I was a little stumped as to what article to write this week, when it was suggested to me by a family member that I should do a list of my favorite amusement park rides. And, I figured, why not? It is summertime after all, and when better to head out and hit up some amusement parks? So, for this week, we’ll just be having this short and silly little article where I’ll gush for a bit about some of my favorite rides and attractions from the amusement parks that I’ve been to in my life!
Let’s get into it!
10) Cheetah Hunt (Busch Gardens Tampa)
Honestly, I don’t have a lot to say about this ride. I’m sure there are plenty all over the world that work exactly like this one. It’s a roller-coaster that goes extremely fast, and with minimal gimmicks to distract from that primary experience. It’s fast, it’s smooth, and it’s just long enough to feel like you didn’t waste a huge chunk of your day for a thirty second ride. If you’re ever down in Florida, check out this ride, especially because the park itself (Busch Gardens Tampa) might just be the overall best in Florida to begin with!
9) Skull Island: Reign of Kong (Islands of Adventure)
In recent years a lot of amusement parks have felt like they’ve become plagued by virtual rides, wherein you sit in a little box with other people, stare at a screen, and shake around until you want to throw up. However, some rides manage to fuse that concept with actual ride aspects, and I really love that (as the rest of this list will show). Skull Island does this pretty wonderfully, with some nice outdoor sections, an extended action-packed fight scene that takes place all around the bus, and then a super impressive massive King Kong animatronic to top it off. Lots of fun.
8) Revenge of the Mummy (Universal Studios)
Theming is something I love a lot in amusement park rides, and this ride here is one of the all-time classics. Utilizing the original cast from this classic film, there’s a really entertaining film that plays during the queue, which frames you and the other passengers as visitors to this museum and its exciting new exhibit. When even the line is fun, you know you’re in for a good time (and that idea will show up in a few other entries on this list). On top of that, this ride is secretly a rollercoaster, and includes some surprisingly fast-paced drops and turns as you evade the evil mummy. And who could forget the fake-out ending?
7) Flight of Fear (King’s Island)
In a lot of ways, this ride is very similar to the above entry. The entire ride is themed around a sci-fi adventure, with the entire queue line dressed from top-to-bottom. There’s also a shockingly lengthy video that plays on screens throughout the line, and I adored watching it while I waited. It felt like a lot of love and care was put into this ride. The experience itself was fun too, as it’s another rollercoaster that blasts you off into the darkness at breakneck speeds, looping and spinning around like crazy. One of the highlights of my day at King’s Island…but not the only highlight.
6) Reese’s Extreme Cup Challenge (Hersheypark)
This one is sad, because this ride doesn’t exist anymore, but it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
Shooting gallery rides are nothing new to theme parks, but when I was younger this was the first one I ever went on. I was terrible at it, and yet year-after-year I just kept improving and dominating the score boards, which was a really enthralling feeling. It helps that this was a super good shooting gallery ride too! Targets gave bonus points if you shot right after someone else does, the targets surrounding the key characters (this ride had some amazing theming and an excellent pre-ride video that sets the stage) gave double points, and that awesome final hill with the arch of targets was *chef’s kiss*. The entire team-versus-team set-up was pretty brilliant too, and encouraged replaying (which was a breeze thanks to two separate queue lines for groups and single-riders).
Just a great ride all-around, and I will always miss it.
5) Ravine Flyer 2 (Waldameer)
This is the most recent ride I’ve ridden that earned a spot on this list, but it really is just the best wooden coaster that I’ve ever been on (with Lightning Racer at Hersheypark as a close second). A lot of wooden coasters have the tendency to be shaky, janky, a headache-inducing. Ironically, so is this ride. What this ride does do is really leverage what its got to the extent where you can basically just ignore the slight discomfort because it’s so much fun. It’s a blistering fast whirlwind that will have you wanting to go again as soon as its over. The fact that they managed to cram multiple hills and three tunnels into a relatively small space is nothing short of a miracle, and the bridge over a highway is a neat touch.
4) Hydra (Dorney Park)
While 90% of this ride is pretty standard, it cannot be understated just how fantastic the first 10% is. Rest assured, I enjoy the entire ride, and there’s all sorts of fun hills and spins to get your excitement and thrills from, but Hydra really puts its best foot forward.
Immediately out of the loading bay, Hydra takes you through a barrel roll corkscrew. Not too uncommon on rollercoasters, but as this is the start of the ride, you’re at a snail’s pace. Have you ever slowly spun through a corkscrew before, hanging upside-down for so long that it feels like the only thing between you and death is a flimsy harness? No? Well then you’ve never ridden Hydra, and you should rectify that immediately! It’s not often a ride’s best part is the beginning, but for Hydra it sure is. Although, speaking of that…
3) Skyrush (Hersheypark)
This is a slightly controversial pick, I know, but I’ve just always been a massive fan of Skyrush. Maybe I just have a lucky build so I don’t have to deal with some of the complaints I’ve seen leveraged towards this ride (headaches and tightness around the lap restraints being key things). It’s worth noting though that Hersheypark just recently renovated and replaced the seats on the coaster during the closed season from 23-24, so hopefully more people can enjoy this great ride now!
Regardless, there’s so much about Skyrush that I adore. As I alluded to in the above entry, the beginning of this ride is one of its best parts. You absolutely blast up the initial incline, rocketing to the top of the hill at breakneck but smooth pace, and the rush of that first hill is crazy. The speed of the ride overall is thrilling. The ride also passed over a pond with a fountain, and I can’t stress enough how beautiful it is when you ride at night (the pond and fountain are lit up by twinkling lights). I’ll always make time for Skyrush whenever I visit Hersheypark.
2) Diamondback (King’s Island)
For as much as I love ride theming, extra gimmicks, and entertaining queue lines, sometimes all you need is simplicity (not to say this ride doesn’t have any tricks up its sleeve). If you can do one or two things and do them very well, that’s really all you need to be successful. And Diamondback is great at being smooth and fast.
Honestly, Diamondback is one of the smoothest rollercoasters I’ve ever ridden on, and the fact that it manages to be so smooth even while going as fast as it does is a testament to its solid construction and its high enjoyment factor. It’s actually pretty chill to just ride Diamondback, as it’s a longer ride which gives you time to zen-out and appreciate the smooth, fast hills and turns. The splashdown (don’t worry, you don’t get wet) over the water at the beginning and end is the trick I alluded to above, and it’s a fun way to start and close out the best ride at King’s Island. It’s not flashy, but it’s so much fun.
1) Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios)
I don’t really know where to begin with this ride. I’ve gushed about it in the past in one of my Quickshot articles about Galaxy’s Edge, and though months have passed since then, my fond memories of this ride haven’t faded. I think the number one thing I love about this ride is how it just never feels like it’s going to end, and you cannot predict what will come next at any given time.
It almost feels weird to say this, but the queue for Rise of the Resistance is almost worth the price of admission alone. Maneuvering through the resistance tunnels filled with Star Wars props and Easter eggs is a treat, as is having a hologram meeting with Rey and BB-8. After that you get into a shuttle and jostle around an asteroid field, and I was already having a blast by this point. Truly, I thought that if the ride were to end right there, I’d be more than satisfied.
Oh how wrong I was.
It is exceedingly difficult to put into words the feeling of awe when those shuttle doors open and you’re presented with the sight of the image I’ve included below. Why is this room so big, how is it so big, and where the heck did that shuttle take me? How did I get here, what is happening, and oh gosh this is the coolest thing ever! If you’re anything like me, those are the sort of questions that will be going through your head, and the stupid smile on your face will only grow as a cadre of stormtroopers and imperial officers lead you through expertly crafted hallways for interrogation.
And then you get shuffled into prison rooms, and then there’s the escape from your fellow resistance friends, and then…well, I’ll stop there. Rest assured, I’ve really only covered half of the experience by this point, because there’s still the whole actual ride half to go over, but I don’t want to spoil each and every surprise of this fantastic and unforgettable experience. Please believe me when I say that Rise of the Resistance is worth going to Hollywood Studios over any of the other Disney parks for.
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 