The Major Theme Park Rides of 2009

By Tracy Kahaner of Kahaner Research

There were plenty of headline-grabbers in the 2009 crop of new amusement park rides, such as the $22 million Diamondback "hypercoaster" at Kings Island, a magnetic launch coaster (iSpeed at Mirabilandia in Italy) and Manta, the combination flying coaster ride and marine life attraction at SeaWorld Orlando. Roller coasters  themed after movies were also popular: Six Flags Magic Mountain opened the Terminator® Salvation™: The Ride! wooden coaster and Thorpe Park in the UK opened Saw – The Ride, a "Eurofighter"  coaster.
 
Interactivity was the theme of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster that opened at Universal Studios Florida, and the Buccaneer Battle water ride that opened at Six Flags Great America. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit allows riders to choose a personal soundtrack while being filmed by their own individual camera for the duration of the ride, while Buccaneer Battle is a pirate themed water ride that allows participants to battle opposing ships with large, hand-pumped water pistols.
 
This list of rides that have opened at major theme parks this past year, is not meant to be all inclusive. Our criteria on whether or not to include a ride was based on data from the 2008 TEA/ERA Attraction Attendance Report.  Rides that opened at theme parks listed are among the highest attended in the various geographic regions, as well as those parks that were in the top ten theme park chains, were included. Two exceptions: rides that have relocated from one park to another were excluded from this analysis, along with rides renovated and/or re-themed within a park. These exclusions include Carolina Cobra at the Carowinds park, which relocated from Geauga Lake, and the renovated Small World at Disneyland.
 
Typically, rides that are geared towards the very young child, known as Kiddie Rides, have been excluded from this data. However, those rides that are considered “Family” in nature are included. As an example, of the several rides that were built in the new Sesame Street themed area of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Grover’s Alpine Express is the only one included. 
 
Both the Happy Valley parks included in this listing have opened this year.  Hence the reason for four rides at the park in Chengdu and the five rides at the park in Shanghai. The Happy Valley park in Chengdu opened in Janaury 17, 2009 and the Happy Valley park in Shanghai opened August 6, 2009.
 
Kahaner Research obtains the figures used to create this report through a variety of sources including ride manufacturers and park operators.