In case you missed it, new gigantic thrills have come to Orlando! You may already know ICON Park for its massive ferris wheel (The Orlando Eye) and swings (the Orlando Starflyer). If these oversized attractions are your style, you’ll be pleased to know that ICON Park has continued its trend of larger-than-life thrills with the addition of two record-breaking rides: the Orlando SlingShot and the Orlando Freefall. The Orlando SlingShot is the world’s tallest slingshot ride at 300 feet, and the Orlando Freefall is a daunting 430 feet and is the world’s tallest free standing drop tower. Naturally, as thrill-seekers, we decided to check out the debut of these extreme experiences and try them ourselves! Follow along to find out what we thought of Central Florida’s newest and tallest attractions.
THE ORLANDO FREEFALL
The Orlando Freefall looks quite intimidating upon approach, and rightfully so. We decided to make this the first of the two rides we’d experience on opening day. This enormous tower holds 30 riders at a time, and slowly rotates as it climbs 400 feet skyward. Although the panoramic views of Orlando were spectacular at such a height, we couldn’t help but feel our nerves intensify as we ascended higher and higher. Once the ride vehicle reached the top, it tilted us forward 30 degrees forward, to face the ground for a brief moment before free falling. And what a fall it was! Even at speeds reaching over 75 miles per hour, this drop feels long. Our concluding thoughts? The Orlando Freefall is a breathtakingly scary and thrilling ride, and a ton of fun for those who enjoy extreme drops!
THE ORLANDO SLINGSHOT
While the Orando SlingShot may appear even more terrifying than its neighbor, we found it to be great fun! This two-tower attraction blasted us right out of an “exploding volcano” approximately 450 feet up into the air, reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour in what feels like a single second. The ride operators encouraged us to keep our hands up for extra thrills, but we found this difficult to do. Although the initial launch proved to be the insane adrenaline rush we expected, the remainder of the ride was actually enjoyable – that is, if you enjoy swinging and flipping around a hundred feet in the air. Each ride left us with a big smile on our faces, and we decided that the SlingShot was surprisingly not quite as scary as the Freefall, but it was our favorite of the two.
If you’re a thrill-chaser, these two new attractions are an absolute must-do. We are impressed with the continual additions to ICON Park, and we are excited to see what the future holds!