph in 4 secs
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2. Iron Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa)
This isn’t the first time I have chatted about Iron Gwazi here at ThemeParkHipster. I pitted it against its original form in this article here.
You can learn in depth more about the history of both Busch Garden’s Gwazi and Iron Gwazi there!
But the coaster was manufactured by the great Rocky Mountain Construction (the same company that did Steel Vengeance).
Guest Reviews and Awards
The guest satisfaction overall is that it’s an absolutely phenomenal experience and worth the trip to Busch Gardens Tampa.
Plus, it brought renewed life into the once dead Gwazi wooden coaster.
It has been called a winner and praised for its numerous airtime hills, not letting up until a little over halfway through the ride.
Because it’s only a few years old, it has only won 2 Golden Ticket Awards which was 4th place in the Top Steel Roller Coaster category in 2022 and 5th in the same category in 2023.
Roller Coaster Stats for Iron Gwazi
- Height: 206 ft
- Drop: 206 ft
- Length: 4,075 ft
- Speed: 76 MPH
- Time: 1 min and 50 secs
- Inversions: 2
- Trains: 2 trains with 6 cars
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1. Jurassic World: VelociCoaster (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
To some readers, VelociCoaster being in the number one spot will not come as a surprise. In fact, we touched base on everything that has to do with the coaster here.
The acclaimed coaster is themed to theVelociraptordinosaurs seen in the Jurassic Worldfilm franchise.
It’s located in the Islands of Adventure’sJurassic Parkarea, occupying the site of the formerTriceratops Encounterattraction.
This Intamin masterpiece boasts two high-speed LSM (linear synchronous motors) launches features a signature 155-foot-tall (47m)top hat, fourinversions, and a max speed of 70mph.
Making it one of the best roller coasters in Florida!
Guest Satisfaction and Reviews for this Florida Roller Coaster
The consensus across the board is immensely positive. Many guests come to Islands of Adventure solely to experience this coaster and come off of it exhilarated and wanting to ride again and again.
However, there is some complaint with the ride vehicle as it may be a bit roomy for some riders.
Roller Coaster Stats for VelociCoaster
- Launch/Lift System: LSM
- Height: 155 ft
- Drop: 140 ft
- Length: 4,700 ft
- Speed: 70 MPH
- Inversions: 4
- Launches: Multiple
- 1st Launch: 0-50 mph in 2 secs
- 2nd Launch: 40-70 mph in 2.4 secs
- Trains: 4 trains with 6 cars
WATCH NEXT: 10 Things I’ll NEVER Do at Universal Orlando Again!
My Final Thoughts on Experiencing the Best Roller Coasters in Florida
There may be many theme parks and experiences to explore in Florida, but only a few hold the key to some of the very best roller coasters that the state has to offer!
From SeaWorld to Disney to Universal and Busch Gardens, you will be able to rise up to the challenge and experience the top 5 BEST roller coasters in the state of Florida!
Have you ridden some or all of these coasters on our list? Let us know in the comments section below.
Until next time, Happy Park Hopping Hipsters!
About the Author
Victoria is a professional solo traveler here to make your solo trips as stress free AND enjoyable as possible for you.
She has over 5 years of Disney and Non-Disney travel experience and was featured by POPSUGAR as one of the Top 50 Black Disney Creators you should follow.
She is a Proud Native to Baltimore, Md but always will call Disney World home. You can find her at Disney Tea with V.
(Original Article Date: December 4, 2023/Updated by Editor on June 6, 2024)
