Happy new year everyone! 2020 has been a very weird year and we hope that 2021 will be much better for everyone. Are you interested to see what new rides 2021 has in store for you? Check out the list below:
Europe
Belgium
Plopsa Station Antwerpen (Antwerpen): Smurfenavontuur – The former Comics Station Antwerp closed at the end of 2019 and was bought by Studio 100 to be converted to a Plopsa indoor park. The park includes 1 dark ride, Smurfenavontuur, and 1 ride which is to be themed to qualify as dark ride. The park opened in October. Read our report to explore the park.
Denmark
Legoland Billund (Billund): Emmet’s Flying Adventure – Masters of Flight – Legoland will open Denmark’s first Flying Theatre, built by Brogent Technologies. The ride’s main character Emmet is also the main character of the two Lego movies (2014 & 2019). The ride was scheduled to open in the spring or early summer of 2020, but the outbreak of COVID-19 caused a delay to 2021; the ride opened on May 21st.
Germany
Movie Park Germany (Bottrop): Movie Park Studio Tour – Movie Park Germany opens a new semi-dark ride: Movie Park Studios, an Intamin Multidimension rollercoaster. The ride is designed by Leisure Expert Group and includes theming by P&P Projects, soundtrack by IMAscore and media by IMAmotion. The ride contains various scenes from classic Hollywood films, as well as references to former Movie Park Germany rides. The ride opened on June 23rd. Read our report for more details on the ride experience.
Italy
Etnaland (Belpasso, Sicily): La Casa dei 44 Gatti – Dark ride based on the Italian animated series ’44 Gatti’ (44 Cats). Was originally scheduled to open in 2020, but Etnaland did not open for the complete season due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The ride opened on July 16th.
Netherlands
Legoland Discovery Centre Scheveningen (Den Haag): Fantasie Express – This newly built indoor Legoland will contain a trackless interactive dark ride called ‘Fantasie Express’ and will be a version of the Imagination Express rides in other Legoland Discovery Centres. Was scheduled to open in the spring of 2020, but the outbreak of COVID-19 caused the opening to be postponed; the park eventually opened on June 24th.
Norway
Hunderfossen Eventyrpark (Fåberg): Reodor Felgen’s Hyperakselerator – Motion Simulator based on the stories by Norwegian writer Kjell Aukrust. The simulator is built by Simworkx, theming by Farmer Attraction Development, and media by Qvisten. The ride opened on May 22nd.
Sweden
Liseberg (Göteborg): Underlandet. This ride, situated in the children’s area ‘Kaninlandet’, will show the unknown underground world of the green rabbits which are the park’s main figures. The ride system is built by Gosetto, decorations are made by P&P Projects, animatronics by LifeFormations and music by IMAscore. The ride was scheduled to open in 2020, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The ride opened on June 3rd.
United Kingdom
Alton Towers (Alton, Stoke-on-Trent): Gangsta Granny The Ride. A new dark ride, based on a character of “The World of David Walliams”. The ride was developed by Merlin Magic Making, with a ride system by the English company Garmendale. The outbreak of COVID-19 caused Alton Towers to delay the opening to 2021. Ride and area opened May 17th.
Legoland Windsor (Windsor): Flight of the Sky Lion – Legoland Windsor will be adding a new themed zone, including a new Flying Theater by Brogent Technologies. The first Flying Theater in Great Britain and the fourth in a Legoland park. The area is not themed after the LEGO Movie, as is the case with other Legoland flying theaters, but features a world of mythical creatures. Opened on May 29th. Read our report for more details on the ride.
North America
U.S.A.
Disney California Adventure Park (Anaheim, CA): Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure – Disney will bring a new Hollywood adventure to California with Spider-Man. This new dark ride will replace the ‘It’s Tough To Be A Bug’ 3D film. A Similar ride is planned for Disneyland Resort Paris – Walt Disney Studios, but that one is not expected to open in 2021. The ride, along will the Avengers Campus area, opened on June 4th.
FlyOver Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) – Travel and events company Persuit will add a fourth location to their FlyOver chain. The standalone attractions feature a Brogent Technologies flying theater. Other FlyOver locations can be found in Vancouver (Canada), Bloomington (MN, United States) and Reykjavik (Iceland). Opened on September 1st.
The Island (Pigeon Forge, TN): SkyFly: Soar America – Entertainment Center “The Island’ opens a flying theatre, built by Dynamic Attractions, in which riders fly over some of America’s most iconic landmarks. Opened in July.
Knott’s Berry Farm (Buena Park, CA): Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair – Layover of the 2015 interactive dark ride Voyage to the Iron Reef. To celebrate the park’s 100th anniversary, the park brings back the story of the former dark ride Knott’s Bear-y tales. The ride re-uses the ride system by ART Engineering and shooting system by Triotech. Opened on May 21st.
Lagoon (Farmington, UT): Primordial – Utah’s largest theme park, Lagoon (near Salt Lake City), is adding a new rollercoaster to their collection of rides. This rollercoaster will contain dark ride elements and is rumored to be similar to ‘Wonder Mountain’s Guardian‘ in Canada’s Wonderland. ‘Primordial’ could be the project name and not its official name.
Legoland California (Carlsbad, CA): Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride – Just like Florida and Billund, Legoland California will be adding a Lego Movie theme zone to the park. This zone will contain a Flying Theater, built by Brogent Technologies. Originally planned for a 2020 opening, but got delayed to 2021. Opened on May 27th.
Legoland Discovery Center Bay Area (Milpitas, CA): Imagination Express – This new Legoland Discovery Center near San José originally planned to open on April 2nd, 2020, but the outbreak of COVID-19 delayed the opening to spring 2021. LDC Bay Area will contain a trackless interactive dark ride called ‘Imagination Express’. Park opened on June 6th.
Legoland Discovery Center New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ) : Imagination Express – This new Legoland Discovery Center near Jersey City originally planned to open in the spring of 2020, but the outbreak of COVID-19 delayed the opening to 2021. LDC New Jersey will contain a trackless interactive dark ride called ‘Imagination Express’ and opened on June 15th.
Legoland New York Resort (Goshen, NY): Multiple rides – Merlin Entertainment will open a complete new Legoland park in the state of New York. The park will contain the classic Legoland (semi-) dark rides NINJAGO The Ride and The Dragon, but will also contain a new trackless dark ride called Lego Factory Adventure Ride. The park started opening for previews in May.
Universal Studios Hollywood (Universal City, CA): Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash – Dark ride based on the Secret Life of Pets-franchise. The ride uses an omnimover ride system by Sansei Technologies. The ride was originally scheduled for the 2020 season, but could not open due to the parks closure after the Covid-19 Pandemic. Ride opened on the 16th of April.
Walt Disney World – EPCOT (Lake Buena Vista, FL): Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – EPCOT is adding a new dark ride in the Paris section. The ride is Ratatouille: The Adventure in Disneyland Resort Paris – Walt Disney Studios. Ratatouille: The Adventure is a trackless dark ride that is based on the Pixar animation film ‘Ratatouille’. The ride was originally planned to open in the summer of 2020, but eventually opened in soft-opening from August.
Asia
China
Fantawild Dinosaur Kingdom Zigong (Zigong): New Park – New park by the Fantawild Group. It is not yet known what dark rides to expect in the park.
Fanta Park Glorious Orient Ningbo (Ningbo): New Park – Second park of the Fantawild Ningbo Resort. The park includes six new dark and show rides. These include a 4D tracked motion ride, an interactive dark ride based around their Boonie Bear TV & film franchise and a rotating platform theatre attraction. The park opened in July.
Fanta Park Glorious Orient Ganzhou (Ganzhou): New Park – New park by the Fantawild Group. The park includes six dark and show rides, including a 4D motion-based dark ride, a large boat ride that looks at the history of China’s marine industry and a flying theatre. The park opened on May 28th.
Flying over Changbaishan (Changbaishan): Flying Theatre – Stand-alone attraction with a ride system by Brogent Technologies. The ride simulates a flight over the Changbai Mountains, located in the North East of China. Opened in June.
Happy Valley Tianjin (Tianjin): XD Theater – Interactive theatre by Triotech. Opened in July.
Hengdian World Studios (Dongyang): Qin Palace Flying Theatre – Flying theatre by project: syntropy, adding an immersive experience for tourists visiting the film studios. Opened in April.
Oriental Heritage Anyang (Anyang): New Park – New park by the Fantawild Group. It is not yet known what dark rides to expect in the park.
Oriental Heritage Taiyuan (Taiyuan): New Park – New park by the Fantawild Group. The park includes 7 new dark and show rides, and opened on July 23rd.
Universal Studios Beijing (Beijing): New Park – New park, set to open in May 2021. The park contains 5 dark and show rides: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (Simulator), Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Dark ride – Robocoaster), Jurassic World Adventure (Dark Ride), Kung Fu Panda: Journey of the Dragon Warrior (Dark ride – boat ride), Transformers: Battle for the AllSpark (Dark ride – car ride). The park officially opened on September 20th.
Japan
Seibuen Amusement Park (Yamaguchi): Godzilla the Ride – Flying theatre by Brogent Technologies that will take riders right in the middle of a battle between two giant monsters. The ride opened on May 19th.
Universal Studios Japan (Osaka): Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge – Two-tracked interactive dark ride, based on the Mario Kart games by Nintendo. Riders wear Augmented Reality headsets that animates interaction between the two cars. The ride has opened to public on March 18.
Kazakhstan
Karavansaray (Turkistan): Flying Theatre – Flying theatre in which guests will fly with the mythical bird ‘Altyn Samuryk’ that will show riders the history of Kazakhstan. The theatre was built by Brogent Technologies from Taiwan. Opened in April 2021.
Malaysia
Genting Skyworlds (Genting Highlands): Renewed Park – The original Genting Theme Park closed in 2013 for major refurbishment. The new park, Genting Skyworlds, is mainly based on IP by 20th Century Fox. The park announced some rides in August and it set to open in late 2021.
Qatar
Doha Oasis Quest (Doha): Two rides – New park inside Doha Oasis Mall,. The park contains a flying theatre called Wings of Destiny, and a motion simulator called Legend of the Golden Oryx. The flying thetare is built by Dynamic Attractions. Opened on July 1st.
Russia
Dream Island (Moscow): Multiple rides – Dream Island opened in February 2020, but some of its rides have not yet opened to public. Among them are a Flying Theatre and a dark tower ride based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A dark ride based on Hotel Transylvania opened in april 2021.
U.A.E.
Ferrari World (Abu Dhabi): Mission Ferrari – SFX-coaster, combining a dark ride and a rollercoaster, built by Dynamic Attractions. The ride was announced for 2019, but has not opened to public up to now.
This article will be extended when new rides are announced. Do you know new rides that should be on this list? Please e-mail us at [email protected].
