USA TODAY 10Best
Best New Amusement Park Attraction (2018)
Photo courtesy of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
No. 10: Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
The newest ride at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth, is an extreme pendulum ride that swings guests 147 feet in the air for a feeling of weightlessness before propelling them to the other side at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.
Photo courtesy of Preston Mack / Walt Disney World Resort
No. 9: Pandora – The World of Avatar - Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's much-anticipated Pandora – The World of Avatar opened in Animal Kingdom in 2017. This new land celebrates the magic of nature with floating mountains, glowing flora and two new rides, the 3D Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey through a bioluminescent rainforest.
No. 8: Rollin' Thunder - OWA
One of the best rides at the all-new OWA theme park in Alabama is Rollin' Thunder, the park's largest coaster. The 114-foot coaster includes four inversions, a 90-degree vertical drop and speeds of up to 55 miles per hour.
Photo courtesy of SeaWorld San Antonio
No. 7: Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster - SeaWorld San Antonio
Join the SeaWorld San Antonio rescue team to help an animal in danger aboard the park's newest thrill ride, Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster. Aboard a jet ski-style car, riders race over a lake and launch 60 feet into the air along 2,600 feet of track.
Photo courtesy of Fun Spot America
No. 6: Mine Blower - Fun Spot America
Mine Blower, a hybrid wooden and steel rollercoaster new to Kissimmee's Fun Spot America, features banked turns of up to 115 degrees and an inversion right over the station. It's the only wooden rollercoaster in Florida to go upside down.
No. 5: Drop Line - Dollywood
Dollywood's new Drop Line lifts thrill seekers 20 stories above the Pigeon Forge park in a slowly spinning gondola before plummeting them back toward the ground at speeds of up to 77 miles per hour.
No. 4: North Star - Valleyfair
You haven't experienced a swing ride until you've ridden it 230 feet in the air. That's what's on offer with Valleyfair's new attraction, North Star. Riders are lifted 20 stories above the park and swung at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.
Photo courtesy of James Loesch / WIkimedia Commons
No. 3: Hydrus - Casino Pier
While riding Hydrus, the new steel rollercoaster at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., adrenaline junkies enjoy a beyond-vertical 97-degree drop, three inversions and speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Thompson / Flickr
No. 2: Mystic Timbers - Kings Island
Kings Island debuted Mystic Timbers in 2017, a wooden coaster with 16 airtime hills, extreme S turn, mid-course tunnel and speeds of up to 53 miles per hour.
Photo courtesy of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
No. 1: Haunted Mine Drop - Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
The Haunted Mine Drop at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is the world's first drop ride to go underground, taking riders 110 feet inside Colorado's Iron Mountain.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Arthur Levine
One ride on a carousel, and Arthur Levine was... Read More
One ride on a carousel, and Arthur Levine was hooked for life. Now an avowed park-aholic, he's been able to turn his passion into his profession. A travel writer who specializes in the amusement industry, Levine has been the Theme Parks Expert at About.com since 2002. He also writes about parks regularly for USA Today and writes features for other publications such as Consumers Digest, the Denver Post, the Boston Herald, and the Columbus Dispatch. He is frequently cited in national media and is a featured speaker for industry organizations such as Walt Disney Imagineering.
Arthur Levine
One ride on a carousel, and Arthur Levine was hooked for life. Now an avowed park-aholic, he's been able to turn his passion into his profession. A travel writer who specializes in the amusement industry, Levine has been the Theme Parks Expert at About.com since 2002. He also writes about parks regularly for USA Today and writes features for other publications such as Consumers Digest, the Denver Post, the Boston Herald, and the Columbus Dispatch. He is frequently cited in national media and is a featured speaker for industry organizations such as Walt Disney Imagineering.
Christopher Parr
Christopher Parr is the Founder and... Read More
Christopher Parr is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief for Pursuitist, the leading luxury travel and leisure website. An award-winning travel writer, Parr is also a luxury marketing veteran, a frequent speaker at luxury and interactive marketing conferences and a pioneer in web publishing. He launched Pursuitist in 2010 as a curated list of the good things in life, with guest contributors from Forbes, Mashable, TechCrunch, Glamour, Saveur and more sharing their favorite luxuries. Follow along on Twitter.
Christopher Parr
Christopher Parr is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief for Pursuitist, the leading luxury travel and leisure website. An award-winning travel writer, Parr is also a luxury marketing veteran, a frequent speaker at luxury and interactive marketing conferences and a pioneer in web publishing. He launched Pursuitist in 2010 as a curated list of the good things in life, with guest contributors from Forbes, Mashable, TechCrunch, Glamour, Saveur and more sharing their favorite luxuries. Follow along on Twitter.
Eric Grossman
Eric Grossman is a travel and food/drink writer... Read More
Eric Grossman is a travel and food/drink writer who has visited more than 60 countries. Always up for an adventure, Eric is constantly searching for new and inspiring experiences, with a keen interest in luxury travel and urban exploration. Memorable experiences have run the gamut from discussing the future of food with Ferran Adrià to sharing a stage with Coldplay.
Eric Grossman
Eric Grossman is a travel and food/drink writer who has visited more than 60 countries. Always up for an adventure, Eric is constantly searching for new and inspiring experiences, with a keen interest in luxury travel and urban exploration. Memorable experiences have run the gamut from discussing the future of food with Ferran Adrià to sharing a stage with Coldplay.
Gerrish Lopez
Gerrish Lopez is a food and travel... Read More
Gerrish Lopez is a food and travel writer/photographer whose adventures have taken her from tiny islands (Isle of Man, Lanai) to mega-cities like Mexico City and Hong Kong. A former vegetarian, Gerrish has grown to appreciate carnivorous fare through sampling the best meats in the world, including smoked pork jowl in Thailand and whole hog barbecue in South Carolina. Gerrish is always looking for products and services to make her travels easier and more efficient.
Gerrish Lopez
Gerrish Lopez is a food and travel writer/photographer whose adventures have taken her from tiny islands (Isle of Man, Lanai) to mega-cities like Mexico City and Hong Kong. A former vegetarian, Gerrish has grown to appreciate carnivorous fare through sampling the best meats in the world, including smoked pork jowl in Thailand and whole hog barbecue in South Carolina. Gerrish is always looking for products and services to make her travels easier and more efficient.
Robert Niles
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of Read More
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers' guide to the world's leading theme and amusement parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
Robert Niles
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers' guide to the world's leading theme and amusement parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
Steve Kalkofen
Steve Kalkofen has been covering the theme park... Read More
Steve Kalkofen has been covering the theme park and roller coaster industry since 2001 as editor and publisher of RollerCoasterPro.com. Although his theme park roots started in Germany, he has explored a wide range of amazing parks and attractions throughout the U.S. and Europe over the years. It's these experiences that have allowed him to fully appreciate and understand the design and development of modern rides and attractions as well as the different elements that make them a huge success.
Steve Kalkofen
Steve Kalkofen has been covering the theme park and roller coaster industry since 2001 as editor and publisher of RollerCoasterPro.com. Although his theme park roots started in Germany, he has explored a wide range of amazing parks and attractions throughout the U.S. and Europe over the years. It's these experiences that have allowed him to fully appreciate and understand the design and development of modern rides and attractions as well as the different elements that make them a huge success.