During the course of 2021, I was lucky enough to visit five theme parks throughout the year, despite the pandemic: Universal Orlando (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure), Walt Disney World (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom), Worlds of Fun, Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
Here are my top 10 thrill rides from this roller-coaster of a year!
10. BATMAN: The Ride (Six Flags Over Georgia)
- Height requirement: 4’ 5”
- Max speed: 50 mph
- Height: 105’
- Opened: May 3, 1997
- Duration: 1 minute 45 seconds
It had been about eight years since going to a Six Flags park, and a summer day at Six Flags Over Georgia with my youth group was a great way to bring it back. My personal experience with this ride was in the rain, so everyone already in the sewer/power plant theming of the queue had left, thinking the ride would shut down. Luckily, this resulted in my group getting to ride this now-walk-on attraction all by ourselves.
This steel-hybrid coaster design includes a vertical loop, zero-g roll, helix and corkscrew. BATMAN was not the most exciting or unique ride I’ve ever been on, but the thrill of it encourages me to most definitely ride it again.
- Height requirement: 4’
- Max speed: 75 mph
- Height: 205’
- Opened: April 18, 1998
- Duration: 3 minutes
Mamba runs at a much lesser-known theme park: Worlds of Fun. This park is in Kansas City, Missouri, and is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. I visited twice this year, so I had plenty of time to enjoy and analyze why I love the Mamba.
Mamba is the tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster at Worlds of Fun, located in the Africa section of the park. While the theming of both the land and the queue hardly gives any indication of its intended part of the world, it definitely gives the feeling of riding on the back of a snake, with a 205-foot first hill, a 184-foot second hill, a 580 degree helix, and 5 camelback hills. Mamba may be close to my heart since it is close to home, but it is an enjoyable ride experience nonetheless.
8. Twisted Cyclone (Six Flags Over Georgia)
- Height requirement: 4’
- Max speed: 50 mph
- Height: 100’
- Opened: May 25, 2018
- Duration: 1 minute 20 seconds
Twisted Cyclone is a hybrid coaster, which is a steel track on a wooden base. I always love this style because it has the impact of a rough wooden coaster, but with a much smoother ride experience. The feeling of this type of ride is nothing like I’ve ever felt before. Normally, wood coasters need more space and are slower to be safe enough to ride, but with the steel top, it has much more flexibility.
Twisted Cyclone leaves guests with a lot of airtime through its turns, drops and rolls, and constantly has something new, leaving the guest wanting more. While I was a huge fan of this ride, there was nothing other than the coaster itself adding to the theming, which, to me, is such an important aspect of the overall thrill of a ride.
7. Space Mountain (Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom)
- Height requirement: 3’ 8”
- Max speed: 27 mph
- Height: 65’
- Opened: January 15, 1975
- Duration: 3 minutes
Space Mountain is a classic attraction for all when visiting Walt Disney World. This outer-space-themed, indoor roller coaster is the oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Florida, but it doesn’t feel like it. The darkness of the ride leads to an unknown of the turns and drops to come, which adds to the excitement and thrill of it! From the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, another attraction in this area of the park, guests can view the ride track from a distance, giving a much different look than those screaming on the ride itself.
I love Space Mountain because of the thrill, the dark and the soundtrack. This is a weird one to associate with a roller coaster, but I know exactly the feeling I am going to get on a ride when I hear its soundtrack, and nothing captures the excitement and mystery like the Space Mountain theme.
6. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
- Height requirement: 4’
- Max speed: 50 mph
- Height: 65’
- Opened: June 13, 2019
- Duration: 3 minutes
Universal Orlando has many themed lands and attractions, including the rights to the Wizarding World franchise. Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure was one of my most anticipated attractions to ride this year, and it did not disappoint. The ride location was originally home to the Dragon Challenge, one of my favorite coasters, so I was unsure of what to expect in this limited space and the re-themed queue area.
The biggest problem with this ride is the technical difficulties that have continued to plague the attraction since opening day. For a ride as complex as this, with seven launches, multiple animatronics and a 17-foot free fall vertical drop, the “story coaster” through the Forbidden Forest was destined to struggle with operations. However, I’m still a huge fan of the attraction, so the thrill and story of it make the multi-hour wait worthwhile.
5. The Incredible Hulk Coaster (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
- Height requirement: 4’ 6”
- Max speed: 67 mph
- Height: 112’
- Opened: May 28, 1999
- Duration: 2 minutes
The Incredible Hulk Coaster resembles the process of losing control, just as the Hulk does when changing forms. Universal has the theme park rights to Marvel characters, which is why this comic book character doesn’t appear at Disney. This coaster can often seem rough, but as a 19-year-old college student, it is perfect for everything I want in a ride.
This past trip, my experience was solely through the single rider line, resulting in a five-minute wait, which definitely helped my perspective on the ride. I honestly don’t love the backstory of the ride – guests are welcomed inside a science experiment where they become a Hulk-version of themselves. The Hulk is also not my favorite character, but the story makes for a really great coaster!
4. Expedition Everest (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
- Height requirement: 3’ 8”
- Max speed: 50 mph
- Height: 199’
- Opened: April 7, 2006
- Duration: 3 minutes
Expedition Everest is always a classic on a Disney vacation, however the ride is currently closed for repairs until mid-April. I was shocked when I didn’t put the coaster higher on my list, and it would have been if it just had a few more dramatic drops and a higher speed.
One thing that Everest does differently from most of the other attractions on this list is the theming. A good theme can turn the most average rides into an amazing one. If you have ever been on Expedition Everest, imagine going on it without the ride through the mountain, without the tour exploration theme, or without the Yeti reaching for you. The ride would be dramatically different, and not in a good way. Expedition Everest is an incredible attraction when it comes to theming, putting it here, in fourth place.
3. Iron Rattler (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)
- Height requirement: 4’
- Max speed: 70 mph
- Height: 179’
- Opened: May 25, 2013
- Duration: 1 minute 52 seconds
My experience with the Iron Rattler started with cause for concern; a two-hour wait isn’t how I love spending theme park days. However, despite my angst of the queue situation, the ride saved the day. Just like the Twisted Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia, I love the hybrid, steel track on a wooden base structure style.
The ride begins with an ascent up a 179-foot-tall hill, before dropping 171 feet at an 81 degree angle. Six Flags Fiesta Texas is built into an old quarry, so most of the park is hidden behind walls, except for a few moments in some of its attractions. The Iron Rattler has some overbanked turns that sit above the wall, until plummeting to a tunnel with fog before entering the brake run. I loved how the Iron Rattler was a fairly simple track, but through its speeds and hills, the smoothness of it created a unique experience!
2. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Height requirement: 3’ 4”
- Max speed: 39 mph
- Height: 199’
- Opened: July 22, 1994
- Duration: 4 minutes
I ride the Tower of Terror at least four times per Disney trip, and this visit was no different. The Tower of Terror is the only attraction on this list that is not a roller coaster, but I needed this drop tower attraction to make the list! Many guests already know the history of the theming for the attraction, The Twilight Zone, the anthology series from 1959 to 1964. This inspiration is what creates the complete environment of the ride, from music, to appearance, to the ride itself. A brief preshow in the library gives the backstory of the ride: Hollywood, 1939. A lightning bolt strikes the hotel, vanishing five guests from the elevator into the Twilight Zone. Guests are then invited to step into their own service elevator to become the stars of an episode of The Twilight Zone.
This attraction is definitely one of the darkest themes at Walt Disney World, aside from the Haunted Mansion. The mysterious aura of the boiler room and the elevator guests enter are very spooky. I wouldn’t advise children to ride – even I’ve had nightmares! Once guests are seated, the elevator rises and opens to a hallway, where the five missing passengers beckon guests to join them. Another ascent moves the car horizontally into the Fifth Dimension, where eventually, the elevator either drops or rises. This is one of my favorite parts of the ride, as the sequences are actually alternate for each ride. Overall, I love the Tower of Terror, and it is a must-ride every vacation!
1. Jurassic World VelociCoaster (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
- Height requirement: 4’ 3”
- Max speed: 70 mph
- Height: 155’
- Opened: June 10, 2021
- Duration: 2 minutes
The spot for first place wasn’t a competition: the Jurassic World VelociCoaster is the best thrill ride I have ever been on. Luckily, I did experience this ride on its opening day, but the free churro after my ride was the only thing making the experience. The VelociCoaster is themed on the Jurassic World franchise and is located in the Jurassic Park area of Universal Orlando. In this attraction, guests race alongside velociraptors through their paddock. The queue was themed as well, as guests get face-to-face with the dinosaurs, see the raptors chasing trains as they go by and watch a video from Claire Dearing and Owen Grady.
The ride experience starts the second guests enter the queue, and the ride itself does not disappoint. A zero to 50 mph launch in two seconds gets hearts racing, even more so as trains quickly pass by rock work and the raptors themselves. Later, an unexpected second launch propels riders from 40 to 70 mph in 2.4 seconds. For me, I loved the speed of the ride most of all, but it doesn’t lack loops or drops. In fact, after the second launch, the peak of the ride results in a 140-foot drop at an 80 degree angle, followed by more loops and hills. The VelociCoaster has some of the smoothest ride technology I have ever experienced, especially with the thrill it creates. 12/10 attraction.