6 New Terrifying Rides to Try This Summer
If you like screaming your face off, you'll love these.
May 5, 2014— -- intro: Some people don't feel a trip to a theme park is complete unless they've danced with death by way of a face-melting roller coaster, high drop or water slide. If you count yourself among such thrill-seekers, here are six new gravity-defying designs ready to make this summer the scariest one yet.
quicklist: 1title: Tsunami Surge -- Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Ga.text: Opening Memorial Day weekend, the “world’s first zero-gravity water slide” will debut at Six Flags Over Georgia.
"Everybody’s trying to outdo each other to get the next big thrill," said Gene Petriello, Communications Manager for the park. "With Tsunami Surge, we’re setting a standard in the Atlanta area. Visitors are always looking for next best thing and with this, we have it.”
The slide sends riders down an enclosed five-story drop and whirls them around a 40-foot-wide bowl, followed by a zero-gravity plunge out of the bottom. For a brief moment, you can defy gravity.
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quicklist: 2title: Goliath -- Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Ill.text: The wooden frame of this coaster may conjure images of Coney Island's Cyclone, but that's where the charming, vintage similarities end. Steel layers embedded into the design of Goliath make it possible for riders to experience a 180-foot drop at 85 degrees and speeds approaching 72 mph--a feat for only the bravest among us.
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quicklist: 3title: Skyscreamer -- Six Flags New England, Agawam, Mass.text: "Only the birds will hear you scream," warns Six Flags, referring to its newest gut-wrencher opening in Massachusetts. The Skyscreamer will spin riders around like a top at speeds of 40 mph while the ground looms 400 feet below.
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quicklist: 4title: Verrukt -- Schlitterbahn, Kansas City, Kan.text: The English translation for the ride's German name literally means "insane," which is how one might feel when approaching the "fastest water slide in the world, with an approximate 17-story drop and reaching speeds of roughly 65 mph."
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quicklist: 5title: Banshee -- King's Island, Mason, Ohiotext: Thrill-seekers will flip for this new death-defying coaster in Ohio--quite literally, as it happens. The 4,124-foot track features no less than seven inversions, including a spiral and a zero-G roll, meaning you may want to skip any planned meals beforehand.
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quicklist: 6title: Zumanjaro -- Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, N.J.text: They don't call it the "Drop of Doom" for nothing. Endorphin junkies will be shot 415 feet in the air before rapidly hurling toward the ground at a speed of 90pmh in what is being promoted as "the world's highest drop ride."media: 23591790