2024 Most Anticipated Coasters

Another year, and a fresh horizon of brand new coasters and theme parks to get out there and explore. Usually I love January for that very reason as it's an opportunity to cosy up and get stuck into trip planning, but between going away for New Year's, getting engaged, celebrated Sam's birthday, getting my car fixed and heading to Phantasialand this weekend, I feel like I haven't had time to stop, let alone sit down and map out what the year ahead looks like. Until now, I suppose. There's also a lot on the horizon for us in 2024, so the reality is I don't know which of these trips will actually go ahead or not and as always everything is subject to *gestures widely at the universe that has a nasty habit of throwing spanners in the works of late*. 

But hey, a girl can dream, and I always see these posts as a kind of manifestation tool. Where there's a will, there's a way, and usually I find my way to squeeze in everything we fancy doing into the year one way or another. Here's all the new for me things I'm most excited to ride in 2024.

Being constructed on the island like no other, a place extremely close to my heart, of course I am fully on board the Hyperia hype train, coming to Thorpe Park this Spring. And of course I will be there with every other cred-starved UK enthusiast on opening day, holding back the tears at the reality that we finally have a new record breaker after 30 years. 

Having ridden Hyper Coaster at Land of Legends last year and loving it, suffice to say I am incredibly excited to see how Hyperia rides (me and everybody else, I know). And also to finally experience *that* element, that as of right now I have no physically understanding of how it's going to feel on my body. How bloody exciting. 

I've always known I love Nemesis, but I didn't realise how much until the 2023 season when we were deprived of her wrath for an entire season. I missed this coaster so much, to the point that Towers really felt quite empty to me last year without her. 

As a big fan of her fleshy, Cronenbergian original state I am slightly less warm to the more 00s sci-fi vibe I get from Nemesis Reborn, but I am holding back making up my mind until opening day where I'll get to experience it all as a whole package as intended. I won't lie, I have largely kept away from construction updates and the like so as to avoid any spoilers. I'm a big believer in going into these things blind for the best first-ride reaction and this is no different. Roll on opening day, I just know the enthusiast buzz on the day is going to be wild. 

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We are planning a California trip this year - somewhere completely new for Sam and somewhere I haven't visited in tweleve years, so there's a ton of new-for-me coasters to look forward to which I won't bore you with the full list of here. That said, for me the park I'm most looking forward to getting back to is Knott's Berry Farm, largely because I have very limited memory of the place but also because so much has changed in the last decade since I visited. 

Firstly, Xcelerator was tragically down when I visited back in 2012, and as something of an Intamin hydraulic launch fan girl I was absolutely devastated at the time. It's been top of my coaster wish list since that day so fingers crossed I finally get to experience it for myself this year!

Next up, Ghost Rider. When I rode this it was a fairly forgettable CCI affair (maybe it was painful? Genuinely don't remember...) Since then the wizards at GCI have tended to the track and word on the street is this coaster is excellent so I'm extremely up for checking it out myself. 

Lastly, Hangtime. Specifically at night so I get to see that glorious light package in action, but also because I'm something of a Gerstlauer fangirl and love a Gerst-with-lapbars moment. 

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Fairly self-explanatory this one. When I went in 2012, Matterhorn was down for refurb. I'd very much like to finally get on this iconic Disneyland coaster after all these years!

Amy and I have been on and on about visiting Walibi Rhone-Alpes for years but it never came to fruition, and after the announcement of Mahuka I like to think it's because the universe was holding out until this bonkers-looking Intamin single rail coaster opened. Also still gagging to get on the spooky-themed Gerstlauer Infinity coaster Mystic whilst we're at it, and probably squeeze in a visit to Le Pal too while we're there. 

Yes, I know I've just got back from a three day trip to Europa Park and probably should've bought an Annual Pass at this point, but let's ignore my poor financial decision making for now and instead focus on the fact that Voltron looks absolutely obscene and after Hyperia is probably my most anticipated coaster of 2024. Which is saying a lot for someone who hasn't ever really had a lot of love for Mack! 

I'm obsessed with the Tesla theme for Voltron, it's kind of spooky, kind of steam punk but also entirely its own thing. I've seen the theming so far in person and it looks absolutely incredible even at this stage, so you know the final product is going to be next level. And also I just need that vertical launch into inversion injected directly into my veins I cannot wait to see what that feels like. 

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This one is probably the most wishful thinking but I would absolutely love to get back to the UAE this year! There's two whole new theme parks that have opened since I last went, including the brand new Sea World, home of Intamin LSM launch coaster Manta. I adore an Intamin airtime machine and Manta looks to me like it delivers weightlessness in shedloads, I've heard nothing but praise for it so hopefully it's something I get to try for myself this year!

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And there we have it! Of course, that's not every single new-for-me coaster that I hope to ride this year and there's probably visits that will pop up that haven't even crossed my mind yet. But suffice to say there's tons to look forward to in 2024, many ride on my doorstep here in the UK so I'm very excited for what the year will bring. 

What coasters are you most looking forward to riding in 2024? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat!

Talk later xoxo,