As we end another, let's be honest, very trying year, let's end 2021 on a high note and take a look at some of the amazing attractions coming our way in 2022. 

Some are entirely new attractions, some are very much delayed attractions that are finally going to thrill us all. 

Before we get into our list, be sure to vote in our poll and let us know which attractions you're looking forward to most! 

You can vote for more than one attraction! 

Originally announced on September 12, 2019, Iron Gwazi is one of a few attractions opening in 2022 that were delayed due to the pandemic. But that hasn't diminished the hype for this coaster.

​Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, Iron Gwazi will be 206 feet tall, feature a 91-degree drop, and reach top speeds of 76 miles per hour. The journey will include three inversions and 12 airtime hills as it races along more than 4,075 feet of purple steel track.

Even with all of that, Iron Gwazi has a 48" height requirement. 

Pantheon™, the world’s fastest multi-launch roller coaster, is officially launching at Busch Gardens® Williamsburg in March 2022. Harnessing all the speed and strength of five of the greatest Roman gods, this record-breaking coaster stands 180 feet tall with a top speed of 73 mph, and features a 95° drop, 4 launches, 5 air-time hills and 2 inversions.
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The all-new, highly anticipated coaster will open in the park’s Festa Italia village, elevating Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s portfolio to eight world-class coasters that are sure to delight even the most daring thrill-seekers.

Announced the same day as Iron Gwazi, Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando is the parks first launched coaster.  Ice Breaker features four launches, both backwards and forwards, culminating in a reverse launch into the steepest beyond vertical drop in Florida — a 93-foot tall spike with 100-degree angle.

Located near the Wild Arctic Attraction, the ride’s theme is reflective of this area with a nod to Ice Breaker’s conservation partner, Alaska SeaLife Center. Primarily dedicated to marine research, education and wildlife response, the Alaska SeaLife Center mission matches closely to SeaWorld Orlando’s, making them a perfect partner to help educate riders about the Artic and its inhabitants.
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The last of the four delayed coasters at SeaWorld parks comes to us from SeaWorld San Diego. The West Coast is finally getting their first B&M Dive Coaster. Emperor is 153feet tall with a 143 foot facedown vertical loop. Featuring floorless trains, Emperor will be the Longest, Tallest and Fastest Dive Coaster in California. 

​​ Named for the world’s largest penguin, Emperor will mimic this species’ amazing underwater diving ability.

Six Flags Magic Mountain never does anything small, and they will now be the first park with two Rocky Mountain Construction coasters. The Tallest and Longest Single Rail Coaster on the Planet, riders will fly over 3,300 feet of track, towering 13 stories and soaring at speeds up to 58 miles-per-hour.  The new coaster will be located in the six-acre DC UNIVERSE™ area of the park, which will be expanded and entirely remodeled to include a new, innovative restaurant and bar experience, plus retail locations featuring exclusive DC branded merchandise.

Key features include: Themed entrance portal and queue inspired by the hidden island of Themyscira, Four sleek trains of 12 passengers each sitting one rider per row along the monorail track, 3,300 feet of single-rail, I-beam track, Tension-building ascent up a towering, 131-foot lift hill, Reaching speeds up to 58 mph, Intense elements including a steep, 87-degree first drop and overbanked cutback, and Three dramatic inversions including a 180-degree stall, raven dive, and zero-gravity roll.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas, plans to debut the world’s steepest dive roller coaster--Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger. This exhilarating new dive coaster features a cliffhanger hold, which suspends riders as they face straight down a 95-degree, beyond-vertical drop, then releases them moments later into a terrifying 150-foot dive.

Key features of Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger include, Three sleek trains with three rows of passengers, seated seven across, 2,501 feet of soaring track, Thrilling anticipation while the ride vehicle pauses in a face-first cliffhanger hold before plummeting 150 feet, Spectacular, beyond-vertical, 95-degree first drop, A second 75-foot, near-vertical drop;  An Immelmann inversion, during which riders enter a half-loop, followed by a half twist, then exit the element traveling in the opposite direction making a 180-degree turn, Four intense elements, including an extreme airtime hill, wild-banked turn, high-speed spiral, and 270-degree zero-g roll, Speeds of up to 60 mph, Immersive steampunk theming that tells the story of Dr. Diabolical’s plot to harvest fear. Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger is a custom-designed roller coaster created by Bolliger & Mabillard

Featuring a record 102.3-degree, 110-foot-tall freefall first drop - the steepest in the Western United States - Defiance will also boast two custom-designed inversions, making it the highest looping roller coaster in the United States at 7,132 feet above sea level.

​Named after a word, phrase or sequence that reads the same backwards as forward, Palindrome will feature a 95-foot vertical lift hill, 51 m.p.h. top speed, two inversions and a vertical “hop-stall” before riders experience the ride again, only backwards. It will be the first Infinity shuttle roller coaster built by Gerstlauer in the United States.

Saving the galaxy this time is gonna take more than a dance-off. Starting summer 2022, guests visiting EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort better get ready to crank up the mixtape and blast through an awesome intergalactic chase through time and space in Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind! This thrilling new family-friendly coaster matches the “grandosity” and fun of the blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, featuring those lovable cosmic misfits – Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora and Star-Lord. The attraction is another major milestone in the ongoing transformation of EPCOT and debuts as part of the Walt Disney World 50thAnniversary celebration.
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In addition to the Wonders of Xandar pavilion, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will offer several other “firsts,” including, the first coaster attraction at EPCOT, the first reverse launch for a Disney coaster, the first Walt Disney World attraction to feature the Guardians of the Galaxy.

​Slated to open in Spring 2022, Sesame Place® San Diego will be the only theme park on the West Coast based entirely on the award-winning show, Sesame Street®. Conveniently located just 20 minutes from San Diego and 2.5 hours from Los Angeles, this theme park is perfect for families with kids of all ages. The new theme park will feature 7 themed dry rides, an interactive musical play area, and 11 water attractions including a 500,000-gallon wave pool – one of the largest in Southern California. The park will also feature an interactive Sesame Street Neighborhood complete with the iconic 123 Stoop, a live character show, a daily parade, photo opportunities and of course, everyone’s favorite furry friends.

Peppa Pig Theme Park is a NEW, standalone theme park that will be just steps away from LEGOLAND® Florida Resort in 2022. This all-new theme park will feature multiple rides, interactive attractions, themed playscapes and water play areas—complete with “muddy puddles” of course—and fun live shows daily, all based on instantly recognizable locations from the globally popular brand. Families will meet Peppa and her friends as they snort, giggle, and play while building their family’s first theme park memories together. 

Soar to new heights on this exciting new ride, featuring a first-ever raven-truss dive and a first-of-its-kind zero-G roll over our arcade (with another zero-G roll just for fun)! You and your group can experience 100 seconds of pure thrills during your ride time, including a 146-foot first drop at an 83-degree angle and a top speed of 64 m.p.h.
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Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the ArieForce One offers impressive speeds, drops and much more, including special features like 16 airtime moments, 4 inversions and a first-ever raven-truss dive! Max Speed: 64mph, Track Length: 3,400 feet, Lift Hill Height: 154 feet, 1st drop height: 146 feet, 1st drop angle: 83 degrees, Max Vertical G's: 3.75, Min Vertical G's: -1.0, Max Lateral G's: +/- 1.25G's, Ride Time: 100 seconds. 

​Related Updates

• Dr. Diabolicals Cliffhanger Announced for 2022 Season at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
• Six Flags Magic Mountain Announces Wonder Woman Flight of Courage for Summer 2022
• Hard Hat Tour of All New Sesame Place San Diego - Opening March 2022
• Palindrome at Cotaland (Austin, TX) to be first Infinity Shuttle Coaster in the United States 
• New Roller Coasters "Ice Breaker" and "Iron Gwazi" announced for SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa

Last week we were invited out to Legoland California to check out their yearly tree lighting ceremony, this year being done by actress Lacey Chabert. While we weren't able to really get that close to the ceremony itself, we did have an amazing time, as well as being able to spend about an hour or so in the park prior to it's closing. 

Got to finally ride Deep Sea Adventure (which is really great) and enjoy one of my favorite theme park treats. 

Written by Gregg Condon

Cancer Organization City of Hope Receives $10,000 on Chabert’s Behalf From the Family Theme Park

CARLSBAD, Calif. (Nov. 19, 2021) – Fireworks filled the sky and snow fell onto the crowd as Lacey Chabert, the star of Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas’ new original movie, “Christmas at Castle Hart,” helped Santa pull the switch to light the LEGO® Christmas tree during the 19th annual tree lighting ceremony officially kicking off Holidays at LEGOLAND® California Resort.

Chabert, best known for her award-winning role as Claudia Salinger in “Party of Five,” her role as Gretchen Wieners from “Mean Girls,” and from her roles in more than 26 Hallmark Channel movies, spent the day enjoying the Park’s festive holiday décor before heading to LEGOLAND California’s famous 30-foot tall LEGO Christmas tree created from 245,000 green DUPLO® bricks for the evening’s festivities. Prior to pulling the switch that turned on more than 11,000 twinkling LED lights, Chabert was presented a special LEGO ornament and guests were treated to a first look of the Park’s new Build and Race attraction opening in 2022 and a preview of Chabert’s upcoming Hallmark holiday movie.

At the ceremony, LEGOLAND California Resort donated $10,000 on Chabert’s behalf to the Department of Pediatrics at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization near Los Angeles. Not only does City of Hope provide children and adolescents with leading-edge treatments for cancer or blood disorders, but its scientists also conduct innovative research to bring the treatments of tomorrow to children who need them today.

The annual tree lighting ceremony is part of the Park’s winter celebration, Holidays at LEGOLAND California Resort. Guests can feel the LEGO cheer from Nov. 20 through Jan. 2 with twinkling lights, holiday treats and live entertainment! New this year, the annual holiday celebration will feature a jolly new show in Fun Town: Mrs. Claus’ Gingerbread Bakery! Guests can giggle and cheer as Mrs. Claus and her gingerbread helpers bake sweets for the elves. Kids and families can also boogie on down with the Hip Hop Elf Dancers and Holiday Brass Band as they perform new and classic Christmas jams that will be sure to put everyone into the holiday spirit! Guests wanting to snap the perfect holiday card photo can pose with life-size LEGO models of Santa and his reindeer or with their favorite costume characters which include LEGO Santa, LEGO Toy Soldier and LEGO Gingerbread Man. Families can ring in 2022 with San Diego’s biggest Kids’ New Year’s Eve Party on Dec. 31. All Holidays activities are included with regular Park admission. For information, visit: LEGOLAND.com.

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​Related Updates 

• Gerstlauer To Build The First Infinity Shuttle Coaster in the US - November 17, 2021
• Legoland California and Ferrari Announce World Premiere of New Attraction - November 9, 2021
• Lego Movie World Media Day at Legoland, California - June 2, 2021
• Stunt Pilot Opening Weekend at Silverwood - May 28, 2021
• ​Galveston Pleasure Pier, Kemah Boardwalk and Rainforest Café Dark Ride - March 9, 2021

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STEVENSVILLE, MD – Ride Entertainment, the Gold Standard in the attractions industry for safety, sales and support, is excited to announce Palindrome, a one-of-a-kind Gerstlauer Infinity roller coaster for Cotaland in Austin, Texas. The ride is expected to debut in late 2022.

Named after a word, phrase or sequence that reads the same backwards as forward, Palindrome will feature a 95-foot vertical lift hill, 51 m.p.h. top speed, two inversions and a vertical “hopstall” before riders experience the ride again, only backwards. It will be the first Infinity shuttle roller coaster built by Gerstlauer in the United States.

“Working with a new facility like Cotaland has been an absolute pleasure,” said Ed Hiller, CEO and Founder of Ride Entertainment. “Both Gerstlauer and our own Installations team look forward to seeing those first riders take their inaugural runs on this incredibly unique roller coaster.” 

​“We are thrilled to be able to bring the first Infinity shuttle coaster to the United States,” said Siegfried Gerstlauer, Managing Director of Gerstlauer Rides GmbH. “Guests riding Palindrome are in for a truly special experience aboard the newest icon of Cotaland.”

Palindrome is currently being manufactured by Gerstlauer in their Münsterhausen, Germany factory. The coaster will be assembled by Ride Entertainment’s expert Installations division.

About Ride Entertainment: For over 20 years, Ride Entertainment has been the global leader for industry innovation and customer satisfaction in the attractions industry. Founded as a sales company focused on bringing the best thrill rides in the world under one roof, the company has expanded to serve every sector of the industry, including sales, service and operations. Visit RideEntertainment.com to learn more.

About Gerstlauer Rides GmbH: Founded in 1981, Gerstlauer has grown into one of the attraction industry’s leading manufacturers, producing some of the world’s most iconic roller coasters and thrilling attractions. It’s diverse and extensive product portfolio includes: Launched Coasters, Spinning Coasters, Bobsled Coasters, the “beyond-vertical” Euro-Fighter, Family Roller Coasters, Ferris Wheels, small and medium-sized Family Rides, and customized roller coaster trains. Visit Gerstlauer-Rides.de for further information.