Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
299
Key West at SeaWorld
Frommer's Rating:
A+ for kids, B+ for adults
Recommended Ages:
All ages
This Caribbean-style village has island food, entertainers, and street vendors. But the big
attractions are the hands-on encounters with harmless Southern diamond and cownose
rays at Stingray Lagoon; Sea Turtle Point, the home of threatened and endangered spe-
cies; and Dolphin Cove, where you can feed smelt to the namesakes.
Warning:
If you
have a soft heart, it's easy to spend $20 feeding them.
Kraken
Frommer's Rating:
A+
Recommended Ages:
10-adult
Like many coasters, Kraken starts off a bit slow, but it ends with pure speed. Kraken is
named for a massive, mythological, underwater beast. This 21st-century version offers
floorless and open-sided 32-passenger trains that plant you on a pedestal high above the
track. When the monster breaks loose, you climb 151 feet, fall 144 feet, hit speeds of 65
mph, go underground three times (spraying bystanders with water), and make seven
loops during a 4,177-foot course. It may be the longest 3 minutes, 39 seconds of your
life.
Note:
Kraken carries a 54-inch height minimum. Expectant moms as well as folks
with heart, neck, or back problems should skip this one.
Manatee Rescue
Frommer's Rating:
B+
Recommended Ages:
All ages
Today, the West Indian manatee is an endangered species. There are as few as 3,200
remaining in the wild. Underwater viewing stations, innovative cinema techniques, and
interactive displays combine here for a tribute to these gentle marine mammals. While
this isn't as good as seeing them in the great outdoors, it's as close as most folks get, and
it's a much roomier habitat than the tight quarters their kin have at the Seas with Nemo
& Friends at Epcot.
7
Tips
Skimming the Sea & Sky
At press time
Manta,
Seaworld's newest thrill-a-minute mega-coaster, was about
to make a splashy debut. Touted as an experience unlike any other (a common
claim in Orlando, but they do their best to back it up), the Manta-inspired flying
coaster will take riders soaring as high as the sky before diving as deep as the
ocean depths—and all at speeds of up to 60 mph past some of the largest
underwater habitats in the park. Oh, and did I mention that riders will be face-
down, headfirst, and in a prone horizontal position? Don't let the name—or its
appearance from the ground—fool you: Mantas may be graceful creatures that
effortlessly glide through the ocean depths, but SeaWorld's newest signature
ride is a wild ride from beginning to end. At times riders will find themselves
within inches of the sea—at others skimming the sky, twisting through four
inversions and several near misses, the wildly twisted tracks disorienting (albeit
temporarily) even the most veteran coaster crazies. This one's definitely not for
the faint of heart.
