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Top ten roller coasters of Florida

By LYNSIE BREAUX

Many people have called me a thrill-seeker.

In my short life I have done everything from jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft to flying in the back seat of an FA-18 flown by a Blue Angels pilot.

Sheikra - Busch Gardens Tampa

But when it comes down to it, there's nothing that really compares to the thrill of getting on a great roller coaster.

With one exception, I always ride in the back row of the coaster. This is because the front row always has a much longer line and the back row gives a better ride. On the back row of the coaster you always get the highest loads and on most you can actually get negative gravity forces.

This is because the front of the ride is already accelerating down the hill while the back is still on the upslope of the hill. So in the back you literally get pulled up out of your seat and over the hills!

And also if you're a coaster fan like me, don't bother strapping in so tight. Leave the bars a bit loose and enjoy the ride.

Also, don't hold on!

Let your hands free, open your eyes and let your feet and arms fly free to enjoy the ride.

In Florida we have some amazing coasters and in my humble opinion, here are the top rides in

Dr. Doom - Islands of Adventure Orlando

the state.

However, before I begin listing the top coasters, one ride, though not a coaster, deserves honorable mention.

Dr. Doom - Islands of Adventure Orlando: This is one of the typical tower drop rides that one sees at almost every theme park. However, Dr. Doom has a twist. It accelerates you up the tower! As much as I love thrill rides this one gets my heart going. In the moments before the ride shoots you toward the heavens, the anticipation grows until the ride flies.

10. The Mummy - Islands of Adventure Orlando: The Mummy is a relatively new indoor roller coaster. And it has a fun story to go along with the ride. It's a classic coaster with no loops so the whole family can enjoy the ride. It's just a lot of fun for everyone, even people that aren't coaster fans.

9. Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa: Kumba is one of the first steel "mega-coasters." While it's a bit old, as coasters go, in its time it broke a lot of new ground with loops and high-speed turns. It was one of the first coasters to break the 70 mph barrier and still holds its own as a great ride.

Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa

8. Journey to Atlantis - Sea World Orlando: Atlantis is a great coaster in that it combines the classic log flume ride with a roller coaster. After riding through a fun show the ride drops you down just like any other water ride. But it doesn't stop here. After the first drop, the coaster takes the rider through several other drops that get you even wetter than the main drop. Atlantis then brings you up yet another lift hill and puts the rider through a great slalom ride before giving yet another wet drop.

7. Space Mountain - The Magic Kingdom Orlando: While Disney is famous for many things, roller coasters are not their forte. However, Space Mountain has been the signature of Tomorrowland for more than a quarter century. And for many kids and kids at heart, myself included, it was the first coaster you could ride. Back in the days when you still needed an "E-Ticket" to get on Space Mountain kids would stretch to make sure they were tall enough to make the ride. And on the bus ride to school after the Disney trip, if you thought about it you can still remember there was a loop in there somewhere.

Kraken - Sea World Orlando

6. Kraken - Sea World Orlando: Sea World is famous for their killer whales and dolphins. But they recently added one of the tallest, and fastest coasters in the southeast. It has a great lift hill, it's floorless, and it has great multiple inversions. The ride also features an amazing camel back and barrel roll. The ride is great fun and usually doesn't have a long line as most people don't go to Sea World for roller coasters. If you ride it during the new Shamu show there's almost no line at all. The only thing that keeps this amazing coaster from ranking higher is that it is basically a combination ride. It combines all the best features from other coasters but doesn't break any new ground. But it's still one that requires several rides while at the park.

5. The Incredible Hulk - Islands of Adventure Orlando: The Hulk has one of the best lift hills of any coaster in the world. It lifts you through a tunnel very slowly. Suddenly, about halfway up the hill, the ride accelerates from nearly a stop to 60 or more mph while still going up. You then shoot over the first hill and into a series of inversions. It's situated over a pond and drops you toward the water several times. The Hulk is an experience not to be missed.

4. Sheikra - Busch Gardens Tampa: Sheikra is one of the tallest coasters in the southeast and is unique in that it has a full 90-degree first drop. Yes, the ride goes straight down! However, its best feature comes before the first drop. After a long ride up the lift hill, you go over the top of

Gwazi - Busch Gardens Tampa

the hill and stop! For several seconds you are hanging in your straps facing straight down. As the anticipation grows, the ride lets go and the riders go into free-fall. While it's not for the faint of heart, it's a ride that's great.

3. Gwazi - Busch Gardens Tampa: Gwazi is a classic wooden double coaster. The two sets of cars race each other along an old-school style coaster that brings back memories of the old Coney Island type coasters. It has plenty of humpbacks as well as the usual movement of a wooden coaster. While most of the new coasters are built from steel and give a smooth clean ride, wooden coasters swell and change slightly as the day goes on. Each time you ride Gwazi the ride is slightly different from the ride before.

2. Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa: The decision between the top two coasters is almost a coin-

Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa

toss. The final decision to put Montu in second place came down to age, it is a few years older than the first-place coaster. Montu is one of the first suspended coasters meaning the track is above the rider and your feet dangle free. It has great drops, amazing inversions and several tunnels. And no matter how many times you take the ride, I challenge you not to duck your feet as you head into the tunnels. You go racing down the hill after the camel back inversion into one of the tunnels and it just looks like you're going to hit the bottom of the tunnel. If you go to Busch Gardens go during the early part of the week when lines are usually lighter and many times you'll be able to ride a few times without even getting off. Busch Gardens is one of the few parks that will allow riders to stay on the ride if there's nobody in line for your seat.

1. Dueling Dragons - Islands of Adventure Orlando: This is the only coaster I've ever ridden in which I enjoy the front row even more than the back row. It is a suspended steel dual coaster. Both sets of cars go up the lift hill together and it initially looks like it will be a racing coaster. However, once the cars reach the top of the hill they diverge and each go on their own path.

Dueling Dragons - Islands of Adventure Orlando

While the two rides are essentially the same, I prefer the fire side. The only time the two sets of cars meet during the ride is one of the most amazing bits of choreography ever put into a roller coaster. The two sets of cars head directly toward one another. At the last second, both cars spin off into a pair of inverted loops with both cars looking close enough for you to reach out and touch the feet of the riders in the other car set. While not for the faint of heart, it's a great ride.