2025 will be an interesting year for the theme park history books. In addition to various parks opting to close many attractions, this year will also see the opening of a global superstar park, Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando.
In any given year, several large-scale ride projects are planned to open around the globe. However, listing the biggest and best roller coasters coming in 2025 requires using a lot of asterisks.
To explain that in more straightforward terms, for every major roller coaster that I’m reasonably sure will open in 2025, there is a ride under construction at another park that may or may not open this year. This is entirely dependent upon unpredictable construction schedules. It also involves rides that are part of entirely new parks and attractions worldwide.
The best new roller coasters for 2025
With that in mind, I will break this down for everyone into the 12 most extreme new roller coasters that should open in 2025. I’ll also include 12 more that might not open until 2026.
1 Stardust Racers at Universal Epic Universe – Orlando, Florida, US
This is a highlight attraction for Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park. It features racing Mack Rides’ multi-launched roller coaster tracks with a slightly different layout that will weave and twist around each other.
The coasters are expected to hit a top speed of 62mph and a top height of 133 feet as they race across the sky side-by-side and through a single version along the way. This will be a long ride as well, featuring an estimated 5,000 feet of track.
After dark, you won’t be able to keep your eyes off Stardust Racers. The onboard lighting package will make the trains appear like comets racing across the Orlando night sky over this newest mega theme park.
2 AlpenFury at Canada’s Wonderland – Ontario, Canada
This unique new launched roller coaster from Premier Rides isn’t just your typical new roller coaster. Instead, this is more of a generational experience of what happens when a park opts to create something more than a ride; it is a new attraction that will forever alter the park’s landscape.
This is the creation of a park icon. It blends modern new technology that will forever interact with the park’s legendary Wonder Mountain structure as the trains burrow through an underground cavern under the mountain, only to blast up and out of the top of the mountain as if shot out of a fiery volcano by an unknown force.
Combine this with a 71.5mph launch, shooting the trains 164 feet into the air before finishing a 3280-foot layout with seven inversions. This will surely be a contender for the best new roller coaster of 2025.
3 Wrath of Rakshasa at Six Flags Great America – Gurnee, Illinois, US
On track to be one of the best new roller coasters for 2025, Wrath of Rakshasa (pictured, top) will be Six Flags’ latest record-breaking dive coaster.
While there are others out there that are taller, Wrath will stand 180 feet tall, drop riders 171 feet down a beyond vertical 96º first drop, and go through five inversions along the 3239-foot course at speeds up to 67 mph. Unlike most other B&M Dive Coasters, Wrath will complete the course at full speed, with no mid-course brake included in the layout.
4 Siren’s Curse at Cedar Point – Sandusky, Ohio, US
Currently in the lead to be the first Vekoma Tilt Coaster to open in North America, the new Siren’s Curse coming to The Point wasn’t originally planned for the Ohio theme park.
Instead, the location for the new roller coaster was going to be Six Flags Mexico. Yet issues arose when it was revealed that the park would have to remove too many trees to install the roller coaster, and the local government did not issue the required permits needed to build it.
The new roller coaster project was quickly relocated to Cedar Point instead. However, the last-minute venue switch will cause delays in opening the 160-foot-tall monster, and a summer opening is currently expected.
5 Rapterra at Kings Dominion – Doswell, Virginia, US
At the heart, this new roller coaster is rare, taking the form of a launched B&M Wing Coaster. Launched B&M’s, in general, are rare, with the first launched B&M Wing Coaster being Thunderbird at Holiday World, which opened in 2015. This concept then didn’t appear again until Mandrill Mayhem opened at Chessington in 2023.
This time, Kings Dominion hopes to replace the spirit of the park’s beloved lost Volcano: The Blast Coaster. The new launched coaster experience runs through a jungle-themed environment.
Rapterra will feature a 65mph launch in just four seconds. It will run through three inversions and reach a top height of 145 feet along 3,086 feet of track. The park will promote this as the world’s tallest and longest launched wing coaster.
6 Wiener Looping at Wien Prater – Vienna, Austria
This is not the same Wiener Looping coaster from Schwarzkopf that once traveled the world. Instead, the new ride for Wien Prater is an all-new BigDipper custom coaster design under contract from Mack Rides, which is already under construction. This should be ready to take its place as one of the best new coasters for the 2025 season.
This new coaster experience will feature a traditional lift hill. This is followed by a very twisted track layout featuring at least two inversions, a beyond-vertical first drop, and 1699.5 feet of track, all packed into a ride that stands less than 102 feet tall.
7 Fire Runner at Lost Island Theme Park – Waterloo, Iowa, US
A brand new single-rail steel coaster experience is coming as the first significant expansion to the Lost Island theme park that first opened in 2022.
The new Raptor coaster system is coming from Rocky Mountain Construction. It is likely to be a clone of the Stunt Pilot coaster at Silverwood.
8 Flash: Vertical Velocity at Six Flags Great Adventure – Jackson, New Jersey, USA
The opening of Flash: Vertical Velocity will mark the North American premiere of Vekoma’s new Super Boomerang roller coaster system. The first of these opened in 2023 in China’s Fantawild Wonderland.
Flash was on my 2024 list of new coasters at #7, as it was intended to open in 2024, however, extreme construction delays at the park didn’t even allow testing to begin until the end of the 2024 season, so, the opening was pushed back to 2025.
The layout of this LSM launched shuttle coaster concept looks quite fun. The train will pass through booster zones, moving both forward and backwards through the two inversion layouts.
9 Helios at Fantasiana – Salzburg, Austria
This themed roller coaster will feature a tight layout interwoven around a series of buildings, creating an unpredictable atmosphere.
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This new creation is Mack Rides’ second Stryker Coaster. However, this one is more modest in size than Voltron at Europa-Park. It will feature a traditional lift hill at the start of the ride instead of a launch system.
10 Curse of the Werewolf at Universal Epic Universe – Orlando, Florida, US
One of the more interesting roller coasters at Universal Orlando’s new theme park opening in 2025 is Curse of the Werewolf. This themed Spinning Coaster from Mack Rides features a few LSM launches to speed you along your journey through the dark, cursed woods of the Werewolf.
If you didn’t already guess, the Curse of the Werewolf will exist within the Universal Monsters section of the park.
Halfway through the course, the coaster trains will pass through an old barn-looking structure where the train will lose speed and fail to make it up the hill on the other side, rolling the riders back into the creepy structure, which just might be occupied by the famous monster.
11 Mecalodon at Walibi Belgium – Wavre, Belgium
While technically, the new Mecalodon roller coaster was promoted as a new family ride experience, the final result from Gerstlauer could prove to be a bit more thrilling than expected.
This mechanical shark-themed LSM launched coaster will feature three launch moments that will send the shark-themed train flying over the waves on a 925-meter layout, making this the longest family coaster in the Benelux, twisting and turning over the watery landscape and through 14 moments of airtime.
This is all while serving as an anchor attraction to the new Dock World section of the park.
12 Georgia Gold Rusher at Six Flags over Georgia – Atlantia, Georgia, US
Ironically, this Intamin Ultra Surf coaster was at #19 on last year’s list, as it was initially set to open at the park in 2024 under the name Georgia Surfer.
Construction delays pushed the timetable back to the point that, once the merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags was complete, the operator officially pushed the opening back until 2025. Even better, the new management team looked over the project with new eyes and decided to give Georgia Surfer an entirely new theme. One that would better tie into the location where it was being installed.
The park is now applying a new gold-rush theme. This is in keeping with an all-new name that fits with the park’s Dahlonega Mine Train coaster. The former surf theme will now resemble a giant gold sluice, allowing the Intamin-made launched ride system to do all the heavy spinning and lifting for the screaming guests.
12 more new roller coasters…for 2025, 2026 or beyond
12. Transformers: Prepare For Battle at SEVEN locations – Saudi Arabia
S&S and SEVEN in Saudi Arabia made major headlines at IAAPA in 2023 when they announced that the world’s first S&S AXIS roller coaster concept would be brought to life as a unique themed dark roller coaster attraction at several new SEVEN locations.
The unique dark LSM launched coaster trains feature cars that can spiral the riders on their axis (barrel roll style) as the trains run through the course.
My sources say that at least three of the SEVEN locations will feature the S&S AXIS roller coaster system when they open. Each location will offer different layouts with different elements. The first site is expected to be in Riyadh.
11. Mad Ramp Peak at Genting SkyWorlds – Malaysia
We’ve been waiting for this unique motorcycle-themed powered coaster attraction to open for a few seasons. The hope is that this custom motorcycle ride creation from Dynamic Attractions might be ready to open to park guests sometime this year.
Unfortunately, testing issues and delays, along with a bankruptcy by the design team, have jeopardised the opening timeline of this nearly finished coaster at Genting SkyWorlds for several years. We can only hope they will finish it in 2025.
10. Palindrome at COTALand – Austin, Texas, US
Palindrome is another roller coaster from last year’s list and the year before. Once again, we still don’t know if it will be one of the new roller coasters opening in 2025. This is because the coaster is part of a larger park project yet to open.
Unlike last year, the track for Palindrome has now been installed. It’s just the rest of the project space around the Gerstlauer Infinity Shuttle Coaster that remains to be built. From what I understand, this also includes the installation of the various utilities needed to operate the coaster.
So, at this point, while it may be fully built, I don’t believe Gerstlauer has even had the chance to test it.
9. Hot Wheels Twin Mill Racer at Mattel Adventure Park – Glendale, Arizona, US
Themed to the popular toy cars from Mattel, the new Mattel Adventure Park opening in Arizona will feature two roller coasters themed to the Hot Wheels brand. The larger of the two will be Twin Mill Racer. This is a Chance Rides Hyper GTX coaster with three inversions.
Unfortunately, the opening date of this new mini theme park has been pushed back several times since it was first announced in 2022. This leaves me unsure if it will finally open in 2025 or not.
8. Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress at Knott’s Berry Farm – Buena Park, California, US
Announced initially with an intended 2023 opening date, construction delays and issues with vendors caused the project to slip back a year, and then things only got worse.
Issues with the vendors eventually caused the cancellation of the project as we knew it. The goal was to rebuild and save the park’s classic Schwarzkopf shuttle coaster, Montezooma’s Revenge.
The new vision was to enclose the station, replace much of the ride’s track, and add a modern magnetic launch system tied into a randomizer to launch the train forwards and backwards into different programmed ride profiles so guests would never know what to expect.
While the worst was feared for quite some time, Knott’s still says that the new ride is coming, and the project is expected to start to take place sooner rather than later. The question is, will it be enough to see this opening as one of the new coasters for 2025?
7. Colossus at Six Flags Qiddiya City – Saudi Arabia
A classic wooden roller coaster will be part of the new Six Flags Qiddiya City experience when it opens. The park and its new coasters could open just before the end of 2025, but we won’t know if it will be ready for many more months.
This new roller coaster comes from Great Coasters International Inc. (GCII). It is said to feature a combination of traditional wooden roller coaster track mixed in with sections of GCII’s new Titan Track steel hybrid track system.
6. Circuit Breaker at COTALand – Austin, Texas, US
The fate of Circuit Breaker, a Vekoma Tilt Coaster that once hoped to be the first such ride in North America, is also tied to the delayed construction of the new COTAland amusement park experience at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas race track site.
Construction crews have been making rapid progress in setting up Circuit Breaker. Still, the coaster is unlikely to be ready in time to be the first Tilt Coaster in the region. A competitor will likely have their ride completed first. The layout will feature four inversions and an underground plunge at the bottom of the first drop.
5. Spitfire at Six Flags Qiddiya City – Saudi Arabia
This is another of the new roller coasters from the upcoming Six Flags theme park in Saudi Arabia. There are a lot of moving pieces going on there right now to determine if it will be ready before the end of the year.
Spitfire is a brand new LSM launched coaster design by Intamin. It is expected to feature a multi-launch experience, using a large rear spike track, before shooting off the train at 78.9mph into what is expected to be the world’s largest top hat inversion, standing 239.5 feet tall.
This will take the record for the highest roller coaster inversion in the world, beating out the current record holder, Steel Curtain at Kennywood, which features a 197-foot “dive drop” inversion.
4. Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point – Sandusky, Ohio, US
Since I was talking about Cedar Point’s new coaster, it is only fair to mention the park’s big new roller coaster for 2024. This only operated for about three weeks before being shut down again due to technical issues.
Technically, Top Thrill 2 did open in 2024, but most fans never got to ride it. If you missed this story last year, then Top Thrill 2 is the re-invented and re-designed roller coaster formerly known as Top Thrill Dragster that Zamperla was transforming.
The original 420-foot tall top-hat remains. However, it has now been joined by a 420-foot tall rear spike track and a revised station and launch track layout that will use a new LSM swing-launch system to propel the trains to 120mph to travel up and over the top-hat element to complete the ride course.
3. Tecuani Beast at BON Luxury Theme Park – Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
The new BON Luxury Theme Park is part of Mexico’s VidantaWorld resort complex.
It has been under construction for several years. Currently, projections and promotions from VidantaWorld do mention a 2025 opening date. However, I’m holding off final judgement on this until it opens.
The park will feature several impressive rides.
The highlight roller coaster will be the Tecunani Beast, an extreme double-launch roller coaster from Vekoma. This is set to feature six inversions while traveling through a jungle landscape.
2. Iron Rattler at Six Flags Qiddiya City – Saudi Arabia
Yet another creation in limbo in Saudi Arabia, yet we hope they manage to get this open on time to be one of the best new roller coasters for 2025.
Iron Rattler will take the record for the tallest and largest Vekoma Tilt Coaster in the world. At a height of 208 feet, it will tilt riders into the vertical position before dropping them from the large themed tower into an underground chasm at 73.3mph, into a 4,068-foot course and through five inversions before coming to a stop.
1. Falcon’s Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya City – Saudi Arabia
This is the big one. It’s a ride that sounded so insane when it was first mentioned that many didn’t believe we would ever see it. They were wrong because Six Flags Qiddiya City has built it.
Once the park opens, this new roller coaster from Intamin will go down in the record books. It features stats that will break nearly every record in the book. A launch and a lift hill, a top speed of 155.3 mph, a drop of 519 feet, a track rising to the top of a cliff 639.8 feet in the air, and an overall track length reported as 13,943.6 feet that will take riders on a tour of almost the entire park before they are finished.
That is, assuming they can still see anything through the tears in their eyes. The trains will include a curved windshield to protect the riders from the wind and any airborne sand particles.
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