Kraken (roller coaster)

Kraken (named for the fictional sea monster of the same name) is a steel floorless roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando in the United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride features a total of seven inversions including two vertical loops, a dive loop, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll and a corkscrew. Kraken opened on June 1, 2000.

History

In 1999, Six Flags Great Adventure spent $42 million on new attractions including a prototype Floorless Coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard, Medusa (later Bizarro). The immediate popularity of the ride, led to SeaWorld Orlando and three other amusement parks to announce plans to install Floorless Coasters in 2000; aside from the announcement of Kraken on May 6, 1999, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom announced Medusa, Geauga Lake announced Dominator, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas announced Superman: Krypton Coaster. Kraken was announced as costing approximately $18–20 million. Kraken's announcement more than one year out from its opening was an attempt by the park to drive international attendance.

Construction for the ride was well underway in January 2000. During construction, Superior Rigging & Erection was responsible for erecting the supports and track of the roller coaster.

On June 1, 2000, Kraken officially opened to the public. At the time of opening Kraken held the record for the tallest and longest roller coaster in the state of Florida. It held this record until 2006 when Disney's Animal Kingdom opened the 4,424-foot-long (1,348 m) Expedition Everest.

Characteristics

One of Kraken's trains descending the first drop

Statistics

The 4,177-foot-long (1,273 m) Kraken stands 149 feet (45 m) tall. With a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), the ride is the fastest roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. The ride features seven inversions including two vertical loops, a dive loop, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll and a corkscrew.

Trains

Kraken operates with three floorless trains. Each train seats 32 riders in eight rows of four. This gives the ride a theoretical hourly capacity of 1500 riders per hour. The open-air trains feature seats which leave riders' legs dangling above the track. Riders are restrainted with over-the-shoulder restraints (OTSRs). As the trains are floorless, the station has a retractable floor for safe boarding.

Theme

Kraken is themed after the mythological sea monster of the same name, kept caged by Poseidon. Much of the ride is located above water, with three sections featuring subterranean dives. The ride's station and surrounding area are themed as Kraken's lair. Eels are said to be Kraken's young and therefore feature throughout the ride's queue. A SeaWorld Orlando spokesman stated "although it's a roller coaster, the theme of the ride brings it back to the sea, and to our (SeaWorld Orlando's) core".

Ride experience

After riders have boarded the station floor is retracted and the front gates open, Kraken departs with a right U-turn out of the station. This leads directly to the 149-foot-tall (45 m) chain lift hill. At the top, the train crests the lift hill and follows a fairly level turn to the right before dropping 144 feet (44 m) towards the ground. The ride then enters the first vertical loop followed by the dive loop. A zero-g roll, where riders experience a feeling of weightlessness, is followed by a cobra roll. A banked turn to the left leads into the mid-course brake run. The exit from the mid-course brake run drops down directly into the second vertical loop. A subterranean dive into Kraken's lair is followed by a corkscrew. The ride concludes with a final brake run and a short path back to the station.

An overview of Kraken

Reception

The Orlando Sentinel commended the ride for "perfect timing and keeping folks guessing", giving the ride ratings of 4 out of 5 for both thrill and theming. Sentinel reporter Dewayne Bevil, ranks the ride at number 7 in his Top 50 Orlando Theme Park Attractions list. Although it was reported that the ride would be more exciting than The Incredible Hulk at the nearby Islands of Adventure theme park, Mike Thomas of the Sentinel concluded that "Hulk clobbers the competition", with Kraken taking the number two spot. In an interview for the Los Angeles Times Jerry Dane of the Florida Coaster Club described the floorless experience like "you are hung out there open and free". Dane also commended the ride's ability to provide different, yet equally good experiences in a variety of seats. In 2012, Kraken was featured on the Travel Channel TV series Insane Coaster Wars, and received first place in the public-voted "Wrong Way Up" category. Theme Park Review's Robb Alvey shared the view the Kraken was better than the competition which included Dollywood's Wild Eagle and Dorney Park's Hydra the Revenge.

In Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards, Kraken was ranked in the top 50 steel roller coasters numerous times since its opening. It debuted on the poll at position 48 in 2003, peaked at position 26 in 2005, before it off the poll in 2009.

Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Ranking	–	–	–	48	23	26	45	40	42	–	–	–	–	48 (tied)

In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, Kraken entered at position 12 in 2001, before peaking at 10 the following year. The ride's ranking in subsequent polls is shown in the table below.

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Steel-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Ranking		12	10	22	16	21	28	22	33	33	39		56

External links

• Official website
• Kraken at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons