Wooden roller coasters aren’t as common as steel coasters. So even though Coastersaurus is a smaller ride that some would categorize as a junior woodie, I was excited to check it out. As a big bonus, my oldest daughter (almost 5) was up to the challenge too. Coastersaurus used to be known as Triple Hurricane when the park was Cypress Gardens. Now it has a Jurassic Park-like theme with life-size dinosaurs made out of LEGOS situated arranged around the ride.
It was my daughter’s first wooden coaster, but we’d previewed the ride via a legal POV shot by Theme Park Review. So, at least she knew what to expect. The 1,365-foot long ride starts with a 40′ tall lift hill. The ride’s on a bit of hill so you can see a most of the park from the top even though the lift isn’t that tall.
The train heads down the first hill, crests another hill and then drops under a section of track. I had flashbacks of riding Scooby Doo at Kings Dominion as a kid and how tall those hills felt. They didn’t seem to bother her as much as I remember them bothering me. She even managed to yell out a fun ‘woo-hoo’ about half way through.
Next, the train traverses a left turn and then navigates through about 5 or so small hills on its way back to the station. The ride was smooth so we could just enjoy it and not worry about bracing ourselves or getting rattled to death. The hills were small and at such a gentle slope that it was a perfect starter roller coaster for kids or anyone who’s new to roller coasters.
The proof’s in the proverbial pudding. As soon as we walked off, I heard, “Can we ride it again Daddy?” Nostalgia aside, Coastersaurus is a fun little wooden coaster. I don’t rate a lot of smaller rides and it’d be unfair to compare it to a full-sized woodies. It does what it’s made for and it does it well. For a family ride, Coastersaurus is above average. Final Rating 6.0 (Above Average)
Here’s a POV video of Coastersaurus at Legoland Florida
Coastersaurus is rated TR for Traditional. It’s a 2 out of 5 on my Thrill Scale. It’s a good roller coaster for novices and kids working their up to more adventurous rides.
For all of my reviews, see my entire roller coaster review list.
What’s your take? Have you ridden Coastersaurus? What’d you think? Leave a comment below. Image via (CC) Flickr user – sirexkat
May 5, 2012 at 13:05
Is the park worth it for high school/college kids?
May 5, 2012 at 17:40
It's a cool looking park with the LEGO people and a huge area with a bunch of miniature LEGO cities, but if you're looking for larger roller coasters and extreme thrill rides then I'm not sure an older high school/college kid would enjoy it as much. It would depend on what rides they'd already experienced I guess. It's perfect for families with young kids though. I'll have a trip report up sometime soon.
May 8, 2012 at 05:33
Probably not. The park is geared specifically towards 2-12 year olds. Anything above that and you are wasting your time if you dont go to Islands of Adventure
May 8, 2012 at 10:14
I bet my kid would like this too. I'm always looking for coasters I can ride with her.
Scooby-Doo (well, Ghoster Coaster, I guess) is actually pretty intense for a junior woodie, isn't it? I've never ridden it, but that seems to be the reputation.
May 8, 2012 at 18:50
It was intense when I was a kid. My daughter asked if Carowinds (our home park) had a ride like Coastersaurus. I told her it did in Woodstock Express (formerly Ghoster Coaster, Scooby Doo, etc). I'll probably review that too as I don't have as many family rides reviewed on the site. I'll let you know how she likes it. Just from memory, it is more compact than Coastersaurus' larger footprint, so while the hills aren't much bigger, they are probably steeper.