Most Anticipated Roller Coasters in 2022

As 2021 is drawing to a close we look ahead to the most anticipated roller coasters in 2022. Only five of the ten roller coasters on our most anticipated list for 2021 actually opened in 2021, which was actually an improvement from just three out of ten for 2020. But 2020 and 2021’s losses are now 2022 gains. We could have an absurd number of new roller coasters opening in the United States next year, perhaps as many as thirty!

This year we’ve broken our list of most anticipated roller coasters in 2022 up into four categories. Without further ado, onto the lists!

Most Anticipated From Past Years

We’ve been anticipating riding these roller coasters for a few years now. Hopefully in 2022 we’ll finally get to ride these highly anticipated thrill rides.

9. Sidewinder Safari – Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Location: Vallejo, CA
Manufacturer: Zamperla
Height: 42.7 feet
Length: 1,378 feet
Speed: 29.1 mph
This spinning wild mouse coaster is the same model as Ragin’ Cajun at Six Flags America (formerly at Six Flags Great America). Sidewinder Safari will combine a coaster with an animal exhibit as guests become immersed in a jungle-like setting where there are encounters with live snakes and other reptile species.

8. American Dreier Looping – Indiana Beach
Location: Monticello, Indiana
Manufacturer: Schwarzkopf
Inversions: 3
Originally opened in 1984 and was the world’s first roller coaster with three vertical loops. Was announced for 2021 and construction was started but perhaps it needed more refurbishment than initially thought.

@midwestcoasters they’re up!! pic.twitter.com/f4HY0kYBtc

— BassCat CARACAL (@boehlke2068) November 29, 2021

7. Aquaman – Six Flags Over Texas
Location: Arlington, Texas
Manufacturer: Mack Rides
Height: 146 feet
Speed: 62 mph
Aquaman Power Wave will be the first PowerSplash coaster from MACK Rides to make its way to the United States. Riders will be launched three times, backwards, forwards, and backwards again, ascending and descending twin 146′ tall towers before a splash down finale. Learn how the water level magically rises here. The delayed opening was actually a good thing in this case as a turntable was added to the coaster in order to run two vehicles as opposed to just one, thus increasing the capacity.

6. Emperor – SeaWorld San Diego
Location: San Diego, California
Manufacturer: B&M
Height:153 feet
Length: 2,411 ft
Inversions: 3
Emperor, while becoming the tallest coaster at SeaWorld San Diego when it opens, will actually be the the smallest B&M dive coaster in the United States. The trains will feature 6 across seating (Valravn has 8 across. Griffon at BGW has 10). Emperor will also be first B&M Dive Coaster on the West Coast.

5. Tron Lightcycle Run – Magic Kingdom
Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Length: 3,169 feet
Same layout as Shanghai Disneyland’s Tron that opened in 2016. Unfortunately, the Walt Disney World Railroad has been closed since December 2018 for Tron construction.

4. Ice Breaker – SeaWorld Orlando
Location: Orlando, Florida
Manufacturer: Premier Rides
Length: 1,900 feet
Height: 93 feet
Speed: 52 mph
Don’t let the short track length of Ice Breaker fool you. The three LSM launches on Ice Breaker are multi-directional, so you’ll actually be traveling on 2,750′ of track, including a 90-foot tall vertical spike tilted at 100-degrees, the steepest past-vertical drop in Florida.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – EPCOT
Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Length: 5,577 feet
Will be one of the longest enclosed roller coasters in the world once it finally opens. The cars will be able to rotate in a controlled spin to face the specific direction the Imagineers want you to face and will contain onboard audio. It’s rumored riders will face backwards during the initial launch.

2. Pantheon – Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Manufacturer: Intamin
Length: 3,328 ft
Height: 178 ft
Speed: 73 mph
Billed as the world’s fastest multi-launch coaster, Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg looks to be an airtime machine, featuring 15 airtime moments. Not only will Pantheon have four launches, but also features a 95-degree drop and two inversions. We’re excited to see the “Power of 5 Roman Gods” come together for what’s sure to be an awesome ride experience.

1. Iron Gwazi – Busch Gardens Tampa
Location: Tampa, Florida
Manufacturer: Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC)
Length: 4,075 ft
Height: 206 ft
Inversions: 3
This ride just looks bonkers. Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point was #2 on our list of best steel coasters built in the 2010s, and Iron Gwazi looks like it could challenge for the best steel coaster of the next decade. Iron Gwazi features a 91-degree drop, 12 airtime moments, and a top speed of 76 miles per hour, setting records as the tallest hybrid coaster in North America, and fastest and steepest in the world. Be sure to check out our interview with project manager Andrew Schaffer to learn more.

Most Anticipated Roller Coasters in 2022 for Families

Here’s out list of the best family friendly roller coasters opening in 2022.

Bone Shaker – Mattel Adventure Park
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Manufacturer: Chance Rides
Not much is known about this Chance Rides Family Coaster at the new Mattel Adventure Park. Stay tuned for more.

Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster – Peppa Pig Theme Park
Location: Winter Haven, Florida
Manufacturer: Zamperla
Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster by Zamperla will utilize both a lift hill and a launch.

Fireball – Adventureland NY
Location: Farmingdale, New York
Manufacturer: Ride Engineers Switzerland (RES)
Height: 69 ft
Fireball will be a Roller Ball model and is the first of its kind in North America. The track is arranged in a vertical configuration and while the cars swing they never flip upside down. Here’s a video of Wilde Hilde to see what it will be like:

Super Grovers Box Car Derby – Sesame Place CA
Location: Chula Vista, California
Manufacturer: Zierer

Tsunami – Scene75 Chicagoland
Location: Romeoville, Illinois
Manufacturer: SBF Visa
The fifth and newest Scene75 location is set to open in 2022 (the Pittsburgh location closed permanently due to the pandemic). Sounds like they’re taking the best ideas from Scene75 Dayton and Scene75 Columbus to make an even better family entertainment center.

Unnamed – Luna Park
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Manufacturer: Zamperla
Length: 1,312 ft
Height: 50 ft
A Zamperla family coaster will be intertwined with a new water ride, which you already knew if you’ve been listening to the Coaster101 podcast, thanks to an interview with Adam Sandy.

Most Anticipated Newly Announced US Roller Coasters in 2022

Here we go, here’s our list of the most anticipated roller coasters for thrill seekers opening in 2022 in the United States.

8. Tumbili – Kings Dominion
Location: Doswell, Virginia
Manufacturer: S&S Sansei Technologies
Height: 112 ft
Length: 770 ft
We were at the unveiling of this one. The 11th 4D free spin but just the second of the new “106” model. Learn more here.

7. Wonder Woman Flight of Courage – Six Flags Magic Mountain
Location: Valencia, California
Length: 3,300 ft
Height: 131 ft
A bigger and extended version of Jersey Devil at Six Flags Great Adventure, cementing Six Flags Magic Mountain as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World (at least until Poland’s Energylandia overtakes them).

6. Unnamed – Lost Island Theme Park
Location: Waterloo, Iowa
Manufacturer: Intamin
Height: 78 ft
Length: 1,443 ft
A short but intense hydraulic launch coaster that blast you from 0 to 47 mph in 2 seconds. Relocated from Liseberg where it was known as Kanonen when it opened in 2005.

5. Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger – Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Manufacturer: B&M
Height: 150 ft
Inversions: 2
A new B&M dive coaster with 7 across seating (instead of 6, 8 , or 10 seen on previous models). World’s steepest dive coaster featuring a 95 degree beyond vertical drop. Man, that extreme airtime hill looks so good.

4. Hot Wheels – Mattel Adventure Park
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Manufacturer: Chance Rides
Inversions: 3
After riding Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom, we’ve been begging for a park to build another Chance GTX coaster for years and we’re finally going to get one. Unlike Lightning Run, Hot Wheels will go upside down and is expected to be a launch coaster too.

3. Palindrome – Cotaland
Location: Austin, Texas
Manufacturer: Gerstlauer
Length: 1,230 feet
Height: 95 feet
Named after a word, phrase or sequence that reads the same backwards as forward, Palindrome will feature a 95-foot vertical lift hill, 51 m.p.h. top speed, two inversions and a vertical “hop- stall” before riders experience the ride again, only backwards. With 1,230′ of track, 2,080′ will be traversed. It will be the first Infinity shuttle roller coaster built by Gerstlauer in the United States, and will be the only steel roller coaster in the United States to cross over a road.

2. Defiance – Glenwood Caverns
Location: Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Manufacturer: Gerstlauer
Drop: 110 ft
Inversions: 2
Riders will face a 75-foot tall vertical lift, before dropping 110′ at a vertical angle of 102.3-degrees, immediately followed by three inversions — a “twisted top hat,” a “banana roll,” and a zero-G stall before returning to the station. Defiance will be a must ride simply due to the stunning location. Learn more about Defiance and Glenwood Caverns.

1. ArieForce One – Fun Spot America Atlanta
Location: Fayetteville, Georgia
Manufacturer: Rocky Mountain Construction
Length: 3,400 ft
Height: 155 ft
Inversions: 4
Built at a cost of $13 million, the largest single investment on any ride in the history of Fun Spot parks, ArieForce One features over 3,400′ of track, stands 154′ tall, and reaches a top speed of 64 miles per hour. The coaster will feature two 20-passenger trains, a HUGE tension-building 154′ lift hill, an 145′ tall, 83-degree first drop, and four inversions; two Zero-G Rolls, the world’s largest Zero-G stall, and the world’s first “raven truss dive. A ride of this caliber for only $13 million seems like a steal to me. After visiting the park last May, I never would have imagined it would be home to our most anticipated roller coaster of 2022. Another reason to get a FunSpot Season Pass.

Rest of the World’s Most Anticipated 2022 Coasters

In no particular order, here are the roller coasters opening outside of America in 2022 that we’re most looking forward to. Yeah, we probably won’t be riding these anytime soon but we’re looking forward to watching the POV videos.

Fonix – Farup Sommerland
Location: Nordjylland, Denmark
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Height: 131 ft
Length: 2,969 ft
Inversions: 3
Will have 14 moments of airtime.

Leviathan – Sea World
Location: Queensland, Australia
Manufacturer: Martin & Vleminckx (Designed by Gravity Group)
Length: 3,280 feet
Height: 105 feet
One of the only wood coasters here. Interestingly, the last car on each train will supposedly face backwards (seems to be a popular thing to do in Australia). See pictures here.

Tonnere 2 Zeus – Parc Astérix
Originally a Custom Coasters International ride, it’s been undergoing a complete retracking and reprofiling by the Gravity Group with some parts of the layout altered. It will be an entirely new experience. We saw the vehicle at IAAPA.

Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs – Hong Kong Disneyland
Location: Hong Kong, China
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Length: 977 ft

Dino Dash – Tayto Park
Location: Ireland
Manufacturer: Vekoma

Unnamed – SeaWorld Abu Dhabi
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Manufacturer: Intamin
Low to the ground coaster with three LSM launches.

Unnamed – Sunac Cultural Tourism City
Location: Zhejiang, China
Manufacturer: Maurer Rides
Length: 1,702 ft
Custom spinning coaster

Sky Loop – Riyadh Winter Wonderland
The 10th premier rides sky rocket II installation.

Unnamed – Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park
Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Manufacturer: GCI
This Kentucky Rumbler-esque design looks terrific. It’s also rare that an entire coaster is constructed before a single picture or word of its existence doesn’t reach us!

Another quick batch of photos showing off GCI’s new terrain wooden coaster at Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park in Vietnam.

You can also spot the extremely tall 8km long cable car ride that brings guests to the island. pic.twitter.com/1goVAuv3pG

— VHCoasters (@VHCoasters) December 1, 2021