Mako (roller coaster)

Mako is a steel hypercoaster at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Touted as the tallest, longest and fastest roller coaster in the Orlando theme-park market, Mako opened on June 10, 2016.

History
In April 2015, SeaWorld officials began teasing the upcoming announcement of a new thrill ride for their flagship park in Orlando, Florida. At the time, the only detail revealed was that the roller coaster would be 200 feet in height and would become the longest, tallest and fastest roller coaster in the city. On May 27, 2015, SeaWorld officially announced the construction of Mako, which is named after the mako shark, considered the fastest species of shark in the oceans.

Mako became the anchor attraction to a new park area themed to sharks in general, and is located adjacent to SeaWorld's previously existing shark attractions, such as the Shark Encounter aquarium and its attached "Sharks Underwater Grill" restaurant. It is the first new attraction added to SeaWorld Orlando since "Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin" opened in 2013, and the first new roller coaster since Manta opened in 2009. Mako has 9 designed airtime moments. On February 16, 2016, the first car of the train was shipped and revealed with a front train with a face of a mako shark. In April, SeaWorld began showing a presentation called "Mako Rising" previewing the upcoming hypercoaster in their Nautilis Theater.

Ride experience
After leaving the station, the train makes a small right turn to a 200-foot (61 m) lift hill (which is right next to Kraken's dive loop) to begin its ascension. After reaching the top, it enters a 200-foot (61 m) drop, in which the train reaches at a top speed of 73 miles per hour (117 km/h). Then, the train makes a tall, overbanked turn before it goes to large airtime hill. After the moment of weightlessness, Mako enters its unique element, the Hammerhead turn, which is a tight U-turn to the right. Traveling over another camelback hill, Mako makes another airtime turn and goes into a small airtime hill. After it makes its mid-course brake run, Mako makes a small left turn under the lift hill and goes into another airtime hill. After it makes a banked turn to the right, Mako goes into another banked turn to the left over a part of the park's lagoon and makes its final brake run.