Matt N
CF Legend
Hi guys. Sorry if there's already a topic like this, but as the title implies, this topic is to describe your first ever ride on your present number 1. You can even include the buildup to it if you want! Or if not your first ever ride, then maybe your most memorable. I'm sure that you guys have all had a special experience on a special coaster some time in your lives. Anyway, I'll get the ball rolling with my description:
My first ever ride on Mako (23rd August 2016)
Right, so my first ever experience of Mako started the second I entered SeaWorld Orlando that day. I could see posters at the park entrance, and these really built up my anticipation for the ride that had undeniably been my most anticipated of our 2016 Florida trip. Anyway, my parents had already said to me prior to our arrival at SeaWorld that it would be a day more focused around looking at SeaWorld's wide array of animals, as the rest of my family had absolutely loathed Busch Gardens Tampa the previous day. So I had little hope of getting on Mako that day.
The ride teased me for the whole day while I was walking around the rest of SeaWorld; it loomed directly over the Sea Lion Stadium, there was a promo video shown in the Shamu Stadium for it and we even nearly got in line in the middle of the day when it had a 30 minute wait. But alas, we never did.
However, towards the end of the day, Mako had just a 10 minute wait as we were passing by, so my family decided to get in line. As we wound our way through the shipwreck theming, my anticipation was building. The moment I had been waiting for since Mako was first announced in May 2015 was finally about to come. As we neared the station after barely any wait at all, I caught my first ever glimpse of a B&M hyper train, and my excitement levels went up a lot. Now bear in mind that I had never ridden anything like Mako before; the closest I had ever ridden to it was Megafobia at Oakwood, and that was only due to its airtime! Anyway, as I got into row 2 of the train and pulled down my clamshell lap bar, (which was extremely comfortable, might I add!), I knew I was in for something quite special. However, an apprehensive part of me thought "What if this airtime that the other enthusiasts keep raving about isn't as good as it sounds? Then it'll literally just be some ups and downs without any inversions to make it interesting!"
But that part of me was hastily silenced as we crested the lift hill and descended down the first drop... because I literally flew out of my seat for what felt like an eternity. Then, as I was blinded by the on-ride photo camera, our Mako train ascended into a large overbank that sent me flying to the left! Then, it plunged downwards and started gaining speed before it ascended into a huge airtime hill, where I floated quite a way above my seat for a good couple of seconds! As my bottom came back down into my seat, our Mako train snaked its way through a hammerhead turn before ascending another airtime hill... and another one... and another one! The airtime just kept on coming, and I was loving it! Might I add that as we were careening through a variety of overbanks and airtime hills, the ride showed no signs of rattle or roughness whatsoever. It glided along as smoothly as butter. As we hit the MCBR, my bottom very briefly met the seat again before flying back out of it during the next moment of airtime! After that, there was another wonderfully floaty hill before our Mako train negotiated what is arguably the most iconic part of the ride. It soared to the right, and then plunged downwards to the left so that it could fly up against the lake. Finally, the train ascended a small bunny hop which I could have sworn provided another small pop of airtime, before hitting the brake run.
As we came to a halt, I had a huge grin on my face. I looked around at my family, and they shared my huge grins. As our train waited for the next one to leave the station, I pondered over how amazing the past 2 minutes had been. As soon as I entered the brake run, I knew that there was only one place in my coaster count that this beautiful ride would fit, and that was the very top. I'm sure you guys have felt the same way about a different ride some time in your lives. So, as my clamshell lap bar came up, I wandered down the exit stairs with a spring in my step, as Mako had not only met my lofty expectations, but it had also exceeded them somehow. Those 2 minutes were some of the most amazing I've ever spent doing something. Mako had redefined what I liked in a coaster; before that day, inversions were still my preference, but Mako won me over to the airtime camp instantly. I knew that it was far ahead of anything else I had ever ridden prior both in terms of airtime and as an overall coaster. In terms of airtime, Mako stormed way ahead of Megafobia as the best airtime I'd ever experienced; Megafobia still has excellent airtime, but Mako is a whole league above it! In terms of a coaster, while I had adored Montu the day before at Busch Gardens Tampa, Mako had definitely beaten it! I wondered how it could ever be beaten, and as of July 2018, nearly 2 years after that first ride, it still hasn't been beaten!
So, what were you guys' first rides on your top coasters like?
P.S. Sorry for the long, in-depth description.
My first ever ride on Mako (23rd August 2016)
Right, so my first ever experience of Mako started the second I entered SeaWorld Orlando that day. I could see posters at the park entrance, and these really built up my anticipation for the ride that had undeniably been my most anticipated of our 2016 Florida trip. Anyway, my parents had already said to me prior to our arrival at SeaWorld that it would be a day more focused around looking at SeaWorld's wide array of animals, as the rest of my family had absolutely loathed Busch Gardens Tampa the previous day. So I had little hope of getting on Mako that day.
The ride teased me for the whole day while I was walking around the rest of SeaWorld; it loomed directly over the Sea Lion Stadium, there was a promo video shown in the Shamu Stadium for it and we even nearly got in line in the middle of the day when it had a 30 minute wait. But alas, we never did.
However, towards the end of the day, Mako had just a 10 minute wait as we were passing by, so my family decided to get in line. As we wound our way through the shipwreck theming, my anticipation was building. The moment I had been waiting for since Mako was first announced in May 2015 was finally about to come. As we neared the station after barely any wait at all, I caught my first ever glimpse of a B&M hyper train, and my excitement levels went up a lot. Now bear in mind that I had never ridden anything like Mako before; the closest I had ever ridden to it was Megafobia at Oakwood, and that was only due to its airtime! Anyway, as I got into row 2 of the train and pulled down my clamshell lap bar, (which was extremely comfortable, might I add!), I knew I was in for something quite special. However, an apprehensive part of me thought "What if this airtime that the other enthusiasts keep raving about isn't as good as it sounds? Then it'll literally just be some ups and downs without any inversions to make it interesting!"
But that part of me was hastily silenced as we crested the lift hill and descended down the first drop... because I literally flew out of my seat for what felt like an eternity. Then, as I was blinded by the on-ride photo camera, our Mako train ascended into a large overbank that sent me flying to the left! Then, it plunged downwards and started gaining speed before it ascended into a huge airtime hill, where I floated quite a way above my seat for a good couple of seconds! As my bottom came back down into my seat, our Mako train snaked its way through a hammerhead turn before ascending another airtime hill... and another one... and another one! The airtime just kept on coming, and I was loving it! Might I add that as we were careening through a variety of overbanks and airtime hills, the ride showed no signs of rattle or roughness whatsoever. It glided along as smoothly as butter. As we hit the MCBR, my bottom very briefly met the seat again before flying back out of it during the next moment of airtime! After that, there was another wonderfully floaty hill before our Mako train negotiated what is arguably the most iconic part of the ride. It soared to the right, and then plunged downwards to the left so that it could fly up against the lake. Finally, the train ascended a small bunny hop which I could have sworn provided another small pop of airtime, before hitting the brake run.
As we came to a halt, I had a huge grin on my face. I looked around at my family, and they shared my huge grins. As our train waited for the next one to leave the station, I pondered over how amazing the past 2 minutes had been. As soon as I entered the brake run, I knew that there was only one place in my coaster count that this beautiful ride would fit, and that was the very top. I'm sure you guys have felt the same way about a different ride some time in your lives. So, as my clamshell lap bar came up, I wandered down the exit stairs with a spring in my step, as Mako had not only met my lofty expectations, but it had also exceeded them somehow. Those 2 minutes were some of the most amazing I've ever spent doing something. Mako had redefined what I liked in a coaster; before that day, inversions were still my preference, but Mako won me over to the airtime camp instantly. I knew that it was far ahead of anything else I had ever ridden prior both in terms of airtime and as an overall coaster. In terms of airtime, Mako stormed way ahead of Megafobia as the best airtime I'd ever experienced; Megafobia still has excellent airtime, but Mako is a whole league above it! In terms of a coaster, while I had adored Montu the day before at Busch Gardens Tampa, Mako had definitely beaten it! I wondered how it could ever be beaten, and as of July 2018, nearly 2 years after that first ride, it still hasn't been beaten!
So, what were you guys' first rides on your top coasters like?
P.S. Sorry for the long, in-depth description.
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