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24/7 Insights
- The most popular theme park rides are mostly standalone roller coasters.
- Many popular theme park rides, often from a movie franchise, include a theme.
- The best rides are not just found at Disney or Universal theme parks.
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One of the best ways to enjoy your summer or just about any vacation is at a theme park. Sure, it can be hot, there is a lot of walking, and there are more lines than anyone should ever endure, but none of this takes away from the thrill. In fact, the thrills only get better when you look for the most popular theme park rides you can find across America.
Across these rides, there are roller coasters galore, but these aren’t the only rides that can be fun at a theme park. Combining data from Undercover Tourist , Bloo Loop , and Trip Savvy helps us assemble a list of the most popular rides you can jump on today in no particular order. In some cases, these rides are as much an experience as they are a thrill, so make sure you enjoy every second as they are over fast.
Why Is This Important?
Roller coasters are almost always the most popular theme park rides.
As of the end of 2023, the American theme park industry was valued at around $28 billion, which is no small change. Coming off a downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic, theme parks have rebounded in a big way across zoos, water parks, adventure parks, and theme parks. Tens of millions of people visited Disney parks across the country last year alone, up 134% from the year prior, which speaks to the resurgence these parks are undergoing while Disney and Universal are companies 24/7 Wall St. watches very closely.
12. Maverick
At Cedar Point, Maverick is a must-ride rollercoaster.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Sandusky, Ohio
Across the 4,450-foot-long track, Maverick at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, is a massively fun experience. Themed after the “Old West,” this ride launches you at 70 miles per hour before reaching a drop of 95 degrees and a height of 105 feet. With so many different inversions on the track, you get a stomach-twisting experience that you only usually find on roller coasters with much taller drops.
11. Big Bear Mountain
Big Bear Mountain is absolutely the best ride at Dollywood.
- Ride type: Roller Coaster
- Location: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
One of the most unassuming theme parks in the US, Dollywood is home to some of the most understated rides in America. This is especially true for Big Bear Mountain, a 3,990-foot-long coaster with a height of 66 feet. What Big Bear Mountain lacks in height is made up for with speeds up to 48 miles per hour and a unique theme you'll only find in middle America.
10. Avatar Flight of Passage
Avatar Flight of Passage takes you to the world of Pandora.
- Ride type: 3D flying simulator
- Location: Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida
Riding on the wings of a banshee and flying above Pandora as part of Avater’s Flight of Passage is one of the most unique things you will ever experience. This is a ride where you can feel the diaphragm of your banshee expand and contract as you ride, which truly immerses you in the incredibly colorful and beautiful world of Pandora for around 4 minutes and 30 seconds
9. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Guardians of the Galaxy is one of Disney's newest thrill experiences.
- Ride type: Themed roller coaster
- Location: Epcot, Orlando, Florida
One of Epcot’s newest rides in the Walt Disney World area, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, has quickly become popular. In just over two years, Cosmic Rewind has become a multiple-award-winning roller coaster that, like other Disney rides, is entirely built within the Guardians of the Galaxy Universe. This means that the cast members from the movie returned to help pass the time in the queue with a whole new story.
8. El Toro
El Toro is famous for being one of the world's fastest wooden roller coasters.
- Ride type: Wooden roller coaster
- Location: Trenton, New Jersey
El Toro is one of the best wood roller coasters in the country, located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Trenton, New Jersey. First opening in June 2006, it has the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the world, at 76 degrees. It also offers a top height of 181 feet, including a 176-foot drop. Across the ride, a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour has helped the ride win multiple awards.
7. Mako
Mako is the most popular ride at SeaWorld.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Orlando, Florida
The flagship steel roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando, the hypercoaster, is named after the Mako shark and reaches a maximum height of 200 feet. With a maximum speed of 73 miles per hour and a height of 200 feet, Mako runs a length of 4,760 feet, all of which is themed after the Mako shark. Even the physical coaster cars resemble Mako sharks, enhancing the ride experience.
6. Rise of the Resistance
Star Wars Rise of the Resistance is an experience and a ride.
- Ride type: Multiple ride systems
- Location: Orlando, Florida and Anaheim, California
For Star Wars fans, there is no greater thrill than riding Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. The 17-minute ride encompasses the Star Wars experience as a walk-through, motion simulation, drop ride system, and walk-through. Multiple actors, including Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, and John Boyega, reprise their roles from the third trilogy.
5. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Harry Potter fans will love the Hagrid Motorbike roller coaster.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a must-do, family-friendly ride that often sees wait times over 100 minutes. Operating indoors and outdoors, the Harry Potter-themed ride throws you into the storybook adventure while you push along the 5,053-foot track at speeds approaching 50 miles per hour.
4. Fury 325
Fury 325 lives up to its name with a 325-foot drop.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina
A hugely popular steel roller coaster located at the Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, Fury 325 lives up to its name. The fifth tallest roller coaster in the world, the ride starts with a 325-foot drop before you shoot across its 6,602-foot track, where you can approach speeds upward of 95 miles per hour. The ride consistently wins awards as the world’s best steel coaster, according to Golden Ticket Awards.
3. Velocicoaster
Velocicoaster is one of the most popular rides at Islands of Adventure.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Islands of Adventure, Orlando
As one of the main attractions at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park in Orlando, Florida, Velocicoaster has a bit of everything. What makes this ride so great is that it’s built as if it’s part of the Jurassic World film franchise, complete with appearances by actors Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The 155-tall drop is the ride’s high point, as is the inversion you experience toward the end as you propel down the track at 70 miles per hour.
2. Steel Vengeance
Steel Vengeance is one of the most popular theme park rides in America.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Cedar Point, Ohio
Formerly known as the Mean Streak, this steel roller coaster, appropriately named Steel Vengeance, is widely considered the second-best roller coaster in America. Originally a wooden ride, it has since been refurbished into a hybrid ride as of May 2018. With four separate inversions, you will hit a max speed of 74 miles per hour across the 5,740-foot-long track, which tops off at a high point of 205 feet in the air.
1. Iron Gwazi
Iron Gwazi is the most popular theme park ride in the country.
- Ride type: Roller coaster
- Location: Busch Gardens, Tampa
If there is one universally agreed upon ride, or in this case, roller coaster, that should be considered the most popular theme park ride in America, it’s Iron Gwazi. Replacing the original Gwazi ride in 1999, Iron Gwazi hits a top height of 206 feet and tops 76 miles per hour at certain points along its 4,075-foot-long track. The ride is also marketed as North America’s tallest and fastest roller coaster, which makes it all the more appealing to visit.
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