Courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Throughout the South, amusement parks of all shapes and sizes draw visitors in search of classic summer fun. Florida lays claim to many of them, hence its nickname: the Theme Park Capital of the World. Tens of millions of folks from across the globe descend upon the state’s tourism corridor to hang with Harry Potter, mingle with Mickey Mouse, socialize with sea creatures, loll about with Lego, and otherwise have a ball. But thrills, over-the-top shows, and big fun await at plenty of other parks throughout the region.
If you and your gang are looking for white-knuckle, heart-in-your-throat coasters, wacky water slides, and engaging theatrical presentations, you don’t have to go far. We’ve got the lowdown on Southern rides and attractions you’ll want to consider. We also share some can’t-miss park foods, as well as some great places to stay after long days riding the rails. And we’ll let you know what’s new on the midways this year. Buckle up. It’s going to be a wild, but amusing ride.
Scream Machines
Put your hands up high and get ready to rock and roll on these high-speed rides
Iron Gwazi
Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
There are plenty of thrilling coasters to be found in the South, but perhaps none is more intense than Iron Gwazi. The ride (formerly known simply as Gwazi) was a wooden coaster that, as is the case with many “woodies,” had become excessively rough. An innovative manufacturer that specializes in converting aging wooden rides into more hospitable hybrid wooden-steel coasters (which retain their wooden structure but are outfitted with steel tracks) worked its magic. In 2022, the reborn, ultra-smooth beast was unleashed. But the ride surgeons didn’t just keep the original wooden structure: They nearly doubled the height to a potent 206 feet, changed the angle of descent to a beyond-vertical 91 degrees, increased the speed to a harrowing 76 mph, and introduced two upside-down inversions. The result? An out-of-control, hang-on-for-dear-life experience that will leave you wondering what the heck just happened.
Courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Fury 325
Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina
Talk about bragging rights. The South’s tallest coaster, Fury 325, rises a staggering—wait for it—325 feet. From that precarious height, the “giga” coaster drops at a hairy 81-degree angle and accelerates to a breathtaking (literally) 95 mph, making it the fifth-fastest coaster in the world.
Courtesy of Carowinds
Lightning Rod
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Another hybrid wooden-steel roller coaster, the race car–themed Lightning Rod plummets 165 feet and revs up to 73 mph. Later, the train (filled with befuddled passengers) performs a “quadruple down” in which it suddenly drops once, then a second, third, and fourth time in rapid succession. Yowza!
VelociCoaster
Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida
Pursued by Jurassic World dinosaurs projected onto screens, VelociCoaster launches from 0 to 50 mph in 2 seconds, followed by a second magnetic boost that gooses the train to 70 mph and up a 155-foot-tall tower. An unnerving “zero-G stall” then flips passengers upside down and keeps them inverted for what seems like an eternity.
Courtesy of Universal's Island of Adventure
A Whole Other Story
Take off on a flight of fancy at these heart-pounding attractions
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
EPCOT, Orlando, Florida
There’s a new breed of highly themed coaster that not only piles on the thrills but also immerses passengers in fanciful tales. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the first coaster at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT, uses a nifty effect to teleport guests to a spaceship orbiting Earth. Things go horribly wrong (which happens a lot during theme park rides), and it somehow is up to EPCOT visitors to join the oddball Marvel superheroes and—no biggie—save the galaxy. Housed in a ginormous show building (Disney says four Spaceship Earths could squeeze into the space), the magnetically launched coaster features large-format media that riders encounter as they whiz past at 60-plus mph. The sophisticated vehicles feature first-of-its-kind “Omnicoaster” technology that enables them to pivot and directs riders’ attention to the show scenes. Befitting the Guardians, onboard audio randomly blasts classic rock tunes such as Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.”
Courtesy of Disney
Verbolten
Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virginia
Verbolten’s multi-launch coaster takes passengers on an Autobahn race that includes a swooping dive towards Busch Gardens’ Rhine River. But it also sends riders into a show building where they journey through the inky Black Forest where mysterious creatures glow in the dark and the bottom literally drops out.
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Coaster
Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida
Set amid the Forbidden Forest in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, muggles encounter magical creatures such as a centaur, Cornish pixies, and an impressive animatronic of the half-giant himself, Hagrid. The action during Hagrid’s Magical Creatures is wild, with seven magnetic launches and a dead-end spike that reverses the train’s direction.
Courtesy of Universal's Island of Adventure
Tron
Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Florida
With its highly stylized depiction of the futuristic Grid, just getting to the motorbike-like “lightcycles” is a mind-bending experience. It’s an actual blast to launch out and soar under Tron’s iridescent, color-shifting canopy and careen back inside, where competing trains battle it out for videogame supremacy.
Stealing the Show
It’s not just the same old song and dance at these impressive theater attractions
The Bourne Stuntacular
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Using all kinds of theme park trickery, attraction designers have long tried to blur the line between virtual and reality. That boundary vanishes altogether at The Bourne Stuntacular. The jaw-dropping show features live actors performing terrifying stunts that are meticulously choreographed with ultra-high-resolution filmed scenes; good luck figuring out which is which. Physical set pieces, including cars, a motorcycle, a helicopter, and—if you can believe it—an entire house, move in tandem with the action on a giant LED screen that envelops the audience with 19 million pixels of eye-popping media. Jason Bourne, the wayward CIA black ops character from the Bourne Identity film series, fights baddies and escapes certain death in Tangier, Dubai, and Washington, D.C. The scale and scope of the production is, er, stuntacular.
Courtesy of Universal Studios
Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Perhaps no park in the world, let alone the South, has more live entertainment than Dollywood. Considering its namesake star, that should come as no surprise. Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends features Dolly Parton’s family—including her niece, Heidi—regaling audiences with music and tales of their famous relative.
Lego City 4D – Officer in Pursuit
Legoland, Winter Haven, Florida
Borrowing some of the style and wit of the Lego movies, Lego City 4D showcases the quirky brick characters as cops chasing down a crook–in 3D, no less. Legoland’s tricked-out theater bombards audiences with synchronized wind blasts, water spritzes, bubbles, and other sensory effects.
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue . . . and Beyond!
Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida
Finding Nemo features performers with fanciful puppets who bring Nemo, Dory, and other characters from the popular Pixar film to the stage. The musical adaptation, which incorporates buoyant songs, condenses the story down to a zippy 25 minutes. Young kids especially will enjoy the fresh take on the beloved fish tale.
Courtesy of Disney
Water You Waiting For?
Make a splash at these wet, wild attractions
Kaleidoscope Kavern Lazy River
Wilderness at the Smokies, Sevierville, Tennessee
Lazy rivers are a water park staple. Folks meander downstream in inner tubes and encounter diversions, such as fountains, along the way. The indoor water park at Wilderness at the Smokies amps up the experience at Kaleidoscope Kavern, thanks to an extraordinary display of trippy colors and a captivating soundscape. Folks enter a long tunnel that completely envelops them with flitting fireflies, falling leaves, the aurora borealis, and swirls of kaleidoscopic patterns. Taking inspiration from the Great Smoky Mountains, the visuals are paired with the sounds of waterfalls, burbling brooks, and chirping birds. Because the show scenes constantly change, no two rides are likely to be the same.
Photo by Moment Factory
Deep Water Dive
Kentucky Kingdom’s Hurricane Bay, Louisville, Kentucky
Can you handle one of the world’s tallest water slides? First, you’ll have to tackle 12 flights of stairs to reach the top of Deep Water Dive. Then you’ll have to work up the nerve to enter a launch capsule. After a “3, 2, 1” countdown, the floor will drop out, and you’ll plummet 121 feet at a 70-degree angle.
Cutback Water Coaster
Water Country USA, Williamsburg, Virginia
Cutback’s unique RocketBLAST water coaster sends four-passenger rafts soaring uphill using a water jet propulsion system, then shooting downhill through enclosed tubes. Saucer-shaped elements with highly banked curves reverse the rafts’ direction. It’s the only ride of its kind in the country, and it’s an actual blast.
Reef Plunge
Aquatica Orlando, Orlando, Florida
As riders descend Reef Plunge’s twisty-turny body slide, images of fanciful sea creatures greet them. Then, for the finale, they zip alongside actual dolphins, sharks, and other fish. (Which makes sense, considering it’s operated by SeaWorld Orlando next door.)
Night Visions
End your day with a bang at these spectacular evening shows
Astra Lumina
Anakeesta, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
By day, Anakeesta’s adventure park offers attractions that incorporate and celebrate its lovely, forested setting in the Great Smoky Mountains. At night, it dials up the natural immersion in a wholly unpredictable way. Astra Lumina is not a show so much as an interactive experience. As guests amble through the woods, they encounter a series of scenes created by programmable LED lights, videos, lasers, projection mapping, and ultra-crisp sound. The trees, rocks, ground, and night sky become tableaus for an astral journey through the cosmos. It is an otherworldly experience that is stunning to behold. Astra Lumina purports to pay homage to the stars and our connection to the celestial bodies, but it’s more like going on an enchanting, psychedelic trip without hallucinogens. The 2024 season introduces a new zone, Nebular Waves, that features undulating cascades of light.
Courtesy of Anakeesta
Luminous: the Symphony of Us
EPCOT, Orlando, Florida
Unveiled in December, Luminous brings grand-scale razzle-dazzle to the World Showcase Lagoon with synchronized fireworks, brightly lit fountains, lasers, and soaring searchlights. The soundtrack features both familiar and lesser-known songs from the Disney library, as well as two lovely original tunes.
Sweet Summer Nights
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Yes, there are fireworks, but colorful drones are the real stars of Sweet Summer Nights, which runs from June 15 to August 11. They assemble to form butterflies (Dolly’s favorite creatures), stars, and other whimsical shapes that move in three dimensions. On the soundtrack, Ms. Parton accompanies the show with narration and songs.
Courtesy of Dollywood
Ignite
SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida
The park’s Bayside Stadium erupts on select evenings with pyrotechnics, lasers, colorful fountains, and heat-emitting blasts of fire all synced up to a rousing symphonic score. For Ignite’s hyperactive finale, SeaWorld Orlando cranks everything up to 11 and lets loose with a wild volley of fireworks.
Book It!
Check in at these over-the-top theme park hotels
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
The Jungle Cruise’s animatronic animals and the fanciful creatures in Pandora – The World of Avatar are great, but there’s nothing quite like walking out on your balcony with your morning coffee and seeing a real giraffe looking back at you. A whole menagerie roams the savanna outside the Animal Kingdom Lodge, providing a hotel experience unlike any other. Specialists are on hand to answer questions about the wandering hoofed animals, which also include gazelles and zebras. The soaring lobby has a massive window overlooking the animal reserve and is loaded with African art. A trio of on-site restaurants are among the finest at Disney World: The upscale Jiko – The Cooking Place features exquisite African fare, while Boma – Flavors of Africa serves an astonishing bounty of African and American dishes buffet-style; Sanaa’s mashup menu borrows from both Indian and African cuisines.
Courtesy of Disney
Dollywood’s Heartsong Lodge & Resort
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Opened in late 2023, Dollywood’s newest on-property hotel celebrates both the Smoky Mountains and the theme park’s namesake. Photos and artifacts from the multi-hyphenate celebrity abound throughout the warm and inviting resort, which is fashioned to resemble a national park lodge. Live music and kid-friendly pool parties are among Heartsong’s many amenities.
Legoland Hotel
Legoland, Winter Haven, Florida
At the whimsical Legoland Hotel, you’ll never forget where you are: Nearly everything appears to be Lego-made, and guests can play with the colorful bricks both in the lobby and in their themed rooms. Even a ride in the elevator morphs into a silly disco dance party.
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Universal, Orlando, Florida
Universal’s most upscale resort transports guests to an Italian seaside village that feels hushed—even though fire-breathing dragons and vengeful mummies are just around the bend. (It’s a lovely walk or a short boat ride to the parks.) A spa, high-end dining, private pool cabanas, and personal concierge service are among Portofino Bay’s exclusive amenities.
Courtesy of Universal
Icing on the Cake
Complete your theme-park fun with these pie-in-the-sky treats
Great fare abounds at Dollywood, including the park’s to-die-for cinnamon bread. Served hot and slathered in gooey apple butter or buttercream icing, it’s heavenly and addictive.
Illustration by Amber Day
Butterbeer, the cream soda–like drink available at Universal’s Harry Potter lands, is famously delicious. But the lesser-known butterbeer soft-serve at Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour will cast a spell on you with its creaminess.
Illustration by Amber Day
Is it weird to eat seafood at SeaWorld Orlando? Maybe. Especially at Shark’s Underwater Grill, where an enormous fish tank lines one wall. Still, the miso roasted salmon is delectable.
Illustration by Amber Day
Can’t decide whether to go with the Italian ice or the frozen custard at Rita’s Italian Ice in Carowinds? Combine them for “gelati,” a flavor bomb of a cool treat.
Illustration by Amber Day
When you hit the bricks at Legoland, indulge in Granny’s Apple Fries. The yummy, warm apple morsels are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and served with whipped cream.
Illustration by Amber Day
As if the strawberry-cheesecake ice cream, strawberry swirl, and chocolate-covered strawberry in the Berry Berry Cheesecake shake at Busch Gardens Tampa wasn’t already sinful, it’s topped with a slice of cheesecake.
Illustration by Amber Day
Pretty much everything at Tiffin’s Restaurant, the exquisite, fine-dining eatery in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is wonderful. But the tamarind-braised short rib, which is served with medjool date–bacon jam, is especially sublime.
Illustration by Amber Day
For Dole Whip diehards, no visit to the Magic Kingdom is complete without scarfing the frozen treat. It comes in vanilla, but purists know pineapple is the only way to go.
Illustration by Amber Day
What’s New?
Everything old will be new again at the Magic Kingdom when Splash Mountain gets transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the Country Bears star in a rejiggered Musical Jamboree. Both are expected to open this summer.
It’s a coaster. It’s a water ride. It’s the Georgia Surfer, a Six Flags Over Georgia attraction opening this summer that launches passengers 60 mph back and forth as they get soaked by water features.
Riders aboard SeaWorld Orlando’s new Penguin Trek coaster will hop into snowmobile-style vehicles, embark on a thrilling ride, and end with a chilly finale inside the park’s crazy-cold penguin habitat.
On the new Phoenix Rising inverted coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa, the cars will be suspended beneath the track with passengers’ legs dangling, ski lift-style, as they swoop through dives, twists, and highly banked turns.
At Dollywood’s newly opened Dolly Parton Experience, you’ll discover the family history, seminal career moments, and the inimitable glitzy style that define the adored star.
The Trolls Trollercoaster, Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp, Shrek’s Swamp for Little Ogres, and other kid-friendly rides and attractions based on popular animated films await in DreamWorks Land at Universal Studios, opening this summer.
Craft your own race car out of bricks, see how it performs on test tracks, then enter it into a digital race at Legoland’s new Lego Ferrari Build & Race.
When Universal’s third theme park, Epic Universe, opens in 2025, it will bring Nintendo, How to Train Your Dragon, Universal’s classic monsters (Frankenstein and Dracula among them), and Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic to life.
This article appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Southbound.
