NEW THRILLS GREET THEME PARK VISITORS
If you’re looking for new thrills this summer, Florida’s theme parks have the rides for you. From a velociraptor-themed roller coaster to water adventures, here is a look at what’s new.
WALT DISNEY WORLD, ORLANDO
In March 2020, Walt Disney World was the first of Florida’s theme parks to close and the last to reopen five months later.
For the summer of 2022, the Mouse is roaring again with its first Marvel attraction, several new restaurants and attractions, and relaxed rules on face masks, fireworks and hugging characters.
Disney’s World’s 50th anniversary celebration, which started in 2021, is carrying on through early 2023. Cinderella Castle has had a makeover, and there are 50 golden statues of classic characters sprinkled throughout the parks, some of them interactive.
If you haven’t visited the parks in a while, the FastPass is gone and the Disney Genie digital planning system has taken its place. Unlike the free FastPass, you now have to pay $15 per day to minimize time in line or pay a la carte for a Lightning Lane to popular attractions.
The big opening this spring was Disney World’s first Marvel attraction, the new coaster Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. It is also Epcot’s first roller coaster, and it’s a big one. The sheer size is impressive – it could fit four Spaceship Earths. The steel tracks make for a superwhen smooth trip that can make you feel like you are floating in outer space as pop music plays in the speakers and actors from the “Guardians” movie talk you through the mission.
There’s a new outer spacethemed eatery, Space 220, where visitors board a special “space elevator” that appears to ascend to the stars with an aerial view of
Epcot. The restaurant has a prix fixe menu of $35 for lunch and $60 for dinner.
The park has completed an expansion of the France pavilion that includes the new ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. The trackless ride with no height limitation opened in October. Riders are “shrunk” to mouse size and go on a swerving adventure through
Gusteau’s Parisian restaurant from the Pixar hit “Ratatouille.” Info: $109-$159 admission, $104$154 for children ages 3-9. 407939-5277; disneyworld.com.
BUSCH GARDENS, TAMPA BAY
There were already billboards up around Tampa Bay two years ago, announcing a new monster coaster coming to Busch Gardens,
the pandemic shut down Florida’s theme parks for a couple of months. When Busch Gardens reopened, they put the dramatic Iron Gwazi coaster on hold.
The park has finally unleashed the coaster, debuting it earlier this year to rave reviews from thrill junkies.
Iron Gwazi has a smooth steel track placed in the footprint of the old wooden Gwazi coaster. It was the most anticipated coaster in the country among coaster fans and received national press, including the label “America’s most terrifying new roller coaster” from the New York Post.
It is the fastest hybrid coaster in North America, and the steepest of its kind in the world. And, oh, that first drop. It is a slow climb to the top of the tallest coaster in Florida that plunges riders into a beyond-vertical drop of 91 degrees. It then careens around turns and hills, when riders are briefly lifted out of their seat a dozen times.
Some other special events coming this summer include a new Summer Celebration running daily May 27-Aug. 7. There will be DJs nightly and a fireworks show with dancing fountains and lasers on the weekends. And free beer is back. Guests can get free beer samples at Pantopia Drinks & Snacks from May 31-Aug. 7.
The summer wraps up with the
return of the Bier Fest Aug. 12Sept. 5, when the park embraces its beer-soaked roots with food and brews. It typically features dozens of varieties of IPAs, wheat ales and stouts, and there are spotlights on Florida breweries as well as national brands that are paired with shareable culinary creations.
Info: $89.99 admission, age 3 or younger free. 813-884-4386; buschgardens.com
SEAWORLD, ORLANDO
Like its sister park Busch Gardens, SeaWorld Orlando also had a coaster ready to open in 2020 and kept it on ice for two years.
SeaWorld’s first launch-style coaster, Ice Breaker, came out of hibernation in February. It has both backward and forward launches to flip riders’ stomachs with what it says is the “steepest beyond vertical drop” in Florida, from 93 feet high at an unnerving 100-degree angle.
The latest addition gives SeaWorld more roller coasters than any other theme park in Orlando (Busch Gardens still holds the Florida crown), further evidence that it has shifted toward rides and away from animal performance attractions in recent years.
But there are some new animal presentations. Dolphin Adventures, which opened last May, explores the world of bottlenose dolphins. Also new is the Sea Lion and Otter Spotlight, which opened last July. It still has some of the comedy of the old Clyde and Seamore shows, but it has a more educational bent.
This summer brings the return of Electric Ocean, running weekends through Sept. 5 with DJs putting on a family-friendly dance party. The nights end with a fireworks show and dancing fountains.
Special events this summer include a Guy Harvey Weekend June 18-19, with special appearances by the renowned artist and conservationist. The park ends the summer with a Craft Beer Festival, running weekends Aug. 5 through Sept. 5.
Info: $89.99 admission, ages 3 or younger free. 407-545-5550; seaworld.com/orlando
UNIVERSAL, ORLANDO
The parks that Harry Potter put on the map are turning to dinosaurs and Jason Bourne as another way to lure movie fans.
Universal Orlando’s biggest new addition is the envelopepushing Velocicoaster, the “Jurassic Park”-themed coaster that opened last June in Islands of Adventure.
Like the movies it is based on, the ride is a pulse-pounding attack on the senses. The long, winding line to get on the coaster is filled with fun distractions, from snarling animatronic raptors in holding cells to a chance to grab some selfies with a raptor. The ride has more than 4,700 feet of track, multiple moments of airtime, two launches, four inversions and a twisting barrel roll over the water.
Afterward, stop by the new Raptor Encounter, where you literally come face-to-face with a ferocious velociraptor, which makes for a very entertaining photo op.
The Bourne Stunt Spectacular, found in Universal Studios, opened last June. The queue is heavy with scenes from the movies and props from the films, including a motorcycle from “The Bourne Ultimatum” and a replica of the Mini Cooper from “The Bourne Identity.” The preshow stars actor Julia Stiles from the films telling the audience to be on the lookout for Jason Bourne. It has a sliding set with lots of projections that make it hard to tell where reality ends and the special effects begin as the illusion of movement is helped by the screen behind it.
Coming soon, maybe this summer, is a reboot of “Revenge of the Mummy,” one of Universal Studios’ most popular attractions. Info: $109 admission, $104 ages 3-9, age 3 and under free; twopark tickets $164, $159 for children. 407-363-8000.
ADVENTURE ISLAND, TAMPA
When Adventure Island, the water park across the street from Busch Gardens in Tampa, first opened in 1980, it had only a few pools and attractions. Now it’s swimming in the deep end with a load of upgrades and rides.
The park this spring rolled out two new family water slides, a shady beach lounge area and a new tiki bar with 20 kinds of rum. That brings the park’s total to 10 water slides, two pools, a lazy river and splash play areas on its 30-acre property.
It’s newest waterslides are fun and easy enough for a preschooler to ride.
Rapids Racer features twoperson rafts that can race against others in a side-by-side experience. And Wahoo Remix, formerly known as Wahoo Run, now has synchronized light and sound elements, including a different pop song every time you go down the 600-foot slide.
The park’s last big opening was just days before the pandemic shut down all of Florida’s theme parks. In March 2020, it opened Solar Vortex, with its swirly “tailspin” feature that shoots riders into a tunnel to reach speeds of up to 20 mph.
Info: $44.99-$55.99 admission, depending on the date. There is a Fun Card and multipark ticket deals with parent company SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. adventureisland.com