Riders wearing masks spotted on SeaWorld’s Mako coaster
There has been a sighting of a roller coaster in motion in Orlando. Mako, a hyper coaster at SeaWorld Orlando theme park, made the rounds on Tuesday, and it included riders wearing different kinds of face coverings, an eyewitness says.
Dan Leavelle, who runs the Midway Mayhem site and refers to himself as coaster paparazzi, photographed the ride from outside the park Tuesday morning. He says he watched about 30 run-throughs for about an hour and that he didn’t see any masks fly free while he was watching.
A SeaWorld spokesperson confirmed that Mako was ride-tested Tuesday.
SeaWorld Orlando has been closed to customers since mid-March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. No reopening date has been announced for SeaWorld or the parks at Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando.
A video of a run has been posted on Midway Mayhem’s YouTube channel, and photos can be seen on its Facebook page and Twitter account.
The Mako coaster, named for a swift shark, tops out at 73 mph and includes a dramatic 200-foot hill. Other major coasters at SeaWorld include Kraken and Manta. The park planned to debut its Ice Breaker roller coaster this spring, but the shutdown is expected to have altered the schedule. The rails for Mako and Kraken can be seen from International Drive.
Health and safety will be a prime issue for attractions as they reopen to the public. Going forward, parks have been emphasizing cleaning procedures, capacity limits, social distancing and other measures. Although face coverings are recommended by the CDC, and executives have said the masks will likely be required of parkgoers, no Florida theme-park operator has made it official yet.
Shanghai Disneyland resort, which began a phased opening on May 11, requires visitors to wear an approved mask except when eating. Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. Want more theme park news? Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters or the Theme Park Rangers podcast at orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/ theme-park-rangers-podcast.