For the first installment of “Friday Favorites”, we at Living Orlando have each picked our favorite roller coaster. There are a handful of rides that immediately come to mind, including The Hulk and Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure, Kraken at Sea World, Rockin’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s MGM Studios, Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Which of these are our favorites? Or is there a surprise in the bunch …

Chad
My favorite roller coaster in Orlando has to be Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure. Starting with the unparalleled queue that dives deep into the heart of a medieval castle, it’s the one ride where I can wait in line for an hour and not get impatient. I can only imagine what this place would look like at night or as a haunted house during Halloween Horror Nights. Then, when you are buckled in and the floor drops out from below, you get a taste of the feeling that baby birds must get when they’re looking down from the edge of the nest, hoping that they’ll know how to fly. The ride, which features two coasters that race each other to the finish, starts fast, ends fast and brings you within a few feet of the riders on the other dragon. The best part of it all … you have to ride twice just to get the full experience.

Jennifer
By far my favorite roller coaster is Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure. This was the first floorless coaster I’ve ever been on, and just the sight of your feet sailing over your head during the coaster’s many corkscrew loops is enough to make your heart race. It also feels like a longer ride than The Hulk - the other popular coaster at Islands of Adventure. Dueling Dragons starts off with a slow climb, but it takes off like a shotgun and doesn’t stop until everyone is screaming.

Amanda
In a world of roller coasters that are faster, taller, steeper, longer, floorless, inverted, and hold countless other bragging rights, there is one coaster that is simply “better” – Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It doesn’t throw you into countless loop de loops, or push so many g-forces at you that your eyeballs are sucked back into their sockets, but the ride is a total adrenaline rush without all these cheap thrills. What Everest does have that other coasters lack is amazing theming, awesome special effects, and a track that takes riders forward and backward in their escape from the seriously impressive Yeti Audio-Animatronic that is the centerpiece of the ride. Mild enough for the kids (well, at least those 44 inches or taller) to ride, and yet thrilling enough to please even the most wild of coaster enthusiasts, Everest has the competition beat.

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