Travel Guides Family Friendly Amusement Parks
Sanjay Surana
For every rider of a roller coaster, there’s that split-second moment when it’s hard to discern whether the experience of the ride is rip-roaring fun or an unpleasant diversion that could easily have been avoided. It’s that blip in time when your stomach is climbing up toward your sternum, your head doesn’t know which way gravity is pulling it, and your eyes can barely open in the face of the air rushing by that’s forcing them firmly shut. And yet, that brief glimpse of indecision, that tremor of terror or titillation passes as quickly as it arrived, and once the ride is over, most thrill seekers simply revel in the sheer audacity of the ride, its height, its speed, its twists and turns, its inventive ways to get passengers excited and wanting more, and its ability to strike fear in all those strapped in.
Fans of roller coasters can readily point to their all-time favorites, rides that make their bellies churn, and flip them back and forth, side to side like rag dolls — a motion that seems to directly correlate to the concept of fun. In addition to their very own time-tested winners, adventurers are always on the lookout for new thrills, the latest and greatest rides that are uncharted territory, vying to be their very next Number 1. And amusement parks understand that insatiable thirst, so with summer upon us, here are some of the newest roller coasters to debut in 2023.
Aquaman Power Wave
Coaster Studios/YouTube
At Six Flags Over Texas, a huge amusement park slap in between Dallas and Fort Worth, this ride that opened earlier this year mixes traditional speed and bumps with a full-on water splash. The set-up is refreshingly simple, with coaster pods shuttling at ever-increasing speeds between two vertical towers, 2,000 feet of undulating track in between. As the momentum increases after each circuit, the pods climb further and further up the towers, with one-half of each complete cycle going forward, and the second part pulling riders backward. The towers themselves are quite some height, reaching 150 feet into the air, and the mass and force slowly work together to ramp up the experience.
The coaster eventually drops that full length in a vertical, 90-degree nosedive while hitting speeds of more than 60 mph before thrusting through a giant pool of water — and creating a monumental splash in the process. The fuller the boat, the greater the velocity will seem, and the larger the tidal wave of water that washes over everyone.
Arctic Rescue
Black Magic Adventures/YouTube
Launching on June 2, 2023, this new ride at SeaWorld San Diego simulates being on a snowmobile on a mission to save Arctic animals. Described as a straddle ride, a coaster that you sit on much like a motorbike or bicycle, with your legs on either side of the seat, this is the longest such coaster on the West Coast, and it’s pretty quick too, hitting speeds of 40 mph as it bends and twists its way round the track.
The story that the ride traces is topical, with the planet’s ice caps melting, plunging the animals in the Arctic into grave danger, and the riders are tasked with swooping in and saving the day. While motion throughout the ride is constant, there are three points during it when adventurers will really feel like they are being flung forward, hurtling through the globe’s extremities (you’ll have to use your imagination) while doing good deeds. Despite the wild nature of the coaster, it is squarely aimed at families.
ArieForce One
Coaster Habitat/YouTube
A family-run operation that is located less than 30 minutes almost due south of Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson airport, Fun Spot America Atlanta has a wide array of thrills and spills, from go-karts and kids’ rides to batting cages and bumper boats (a novel twist on bumper cars). There are also plenty of coasters here, which can be ridden as part of a day pass, or paid for as individual rides. The newest of these, ArieForce One, named for the company’s founder, John Arie, Sr., is sure to get the heart palpitating.
Opened earlier in 2023, it features numerous points where screams will be heard from fellow passengers. There are zero-G rolls, those bits of a ride when you really feel completely weightless, and many twists, turns, inversions, and passages of rapid pace. The ride plays out over 100 seconds, with the very first drop setting the tone, a fall of 146 feet at an angle of 83 degrees (yes, you read that right). Riders will hit a top speed of 64 mph as they rip through 3,400 feet of track, and will be inverted four times during the adventure.
Batman: Gotham City Escape
Lift Hills and Thrills/YouTube
Southeast of the Spanish capital, Parque Warner Madrid has been welcoming joyriders since April 2002, when it first opened, adding a beach section in 2014. The theme park is divided into five zones, among them Old West Territory, and Cartoon Village, but it’s in DC Superheroes World where travelers will find the latest ride. Already open, Batman: Gotham City Escape follows a tale pitting Batman against The Joker, and it is now the physical and figurative centerpiece of the park. Riders enter Wayne Manor, a conduit aimed at boosting tourism in a broody, moody Gotham City, and will get a chance to pore over the minutiae of the public-facing life of the masked superhero.
But all is not peaceful in Gotham, and the Joker is in hot pursuit of our darkly-attired hero. The sole route for escape is via the Batcave and onto this new roller coaster. The look and shape of the coaster cars emulate the Batmobile — sleek, black, seemingly impenetrable — while the ride’s wild turns, loops, inversions, and speed (riders hit almost reach 65 mph) would seamlessly fit into the chase sequence of any Batman movie or cartoon, such is the sheer drama and excitement of it all.
Big Bear Mountain
CoasterForce/YouTube
A lot of roller coasters seem to be over within seconds of you strapping in, and that’s because often they are. But this new ride at Dollywood, a beloved, family-oriented theme park in Tennessee’s Pigeon Forge, in the Smoky Mountains, really gives visitors a bang for their buck. It lasts about two minutes, and while it won’t be the fastest, steepest, or most terrifying ride that you’ve ridden, it certainly bends and curls and hits speeds that will have you yelping with excitement; it’s also one of the longest rides in the park.
Opened in the spring of this year, Big Bear Mountain certainly has a country feel to it, from the folksy music accompanying the ride to the exhortations piped into the coaster cars by Ned Oakley, the fictitious wilderness explorer that is a fixture around these parts. The ride is an anchor of Wildwood Grove, a part of Dollywood that represents its biggest expansion.
Catapult Falls
SpookYouLaterz/YouTube
This new ride at SeaWorld San Antonio, launching in the summer of 2023, promises a number of world firsts. Yes, it’s a water flume coaster, and riders should bank on getting wet during it, but that’s where the comparisons between the typical flume ride and this one stop. For starters, the coaster boat is raised by a vertical lift to its launching point, high above the theme park, and pretty soon riders will be plummeting down a 53-degree water-buffeted drop, and the sensation is akin to dropping over the edge of a waterfall — how is that for exciting and terrifying at the same time?
The coaster also doesn’t solely rely on gravity to keep it moving, which is how normal flume rides operate; this one has a section where it is launched, adding a huge burst of speed into the middle of the ride, sure to get everyone screaming again when they least expect it.
DarKoaster
Sharp Productions/YouTube
Set in a hugely historic part of Virginia, Busch Gardens is one of America’s most iconic theme parks, and its reputation is only likely to blossom further with this thrilling new adventure that opened earlier this year. DarKoaster, as its name suggests, takes place under the cover of darkness, not because it’s only open at night, but because it is an indoor ride (Disney fans might recall Space Mountain as a similar set-up). There is a story to the ride — changing climates have uncovered an old, lost fortress, but the spirits loom and riders must take to this straddle coaster to vanquish the evil forces.
Visitors will sit on something that looks a little like a snowmobile, but the journey will be multi-dimensional, and a lot darker than any outdoor snow adventure, with twists, turns, multiple launches, and changes in speed all happening without the benefit of light, adding an extra layer of excitement to the experience. For patrons aged 21 and over, the park is selling a limited edition DarKoaster lager, a classic Germanic dark beer with fragrant notes, a great way to toast the victory of good over evil.
Lightning
FABH Adventures/YouTube
Expect some great speed at this coaster in the Swedish theme park Furuvik, located about a two hours drive north of Stockholm. Set to debut this year, Lightning will be as fast as its name suggests, a sleek, black track looping and twisting around like tightly assembled pieces of multiple Möbius strips. The trip starts with a rapid, three-second launch that propels the coaster, hitting a top speed of 46 mph (it’s not as blood-rushing as some of the rides on this list, but bear in mind that this is a family-friendly coaster). Regardless of the speeds, expect plenty of G-force along the way.
The track then opens up rising and falling, turning and curling, and just when it seems as though the ride is over, the cars are launched for a second burst of speed, an added, unexpected wallop of adrenaline that is sure to be the talk of riders at the end of the adventure.
Mandrill Mayhem
Theme Park World/YouTube
In the leafy environs of Surrey, a county southeast of London, Chessington World of Adventures Resort has been a fixture for decades for English kids in search of some fun. Once just a zoo, it added rides and attractions, and now pulls in visitors as much for its thrills and spills as its live exhibits. The latest ride, which opened on May 15, 2023, Mandrill Mayhem lets daredevils whizz through the jungle in the World of Jumanji, one of the sections of the park.
The sounds of beating drums set the tone for the ride in which participants are arranged four across in a structure that emulates the sturdy arms of a mandrill. The ride weaves through Jumanji’s terrain, while also evading the pitfalls of the jungle, and since mandrills can be capricious, riders might suddenly encounter rapids bursts of speed, or Chessington’s first-ever inversion on one of its coasters. The ride tops out at a shrine made to honor the jaguar, and then, just when it seems there is nowhere to go, it races off backward, a little bit of reverse psychology.
Matugani
East Coasters/YouTube
Comprising a theme park and a water park, Lost Island sits in the heart of Iowa, northwest of Cedar Rapids, and is a favored destination for Iowans during the warmer months. In June of this summer, a new ride opens in the theme park section, which is divided into elemental pieces like Fire and Water. The latest coaster, Matugani, resides in the Yuta (or Earth) area of the park and emerges from the mouth of a viper before ripping around a twisting green track.
The snake symbolism is part of the story, as the coaster itself is named for a viper, a character in the park, and the track’s color is a homage, of sorts, to the hues of this type of serpent. The ride itself is certainly thrilling, with adventurers seated atop green seats, snake detailing on the front of the coaster train, and hydraulic launches speeding the cars up to 40 mph in no time before they fly through the air, crushing loops and handling turns like a seasoned pro.
Mission Ferrari
Ferrari Word Yas Island/YouTube
Fans of Italian sports cars of a certain marque will enter a land of bliss at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. One of the United Arab Emirates, and a place where Ferraris are commonly seen on the roads, Abu Dhabi is no stranger to wealth, which is why this theme park has found a perfect home here. Ferrari World has 40 attractions, celebrating the mechanical and engineering genius of the Italian car maker.
The new Mission Ferrari ride, which opened at the beginning of 2023, describes itself as a 5D experience (join the line to guess exactly what that means, though we suspect it refers to the use of holographic imagery), and takes place in a coaster car that looks like a gleaming, chunky, red Ferrari that riders are delivering to a secret factory. The trip involves supercharged launches, a backward loop that also happens to put riders upside down, some spooky sections mired in darkness, and even some pretty radical moves when the coaster is rushing along sideways.
Pipeline: The Surf Coaster
AmusementInsider/YouTube
Set to launch on May 27, the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, this newcomer at SeaWorld Orlando will push riders to speeds of 60 mph. The tangled, twirling track looks much like a classic scream-until-you-lose-your-voice high-velocity coaster, but what sets Pipeline: The Surf Coaster apart from the standard among those rides is the position up of the rider. Visitors are strapped in the standing position with their feet on top of what mimics the surface of a surfboard, and the ride is akin to a surfer cruising along the waves.
Guests will certainly feel a lot freer than in a normal coaster car, with their legs unfettered, not boxed into cramped seating, while the surf concept gives the adventure a novel twist as the snaking line turns, banks, dips, climbs, curves, and rips through the course. Given the mechanics of the whole set-up, riders must be between 54-78 inches in height.
Toutatis
ElToroRyan/YouTube
An hour’s drive northeast of Paris is where to find Parc Astérix, home to this ride that opened in April 2023 as the quickest roller coaster in France. The coaster climbs to a height of almost 170 feet before hitting its top speed of 68 M.P.H., and beyond the wild frenzy of reaching such a velocity (higher than the interstate speed limits in a number of U.S. states), Toutatis proffers another thrill onto its riders — 23 moments of airtime, the moment on a roller coaster when the rider is momentarily lifted off the seat, one of the blips in existence when it feels like your internal organs are playing musical chairs inside your body.
The ride is the centerpiece of a new part of the park, called Festival Toutatis, an area dedicated to the worship of the great god Toutatis, and this roller coaster is one of the feats required of disciples, to show their courage to the honored deity.
Tron Lightcycle/Run
TPMvids/YouTube
Based on the 2010 science-fiction movie “Tron: Legacy,” this new ride can be found at the Magic Kingdom Park of Florida’s Walt Disney World, a favored destination for kids, adults, and even those that want to get married. On this attraction, currently open and ready, visitors enter the retro-futuristic, neon-heavy world that was a hallmark of the Tron movies, mounting contraptions that look like juice-up motorcycles and burrowing into an alternate universe.
The ride is fully indoors, dark, illuminated only by stylized lights and computer-generated imagery, the perfect recreation of the virtual world portrayed in the cult cinematic releases. Riders find themselves in a race against the artificial enemies of the Grid and must zip through a number of gates in the quest for victory. The ride is fast, one of the speediest of any ride in any Disney park worldwide, with drops, turns, and unexpected encounters in the dark.
Wildcat’s Revenge
ElToroRyan/YouTube
Opening June 2, 2023, this ride at Pennsylvania’s Hershey Park mixes the sensibilities of the old and new coaster, a melange of steel and wood used in the production of this latest thriller. The moment of truth arrives soon after the coaster cars climb 140 feet up, to the pinnacle of the track, at which point riders will quickly appreciate the magnitude of the experience. This is where they will break speeds of 60 mph, experience an 82-degree drop (expect some juicy airtime), and find themselves inverted four times during the trip. The ride also plays out over a pleasant chunk of time, clocking in at more than two-and-a-half minutes as it weaves and bobs its way around 3,510 feet of track.
Part of the genius of the ride is the way that it passes through sections where a wooden framework seems to enclose the track, adding a frisson of danger to the voyage, the feeling that there is an obstacle close by (riders shouldn’t fear, there is no danger here, except that of extreme fun).
Zambezi Zinger
Worlds of Fun/YouTube
Planned for opening in 2023 at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, this ride recreates a trip through the heart of Africa. The setting of the adventure is near the Serengeti, the vast area in Tanzania that is famed for the mammoth animal migrations that take place each year along its never-ending plains, even if in reality, visitors find themselves in Missouri. The quest of the coaster, which slowly climbs up a spiral to its apex before being released into the wilds below, is to find the elusive Zinger, an animal believed to be extinct, but recently believed rediscovered.
Your exploration is with a specialist safari company that takes travelers out on this exciting adventure that passes through wooded areas and over waterways, recreating a jungle environment. Flying down a wooden track, the ride has all the twists, banks, turns and drops that regular riders yearn for, and tops out at 45 mph during its two minutes of relentless excitement.
