The theme park capital of the country is about to get even better. Several major roller coasters are under construction in Orlando. Let’s check in and take a look at their progress and recent status.
Tron – Magic Kingdom
The next major roller coaster to open in central Florida is a highly anticipated one. First announced in 2017 and originally scheduled to open in Fall 2021, TRON: Lightcycle Run is expected to officially open in April 2023 with previews probably beginning in March. The new coaster has been testing during the day and night, which you can see in the video below.
The surrounding area still has some work to do. The Walt Disney World Railroad has been closed since 2018, but the trains were recently seen doing some test runs along the tracks:
Pipeline: The Surf Coaster – SeaWorld Orlando
Another coaster high on our list of anticipated 2023 coasters is the new breed of B&M standup coaster coming to SeaWorld Orlando. Track work looks to be about 70% complete at this time.
All the track except what’s highlighted in red below looks to be in place:
The lead car is on display at the park. The Surf Coaster is best described as a “next generation” Stand-Up model from B&M, and the seats will feature movement so that riders can experience “Wave Jumping motions” while riding. We love the surfboard theming!
Central Hub Dueling Coaster – Universal’s Epic Universe
Now we jump ahead from 2023 to roller coasters opening in 2025. Universal is hard at work on their new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, staying on track to open in Summer 2025. Thanks to bioreconstruct (who you should absolutely be following on Twitter, one of our top 101 account follows) we can see two of the headlining attractions recently went vertical with their track work.
Aerial overview of How To Train Your Dragon land and the high-speed dual-racing roller coaster in Universal’s Epic Universe. pic.twitter.com/ABNFv02sZg
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) December 9, 2022
What may be the centerpiece attraction to the new theme park due to its high visibility is a racing/dueling roller coaster. It looks to be the spiritual successor to Dueling Dragons, the former B&M inverted dueling coaster at Islands of Adventure, and is said to be manufactured by Mack Rides. Track recently went vertical giving us our first glimpse at the thrills to come.
Each track will feature two launches where the first launch will essentially be underneath the station. A highlight of the coasters will sure to be the dueling element over water right off the central hub of the park (at the top of the above photo) where the two trains will speed past each other at the same time in opposite directions. If you don’t care for spoilers, take a look at the fan made prediction of what the coaster might turn out to be like below.
How to Train Your Dragon Coaster – Epic Universe
Another coaster that recently had track added was a How to Train Your Dragon themed coaster. Built by Intamin, we’re assuming it will be a comparable thrill level to Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure coaster at Island’s of Adventure.
Donkey Kong Mine Carts – Epic Universe
The first roller coaster track seemingly completed at Epic Universe was actually for the Donkey Kong themed “boom” coaster. At least, all the load bearing track is installed. It looks like some of the “fake” or show track is still missing.
Here’s a quick sketch on how the Donkey Kong coaster will work:
There is also another roller coaster under construction at Epic Universe but no track has been installed yet.
It’s an exciting time for coaster enthusiasts for sure. We love watching new coasters come together. Which new Orlando roller coaster are you most excited to ride?
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