Jaunted

Ohio has seen its share of economic depression over the last year, so we’re happy that Kings Island is giving back to the community. Set to launch April 18, the Diamondback will make you feel warm inside—until it makes you sick. This steel beast is going to take you to 80 miles per hour, and then just dump you 215-feet. Thanks to the seat-belt free design, and unique stadium seating, the view of your impending doom will be totally unobstructed. For total coaster addicts, this may be the pick of the season.

California is a great place for theme park junkies, after all, it where parks were pretty much invented. However, since Mickey started to winter with your parents in Florida, the attention has shifted a bit. On Memorial Day weekend, Six Flags Magic Mountain looks to grab back some of the thrill with a new wooden coaster—Terminator Salvation: The Ride. To us, nothing beats a wooden coaster—the creeks, squeaks, and shakes all improve the experience. Hopefully the screws won’t come loose on this sucker as it reaches speeds of up to 55 mph as it drops a solid 100-feet. No word if Governor Schwarzenegger will be on hand to welcome this thing.

In the middle of the country, Worlds of Fun is looking to attract locals with a wooden coaster of their own. Prowler may not be as impressive as Terminator, but with an 85-foot drop and speeds a little over 50 mph, it might get close. Park officials claim that one of the best things going for this guy is that it doesn’t ever calm down. You’re cruising fast after the drop, and things don’t slow until it hits the brakes—who doesn’t enjoy some summer whiplash?

Within a stone’s throw from Universal’s new offering, Shamu and friends have something up their sleeve. They’re riding high with their new water park, but things haven’t slowed down at the main park. Manta is set to debut sometime this summer—apparently parks in Florida have commitment problems—and will be way more exciting than the sea lion show. It’s a steel coaster, goes almost 60 mph, has four loops, zooms to 140-feet, and has a lie flat seating design to make you feel like a creature of the sea. The best part though is waiting in line—well maybe not the best part—but you'll surrounded within an aquarium with hundreds of rays just swimming around.

This season looks to be a good one, now we just need to scrounge up some change.

Related Stories:
·New Roller Coasters To Make Debut In 2009 [Baltimore Sun]
·Kings Island [Official Site]
·Six Flags Magic Mountain [Official Site]
·Worlds Of Fun - Prowler [Official Site]
·Universal Orlando [Official Site]
·SeaWorld Orlando [Official Site]
·Roller Coasters coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of the Prowler's birth: Worlds Of Fun]