Summer isn’t over. There’s still plenty of time to voluntarily board a machine designed to make your internal organs question their seating arrangement.
According to The New York Times, America’s theme parks have rolled out a particularly ambitious class of new roller coasters this year. Some launch. Some spin. Some drop beyond vertical. All of them prove that engineers can accomplish remarkable things when given enough steel and permission to turn gravity into a group activity.
Here are five new reasons to scream before school starts.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
Universal Studios Hollywood
The “Fast & Furious” franchise has finally found a mode of transportation it hasn’t thoroughly explored: a roller coaster. As of late July, Hollywood Drift was still slated to open before summer’s end. The outdoor coaster will use individually rotating ride vehicles to make passengers feel as though they’re drifting through turns. The outdoor coaster will reach 72 miles per hour, feature multiple launches and send movie-inspired cars racing across Universal’s famously hilly terrain.
Tormento Rampaging Run
Six Flags Over Texas
This isn’t a roller coaster. It’s a controlled falling incident with excellent branding. Now open, Tormenta climbs 309 feet before pausing riders for a painfully long time at the top, presumably so everyone has time to reconsider their life choices. Then comes the dive into oblivion: a 95-degree drop with speeds up to 87 miles per hour, followed by the world’s tallest vertical loop on a rampaging run of terror. Six Flags calls it the world’s first tallest, fastest, longest and first-ever "giga coaster"(any coaster 300 to 400 feet tall).
Galacticoaster
LEGOLAND California and Florida
For families who prefer their terror adorable, LEGOLAND’s new indoor Galacticoaster offers a customizable trip through a LEGO universe filled with lights, special effects and surprise appearances from classic LEGO space characters. California’s version opened in March, while Florida’s became the park’s first indoor launch-style coaster. Riders can even personalize their spacecraft before departure, because nothing says responsible aerospace engineering like letting children design the vehicle.
Flying Fox
Kentucky Kingdom
Flying Fox takes the gentler route without becoming boring. The $14 million suspended family coaster opened in May with a crop-dusting theme, dangling seats and sweeping turns that travel over vibrant Kentucky farmland, over and under walkways. It reaches 37 miles per hour—fast enough to thrill younger riders without forcing a parent to spend the afternoon holding six backpacks and everyone’s dignity.
Quantum Accelerator
Six Flags New England
Quantum Accelerator lets riders straddle motorcycle-style seats before blasting through two launches, 11 moments of airtime and twists reaching 45 miles per hour. The steampunk-themed coaster opened in April and gives New England its first dual-launch straddle coaster.