A steady stream of coaster enthusiasts lined up to ride SeaWorld Orlando’s Mako roller coaster Wednesday after it opened back up to guests, one week after the park closed the ride following the death of a man at Six Flags Over Georgia on a similar coaster.
“This model is made for airtime,” said Scot Rice of West Lafayette, Indiana, of the coaster’s signature experience of lifting riders out of their seats. “Us junkies, we love that. This is my addiction.”
A SeaWorld Orlando spokesperson confirmed that Mako reopened and resumed normal operations as of Tuesday. The park decided to close the coaster on Oct. 13 out of an abundance of caution following the death of 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, was thrown from his seat on the Goliath coaster onto other passengers before landing below the attraction.
Police, engineers and state investigators are examining the coaster’s restraint systems, maintenance and surveillance video to determine how Kariem was ejected from the ride.
Six Flags also closed nine coasters at parks in the U.S. and Canada, one of which has since reopened.
Theme park visitors take a ride on the reopened Mako roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando on Oct. 21, 2026. Orlando’s tallest roller coaster was closed for a week as a precaution following the death of a man on a similar coaster at Six Flags in Georgia. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Mako and Goliath are both considered hypercoasters — with a height or drop measuring at least 200 feet — and made by the same Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, known among coaster enthusiasts as B&M.
Mako opened in 2016, a decade after Goliath, standing 200 feet tall as Orlando’s tallest coaster. It can reach speeds of up to 73 mph and brings moments of weightless “airtime.” Both use a similar “clamshell” lap bar system without shoulder restraints.
In an earlier statement, SeaWorld Orlando said the safety of guests is a top priority and that its rides undergo regular inspections in collaboration with ride manufacturers, engineers and safety experts.
Undeterred by the Georgia incident, riders flowed into the ride queue for Mako on Wednesday morning, when had a posted wait time of 5 minutes.
Several coaster enthusiasts praised B&M in particular for its relatively safe reputation before the Georgia incident.
“I think it has a lot of great airtime to it and a great first drop. It’s longer than a lot of other B&Ms that I’ve been on. It’s a lot of fun,” said Noah Maurer, who visited from Cincinnati, Ohio, and has ridden more than 200 individual coasters.
Maurer said he’s hit 500 lifetime rides on the Orion coaster at King’s Island in Ohio, which is also a B&M coaster.
“I feel nothing but safe and I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “They do a good job at all the parks I’ve seen. … I know that man had a family with kids and a wife. My heart goes out to them. It’s a really sad situation overall.”
Theme park visitors take a ride on the reopened Mako roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando on Oct. 21, 2026. Orlando’s tallest roller coaster was closed for a week as a precaution following the death of a man on a similar coaster at Six Flags in Georgia. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Maurer had already ridden Mako more than 20 times on Wednesday, while Rice had boarded the coaster more than a dozen times, aiming for 20 rides.
“It’s the adrenaline and the airtime,” said Rice, who acknowledged he likes to leave a little room beneath the restraint to get a little more air. “There’s nothing else like it. You feel like you’re on the edge but you’re actually not.”
Rice added he’d been riding B&M coasters since the inception of the company. “I’ve never felt unsafe,” he said. “I was just in Georgia and got six rides on Goliath. I felt safe the entire time.”
Theme park visitors enter the queue for the Mako roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando with a posted wait time of 5 minutes on Oct. 21, 2026. Orlando’s tallest roller coaster was closed for a week as a precaution following the death of a man on a similar coaster at Six Flags in Georgia. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Paul Cook, who visits Orlando annually from Sheffield, England, said his daughter had ridden Mako several times. He opted out of the ride due to his fear of heights, but said he didn’t have any safety concerns.
“I haven’t felt unsafe on rides. I’ve felt scared, but there’s a difference,” he said. “I wouldn’t come back if I didn’t feel safe.”
Latest roller coaster death puts spotlight on safety restraints
Bolliger & Mallibard is the manufacturer behind four other rollercoasters at SeaWorld Orlando: Manta, Pipeline, Penguin Trek, and Kraken. The company also built The Incredible Hulk at Universal Islands of Adventure and two coasters at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
In addition to the Goliath incident, earlier this month Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the retirement of its X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging a brain injury and a wrongful death in 2022.
Last year, a 32-year-old Kissimmee man, Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, died from blunt impact injuries after riding the Stardust Racers coaster at Universal Epic Universe. His death was ruled accidental. A Georgia woman sued Universal in August claiming her 9-year-old son suffered permanent injuries on Stardust Racers last year.
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