6. Iron Gwazi

Opened: 2022

Long-delayed by the pandemic, the wait for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's own RMC was worth the wait. And boy, was there a wait. In keeping with the park's African stylization, Gwazi opened in 1999 as a unique "dueling" wooden coaster. Named for the supposed, park-invented, chimera-like mythical beast with the head of lion and the head of a tiger on one body, the dual-tracked ride was an early GCI.

Perhaps in part due to Florida's humid climate (and maybe because it was the only woodie in SeaWorld's collection), Gwazi aged very poorly. In 2011, the ride got new trains. But in 2012, the Tiger side was closed. In 2015, the Lion side followed. But Gwazi wasn't demolished. Instead, the dueling, intertwined woodies were left standing but not operating for years, silently standing over the park. 

Ultimately, the RMC reimagining – Iron Gwazi – made its entry in 2022. Painting RMC's I-Box track purple, the new ride reinvents the made-up mythological Gwazi as a crocodilian creature. It's appropriate here, because Iron Gwazi's got quite a bite. It's got a more-than-vertical first drop of 206 feet (six feet more than Steel Vengeance, and twice as high as the original Gwazi), and dives through 2 inversions. A true legend, this perfect fit for Busch Gardens inspired us to think about the "New Coaster Wars," standing as an icon of the next big era and the race to build custom, personality-filled rides that build on parks' legends and lore.

7. Fire in the Hole (Silver Dollar City)

Opening: 2024

A beloved '70s classic, Fire in the Hole (like its sister ride, Dollywood's Blazing Fury) is an indoor combination dark ride / roller coaster where trains are electrically powered and travel continuously through an initial layout of dark ride scenes before plummeting down three gravity-powered drops (including an iconic final splashdown).

Disappointment ran high when Silver Dollar City announced that the 50 year old ride would officially be retired in 2023, ending generations of memories... or so it seemed. In actuality, Fire in the Hole would be replaced by... Fire in the Hole. Yep, Silver Dollar City had quietly been constructing an even larger, five-story showbuilding to house a brand new, refreshed, updated version of the ride.

The most surprising part was its manufacturer... RMC! Returning to the park where they pioneered the Topper Track technology, RMC will construct the new Fire in the Hole, serving as the manufacturer's first distinct family coaster and its first dark ride...! If it works well, we just may see a whole new side of RMC emerge... Speaking of which...

8. Wild Moose (Unbuilt)

Opening: None (so far)

RMC shook the industry with its wood-to-steel I-Box conversions; it re-wrote the rules of wood with its Topper Track; it created a whole new must-have model with the Raptor; it's even entering the dark ride market with the new Fire in the Hole. But RMC's ambitions for the family market clearly go even further...

There are dozens upon dozens of "Wild Mouse" style roller coasters across the world, and though they're not everyone's cup of tea, they're dependable family-sized rides that can be found from Cedar Point (Wild Mouse) to Disneyland Resort (Goofy's Sky School). But just as RMC salvaged a generation of woodies with I-Box, it's now offering an alternative to update an aging army of Wild Mice around the globe: the Wild Moose.

Designed intentionally to fit in the footprint of a Wild Mouse roller coaster, RMC's Wild Moose is meant to be a high-capacity, high-reliability, and high-enjoyment family alternative that could theoretically sweep the globe, gradually replacing Wild Mice and becoming the new default, compact family thrill ride. Though none have been built so far (RMC only just announced the model in August 2023), we have no doubt that the Wild Moose will make its debut before long... the only question is, where?