What new rides are coming to major theme and amusement parks in the Midwestern United States next year? We are about to find out.
Cedar Point today teased an announcement about its plans for next year, posting a graphic saying "Get Revved Up 08.01.23" to its social media.
Park fans have been awaiting news about a replacement for Top Thrill Dragster, the record-setting Intamin Accelerator that the park retired "as you know it" last year, following a serious injury incident in 2021. [Cedar Point Announces the End of Top Thrill Dragster - Sort Of] The "get revved up" tease fits with racing theme of Dragster, so Cedar Point fans could be looking forward to an official confirmation of what the ride's replacement will be.
Meanwhile, Silver Dollar City has been teasing the date August 14 for a major announcement about something new at that park. This has been the final year for the park's "original" Fire in the Hole ride, but the park's use of the "original" qualifier in its press releases about that closure has raised suspicions that the park will be rebuilding that iconic dark ride rather than scrapping it altogether. [Is This the End for Silver Dollar City's 'Fire In The Hole'?]
Could Fire in the Hole 2.0 be part of the August 14 announcement? The park also has been working on plans to build a resort hotel, like its sister park Dollywood, so that could be in the mix for next month's reveal, as well.
Finally, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari has not revealed or teased a date for its 2024 attraction announcement, texting fans "We're not ready to spill the gravy just yet... but we'll be drippings more information in the weeks to come!"
Yet the park is known to have ordered a Vekoma Family Boomerang, and Holiday World has all but confirmed its installation in posts on its website and social media. The puns in its post also suggest a Thanksgiving theme for the new ride.
For more on what is coming to theme parks around the world in 2024 and in the years to follow - as well as links to all our new attraction reviews from 2023 and recent years - please visit our Theme Park Construction hub at themeparkinsider.com/construction.
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@Bobbie - This is not a traditional "Boomerang" with a vertical loop and cobra roll. It has a carousel turn and a 360-degree helix with no inversions. It is decidedly a family ride, though the trains look pretty tight for full-grown adults.
I feel like the Dragster announcement is going to be a let-down, because the cat's already pretty much out of the bag given the work occurring in plain sight. Also, while rumored conversion to a LSM launch system will surely improve the reliability of the coaster, the need to utilize a backwards spike to build enough momentum to clear the 420-foot top hat will increase cycle times and thereby decrease throughput. Hopefully Cedar Point is installing a number of switch tracks to allow for a more efficient load process to keep lines under control.
@Russell. Thanks for enlightening me. Haven't seen any drawings of the coaster and was trying to envision how they could pull off a family friendly boomerang. Nothing against Vekoma. They've designed some very good coasters but SLC'S and conventional boomerangs are not among them.
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Vekoma Boomerang? Just what we need. The only ones I ever enjoyed were the demised Stinger at Dorney because of the face to face seating and Goliath at SFNE (definitely not a family ride) due to the extreme thrill factor. As far as I'm concerned the others can be trashed.