Falcon’s Flight in fine feather
The 2025 coaster countdown continues with international picks
I ended the year that was with a look forward at the top ten roller coasters opening in 2025 at North American parks, followed by an additional eight honorable mention coasters debuting in the U.S. Now that we’ve made it to the new year, let’s wrap up the coaster countdown with eight additional thrill machines coming to parks beyond North America. And yowsa, there are some doozies.
Falcon’s Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia
The wildly ambitious Six Flags Qiddiya City, which is set to open this year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, dominates the list of most anticipated international coasters. The park’s headlining attraction, Falcon’s Flight, is perched atop the list. It is so audacious, it’s almost hard to fathom. The new ride, which is being manufactured by Intamin, won’t just break records, it will obliterate them. Dubbed an “Exa Coaster,” its magnetically launched trains will soar to a height of 640 feet, besting the previous record holder, the defunct Kingda Ka, by 184 feet. It will drop 519 feet and reach a blistering speed of 155 mph, more than 6 mph faster than top speedster Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. With an unprecedented 14,000 feet of track, it will be about 6,000 feet longer than the current champ, Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land in Japan. With stats like those, Falcon’s Flight would seem to push the bounds of ride engineering as well as human endurance.
Iron Rattler at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia
By my estimation, the most anticipated ride opening in North America will be Siren’s Curse at Cedar Point. But Iron Rattler, which like the Ohio ride will be a Vekoma tilt coaster, will be even more extreme. It will take passengers up 208 feet onto a dead-end section of track that will tilt 90 degrees, release into a 73 mph drop, and include five inversions. As I’ve previously noted, the tilt coaster has to be one of the–if not the–wackiest concepts in coasterdom. Between Falcon’s Flight and Iron Rattler, the new Six Flags park seems intent on, er, rattling its guests.
Spitfire at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia
It’s a testament to the inanity and sheer thrill quotient of Iron Rattler and Falcon’s Flight that Six Flags Qiddiya City’s other extreme coaster, Spitfire, only ranks third on the park’s most anticipated rides rundown. The swing launch coaster from Intamin will send passengers racing forwards where it will ascend up a top hat tower part of the way, peter out, and then accelerate backwards up a 240-foot-tall spike. After the train stalls, it will drop, hit the LSM motors a third time, and rev up to 79 mph, which will give it enough juice to make it up and over the 240-foot-tall top hat. But get this: The train will invert and travel along the inside of the tower, giving passengers one of the craziest upside-down coaster experiences ever devised.
Transformers at Seven Yanbu in Saudi Arabia
Six Flags Qiddiya City isn’t the only themed attraction under development in Saudi Arabia. Previously shunning tourism, the Kingdom is now wholeheartedly embracing it and is engaged in a $13 billion plan to create 21 entertainment destinations across 14 Saudi cities. Plans include three Transformers-themed indoor parks, the first of which will open this year. Among its offerings will be a Transformers roller coaster, which will be the first Axis model from ride manufacturer S&S Worldwide. Each car will have the ability to spin on the X axis (as opposed to the lateral turns that what we think of as “spinning coasters” take). By incorporating a magnetic fin, the spinning will be controlled, and according to folks from S&S, will enable the coaster to deliver a unique flying and floating ride experience.
YoY at Walibi Holland in the Netherlands
This novel coaster will have two separate tracks, one of which will offer a more thrilling experience with six inversions, while the other will deliver a more sedate, family ride. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, both courses will feature the company’s single-rail Raptor track. (So, it’ll be a double single-rail ride, got it?) They will both climb 98 feet, but as passengers riding the blue chill track meander through a series of relatively benign drops and turns, those braving the green thrill track will get tossed upside down with a barrage of barrel rolls, a zero-G stall, and other disorienting elements.
Wiener Looping at Wiener Prater in Austria
The historic park, which dates back to 1766, has seen many roller coasters come and go through the years. With Wiener Looping, it will be resurrecting the name of one of its defunct rides. The 2025 version of the coaster, which will be manufactured by Mack Rides, will climb 102 feet, drop at a beyond-vertical 92 degrees, hit 50 mph, and deliver two inversions.
Colossus at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia
U.S. manufacturer GCI is building Colossus, the lone wooden coaster at the new Saudi park. It will reach a height of 95 feet and accelerate to 50 mph. The ride will feature GCI’s Infinity Flyer trains.
Sea Stallion at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia
A Spike coaster from Maurer, Sea Stallion will be a first-generation version of the ride. Using the manufacturer’s rack and pinion system, the interactive coaster will feature single-car, two-passenger vehicles. Riders seated in the front of the motorbike-like cars will have throttles that will enable them to have some control over the speed. The racing coaster will enable passengers to duel on side-by-side sections of the Mobius layout track. Sea Stallion will remain relatively low to the ground and stay in close proximity to the park’s log flume ride, Zoomaflooma.
The new Six Flags park will have a wild collection of coasters and other rides. Might you consider planning a trip to the park?
Arthur, do you think you will be able to visit these Saudi Arabia parks this year?