5. Rip Ride Rocket – Universal Studios
Ripe Ride Rocket is a blast. It’s a ton of fun to ride this while rocking out to a tune you selected for yourself from each seats personal digital display. However, when it comes to fear factor, it’s all about that first climb up the lift hill, and that nearly vertical first drop. The music choices are really well curated for this ride and make each experience a bit different. Personal favorites? “Kickstart my Heart” by Mötley Crüe, “Sabotage” by The Beastie Boys, and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. That opening line “First I was afraid, I was petrified!” while staring up the lift hill always gets a chuckle.
4. Summit Plummet – Blizzard Beach
Summit Plummet is one of the few water slides on the planet that will make the average person look up at it and say “Aw hell no!” Summit Plummet is the third tallest and fastest free fall water slide in the world. Riders who are brave enough will fall 120 feet and hit speeds of 60mph. That’s all without the luxury of a lap bar, restraint, or anything else you’d find on an typical thrill ride. It’s just you, the slide, and an intense rush of water.
3. SheiKra – Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Standing at 200 feet tall, SheiKra opened as the tallest and fastest dive coaster on the planet. That record has since been broken, but SheiKra is still unmatched in Florida when it comes to scaring the pants off riders. SheiKra’s signature moment is the 4 long seconds that the train stops to give riders a good luck at the ground before diving 90 degrees straight down and hitting speeds over 70 mph.
2. Mako – SeaWorld Orlando
Florida’s first and only steel hypercoaster, Mako is a world-class thriller that has placed SeaWorld firmly on the radar of roller coaster enthusiasts everywhere. After surviving Mako’s gut wrenching 200 foot tall initial drop, riders are treated to a seemingly endless series of airtime hills and drops that send riders speeding along at more than 70 miles per hour. Mako ties ShieKra for the title of Florida’s tallest roller coaster.
1. Falcon’s Fury – Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
At 325 feet tall, Falcons Fury at Busch Gardens is the tallest free standing drop tower in the world. But Falcons Fury is no ordinary drop tower that just lifts riders up before giving them a couple seconds of free fall. Falcon’s Fury cranks up the scare factor by tilting riders face forward so that you get a good long look at the ground, over 300 feet below, before dropping you at over 60 mph. Since it’s debut in 2014, Falcon’s Fury has been called one of the most frightening rides in the world.
Robert Niles of Theme Park Insider said that Falcon’s Fury is the type of attraction that pushes the extreme of human tolerance. “You’re getting to the point where instead of making an attraction more popular by having it achieve some type of record, you’re actually limiting the audience for that.” Yikes!