Welcome to 2026!
It's the new year, which means it is time to announce a new set of winners in our annual Theme Park Insider Awards. Today, we will kick off the announcements with the reveal of this year's Best New Attraction.
I gotta admit. As has been the case with several recent Best New Attraction awards, the vote was not close. The runaway winner this year is Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment at the new Universal Epic Universe theme park in Orlando.
Monsters Unchained brings to life an original story in the park's Dark Universe land - Universal's first theme park land devoted to its classic monsters. Victoria Frankenstein is carrying on her family's tradition of controlling life, but the vampires of Darkmoor are not about to let a Frankenstein be in charge. The new Dr. Frankenstein has launched a plan to capture the monsters of Darkmoor, but of course it all has to go horribly wrong.
Yet it all goes wonderfully right for theme park fans, as Universal Creative delivers an onslaught of animatronics and theatrical effects, witnessed up-close by riders on twisting robot-arm ride vehicles. Watch our full-experience POV video above for a taste of what awaits Epic Universe visitors on Monsters Unchained.
Universal Epic Universe attractions dominated the sharp end of the voting for this year's New Attraction honors. In second place this year was Epic's Stardust Racers, the park's Mack Rides double-launch racing roller coaster.
Next in the voting came Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, the anchor attraction in Universal's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter land. Ministry of Magic is set in 1930s wizarding Paris from the Fantastic Beasts series. The ride, however, is set in the British Ministry of Magic just after the conclusion of the original series. That means guests have to use the Floo Network (with a time turner boost?) to arrive, just in time for the trial - and escape? - of Dolores Umbridge. Watch our full queue and ride POV video.
Roller coasters rounded out the top picks in this year's voting from Theme Park Insider readers, with the next three attractions placing close to one another, with AlpenFury at Canada's Wonderland leading that group. Watch the POV video for the record-setting Premier Rides Sky Rocket.
Next up was Siren's Curse at Cedar Point, the first U.S. installation of the Vekoma tilt coaster. Watch our on-ride video.
Finally, Theme Park Insider readers showed their love for - yep, another Epic Universe ride - Hiccup's Wing Gliders, the park's Intamin family coaster. Watch our POV.
Tomorrow, we will announce the winners in our readers' voting for Best Roller Coaster. Thank you to everyone who voted this year, and - again - Happy New Year!
Frankenstein is so wonderful.
Next time you go, ask a TM if they'll give you a tour, including walking you back to the extended queue. There's a bunch of easter eggs.
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Got to admit, it was my favorite ride at Epic. So good. Stardust comes into it's own at night, but I'm glad to see Unchained get the honors .... well deserved.