Five new attractions promise to deliver big thrills, great views

The Chicago Tribune recently featured Oklahoma City’s RIVERSPORT Rapids in its Travel section as one of five new international attractions delivering “big thrills and great views."

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When it comes to new thrills debuting in 2016, chatter generally winds back to the early April opening of a mini-theme park involving a certain boy wizard at Universal Studios Hollywood.

But why simply follow the crowd, especially at $115 a ticket? Excitement is about to launch coast to coast (and across the Atlantic Ocean) in the coming months. Here are five new attractions that will raise your goose bumps — boy wizards need not apply:

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Oklahoma City

Downtown Oklahoma City might not elicit visions of thrilling water sports, but the city's $45 million Riversport Rapids aquatic facility opens May 7.

Designed by the same team that developed an aquatics facility for the 2012 London Olympics, 11-acre Riversport Rapids offers Class II to IV rapids in a 1,000-foot channel for whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing.

Read the rest of the story on chicagotribune.com.