For roller coaster aficionados, Christmas comes early each year on August 16, otherwise known as National Roller Coaster Day. Coaster lovers anxiously sit by their computers or visit theme parks around the world to get the first announcements of new coasters coming to parks. The adrenaline is almost as exciting as ascending a large hill or plummeting below on a coaster itself.
After the announcements are made, the excitement begins to brew as new designs and record-breaking information is released to theme park lovers around the world. 2018 is slated to be the year of the coaster as innovative designs, hair-raising speed, and astounding drops captivate theme park patrons, and more importantly families, across the USA.
So, based on these announcements, what are the best coasters that will open next year? Weâve compiled a list of 7 brand-new roller coasters that we canât wait to ride next year.
HangTime at Knotts Berry Farm - Buena Park, California
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Get your surfboards ready for some California fun like no other with HangTime at Knottâs Berry Farm in California. Debuting in the summer of 2018, HangTime, a brand new steel roller coaster, will gain the title of the only dive coaster on the West Coast. So, whatâs a dive coaster? To put it simply, all the riders experience a brief moment of free-falling with a drop of 90 degrees or near 90 degrees! In fact, HangTime will have a 15-story, 96-degree drop which will be the steepest on record in California! This new coaster will tout a high point of 150 feet with gravity-defying inversions, mid-air suspensions, and twisting dive tracks! The coaster will also have colorful nighttime track chase lighting that will offer both a unique daytime and nighttime experience for riders.
Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City - Branson, Missouri
https://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park
Imagine having the chance to ride the worldâs fastest, steepest, and tallest spinning roller coaster right here in the United States. Youâll have the opportunity at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, when Time Traveler opens to the public in the spring of 2018. Considered one of the most highly anticipated and innovative coasters in years, Time Traveler aesthetically molds perfectly with the 1800âs style design of the theme park, complete with a story to tell. The coaster will start off and thrill riders with a 10-story, 90-degree vertical dropâŚstraight down. In just seconds, passengers will experience three inversions, the tallest point at 100 feet, a 95-foot tall vertical loop, and double launch; all while sitting in the coolest coaster car design with a controlled spin feature. This coaster is sure to thrill families!
Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion - Doswell, Virginia
https://www.kingsdominion.com/
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Hybrid coasters are the wave of the future - the perfect mix of steel and wooden construction to delight a multitude of coaster riders. In 2018, Kings Dominion will open Twisted Timbers, an innovative hybrid that takes a traditional wooden coaster experience and enhances it with an exhilarating passenger experience. This is not your typical wooden coaster, which is what makes it an exciting addition to this list. The ride will include a 109-foot tall barrel roll drop, three loops, 20 airtime moments, 3351 feet of track, and a top speed of 54 miles per hour. This coaster will truly raise the bar for thrill rides at the park. We also recommend checking out the story behind the coaster - itâs filled with supernatural forces!
Electric Eel at SeaWorld San Diego - San Diego, California
https://seaworld.com/san-diego/
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to move and flip like an eel? The Electric Eel roller coaster will bring a whole new level of excitement to SeaWorld San Diego in 2018 as riders experience this first-of-its-kind coaster at the park. Electric Eel will feature astounding loops, twists, and airtime. Multiple-launch experiences will propel riders forward and backward as they speed through the rideâs station house, accelerating to more than 60 miles per hour in seconds. Riders then rocket skyward nearly 150 feet where they will brave an inverted âheartlineâ roll and a twisting loop for an exciting feeling of airtime as riders crest the top before breathlessly returning to the station. Â With Electric Eel, SeaWorldâs Deep Blue creative design team will fuse the thrills of a contemporary coaster with a compelling interactive and educational eel experience.
Wonder Woman Golden Lasso at Six Flags Fiesta Texas - San Antonio, Texas
https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/
If you are a fan of Wonder Womanâ˘, then Six Flags Fiesta Texas is an essential destination in the spring of 2018 to ride the WONDER WOMAN Golden Lasso Coaster. Just as Wonder Woman is a unique superhero in her own right, this coaster will boast one of the most unique design features on this list - a single I-beam rail with riders seated single file, one right behind each other. Talk about feeling empowered on the rails! The ride queue will also feature a spectacular likeness of Wonder Woman herself as passengers become immersed in the story of her life and how she obtained her superpowers. There is no doubt that riders will experience what itâs like to become a superhero in their own right with a one-of-a-kind 90-degree drop, overbanked wave turn, zero-g roll and a steep uphill spiral.
Railblazer at Californiaâs Great America - Santa Clara, California
https://www.cagreatamerica.com/
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California is in for a theme park treat in the spring of 2018 as Railblazer blazes its way into the record books as the first coaster of its kind that features a single rail on the West Coast. Yes, a single rail where the rider actually straddles the rail. This coaster will provide the rider one of the most unique and undeniable thrill experiences with turns and rotations only available on this eight-passenger single-file train. After being lifted up to a height of 106 feet (on a silent rollback lift hill), passengers will plummet down at a 90-degree angle. Can you imagine the exhilarating thrills the passenger in the lead seat will experience? Not only is this coaster exciting, but it signals the start of a major new development project at Californiaâs Great America. If this is a taste of whatâs to come in Santa Clara, we canât wait to keep our eye on new attractions at Californiaâs Great America.
Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point - Sandusky, Ohio
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Itâs no surprise that the roller coaster capital of the world, Cedar Point, would have one of the most anticipated coasters in 2018. In fact, they have created their own coaster category known as the hyper-hybrid, which means this coaster will be the first steel-on-wood hybrid to tower over 200 feet tall. If this wasnât impressive enough, this coaster will break a plethora of ride records including:
- World's fastest hybrid roller coaster (74 miles per hour)
- World's longest drop on a hybrid roller coaster (200 feet)
- World's steepest drop on a hybrid roller coaster (90 degrees)
- Most airtime on any roller coaster (27.2 seconds)Â
- Fastest airtime hill on a hybrid roller coaster (73 mph)
Thatâs an impressive list!
