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Derek Perry rode every new roller coaster that opened across the U.S. last year, and he can’t wait for what’s next. “It’s a really exciting time to be a coaster enthusiast.”
Serious fans like Perry, who serves as communications director for American Coaster Enthusiasts, the “world’s largest club of amusement ride enthusiasts,” plan whole trips around “which coasters they can hit or which coaster they haven’t been on,” he said. “And then, with the new coasters, everyone wants to get on those coasters as quickly as possible.”
You don’t have to be that dedicated, though, to appreciate all the new ground-breaking rides opening across the country as early as this weekend. Here are 12 of the most anticipated roller coasters of 2023.
Making waves:SeaWorld debuting 3 groundbreaking new roller coasters this year
What’s new:Cedar Point, Knott’s Berry Farm among parks debuting upgrades in 2023
- Opening: March 11
- Location: Arlington, Texas
- Description: Riders are launched forward and backward on what Six Flags Over Texas calls the “first ride-of-its-kind” in North America, with a 90-degree dive into a “massive splashdown.”
- Speed: Up to 63 mph
- Minimum height: 48 inches
Perry likened Aquaman: Power Wave to riding a big boat on a roller coaster track. “You get propelled backwards up an incline, and then you go forward up an incline, and then you come back and go even higher, and then the pool at the bottom, when you pass it that last time, valves open and immediately fill with more water so when you come back down, you hit the water and there’s this huge splash,” he said. “It’s a cool combination of a roller coaster and a water ride.”
- Opening: Spring
- Location: San Diego, California
- Description: Guests have to hurry to save Arctic animals from poachers as ice melts on Arctic Rescue, which SeaWorld calls the “fastest and longest straddle coaster on the West Coast.” It will feature 2,800 feet of track and three launches.
- Speed: 40 mph
- Minimum height: Unlisted
“I’m excited about that,” Perry said. “I can’t believe how many coasters SeaWorld San Diego has received in the past five years or so … They just opened Emperor last year, so to follow it up with another new coaster this year, it’s pretty unbelievable.”
- Opening: May
- Location: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
- Description: With 3,990 feet of track, Big Bear Mountain will be the longest roller coaster at Dollywood and also the park’s first featuring onboard audio.
- Speed: Up to 48 mph
- Minimum height: 39 inches
“They’re promoting it kind of as a family thrill attraction, but (with) the length of the track and what it does, I think it’s going to appeal to kids up until thrill seekers,” Perry said.
He had a chance to check out the ride cars at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions convention last year and praised their detail and theming. “It’s probably going to end up being my favorite roller coaster at the park.”
‘I Will Always Love You’:Dollywood celebrates 50 years of iconic song with star-studded concert series
- Opening: Summer
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
- Description: Expect to get wet on the world’s steepest and first launched flume coaster, which SeaWorld says will give riders “the rush of a coaster while experiencing the rocking and swaying of riding on a track of water.” The ride will also feature “the only vertical lift in North America,” rising seven feet per second.
- Speed: Over 37 mph
- Minimum height: Undisclosed
Flume coasters can be a subject of debate for coaster fans who tally their rides.
“Is that going to count as a water ride or as a roller coaster or both?” Perry asked. “People aren’t sure yet, but it looks like it will be awesome to be propelled forward on a water ride. It’s definitely unique.”
DarKoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
- Opening: Spring
- Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
- Description: Boarding snowmobiles to investigate unusual weather patterns near a cursed castle, brave riders may find they’re not alone as they race through the dark on North America’s first all-indoor straddle coaster, featuring four launches.
- Speed: Unlisted
- Minimum height: 48 inches
DarKoaster will be housed in Busch Garden Williamsburg’s Curse of DarKastle building and pay subtle homage to its previous ride, according to the park. All indoor rides can face spatial limitations, but Perry said in DarKoaster, “You’re going to go around the track twice. There’s a switch track, and so they’re going to change the lighting, and they said it’s going to be very different between the first time you go around and the second time you go around to tell the story.” The ride has over 1,400 feet of track, but that switch will allow riders to experience 2,454 feet of track.
Kid Flash Cosmic Coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Fiesta Texas
- Opening: Summer
- Locations: Austell. Georgia and San Antonio, Texas
- Description: Guests can race against each other on dueling twin tracks, which cross over a dozen times “like a twisted bowl of spaghetti,” according to Six Flags. The tracks themselves are single-rail.
- Speed: Undisclosed, but the park ranks the thrill level as “mild”
- Minimum height: 36 inches
“Families and friends are going to have a blast racing,” Perry said, noting the repeat ride-ability with varying outcomes. These will be the first racing coasters in Georgia and Texas, but Perry said their most unique feature will be LED panels lining each track, which can change color. “This is the first time that anything like this has been created for a roller coaster, and theme park fans are super excited to see this come to life.”
- Opening: Spring
- Location: Orlando, Florida
- Description: Guests can hang much more than 10 on this “first-of-its-kind” coaster” featuring an “inventive harness that keeps you secure while giving you unparalleled freedom of movement,” according to SeaWorld Orlando.
- Speed: Up to 60 mph
- Minimum height: 54 inches
“Coaster enthusiasts are psyched for Pipeline,” Perry said “It’s a new ride design that they haven’t experienced before … The ride apparatus actually is going to kind of bounce up and down like you’re riding a wave. And this is also the first launched stand-up coaster that has ever been built.”
He noted many ride manufacturers seem to have shifted away from building stand-up coasters. “This hopefully will be super popular, and there will be a resurgence of stand-up coasters.”
Primordial at Lagoon
- Opening: Undisclosed 2023
- Location: Farmington, Utah
- Description: The park says details and images will be released as the ride, currently under construction, gets closer to opening.
- Speed: Undisclosed
- Minimum height: Undisclosed
“They haven’t released too many details … so that’s building the anticipation,” Perry said. “They built some kind of mountain, so you can see the mountain, and then you see this one section of outdoor track. So coaster enthusiasts are really like, ‘What’s inside?’ “
- Opening: April 4
- Location: Near Orlando, Florida
- Description: TRON Lightcycle / Run invites guests to enter the Grid and race against personified computer Programs in futuristic Lightcycle vehicles, just like in the “Tron” and “Tron: Legacy” films and TRON arcade game.
- Speed: Undisclosed but Disney calls it “one of the fastest coasters at any Disney theme park”
- Minimum height: 48 inches
“Coaster enthusiasts who have been riding it have just been blown away,” Perry said. “They love the whole look, the futuristic look of everything, how it’s all weaved together with music from Daft Punk from the movie and pulling in the different futuristic themes. There are so many things to look at on the ride, you want to go on it definitely multiple times if possible.”
While the ride officially opens to the public next month, it’s been open for cast members, annual passmembers, and other special previews for a few weeks. When Perry got to ride it, he said he got chills.
“With TRON Lightcycle / Run, you are merged in that video game, like you’re on the Grid. You were digitized and you’re part of it, and it doesn’t seem like you’re in Florida anymore,” he said. “It’s almost like being in a dream or something.”
Does Disney have military discounts?:Yes, and so do these popular theme parks
- Opening: May
- Location: Sandusky, Ohio
- Description: Guests chase after cheese in six mouse-themed cars and one cheese-themed car on this all-new coaster, which throws back to Cedar Point’s original Wild Mouse ride. Because the number of riders in each car can change how it spins now, the park says “no two rides will be the same.”
- Speed: 35 mph
- Minimum height: 42 inches with a supervising companion or 48 inches solo
“It’s going to be a great family addition to the park,” Perry said.
Cedar Point is known for its coasters, and Wild Mouse will be its 18th. “There are all these roller coasters that go over 200, 300-feet-tall,” he said. “This is an awesome addition where the people who don’t want to go that high can still enjoy the roller coaster.”
- Opening: Summer
- Location: Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Description: This new steel and wood hybrid roller coaster plunges riders down an 82-degree drop and features four inversions and the “world’s largest underflip.”
- Speed: Up to 62 mph
- Minimum height: 48 inches
“Some coaster enthusiasts were definitely upset that (its predecessor) Wildcat was closing, this traditional wooden coaster,” Perry said. But the new ride incorporates several nods to the original.
“They took some of the wooden structure and then (add) the all-steel track,” he said. “The ride got a little rough in later years, so this is perfect.”
He also complimented the train car design. “There’s a wildcat coming out of the front of the train, so it’s going to be eye-catching. And then it’s the world’s largest underflip, the inversion spin that they’re going for,” he said. “People can’t wait.”
- Opening: Undisclosed 2023
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri
- Description: The tallest point on this new hybrid wood and steel coaster stands 17 feet higher the park’s original Zinger. Zambezi Zinger also features a new African safari theme and side-by-side seating, instead of toboggan-style seats.
- Speed: 45 mph
- Minimum height: Unlisted
“They’re going to use some of the elements from the old coaster like a spiral lift hill and some tunnels and stuff,” Perry said, which he added makes fans wonder, “‘What is this going to be like, how close to the old coaster is this going to be, and what are they going to bring to it?’ “
Eve Chen is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Georgia. You can reach her at echen@usatoday.com
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