Overview
Mako is a steel roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the hypercoaster model opened to the public on June 10, 2016. Mako is named after the mako shark and is located in the Sea of Mystery section of the park. It reaches a height of , a maximum speed of , and features a track length of .
The roller coaster was marketed as the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in Orlando and has been well-received, ranking every year since its opening in the top 50 of the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today. It attained its highest ranking of 15 in 2019. The ride is one of six roller coasters at SeaWorld Orlando and was the first since Manta opened in 2009.
History
In April 2015, SeaWorld officials began teasing an 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. A month later on May 13, 2015, SeaWorld filed a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name "Mako" along with "Reef Hunter". On May 27, 2015, SeaWorld officially announced the construction of Mako, which was named after the mako shark. The mako has been identified as the fastest species of shark in the ocean. During the time of announcement, a simulated point-of-view shot was released depicting the ride's intended route along the park's lagoon.
On August 17, 2015, the first pieces of track began to ship from Ohio to Orlando, and started to arrive on site two days later. On January 6, 2016, the roller coaster's lift hill was topped-out. The first car of the train was shipped and revealed on February 16, 2016, with the car design exhibiting the face of a mako shark. On March 15, 2016, the last piece of track was put into place.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).