This past year, I rode 13 new-for-2021 roller coasters in both the United States and Europe.
I also experienced some high-profile non-coaster additions at several Disney,
Cedar Fair, and Six Flags parks. For that reason, I wanted to countdown the top 20
best new-for-2021 rides and attractions that I personally experienced in 2021.
I unfortunately was not able to experience Kondaa due to the flooding at Walibi Belgium.
Nor did I experience Silverwood’s Stunt Pilot, Grona Lund’s Monster, or Movie Park Studios at
Movie Park Germany. My travels also did not take me to Australia or Asia, which is why
those rides will be excluded from the list. Before delving into the list, I wanted to note
a few rides I will and will not be including. I will not be including any Halloween haunts
since these are temporary attractions; however, I do want to give special
recognition to the mind-bending and twisted Mesmer at Knott’s Scary Farm.
I will be including 3 renovations that significantly modified rides
and I’ll note those instances. 20) Fridolin’s verruckter Zauberexpress
at Fantasiana- This ART Engineering family launch coaster is a fun little coaster. It’s
very well-themed for a coaster of this scale with a theatrical launch sequence complete with lights,
projection mapping, and sounds. And there are a few near-misses on the ride’s course. The ride
isn’t thrilling or forceful, but it isn’t meant to be. It’s a step up from your average junior
coaster and it offers a pleasant ride experience I talk about more in a separate review.
19) Light Explorers at Energylandia- This Polish park’s second Vekoma family boomerang is one of
two coasters in the newly opened Aqualantis section. This attraction has a graceful and
glass-smooth layout above the water. The initial plunge is tummy tickling and then there are a
series of s-hills you traverse both forwards and backwards. Don’t expect any airtime nor laterals;
this ride is about the visuals. 18) Snow White’s Enchanted Wish at Disneyland-
This was a 2021 renovation to one of Disneyland’s opening day attractions.
This Fantasyland dark ride received a new name, new effects, and a new story.
The ride’s visuals are less scary, but more impressive with the use of projection mapping.
The story is also clearer and no longer features an ambiguous ending.
The ride is still short, but it’s the perfect example of how Disneyland has been plussing
their classic dark rides with new effects. 17) Web Slingers: A Spiderman Adventure at Disney
California Adventure- This interactive shooting dark ride lets riders feel like Spiderman.
The ride vehicles don’t feature guns. Rather, the vehicles have motion-capture technology
so riders can make hand gestures to fire webs. The technology worked flawlessly and more
forgiving than Legoland’s similar Ninjago ride. The ride did have three flaws that held it back.
One, it was short. Two, it was chaotic with everyone firing webs simultaneously.
Three, I think it was a missed opportunity to use generic Spiderbots rather than Spiderman’s famous
collection of villains. Despite these issues, it’s still a fun ride and it does feature the best live
action version of Spiderman in Tom Holland. 16) Snake River Expedition at Cedar Point-
This boat ride is a delightful contrast to the park’s massive roller coasters.
This is a themed expedition sailing the waters once occupied by the Paddlewheel Excursion.
The ride reminds me of Disney’s Jungle Cruise between the setting and dry humor
of the guide. There are some themed sets and live actors, which culminates in a hold-up.
15) Tsunami Surge at Hurricane Harbor (Chicago)- The world’s tallest water coaster certainly looks
imposing. Standing 86 feet or 26 meters tall, this WhiteWater West master blaster slide wasn’t as
thrilling as expected. This one had a severe lack of speed on the water propelled uphill segments
and turns- several of which where I almost stalled out. There are a few drops with faint
pops of airtime, including a large and exciting triple down finale into the splashdown pool.
This is a long and decent water coaster that I talk about more in a separate review.
14) Knott’s Beary Tales: Return to the Fair at Knott’s Berry Farm-
This Triotech shooting dark ride is a complete retheme of the old Voyage to the Iron Reef.
This 3D shooter takes guests through cartoony environments as they fend off
wild critters trying to steal boysenberry pies. There are plenty of targets to shoot
and I love the pull string jelly blasters that remind me of the shooters on Toy Story Mania.
This one does have a bit of a learning curve though since the projectiles fly much slower
than usual, so you have to predict where a target will be when you fire.
13) Copperhead Mountain Coaster at Shepherd’s Adventure Park- The third and newest
alpine coaster in Branson, Missouri is probably the weakest in the town.
The layout had no airtime and lots of autobraking, but it did have two positives. One, the setting.
The layout is heavily wooded, but there are a few spots where you get stunning views of the
distant Ozark Mountains. Two, the ride has some decent laterals throughout the layout,
which is a trademark of this type of ride. 12) Phoenix at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park- This
custom Vekoma suspended coaster occupies a super small footprint, but it still delivers a fun ride.
The open trains combined with the glass smooth trackwork is a wonderful combination. The overbank
and helix in the middle of the ride are much more intense than you may expect for a family coaster,
as they pull some good positive Gs. Then the final turns are the tightest on the ride,
so they’re quite forceful as well. 11) Dragon at Legoland New York- The largest
roller coaster at the recently opened Legoland park is this Zierer creation. The ride starts with
a cute dark ride segment before transitioning to a deceptively forceful outdoor section.
There are some helixes and turns that pile on some surprising positive Gs for a family coaster.
This coaster’s layout is far superior to the Dragon coasters found
at the other American Legoland parks and I go into more detail in a separate review.
10) Harley Quinn Spinsanity at Six Flags America- This Zamperla giant discovery is now the best flat
ride at Six Flags America. Between the immense speed, towering heights, and sustained floater
airtime, this ride is an absolute joy. And it also features a very long and satisfying cycle.
9) Adirondack Outlaw at the Great Escape- This Funtime vomatron has
an excellent position atop a hill, so you get stunning views of the Adirondack mountains.
This isn’t as forceful as the other booster-style rides out there, but this one has a long cycle
and still has some decent positive Gs combined with those thrilling flips high above the ground.
It will be interesting if Six Flags brings this ride to their other parks.
It’s a great ride, but the capacity is woeful, which I talk about in a separate review.
8) Ninjago the Ride at Legoland New York- This interactive shooting dark ride is similar to the
aforementioned Spiderman. You use hand gestures to fire projectiles at 3D targets on screens.
While there is a bit of a learning curve to the ride, it’s much easier to tell
what you’re shooting at on this once, which makes it far more enjoyable. This ride is one
heck of an arm workout, but it’s just pure fun and makes you feel like a superhero.
7) Lego Factory Adventure at Legoland New York- This trackless dark ride was the best attraction
at the newest Legoland park. The ride has a super well-themed queue loaded with the history of Legos
and some impressive models, and then you reach the main experience.
The ride tells the story how Lego bricks are made and ultimately used.
The first room is my favorite as you explore every crevice and come face-to-face with a giant dragon.
The rest of the ride is more screen reliant, but the motion of the vehicles and trackless
technology compliments it perfectly. 6) Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot-
This is a clone of the 3D trackless dark ride that has been running at the Paris resort and it’s a
perfect fit for Epcot’s France pavilion. The giant screens are overwhelming in the best way possible.
The animation is crisp and the experience is chaotic as you avoid the perils facing a rat.
Plus you have some well-timed 3D effects that will have riders jumping.
Then you also have physical sets that serve as nice transitions between the screens.
5) Abyssus at Energylandia- This multi-launch Vekoma coaster is the anchor of the aforementioned
Aqualantis area. While the theming wasn’t finished for 2021, I could still appreciate this coaster’s
good layout. The first half is the warm-up with a moderately punchy launch, some mild positive Gs,
and some airtime pops. The second half is the highlight. While the main launch is as
forceless as a Mack launch, the other elements are great. The top hat- even with the trim-
offers very strong ejector airtime in the back. But the strongest airtime is on the camelback
that dives below the station. That hill offers some intense ejector airtime.
The rest of the layout has 4 inversions. They weren’t as snappy as some of the other new
Vekomas, but they still had decent positive Gs and some mild whip. Then there are also a
few other airtime hills in the twisted finale. Between the nice layout and glass smooth ride,
Abyssus is a very strong coaster for the reasons I talk about in a separate review.
4) Jersey Devil Coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure- Blasted by many enthusiasts as
the worst RMC, Jersey Devil Coaster is still a great ride. The world’s tallest, fastest,
and longest single rail coaster may be a little underwhelming in the front and middle seats,
but the back rows are excellent. You get some crazy airtime on the first drop in the back rows;
it’s one of the best drops on any coaster. The first half then has three excellent inversions
combining laterals with either airtime or sustained hangtime mixed in with some great
airtime moments. The second half- now that the mid-course brake run no longer bites-
gives decent airtime on the return run combined with fantastic headchoppers. Jersey Devil is
probably the second best ride at Great Adventure and I go into more detail in a separate review.
3) Velocicoaster at Islands of Adventure- This Intamin multi-launch coaster is an incredible
experience. It starts with the theming. Velocicoaster tells a story. You have an
elaborately themed queue and a super compact first half through the raptor paddock with some scary
near-misses with rockwork and dinosaurs. While the first half is the warm-up, it still has a solid
launch, two wild inversions combining airtime and laterals, and a mix of airtime and laterals.
The second half forgoes the theming for intensity. After a decent second launch, you fly over a top
hat loaded with ejector airtime and zip over the water. Everyone talks about the insane barrel roll
at the end. That inversion has crazy hangtime, laterals, and whip. But I also love the stall.
It suspends you upside-down for a long time while also shaking you side-to-side. Add in
some additional strong pops of airtime and a super smooth ride experience, and it’s not hard to see
why this coaster is unanimously loved. I go into more detail in a separate review, but this is the
best all-new coaster to open in America in 2021. 2) Ride to Happiness at Plopsaland de Panne- The
best completely new coaster I rode in 2021 was the second Mack xtreme spinning coaster.
I loved Time Traveler, but Ride to Happiness takes the concept to a new level. This one has a wilder
layout and superior spinning. All 5 inversions are spectacular. The jojo roll out of the station and
flying snake dive offer some of the best hangtime on any coaster. Then the banana roll, vertical
loop, and zero-G roll occur back-to-back-to-back and are super disorienting with the spinning.
Add in some powerful ejector airtime moments, particularly on the weird top hat
and double up finale, and you have one of the craziest coasters in the world.
I hit the brake run speechless after each ride and I talk about it more in a separate review.
1) Lightning Rod at Dollywood- I know this one is debatable, but I’m including it since over half
of Lightning Rod’s track was replaced between the 2020 and 2021 off-season and it changed the
classification of this coaster from wood to steel. The front row rides were as amazing as always,
but I did find the back car needed more time to warm up than in past years. That being said,
this coaster is perfection…when it’s operating. The uphill launch has some underrated kick to it.
Then each airtime moment seems to get crazier. You have a strong initial drop, some excellent
sideways airtime, and then a series of smaller hills that lead into the famous quad down.
Those are four of the most powerful airtime pops in the world. Along with that airtime,
you also have blistering speed and one of the best settings of any coaster. While Dollywood
did chop down a lot of trees, you still feel very isolated in that valley. Going into 2021,
Lightning Rod was my favorite coaster and it remains that way after the retracking.
That is how I rank the top 20 new-for-2021 rides and attractions I experienced. What do you think
the best new-for-2021 ride is? Let me know down in the comments. Likewise, let me know your thoughts
on any ride I mentioned or failed to mention in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!