Theme park fans, get ready to ride in 2025

Alpenfury is definitely at the top of the list for me, though who knows if we'll be able to cross the border to ride it later this summer. I have very little interest in Siren's Curse, and would not bother heading up to Cedar Point unless TT2 is running reliably (it was spotted testing this weekend along with Siren's Curse's tilt track).

Wrath of Rakshaska looks interesting, but I just can't get excited for yet another B&M dive machine that doesn't go through a tunnel, trench, or tower. The layout of this coaster looks like fun and it's obviously one of the largest of its kind in the world, but I just can't see it even being a top 3 dive machine in the world because it's missing those clear near-miss elements and on-ride visual appeal.

I'm a bit biased, but I really think Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge could be the sleeper hit of this summer. While I missed the chance to ride Phoenix Rising last summer, everything I've read and heard about BGT's family invert is that it is surprisingly good and intense. BBW appears to be the next evolutionary step in the style, and has the theming and nostalgia to go with it, assuming BGW does it right. The only drawback for BBW will be its capacity and whether they can efficiently operate the coaster with 2 trains, which is a major issue with Phoenix Rising.

Finally, not to get controversial, but aside from Epic Universe, there are 2 other new theme parks opening this year - COTAland in Austin, TX and Six Flags Qiddiya. While those parks will lean more into thrill rides than even Epic Universe, they both could be groundbreaking and trend-setting additions to the industry's landscape.

I am getting a "little stitious" about COTA and Qiddiya until I hear official opening dates for those. So I'm avoiding hyping those as 2025 debuts until I get those dates. But, yeah, I am excited for both of those, too.

I agree about being skeptical about a 2025 opening for SFQ, especially since they've already pushed the rumored projected opening of Mid-2025 to "Late 2025."

They've just started testing some of the attractions in the park, and many others, including Falcon's Flight, have yet to make their first official test runs. Based on recent reports from the site, it looks like there's way more than 6 months of work left to do (in the scorching summer heat).

From all reports, it looks like COTAland is much further along, and has some motivation to meet their late summer deadline so the park can get all the kinks worked out before the F1 race in late October.

Big Bad Wolf does look good. It is at a Cul-De-Sac and they should honestly consider putting a train station there. Going from seeing the rollercoaster to landing in france/canada (lol that naming convention) requires nearly a mile walk... to get back to the BBW. Then the next destination will required you to retread nearly 1/4 mile of those steps with NOTHING in between. A 4th train station would save this project so it doesnt have the same fate as Drachen Fire. I understand the need to funnel people to your barbeque shack and the ampitheatre but at minimum the queue should start at the festhaus.

In other news i think Phoenix Rising only has 1 train, yeah im pretty sure just one. The length of PR makess since to have one. BBW needs 2. The trains for the ride are a little too corny.. those Eyes Wide Shut masks. BGW has been doing a fine job lately. Dont know what is going into the Questor/Flight Across Europe space but that is ripe for a flights over Ireland sponsored by Air Lingus. The affluent local Williamsburg residents are absolutely looking for way to part with their money. Do a little Wine tasting and watch some line dancing and ride that ride is enough to bring all the seniors out.

@puckpilgrim - You are correct that Phoenix Rising only has a single train, but the word is that BBW will have 2 trains. RCDB.com doesn't officially state the number of trains yet, but the park did state "trains" when they published the first photos of the design last week. Considering that this is a slightly longer ride compared to Phoenix Rising, they should be able to add a block brake section before the station to allow for 2-train operation.

I also agree that it would be nice to add a train station near the Black Forest picnic area (and new Howl-O-Scream maze building), but it would place a station very close to the New France (Canada) station and maintenance depot - probably less than 60 seconds between those 2 spots on the loop. Guests can also use the Skyride to get around the park if they don't want to walk, and there's a station in Oktoberfest by the carousel, which is about 1/4 mile from the new coaster.

If you go back to the history of the former Drachen Fire site (where BBW is being built), there were tons of rumors about what the park was going to do with that portion of the park. The park strongly believed that the since-removed custom Arrow looper lagged in popularity not only because it was rough (and triggered lawsuits), but because it was located on a dead end. Every proposed use of the Drachen Fire space that was rumored throughout the 00's and early 10's highlighted the park's desire to create an entire new land/country. Whether it was Spain, Greece, or some other European country (including a Medieval "fantasy" land - "Drachen Spire"), it was always about adding more than a single attraction to draw guests into this corner of the park. I've always thought that utilizing this space for an attraction should be accompanied with an additional pedestrian bridge between the current Italy/Germany bridge and the train trestle, but now with Pantheon taking over the former Clydesdale stable area, it makes that concept unlikely.

agreed. close new france covered bridge thru ireland riverdance (sorry invadr... dont know hallowscream locations) september through April. log flume, griffin, ampitheater, animals, and skyride are too weather dependent.

put your christmas tree by the bbw and just run 3 train stations. only allow boarding onto certain cars at the bbw train station and all can exit when you use 4. a proper train station enhances the ambiance of bbw. post your times diligently throughout the park like grand central station. a one minute ride with a quality narrator (think jungle cruise... +1 on your ride list) means that people wont mind. no dead time, customer engagement... 60 second trip...problem solved.

right now it is 1.5 hour round trip from parking lot to BBW. I could probably park hop epcot ride guardian and ttot using disney buses in that time. You need to plan for the next attraction in the area like whatever that flat ride is at how to train your dragon.... call it your mayfair pole? is that german?