For Your Amusement: What’s New at America’s Favorite Theme Parks

Amusement parks in the US got their start with Chicago’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 where a midway was created featuring games and rides, and the Ferris Wheel was unveiled. Since then, the popularity of these all-encompassing family fun and non-stop thrill venues has increased with such places as Coney Island and Walt Disney World®. It seems that Americans love to spin, dip, fly, and defy gravity any chance they get.  We’ve rounded up a few of the newest thrills slated to open in this summer.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg will debut their virtual reality ride, Battle for Eire, a 360-degree adventure that has “riders” battling to save the magic of Ireland from Balor, the evil Dark Lord. Your “teammate” will be Addie, the last fairy guardian, as you combine forces to save the “Otherworld” from destruction. Located in the Ireland section of the park, riders will experience the adventure through sight, sound, smell and touch in this new ride that combines a motion-based theater simulator with 360-degree virtual reality headsets.

And while it may not be a new attraction, the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster at the park will celebrate its 40th anniversary this season. The park’s oldest operating roller coaster is located in Heatherdowns, the Scottish-themed area of Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is conveniently located less than 15 minutes from Williamsburg RV Campground. For Busch Gardens Williamsburg hours and ticket information, visit buschgardens.com/williamsburg.

Soaring riders 147 feet up into the air and then plummeting them down toward earth is what the fun is all about with Six Flags New England’s newest attraction this summer, the Harley Quinn Spinsanity. Riders will experience moments of weightlessness on this colossal swing ride that will also rotate counter-clockwise as it soars upward and plummets downward over and over again.

Located in Agawam, Massachusetts, Six Flags New England is less than an hour from Sturbridge RV Campground. For more information on Six Flags New England, visit sixflags.com/newlengland.

If you’re looking for a similar adventure Texas-style, Six Flags Over Texas will also unveil the Harley Quinn Spinsanity this summer. For those of you planning to make camp at Bay Landing RV Campground, Six Flags Over Texas is just about an hour away from the campground.

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, has a new ride this season, the Mardi Gras Hangover, the world’s largest loop coaster. If hanging upside down is your thing, then this new 100-foot tall adventure ride will delight you as it rocks back and forth and spins you around and around, and of course, upside down. This is the park’s sixteenth roller coaster and the only thrill ride of its kind in the park’s Mardi Gras section.

Gurnee is just a little over an hour and half drive from Pine Country RV Campground, in Belvidere, IL. For information on Six Flags Great America, visit sixflags.com/greatamerica.

It won’t be chocolate you’ll be dipped in at Hersheypark’s latest attractions – it will be water, lots of water! The Breakers Edge Water Coaster and Whitecap Racer Water Slide are new to the park in summer 2018. These new attractions are actually part of the Boardwalk at Hersheypark, which is included with admission to the main park. Billed as the longest mat racing slide in the world, the Whitecap Racer has six racing lanes and two sets of looping tunnels. Gather friends and family and man a 4-person raft to take on the Breakers Edge Water Coaster, a hydromagnetic splash-filled adventure complete with curves and plunges.

For Hersheypark’s schedule and admission information, visit hersheypark.com. Hersheypark is conveniently located near a number of Thousand Trails campgrounds: Circle M RV Campground, PA Dutch Country RV Resort, Gettysburg Farm RV Campground, and of course, Hershey RV Campground.

Legoland California will unveil Deep Sea Adventure at Lego City this summer where passengers board a 12-person “submarine” and dive to the “depths of the ocean” to see sharks, stingrays, and other fish including bright Lego fish, plus Lego scuba divers. An interactive touchscreen will allow riders to search for buried treasure and sea gems. An official date is not set for the opening but watch legoland.com/california for more news.

Legoland California is located in Carlsbad which is less than an hour from Pio Pico RV Campground in Jamul.

Steel Vengeance. The name alone of Cedar Point’s newest roller coaster is enough to invoke fear among even the most seasoned coaster riders. Standing 200 feet tall, the newest addition to Cedar Point’s thrill rides is considered a “hyper-hybrid” and is the world’s first steel-on-wood hybrid roller coaster. Speeding along 5,740 feet of track at the high speed of 74 mph and featuring four inversions, Steel Vengeance also gives riders almost 30 seconds of airtime.

After all that time in the air, a nice place to land and relax is Kenisee Lake RV Campground in Jefferson, Ohio, which is just about a two-hour drive from Cedar Point. For information on Cedar Point, visit cedarpoint.com.