GETTING UP TO SPEED
Delayed by pandemic, ride construction looks to resume, and here are the 5 top prospects for 2021
It’s time to look ahead at what’s on tap for the new year at U.S. theme parks, and 2021 is already shaping up as a good year for roller coaster enthusiasts, thrill ride junkies and other fans.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many U.S. theme parks to postpone 2020 rides and attractions. Nearly half the entries on this list are holdovers that were supposed to debut last year. Nevertheless, they will still be new rides by the time we get to ride them in 2021.
Early announcements suggest this will once again be a good year for theme park enthusiasts. Many parks have begun construction on 2021 projects, while some holdovers from a spoiled 2020 are already done. Other parks have only announced plans or launched teaser campaigns.
Consider our top 21 for 2021 to be an evolving and ever-changing list of the best new rides and attractions coming to theme parks in the United States.
1. Marvel themed land
The highly anticipated superhero land is under construction at Disney California Adventure next to the existing Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! drop tower ride, which would be thematically tied to the other Marvel attractions.
Disney can’t call it Marvel land, for complicated legal reasons, but everybody else will. The official name: Avengers Campus.
Officially the new land will include a Spider-Man attraction, Dr. Strange mystic arts encounter, Ant-Man and Wasp restaurant and Marvel character meet-and-greets.
The Spider-Man attraction will be a web-slinging dark ride. The Dr. Strange “encounter” is expected to be a special effects stage show. You’ll be able to get a beer and a bite in the Ant-Man restaurant.
Disneyland had just announced a July 18, 2020, opening date for Avengers Campus when the park closed because of the pandemic.
2. ‘Secret Life of Pets’ dark ride
Work is finished on the new ride at Universal Studios Hollywood on the former site of the Globe Theater.
The ride has been squeezed into the London-themed Baker Street area between “The Walking Dead” walk-through attraction and the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem simulator ride.
The original 2016 “Secret Life of Pets” film and the 2019 sequel examine the lives pets lead when their owners are away from home.
Universal’s “Pets” ride was days from opening when the pandemic struck.
3. Iron Gwazi hybrid coaster
Busch Gardens Tampa’s Gwazi dual wooden coaster will be reborn as the world’s steepest, tallest and fastest hybrid coaster. The new ride will be rechristened Iron Gwazi.
Idaho- based Rocky Mountain Construction handled the renovation of Gwazi, which has not operated since 2015. The ride maker has been responsible for a number of recent conversions of wooden coasters into wood- steel hybrid beasts that have thrilled ride enthusiasts.
Iron Gwazi was among several Busch Gardens and SeaWorld rides planned for 2020 that were put on hold by parent company SeaWorld Entertainment.
4. Jurassic World VelociCoaster
The title of most anticipated truly new coaster of 2021 belongs to the VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Florida.
The new “Jurassic World” coaster by Switzerland-based ride maker Intamin is themed to the prehistoric velociraptor predators from the film franchise.
The dual-launch coaster takes riders over a 155-foot-tall top hat element into a zero G stall over a lagoon and through a jungle and raptor paddocks along 4,700 feet of track. Riders reach a top speed of 70 mph and experience 12 seconds of offyour-seat airtime.
5. Jersey Devil single-rail coaster
The Jersey Devil single-rail coaster coming to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey will be the world’s tallest, fastest and longest ride of its kind.
The 130-foot-tall coaster will reach a top speed of 58 mph over a 3,000-foot track through the woods. The coaster trains will travel through a raven dive, 180- degree stall and zero-gravity roll.
Passengers will sit in an inline- style train with their legs straddling a monorail I-beam track.
Rocky Mountain Construction has built similar single-rail coasters at Six Flags Fiesta Texas ( Wonder Woman Golden Lasso) and California’s Great America ( Railblazer).
Six Flags pressed pause on several 2020 rides, deciding to wait until crowds return.