5. Batman: The Ride

Quick, how many dimensions do you think there are? If you’re in Interstellar, you may answer five. Otherwise, you know the answer is three. At least, you once did before reading this and learning that Batman: The Ride is a 4D “free spin roller coaster.” Watch the video of this upcoming ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and see if you agree that it’s basically a fast-moving vomitorium. Batman: The Ride offers an experience unlike any other. No, you won’t feel like you’re soaring through Gotham City, protecting the citizenry from the comic realm’s greatest rogue’s gallery. Instead, you’ll enjoy the sensation of laundry in a dryer. And I don’t care how sick it’ll make me. Batman: The Ride immediate goes on top of my roller coaster bucket list. Live now, regret later.

6. Thunderbird

Holiday World embraces a long-standing Disney Imagineering practice with their latest roller coaster offering. The $22 million Thunderbird is less focused on record-setting heights, velocity, and turns. Instead, the goal is to create an atmospheric experience for the rider.

Thunderbird simulates a thunderstorm. Before the ride begins, lightning claps boom through the speakers while the park visitor gets a face full of mist. Soon afterward, the ride explodes into action, shooting a person from zero to 60 miles per hour in three seconds. As you can tell from the video, Thunderbird should also do a great job of mimicking the sensation of flight.

7. Impulse     

Knoebels Park in Elsburg, Pennsylvania, is one of the most beloved family amusement parks in North America. Their collection of thrill rides had previously primarily consisted of Phoenix and Twister, but the most popular free amusement park in the United States has taken steps in recent years to change this perception. Yes, they are still the predominant collector of throwback rides, but they can throw down with a state-of-the-art thriller just as well as anyone else.

Proving this statement is Impulse, a looping coaster that fills a void the park has felt since the closing of Whirlwind in 2004. Judging from this video, Impulse is not going to win any awards as the baddest thrill of 2015, but the incongruity of it in combination with the voluminous restored rides at Knoebels is cause enough for intrigue. 

8. Kärnan

Hansa Park in Germany will play host to this epic steel roller coaster with a twist. The 240-feet tall hypercoaster will provide a 90-degree drop with an inversion early during the ride. The surprise is that the inversion occurs during a dark ride section of track. Toward the end of Kärnan, a second dark ride element transpires. This type of blended roller coaster with dark ride elements is a first, and it is one that is sure to be mimicked repeatedly in years to come. Alas, the Germans get it before the rest of us. Upon its debut, Kärnan will also become the second tallest roller coaster in Europe, so it has more to offer than almost any other new 2015 attraction.