13 Best New Thrill Rides of 2014

Fire-breathing dragon? Yep. Cavernous passageways? Check. Nasty goblins? Got 'em. This year, as part of its massive Diagon Alley expansion, Universal will debut Escape from Gringotts, a 3-D multidimensional thrill ride that recreates Harry's exciting adventures at the goblin-owned bank. Riders will explore Gringotts' imposing marble lobby before hurtling at high speeds through the underground vaults and happening upon You-Know-Who. Accio, excitement!

Proving that there are no records too sacred to break, Six Flags Great America shatters previous world-record holders' hopes with Goliath, poised to become the world's fastest wooden coaster with the tallest and steepest drop (180 feet down at a near-vertical 85 degrees). The behemoth also goes upside-down. A lot.

What better way to memorialize the original, now-departed Thunderbolt, Coney Island's famous 1920s wooden coaster, than with a brand-new iteration? Of course, this Thunderbolt makes a name of its own with more than 2,000 feet of twisting steel track, bunny hills, and a tummy-tossing zero-gravity roll. Good luck holding onto your Nathan's hot dogs.

This 301-foot tower was once WindSeeker at California's Knott's Berry Farm, but it has since flown east to a new home at Worlds of Fun. The giant swing has all the usual bells and whistles, including its daring height and heart-pounding angled seats, but SteelHawk's most alluring feature is likely the 360-degree views of the Kansas City skyline.

Nestled on the face of Kingda Ka, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in North America, is Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, Six Flag's newest hair-raising attraction. The drop tower sends riders plunging toward planet Earth at 90 mph, all while Kingda Ka's coasters thunder around them at a cool 128 mph. Guests queue along an all-new baboon habitat, a cute and cuddly way to calm pre-ride jitters.

Ever feel like your roller coaster ride just isn't long enough? Lurking at fabled Kings Island—a park so famously scary that author R.L. Stine immortalized its attractions—is Banshee, an inverted steel coaster with some terrifying stats. Clocking in at 4,000-plus feet of pure, unbridled, foot-dangling terror, this coaster will have you screaming like a—well, you know.

After a massive multiyear revamp, the once-forlorn Kentucky Kingdom theme park officially debuted in May after years of financial troubles. So there's a lot riding on its lynchpin, the $7 million Lightning Run, a sleek blue hypercoaster that bolts through the park at 55 mph. Not bad for the comeback kid.

"Swing rides," you scoff, "those are mere child's play!" Not so with the SkyScreamer, a 400-foot-high tower that sends riders aloft in the atmosphere, spinning at a nice 40-mph clip. Six Flags promises, "You'll be so high up that only the birds will hear you scream." Perhaps the breathtaking views of the Connecticut River and New England countryside will distract you.

To celebrate the park's 124th birthday, Elitch Gardens introduces this looping seven-story thrill ride that shuttles guests to, fro, and upside-down on its spherical track. As an added bonus, riders will get great views of the Denver skyline and Rocky Mountains range (provided they can keep their eyes open, of course).

You may never go to space, but SlingShot will get you feeling pretty close to weightless. The two-person vessel is launched 360 feet into the air above sprawling Cedar Point. Riders will hang above the park, buoyant for just a few moments, before falling back to Earth … and then bouncing back up for more.

At a whopping 550 feet, the High Roller is officially the world's tallest Ferris wheel. It's also the centerpiece of Caesar's new Strip-side entertainment and shopping district, The LINQ, which means that acrophobics will have something to look forward to when back on safe ground—including a self-serve daiquiri bar. Yes, please.

Bored by plain old towers that simply drop you hundreds of feet to your doom? Falcon's Fury will fix that little problem. At the apex of this 335-foot tower (the tallest of its kind in the U.S.), riders will be flipped 90 degrees to take the plunge facedown, diving to the ground like the birds of prey for which the ride is named.

And for our friends up north who would like to experience a bit of the Underworld, La Ronde presents Demon, a thrill ride with two giant mechanical arms that twist, turn, and spin guests through a series of unpredictable rotations—and 16 soaking water jets that are timed at random. Bonne chance.

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