TAMPA, Fla. — Wednesday is National Roller Coaster Day, or — as we like to think of it in theme park-laden Florida — every day.
What You Need To Know
- Wednesday is National Roller Coaster Day — and the last day anyone will be able to ride the Flying School coaster at Legoland Florida
- The coaster was the first opened at the park when it opened 11 years ago
- Legoland Florida President Frank Idris did not released any details about what will come next for the park, other than to say it may be one of the biggest investments in its history
The year will be a bittersweet celebration at Legoland Florida, though, as the 11 year-old park is retiring one of its oldest rides — The Flying School Coaster — at the end of National Rollercoaster Day.
Legoland Florida President Frank Idris has been pretty tight-lipped about what will come next for the park, but did tease at the scope of it.
“I can’t tell you specifically what we will be doing, but (it is) probably the biggest investment this part has made since its inception, since we opened,” he said.
So far, Legoland has added rides, hotels and a water park since opening in late 2011 — in addition to the Peppa Pig Theme Park, which opened next door in February of 2022.
Back at the Flying School Coaster, Bella Deonandan — a queen from Queens who was at the park celebrating her 10th birthday — is waiting to ride.
Like a lot of kids who show up at Legoland, Deonandan says she’s a creator.
“I like to build a lot of different things like cars,” she said. “A bunch of Lego cars and a couple engines.”
She says she doesn’t mind switching vehicles and taking flight — it’s the unknown that Deonandan likes.
“You don’t know what’s coming, so that’s why it’s really, really fun,” she said.
Deonandan and her family will be some of the last people learning to fly on the Flying School coaster.
The coaster flight time is just over a minute with twisty fun and no upside-down fear, and a top speed of 26 mph.
“It’s like when you start it’s really slow, but when you get up there, it’s really, really fast.,” Deonandan said, pointing to the first hill the coaster climbs.
Deonandan said this is good practice for next step in her coaster career — which she says will include the faster, bigger, flippier ones.
“The smaller ones were the start and the big ones are the ending,” she said.
According to patriarch and coaster enthusiast Kevin Sookra, this is a family goal.
“I grew up on roller coasters so it’s pretty fun,” he said. “It was my smallest daughter’s (Riya’s) first time, so you guys actually got that on video, so it’s pretty cool. She’s not like her mom — she likes to go on all the rides, and so I love it.”
