SeaWorld Orlando’s shark coaster to open in June

ORLANDO, Fla. — The unveiling of SeaWorld Orlando’s new shark-inspired Mako roller coaster is still a month away, but park officials gave the media a behind-the-scenes look at the park’s newest addition Tuesday.

Mako, the park’s first new high-thrill ride in seven years, is being billed as the tallest, longest and fastest roller coaster in Orlando. It opens to parkgoers June 10.

Mako, named after one of the fastest and most powerful sharks in the ocean, will be the centerpiece of the park’s Shark Wreck Reef. And it promises to be one of the more thrilling new attractions in the area this summer.

“The thrill ride matches perfectly with the predatory instincts of the shark itself,” said Bill Morrow, vice president of theme park experience and design at SeaWorld Orlando. “It’s really what fans expect from us, rides that tell stories of the ocean in brand new and inventive ways.”

At its highest point, Mako will drop riders 200 feet from the initial lift and then hit speeds of 73 mph at the bottom of the first drop. The coaster features nearly a mile of steel track (4,760 feet) and has nine hills that give riders that “air time” — a sensation of flying or weightlessness — and numerous vertical curves. And to get the full effect of the coaster, riders will not be held back by shoulder restraints but instead will only have a lap bar to keep them secured in the car.

The idea is for riders to move as Mako moves while going through a habitat made to simulate the ocean with water at the surface of much of the roller coaster.