2. The "skinnable" dark ride (Wonder Mountain's Guardian, Canada's Wonderland)

Montreal-based Triotech has developed the technology behind Canada's Wonderland's new ride for 2014: Wonder Mountain's Guardian. The attraction will feature 3-D effects overlaid with 4-D elements such as wind and water tricks. Riders will be equipped with weapons boasting "the fastest, most-accurate target system", with "real-time graphics" being employed to show the impact of their shooting. The world's longest interactive screen will help to add to the immersive experience.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Wonder Mountain's Guardian, though, is its price tag. Its reportedly has a bugdget of just $10 million - a fraction of the amount that Disney and Universal spend on their dark ride creations. Is it really possible to create a headline ride on such a relative shoestring?

This isn't just about one ride. Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet - once of Disney - hopes that the experiment at Canada's Wonderland will be a success. This will enable the company to roll out similar dark rides across its North American chain. Not only that, but it hopes that each will be customisable at the flick of a switch, enabling the entire plot and characters to be changed almost overnight. It has already demonstrated a Halloween-themed version of Wonder Mountain's Guardian, which employs exactly the same hardware.

1. The "flying" coaster (Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Universal Studios Florida)

Note: This section contains spoilers for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts' finale.

Expectations are high for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, the "sequel" to the hugely-popular Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Orlando. Forbidden Journey introduced robotic arms, which enable guests to "fly" along with Harry Potter. So what innovations can we expect from the Gringotts roller coaster?

One of the biggest is set to enable the finale of the coaster. If rumors are to be believed, this will use a unique combination of movie screens, 3-D footage and a launch section to convince riders that they have been dragged into the air by Harry Potter itself, who has hooked their car on a chain.

We've seen most of these elements before, of course. But the innovative aspect here is that a 360-degree screen will initially completely surround the rider, with a section moving out of the way to enable them to be launched back towards the loading station.