Amusement parks are a great way to spend a summer day! Do you love the thrill of riding roller coasters or do you scream from looking at them with your feet firmly planted on the ground? This year with the help of new computer technology, roller coasters are taller and faster. There are regular seats, stand-ups, inverted loops and speed!!
The parks are also cashing in on the hottest movies of the summer. There are lots of theme rides around the country. Links - Amusement and Theme Parks
So pull down on the safety harness and cybertravel on this year's hot new coasters!!
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA -- Apollo’s Chariot is Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s hypercoaster designed to achieve great height and a high rate of speed. The pulse-quickening journey plummets passengers a total of 825 feet. Apollo’s Chariot boasts nine drops, the first of which plunges passengers down 210 feet of steel track.
Nitro: Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ -- The most explosive coaster on the planet blasts-off to an unbelievable 230 feet with a 215 foot dive back to Earth at hyper-speeds approaching 80 m.p.h. This all-new, colossal mega coaster features an ultra-intense, mile-long track packed with relentless thrills! Seven steep and dramatic drops, double highly-banked horizontal loops, an S-curve and high-speed "hammer head" featuring intense, tight twists and turns are jam-packed into this colossal scream machine.
The best place to stay: Ramada Inn East Windsor, 399 Monmouth Street, East Windsor NJ Call: 1-800-5HOTELS or in NJ 609-448-7000. About 15 minutes from the park.
Skycoaster: Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville, KY -- This park has a number of great coasters the newest one the Skycoaster is amazing. You are securely harnessed by state-of-the-art flight suits, up to three flyers are pulled backwards by sturdy cables to the top of the 160-foot launch tower. Fearless flyers begin their flight by making that all-important pull on the ripcord. They then swing back and forth over the park, coming within nearly six feet of the ground below. Skycoaster stands at 180-feet tall and is designed to create maximum thrills at speeds of up to 70 mph., while bringing each flyer safely back to earth after their two-minute flight. Not recommended for people with weak stomachs.
Best place to stay: at the Club Hotel by Doubletree (800-289-1009) or the Executive Inn (800-626-2706).
The Steel Eel, Sea World of Texas, San Antonio, TX -- This is the only Sea World location that has coasters. SeaWorld San Antonio boasts the Southwest's first hypercoaster, the "Steel Eel," with its pulse-pounding, 15-story initial drop, speeds of almost 65 mph and non-stop peaks, valleys and camelbacks that create maximum "air time," or weightlessness - a hypercoaster's signature feature. This "eel-lectrifying," state-of-the-art coaster zooms along 3,700 feet of track and covers the serpentine route in two minutes. Just as exciting is Texas' first inverted steel roller coaster, "The Great White." Riders dangle their legs from ski-lift-style seats and go heels-over-head five times during more than 2,500 feet of breathtaking loops, corkscrews and other thrilling maneuvers at speeds of almost 50 mph.
Best place to stay: La Quinta Market Square (800)531-5900
Déjà Vu: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA. Déjà Vu will be the world’s tallest and fastest of its kind. This coaster combines state-of-the-art thrill ride technology with a brand new twist - riders fly forwards AND backwards over twisting, looping inverted steel track. Strapped in sleek ski lift-style chairs suspended from the track above, Déjà Vu sends riders flying out of the station like Batman The Ride™ only this time it’s backwards too! Thrill seekers plummet from 196-feet, fly head-over-heels at 65 mph over the outside of a vertical loop and a giant 110-foot high boomerang turn with nothing but the sky above their dangling feet. One time forward, one time backward…it’s Déjà Vu. Take a look at this spectacular structure and their two other new coasters at: www.sixflags.com.
Best places to stay: Ranch House Inn (805-255-0555) or Valencia Hilton Garden Inn at Six Flags (800-HILTONS)
Check out our collection of family-friendly amusement parks U.S. Wild Rides and don't forget to scream for me!!
