AAA The Extra Mile. May 2023.
Gather your friends and family and go experience some of the newest theme park rides and attractions opening this summer. From the fastest and steepest roller coasters to sci-fi stimulations and dueling water pipelines, here are some of the extreme adventures you don’t want to miss!
DARKOASTER™ AT BUSCH GARDENS®—WILLIAMSBURG, VA
You don’t need to wait until Halloween to visit this spooky abandoned fortress in Virginia. Opening in spring 2023, DarKoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is North America’s first all-indoor straddle coaster. Riders on this family-friendly experience will race through total darkness on snowmobiles across 2,454 feet of track, all while changing course and accelerating to avoid the fierce elements.
SERENGETI FLYER AT BUSCH GARDENS®—TAMPA BAY, FL
The recently opened Serengeti Flyer swing ride is the world’s tallest and fastest ride of its kind. Expect to fly high above Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s 65-acre Serengeti Plain as you experience multiple negative-G-force moments before soaring back to the ground. This ride is not for the fainthearted, with speeds of 68 mph and a height of 135 feet at the ride’s peak.
CATAPULT FALLS AT SEAWORLD®—SAN ANTONIO, TX
Hold on to your seats and get ready for a splash landing! Catapult Falls at SeaWorld San Antonio is North America’s only vertical-lift flume coaster opening this summer. It offers thrill seekers a chance to ascend the world’s steepest flume and then drop over the falls into the rapids. Angled at an astonishing 53°, the chute plummets thrill seekers into an intense splashdown at over 37 mph.
TRON LIGHTCYCLE / RUN AT WALT DISNEY WORLD® MAGIC KINGDOM® THEME PARK—ORLANDO, FL
This computerized simulation is based on “TRON: Legacy,” the famed Disney sci-fi film. As a daring rider, you’ll race a Lightcycle against your fierce opponents and attempt to cross through eight Energy Gates. TRON Lightcycle / Run, which is one of the fastest simulation rides at all of Disney’s theme parks, opens in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom Park in 2023.
RIPTIDE RACE™ AT WATER COUNTRY USA®—WILLIAMSBURG, VA
Grab your bathing suit and head to Riptide Race, Virginia’s first-ever dueling pipeline water ride. Beginning in summer 2023, you’ll splash and dash in a side-by-side race through high-speed tunnels and twists on a two-person raft. The adrenaline-pumping waterslide starts at 54′ off the ground and swooshes you through 520 feet of slippery fun.
PIPELINE: THE SURF COASTER AT SEAWORLD®—ORLANDO, FL
Feel the adrenaline rush as you ride powerful ocean waves on Pipeline: The Surf Coaster at SeaWorld in Florida. As you ride the world’s first-ever surf coaster, expect to soar up to 110 feet in the air and go upside down on a wave curl. You’ll “get air” five different times along 2,950 feet of track for nearly two minutes—but the memories will last a lifetime.
~ Written for and published by AAA The Extra Mile. All rights reserved.