A new year is upon us and would you believe that some of the first new roller coasters of the year have already opened? With many more to come, let’s count down the best new roller coasters opening in 2023.
23. Aquaman Power Wave (Six Flags over Texas, USA)
This new Power Splash coaster from Mack Rides was actually on my 2022 list as well, before it was pushed back due to construction delays.
Upon first glance, this may seem like a flume ride. But once you see it in motion, you’ll quickly realize that Aquaman is all coaster at heart, featuring forward and backward LSM launches. The cars only touch the water at the end for the final big splash. This will actually be the first Power Splash from Mack Rides to open in North America.
22. DarKoaster (Busch Gardens Williamsburg, USA)
This is described as a dark “straddle coaster”. Guests will climb aboard vehicles themed like snowmobiles from Intamin that will be launched through a unique indoor layout fit inside the park’s former Curse of DarKastle dark ride structure.
This new coaster for 2023 should provide a few scares as well as thrills along the way.
21. Palindrome (COTAland, USA)
This is a custom layout Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster that will feature a vertical lift hill, a 95º beyond vertical first drop and then through two inversions before stalling out at the top of a vertical spike track before rolling back through the entire course a second time. The coaster will then stall out once again on the first drop before rolling forward into a turn table that will return the cars to the station.
Palindrome was also mentioned on the 2022 list before construction delays pushed it back to 2023.
20. Lightning (Furuvik, Sweden)
While this is being described as a family coaster from Vekoma, the focus here will be on speed! Lightning will launch riders into a high-speed terrain-style layout full of twists and turns. The train won’t stop at the station when it returns, however. Instead, it will fly through and launch into the layout a second time even faster.
With a top speed of 75 kp/h (46mph), this will make for a speedy family ride experience.
19. Bombay Express (Bollywood Park, Dubai)
Built during the 2022 season, the new Bombay Express wooden roller coaster from Great Coasters International is now set to open in 2023.
So far I haven’t seen much in the way of stats about this new roller coaster at Bollywood Park. However, given GCI’s history of producing great wooden coasters and the few pictures I’ve seen of it so far, this should be a really fun ride.
18. Hot Wheels Twin Mill Racer (Mattel Adventure Park, USA)
Themed to the popular toy cars from Mattel, the new Mattel Adventure Park opening in Arizona will feature two roller coasters. These will be themed to the Hot Wheels brand.
The larger of the two will be a Chance Rides Hyper GTX coaster with three inversions named Twin Mill Racer that the guests are really going to enjoy.
17. Arctic Rescue (SeaWorld California, USA)
Next on the list of top new coasters for 2023 is another launched Intamin Straddle Coaster. Guests will board snowmobiles inside a newly themed roller coaster station in what was once the park’s Wild Arctic simulator ride building.
Trains will launch out into a very twisted layout, close to the ground, only to hit a second booster track. This will send them racing off even faster through the second half of the layout through the unforgiving Arctic.
16. American Dreier Looping (Indiana Beach, USA)
There is nothing quite like the experience of a legendary classic roller coaster from Anton Schwarzkopf. The Dreier Looping coaster, originally created as a travelling coaster, has made appearances at many parks over the years, travelling the globe from Malaysia (Sunway Park 1997-1999) to the UK (Flamingo Land 2000-2005) and then to Mexico (La Feria Chapultepec Magico 2007-2019).
Now, the famous coaster has arrived in America where it has been undergoing refurbishment at Indiana Beach. It is finally expected to reopen in 2023.
15. Mandrill Mayhem (Chessington, UK)
A rare and unique new B&M coaster, Mandrill Mayhem will be the anchor attraction of the new World of Jumanji-themed land coming to Chessington in 2023. As I understand it, this custom B&M Wing Coaster design will feature two firsts for B&M: A LSM Multi-Launch experience and B&M’s first-ever “Shuttle-Coaster” design.
Look for trains to be launched backwards up a steep spike, and then boosted even faster as they roll forward through the station and into the main layout of the ride. The end of the line will feature a large spiral track around a mountain themed like a stone Jaguar head, before rolling backwards through it all again.
14. Uncharted (PortAventura, Spain)
The announcement of Uncharted came as a surprise to many. The video game/movie-inspired experience will blend a multi-launch Intamin roller coaster ride with a Sally Dark Rides themed environment, all stuffed inside a massive show building.
Not a lot is currently known about the experience to come. However, with a reported five launches and heavy theming, this promises to be one of the highlight adventure rides of the year.
13. Storm – The Dragon Legend (TusenFryd, Norway)
Storm promises to be a very interesting new coaster from Gerstlauer that will be worth watching in 2023.
To my knowledge, this will be the first inverted thrill coaster from the company that will also start things off with a forwards/backwards/forwards style “swing-launch”. This will catapult riders at 62mph into a compact layout with three back-to-back inversions.
12. Wiener Looping (Wiener Prater, Austria)
This isn’t the old Wiener Looping travelling coaster. Instead, the Prater is said to have commissioned a brand new roller coaster that will take on the “Wiener Looping” name from Mack Rides.
The ride was first mentioned by the President of the Vienna Prater Association back in 2021, at which time they were hoping to open it in 2022. Since that didn’t happen, we are now hoping it will make an appearance sometime in 2023.
11. Big Bear Mountain (Dollywood, USA)
A new multi-launch epic-scale family roller coaster from Vekoma will be racing through the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee at Dollywood later in 2023.
Riders will be seated in fun-looking off-road vehicle-themed coaster trains and speed across the park’s hillside terrain through the use of three launches spread out across nearly 4,000 feet of track.
10. Tron Lightcycle/Run (Magic Kingdom / Walt Disney World, USA)
This will be the first clone of the breakout Disney creation first built for Shanghai Disneyland to come to American shores.
Riders will climb aboard Lightcycle-themed vehicles from Vekoma and Walt Disney Imagineering. These will then launch riders first into a high-speed outdoor track section before entering the Grid for a special effects-filled video-game-style finale. Win the game or get derezzed.
9. Primordial (Lagoon, USA)
The top-secret Primordial roller coaster experience was first rumoured in 2017 and quietly began site prep a year later. Over the years since, steel has slowly been assembled on the site and then covered up to create a massive themed mountain structure, with a roller coaster track running both inside and on the surface.
Exactly what secrets lie inside the mountain is still a closely guarded secret. However, Lagoon describes it as a “one-of-a-kind interactive coaster” that will offer a “ride experience like you have never seen.” Roller coaster enthusiasts have eagerly been keeping up with the construction for years and will finally get to discover the mystery of this new coaster in the summer of 2023.
8. Matugani (Lost Island, USA)
Originally expected to open in 2022, Matugani was formerly known as Kanonen when it was first built for Liseberg in 2005.
The American debut of this rare “Accelerator” style cable-launch coaster from Intamin was set to be the anchor attraction for the new Lost Island Theme Park’s grand opening. However, it was delayed a year due to supply-chain issues delaying the arrival of necessary parts.
After an extensive refurbishment, the ride will open later this year. It is likely to become the new park’s most popular ride.
7. Zambezi Zinger (Worlds of Fun, USA)
The original Zambezi Zinger was once one of the most popular roller coasters at Worlds of Fun. It ran from 1973 to 1997. Over the past 26 years, the retired roller coaster was never forgotten by guests, and now the park will attempt to build a brand new roller coaster for 2023 in memory of the old one.
This time around, the new Zambezi Zinger will be a wooden coaster creation from Great Coasters International. It will feature a combination of regular wooden coaster and modern steel hybrid track technology, starting off the experience with a recreation of the former ride’s famous spiral lift hill design.
6. Mission Ferrari (Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi)
Now open at last, Mission Ferrari is a new SFX Coaster from Dynamic Attractions. It has been stalled on our ‘coming soon’ lists of new rides for many years now due to construction delays.
This new ride for 2023 is half high-speed roller coaster and half extreme-tech dark ride. It offers an experience that features launches and inversions as riders attempt to deliver a very special Ferrari to a top-secret spy organization.
Along the way riders will find themselves moving forwards and backwards, tilting towards the sky and dropping into dark depths while on the run from the enemy. The ride also features the world’s first sideways drop element. It may have taken years to build, but from what we’ve seen already, the wait has been worth it for Ferrari World to offer one of the most unique rides ever built.
5. Wildcat’s Revenge (Hersheypark, USA)
The former Wildcat wooden roller coaster at Hersheypark ran from 1996 to 2022 and is now getting transformed into a new hybrid coaster for 2023 from the crew at Rocky Mountain Construction.
Reopening this summer, the rebuilt creation will feature RMC’s popular steel IBox track system. It will offer an all-new experience that will be taller and faster, and will add four inversions. As with previous hybrid-conversion projects from RMC, this is sure to be one of the most popular new roller coasters when it opens.
4. Pipeline The Surf Coaster (SeaWorld Orlando, USA)
From the minds of B&M comes a way to revive the old Stand-Up roller coaster experience. One that may change the ride experience forever.
Themed as a giant surfboard, riders will climb into a restraint system like no other that features a unique piston system. This will raise and lower riders vertically based on the G-forces they experience. The end result will give the standing riders a little extra pop of airtime as they go over hills while being able to cushion their legs from excessive positive Gs on the other end of the spectrum.
Pipeline will feature B&M’s newest restraint system. This allows for open sightlines by removing the hard over-the-shoulder style harness from around riders’ heads. The experience starts another B&M rarity, a magnetic 60mph launch. While the Surf Coaster is a brand-new prototype experience from B&M, it could take the world by storm and revive the concept of the Stand-Up roller coaster for a new generation.
3. ArieForce One (Fun Spot Atlanta, USA)
Originally expected to open in 2022 and then delayed to 2023, ArieForce One is a new steel roller coaster creation from Rocky Mountain Construction. This will use the same style track system that RMC has been making popular with its wooden hybrid coaster conversions.
The ride will feature a custom L-shaped out-and-back layout that will cross over the entire length of the property. It starts with a 155-foot tall lift hill and hits a top speed of 64 mph while diving down an 83º first drop and through 3,400 feet of track, featuring four inversions.
Testing has begun in the last few weeks at Fun Spot Atlanta. ArieForce One is looking to offer quite the fast and relentless experience and is a top contender for being one of the best new roller coasters in America this year
2. Toutatis (Parc Asterix, France)
A brand new custom LSM-launched coaster creation from Intamin will soon open at Parc Asterix.
Riders will leave the station and run through a rolling launch point into the first half of the ride. Following this, they will pass through a switch track and into a swing-launch segment. Here, the train will launch forwards, backwards, and then forwards again into the final half of the layout.
Similar in concept to last year’s Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Toutatis will hit a top speed of 66.5 mph. It will also climb to heights of 167 feet and speed through three inversions along the 3,526-foot-long layout. This includes an insane beyond-vertical dive taken at 101º. Toutatis looks to be one of the best new roller coasters on the planet for 2023.
1. Batman Gotham City Escape (Parque Warner Madrid, Spain)
Intamin will be competing with itself for having the best new roller coasters of the year with another amazing-looking LSM launch roller coaster experience. This will be coming to Parque Warner Madrid.
Featuring a Batman theme and some very slick-looking Batmobile-inspired roller coaster trains, this new ride will feature three launch segments, a top speed of 64.6 mph, reach a height of 147.6 feet and cross over 3,313 feet of track and four inversions along the way. The final result is that Gotham City Escape is sure to be one of the most sought-after new coaster credits of the year.
That’s my list of the best of the best new coasters for 2023. So, it’s time to make your travel plans to see these amazing new rides for yourself.
