This is going to be an awesome summer for thrill seekers. Taller, faster, steeper, and more stomach-dropping amusement park rides are opening across the country. Zip your pockets, take your Dramamine, and check out some of the craziest new record-breaking screamers. We’ll be hiding behind the snack bar.
GOLIATH
Six Flags Great America
Gurnee, Illinois
It’s a wooden roller coaster, but steel layers in the track make possible the tallest, steepest drop (180 feet, 85 degrees) and fastest ride (72 mph) among its wooden brethren.
SKYSCREAMER
Six Flags New England
Agawam, Massachusetts
This vertiginous version of the swing ride will dangle riders’ legs 400 feet up, spinning them in a circle till they hit 40 mph. Be warned: Six Flags says “only the birds will hear you scream.”
VERRÜCKT
Schlitterbahn
Kansas City, Kansas
At 17 stories, this waterslide is taller than Niagara Falls. Four riders hop on a raft and plunge at speeds that could exceed 65 mph, whooshing to the bottom, then up five stories—to drop again. Verrückt? German for insane.
BANSHEE
King's Island
Mason, Ohio
Tear through seven inversions across 4,124 feet of track. It’s the world’s longest inverted coaster, complete with a spiral and a zero-G roll. Hello, lunch! It’s nice to see you again.
ZUMANJARO
Six Flags Great Adventure
Jackson, New Jersey
Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom will be the world’s highest drop ride, rocketing riders up 415 feet, pausing momentarily, then releasing them for a 10-second trip to the bottom at the vomit-inducing speed of 90 mph.
Color by Gluekit
