Some Thursdays I have original theme park things to post that I haven’t posted anywhere else. This is not one of those days. But that doesn’t mean what I have for you isn’t any less interesting. So today I bring you to…

Manta roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando

First, we start off with the video I spent most of yesterday editing. It’s around five minutes long and features SeaWorld’s director of design and engineering Brian Morrow (amongst others) walking you through the new roller coaster’s twists and turns, coupled with a ton of shots I took of the fun new ride and its extraordinarily comfortable queue packed with some of the coolest aquariums I’ve ever seen:

Other than having to endure the Florida heat, I had a blast both shooting this video and riding Manta. It is a fantastic roller coaster and should give a good reason to anyone who ever had doubts about taking the time to visit SeaWorld.

Here’s my full review of Manta, reposted from the Orlando Attractions Magazine blog…

Most floor-less coasters, like SeaWorld’s Kraken, allow riders’ feet to float freely in the air while riding, but Manta restricts leg movement and for a good reason. Guests quickly understand that reason upon being pulled backward into a horizontal position.

At first, the feeling of facing directly toward the ground is a bit startling. Riders feel the pressure of their own weight pushing back against them as the padded harnesses hold them in. It feels secure, but initially uncomfortable, especially while immediately staring at the ground. But once you lift your head and look straight in front of you instead of down, the feeling shifts from a pull downward to a desire to fly forward, unhindered by Earth’s natural physics.

Upon leaving the station and heading up the lift hill, a moment of relief is offered as riders are returned to a semi-upright position, allowing blood to return to its normal places in the body. But all that changes once the top of the hill is behind you and you begin down the first of many twists and turns.

Manta was my first experience on a “flying” roller coaster. Prior to soaring over SeaWorld, my coaster-riding experiences all involved sitting or standing, not lying down. As you would expect, riding underneath a track with absolutely nothing blocking your view of the world zipping by around you is an exhilarating experience -- and certainly a new one to Orlando.

My first journey on Manta was in the back row, as I had heard from many people that it was the most physically intense. For comparison, my second trip was in the front row, as that’s generally the row with the least physical forces exerted on riders and the most visual impact. After riding the two extreme positions on Manta, I can safely say that it is now both the most intense and most visually appealing roller coaster in Orlando.

While riding a roller coaster, I have never felt anything quite like pressure exerted on me during Manta’s pretzel loop while sitting in the back row. The loop, aptly named for the fact that it is shaped like a pretzel, occurs very early in the ride and was definitely not expected. I’ve been on hundreds of coaster loops in the past -- indoors, outdoors, tall, short, twisting, non-twisting -- but never one as forceful as this one was.

In cresting the top of the loop (riding underneath the track on the inside of the loop), riders have no choice but to stare straight at the track ahead, curving underneath and out of view. The lightweight feeling of flying over that uppermost arch quickly becomes the sheer opposite as the car rounds the vertical corner sending you on a trip toward the ground, exerting extreme forces on you all the while. It’s a uniquely breath-taking experience (literally) that I would only recommend for those looking for Orlando’s newest extreme thrill.

Riding around this loop in the front row relieves most of the extreme pressure and allows for a much more scenic trip around the loop, enabling you to focus less on remembering to breathe and more on the beautiful water and greenery that surrounds Manta.

For the remainder of the ride, both in the front and back rows, the experience of flying took over once again and while there are several more inversions, none are nearly as extreme as the initial pretzel loop. Instead, the impact of feeling like a superhero (or perhaps a ray underwater) is what remains in my memory of the new attraction.

I’ll need to ride Manta a few more times before deciding if it is Orlando’s best roller coaster. I adore the Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, which has stood as my favorite since it opened -- and that’s something not easily beaten. I’ve ridden the Hulk well over 50 times and Manta only twice, but the combination of the extreme thrill of the pretzel loop and the unmatched feeling of flying may place Manta at the top of my list and will surely bring coaster enthusiasts and thrill seekers to SeaWorld Orlando to check it out.

(Still photography by Matt Roseboom)