Kraken (roller coaster)

In 1999, Six Flags Great Adventure spent $42 million on new attractions including a prototype Floorless Coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard, Medusa (later Bizarro and back to Medusa).[1] The immediate popularity of the ride[2] led SeaWorld Orlando and three other amusement parks to announce plans to install Floorless Coasters in 2000;[3] aside from the announcement of Kraken on May 6, 1999,[4] Six Flags Discovery Kingdom announced Medusa, Geauga Lake announced Dominator, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas announced Superman: Krypton Coaster.[3] Kraken was announced as costing approximately $18–20 million.[5] Kraken's announcement more than one year out from its opening was an attempt by the park to drive international attendance.[5][6]

Construction for the ride was well underway in January 2000.[7] During construction, Superior Rigging & Erection was responsible for erecting the supports and track of the roller coaster.[8]

On June 1, 2000, Kraken officially opened to the public.[9] 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.[10]

On September 27, 2016, the park announced that the ride would undergo extensive refurbishment and reopen in 2017 with virtual reality headsets. It reopened as Kraken Unleashed on June 16, 2017.[11][12] This update also featured an original orchestral score by Rick McKee for the VR film, as well as original area music. In early 2018, the virtual reality headsets were removed from the attraction’s ride vehicles and the ride went back to being Kraken due to technical difficulties.[13] They returned to the ride in June 2018.[14] Later that summer, the virtual reality was permanently removed due to slow dispatches and excessive wait times.[15][16]

In 2022, Kraken was repainted with seafoam green track and dark teal supports.[17]

The 4,177-foot-long (1,273 m) Kraken stands 153 feet (47 m) tall.[9] With a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), the ride was the fastest roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando until the opening of Mako in summer 2016.[9][18] The ride features seven inversions including two vertical loops, a dive loop, a spiraling camelback (zero-g roll), a cobra roll and a flat spin (corkscrew).[9]

One of Kraken's trains descending the first drop

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.[9] The open-air trains feature seats which leave riders' legs dangling above the track.[5] Riders are restrained with over-the-shoulder restraints.[19] As the trains are floorless, the station has a retractable floor for safe boarding.

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.[5] 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.[4][6] 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".[6]