National Roller Coaster Day
Test your knowledge of Orlando’s wildest rides with our quiz.
It’s National Roller Coaster Day, so put your hands in the air like you just don’t care, y’all. I was putting together a Central Florida coaster quiz when I fell into the deep online well that is the Roller Coaster DataBase. I emerged with this mini-quiz featuring answers that are longer than the questions. For the sake of these five entries, I’m talking about thrill rides in the metro Orlando area — sorry, Tampa fans — and when measurements are mentioned, all credit goes to RCDB. Of course, keep your hands, arms, feet and legs within the mini-quiz at all times.
1. I’m startled to realize (again) that Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain is the oldest standing coaster in Central Florida, debuting in 1975. That’s about four years after the park itself opened, so Walt Disney World was a coaster-free zone in its early days. Second-oldest coaster around? Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom, which opened in 1980. Our newest coaster, of course, is Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which debuted in June at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
2. With apologies to Prince, I was dreaming when I rode this. Sure enough, the answer is 1999. Granted, the opening of Islands of Adventure bolstered the count, giving us the Incredible Hulk Coaster as well as Dueling Dragons. (Begrudgingly, I’ll include IOA’s Pteranodon Flyers because RCDB does.) Next door at Universal Studios, Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster was introduced, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (The following year, Kraken opened at SeaWorld Orlando, and Flying Unicorn — later refurbished to become Flight of the Hippogriff — rolled into Islands of Adventure.)
3. Everest has the edge on Kraken, 4,424 feet to 4,177, according to RCDB. Hagrid has claimed the top spot now at 5,053 feet, unseating SeaWorld’s Mako, which goes for 4,760 feet. (Mako still has dibs on max Central Florida speed, topping out at 73 mph.)
4. At Disney World, there’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios. Other “name” coasters include Super Grover’s Box Car Derby (Once called Shamu Express) and Kraken (mythology counts) at SeaWorld; Incredible Hulk Coaster and Flight of the Hippogriff at Hagrid’s ride at Islands; and Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster and Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios. Debate amongst yourselves about Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott’s. Coaster or not? RCDB includes it, but also notes that it’s mostly a dark ride.
Oh, and if you tried working Goofy or the Great Goofini into that junior coaster’s name at Magic Kingdom, you can be forgiven. But according to the official Disney World website, the coaster is called, simply, the Barnstormer.
5. Once upon a time, there was an attraction called Circus World down in Polk County. Among its rides was a wooden coaster named Florida Hurricane, and for a spell, it was called Michael Jackson’s Thrill Coaster. The pop superstar, a frequent Central Florida visitor, reportedly enjoyed the ride, prompting the name change. The park itself was eventually retooled and renamed Boardwalk and Baseball, which closed forever in early 1990. The coaster was dismantled and sold and continues to operate today as the Arkansas Twister at Magic Springs in Hot Springs, Ark.