As spring gets underway with warmer weather on the way in coming weeks, many Chicago-area residents may already be looking ahead to outdoor activities this summer.
Thrill-seekers will have plenty to look forward to in particular, with several new roller coasters set to open at parks across the Midwest this summer, including the record-breaking "Wrath of Rakshasa," a new dive coaster at Six Flags Great America.
The new coasters come amid an increase in spending from the newly formed Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, which was founded last July following the merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair, the latter of which formerly owned parks such as Kings Island and Cedar Point.
Below is a look at the new thrilling coasters you can hitch a ride on this coming summer:
Wrath of Rakshasa, Six Flags Great America
Slated to open early this summer as the park's 16th roller coaster and first new coaster since 2019, Wrath of Rakshasa will bring record-setting thrills to the Gurnee park.
Serving as the park's first dive coaster, Wrath of Rakshasa will seat riders seven across on trains of three rows and include five inversions, setting a record for a dive coaster.
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The coaster towers 180 feet tall and includes a drop of 171 feet at a 96-degree beyond-vertical angle, reaching top speeds of 67 miles per hour.
Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the coaster marks yet another collaboration between Six Flags Great America and the company, who was previously behind Batman: The Ride, Raging Bull, Superman: Ultimate Flight and X-Flight.
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Siren's Curse, Cedar Point
Long hailed as "America's Roller Coast," Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio has long emerged as the home of innovations in the roller coaster industry, and 2025 is no exception to that standard.
Siren's Curse is slated to open as one of America's first-ever "tilt coasters," with one other model scheduled to open at COTAland in Austin, Texas this year as well.
Reaching a height of 160 feet, the coaster's hallmark feature occurs at the top of the lift hill, when the track will disengage with the track of the lift hill and tilt down to the track of the drop, connecting with the rest of the track before plunging riders to speeds of 58 miles per hour down the drop.
Currently, there is just one operational tilt coaster in the world, located in Taiwan.
Fire Runner, The Lost Island
Debuting at a smaller theme park that just opened in 2022 in Waterloo, Iowa, Fire Runner offers a unique addition not just for a small park, but for the Midwest in general.
Fire Runner is expected to open this year as Iowa's first-ever single-rail coaster, a new model offered by Rocky Mountain Construction where riders sit single-file on a coaster that utilizes just one rail.
The new ride will reach a height of 92 feet, with a track length just under 2,000 feet with top speeds of 52 miles per hour.
Fire Runner will open as the park's third roller coaster in 2025.
