Theme parks bet we’ll all need a good scream after the pandemic ends

Once you get past the idea of waiting in line and sitting elbow-to-elbow with other riders, these adrenaline-churning thrill rides sound downright energizing.

After a year of anxiety and ennui, are you ready for a good scream?

When it opens as the flagship attraction for Saudi Arabia’s forthcoming Six Flags Qiddiya in 2023, the death-defying Falcon’s Flight coaster will send riders down a 525-foot-deep (160-meter) vertical cliff, through an illuminated tunnel, and around a series of corkscrews and inversions—all at a top speed of 155 mph (250 kph).

The ride, currently under construction, will be the fastest, tallest, and longest freestanding coaster in the world, making Saudi Arabia a pilgrimage site not just for pious Muslims but for adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers, too.

This is just one way the Middle Eastern country is pushing for tourism visibility. After opening its doors to international visitors in 2019, Saudi Arabia has been busy developing a cruise industry, courting luxury hotel brands such as Aman to build projects among its stunning natural landscapes, and revising rules such as strict dress codes that could make foreign visitors feel unwelcome. In all, it hopes that tourism will account for as much as 10% of its gross domestic product by 2030.

But the Saudis are hardly the only ones betting that travelers will be hankering for some primal screams as soon as the pandemic subsides. Around the world, theme parks have been using indefinite closures as an opportunity to build new attention-grabbing attractions that might eventually boost their limping revenue.

In Beijing, a new theme park from Universal will tentatively open in May. A replica of Orlando’s beloved Incredible Hulk coaster will anchor its Transformers Metrobase-themed land, complete with its hair-raising zero-g barrel rolls.

Then there’s the Dragon Slayer, a new ride putting Adventureland Resort—in Altoon, Iowa—on the map. Its unique “free spin” seats add nauseating layers of disorientation to an otherwise straightforward track, rotating unpredictably along a series of twists and inversions.

And back in Florida, the world’s theme park capital, an additional record will soon be set: Iron Gwazi, the new steel-and-wood thriller opening later this year at Busch Gardens in Tampa, will be the world’s steepest and fastest hybrid coaster, with a 200-foot drop and 76 mph speeds.

While most still-shuttered parks hope to resume operations in the coming months, social distancing requirements will remain in place for the foreseeable future, capping attendance at a fraction of 2019 levels. For intrepid visitors used to multi-hour waits for a single ride, that’s significant.

Brian Roberts, who oversees Universal’s theme parks as chairman and chief executive officer of Comcast Corp., says he expects 70% capacity by the end of the year, citing pent-up demand and what he expects to be a swift rate of vaccinations.

Perhaps that’s why, for now, his rivals at Anaheim, Calif.’s Disneyland have limited their operations to a single, of-the-moment thrill: Covid-19-fighting inoculations are currently being dispensed to 7,000 California residents daily at the Toy Story parking lot.

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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.