WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Legoland Florida is marking National Roller Coaster Day by reopening the "Coastersaurus in Winter Haven" — what the park refers to as the only fully wooden roller coaster in Florida — after months of renovations.
The ride closed in January for structural upgrades. It has existed in some form since the early 2000s, when Legoland inherited the attraction from Cypress Gardens.
Corey Lytle, Legoland's Technical Services Director, said the park's teams work daily to keep the wooden coaster running safely, even in extreme heat.
"Our teams inspect this ride every single morning. They're walking the entirety of the track. They do all the inspections on all the wood planks, on all the bolts. Structurally, they're checking the control system, they're riding the ride. So they're doing all the checks every single day, making sure this coaster is safe for everybody," Lytle said.
Lytle said preserving the ride's legacy was a key motivation for the renovation work.
"We just love the theming of this ride, we love the fact that it's got that dinosaur feel, that old Cypress Gardens-type days," Lytle said.
Visitors said the upgrades made a noticeable difference. Nikki Loheit, who had ridden the coaster before it closed, said she was pleasantly surprised by the improvements.
"It was always a fun ride. But when the ride is older, you can feel that it's bumpy, which actually hurts. So, this is smooth. I was really surprised. I wasn't expecting that. I knew they replaced the structure, but I didn't know it was going to get this much better," Loheit said.
Visitors Claire and Chloe shared their reactions after their first trip on the coaster.
"It was super fun. It was her first time going on it," Claire said.
Despite high temperatures, visitors said neither the heat nor the height would keep them off the ride.
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