9 anticipated theme park rides for 2018 that you will want to experience

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Knotts Berry Farm HangTime Coaster at Night(PRNewsfoto/Knott’s Berry Farm)

HangTime at Knotts Berry Farm

Dive coasters offer big thrills for coaster fans. The Coaster Critic defines a dive coaster as “steel roller coasters offering drops of 90-degrees or nearly 90-degrees.” West Coast theme park fans will finally have a dive coaster on their coast with HangTime. Knott’s Berry Farm will open the only West Coast dive coaster in the summer of 2018.

Southern California has many theme parks and attractions, but the roller coaster fans have been looking for this type of ride on the West Coast. According to Knott’s Berry Farm, “HangTime will tower 150 feet over the Boardwalk area, showcasing gravity-defying inversions, mid-air suspensions and twisting dive tracks.” This extreme drop is expected to be the steepest roller coaster drop in California.

One of the biggest thrills from this roller coaster will come from its negative-g stall loop. While many roller coasters offer a negative-g experience, HangTime will combine this aspect with a stall. The combination should give the riders a feeling of floating in the air. If you don’t like that funny feeling in your stomach on a roller coaster, this extreme coaster may not be for you.

Another fun aspect of HangTime will be the illusion of disappearing track. When a rider can’t see the next twist or turn, the unknown can increase the adrenaline rush. The “disappearing track” can make the next twist, turn, and drop even more thrilling.

Knott’s Berry Farm has embraced the roller coasters and the innovation that comes within the industry. Previously, the park’s Corkscrew was the “first corkscrew inversion rollercoaster” and Montezuma’s Revenge was the “first flywheel launch coaster.”

Even non-coaster fans can appreciate the new HangTime ride. This coaster will illuminate the Boardwalk area at night. With track chase lighting, the roller coaster will be a colorful site. As the coaster goes up, down and twists through the track, the lights will break through the darken sky.

HangTang will open during the 2018 summer season at Knott’s Berry Farm. Exact opening dates are not currently available.