There are four hundred and seventy-five amusement parks in the United States. I, along with my family, have visited many of them. It’s a great time to make memories and experience adrenaline rushes, especially when the ride is a roller coaster. While it is impossible to discuss all the parks, I chose five to share: Family Kingdom, Six Flags Over Georgia, Dollywood, Carowinds, and my favorite, Kings Dominion.
Family Kingdom is located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Family Kingdom isn’t a big park, but it is the only park within the Myrtle Beach area. Family Kingdom focuses more on family attractions instead of big thrill rides. The main roller coaster at Family Kingdom is called Swamp Fox. Swamp Fox stands at 75 feet and has 4,000 feet of track and speeds through at 50 mph. Their main family rides are their log flume and ferris wheel. The ferris wheel stands at 100 feet tall and has the best views of Myrtle Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The log flume is, in my opinion, the best ride at Family Kingdom. The log flume has two amazing drops that are sure to get you wet and to cool off on a hot Myrtle Beach summer day. They also have a good wild mouse coaster called Twist and Shout. It speeds through the turns and has three good drops. Twist and Shout stands at 100 feet tall and is 45 mph.
Six flags Over Georgia is Georgia’s premier theme park, located in a small city right called Austell, outside of Atlanta. This popular park has four main rides: Georgia Scorcher, Dare Devil Dive, Goliath and The Great American Scream Machine. They are also surrounded by amazing supporting coasters: Twisted Cyclone, Superman Ultimate Flight, and Batman The Ride. They also have some other coasters like Blue Hawk, THE RIDDLER Mindbender, and the new for 2024 Ultrasurf. The Great American Scream Machine Located opened in 1973 as the tallest, longest, and fastest roller coaster in the world. The 105 foot tall roller coaster reaches up to 57 mph. The Great American Scream Machine finished top in the top fifty roller coasters by the Golden Ticket Awards for 17 years in a row. Secondly, Goliath is a steel roller coaster that stands at 200 feet and gets up to 70 mph. Goliath ranked fourth in the best new coaster award in 2006. Finally, Dare Devil Dive features a 95 foot tall vertical lift hill to a 95 degree drop and goes through three inversions and a top speed of 52 mph.
Dollywood is a theme park run by country music icon Dolly Parton and is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. My top three coasters at Dollywood are Lightning Rod, Tennessee Tornado and Wild Eagle. They are surrounded by some good coasters like Thunderhead, Mystery Mine, Big Bear Mountain and Dragonflies. First Lightning Rod is the first ever wooden roller coaster to feature a launch. Lightning Rod races down its 165 foot drop and propels guests along its 3,800 foot track at 73 mph. Lighting Rod has one of the best first drops of any other wooden coaster that I’ve been on. Secondly, Tennessee Tornado isn’t just an amazing name; this triple loop coaster makes you feel like you are in a tornado as you zoom down a 128- foot drop through an actual mountain at speeds up to 70 mph. The Tennessee Tornado isn’t for the faint of heart. If you love going upside down on roller coasters, then you would love the Tennessee Tornado. Dollywood is a very clean park but they rank at three because their supporting coasters aren’t as good as number one and two.
Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Carowinds has this year’s number one roller coaster: Fury 325. My top three coasters at Carowinds are Fury 325, Afterburn and Copperhead Strike. Afterburn is an inverted steel coaster that takes guests on a six inversions, including multiple loops and a roller coasters most intense inversion called a batwing. Afterburn shoots out of the station at 62 mph and goes through 3,000 feet of track. Secondly is Copperhead Strike. Copperhead starts out with the JoJo roll and then goes in a shed to distract you from a 50 mph launch out of the shed. This roller coaster is 3,000 feet long and 155 feet tall. Fury is a hyper coaster as the tallest coaster at Carowinds with a 325 foot drop at 95 mph.
Kings Dominion is located in Doswell, Virginia. Reptilian, a bobsled coaster, is one of a kind because there are only four left of them in the U.S. Reptilian is themed around how snakes go around turns; it takes a 60 foot drop and goes around the turns at 35 mph. Intimidator 305 is the tallest coaster at Kings Dominion, taking a 305 foot drop at 95 mph. It is one of the most intense roller coasters in the world. Intimidator is the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in the state of Virginia. The number one coaster at Kings Dominion is Twisted Timbers. Twisted Timbers was converted from a wooden roller coaster to a wooden/steel coaster hybrid. My favorite element in a roller coaster is a dive loop. It is 111 Feet tall and speeds through the track at 54 mph.
Which park would you choose to visit?
