List of roller coaster rankings
Roller coasters are amusement rides developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. Early iterations during the 16th and 17th centuries, which were popular in Russia, were wooden sleds that took riders down large slides made from ice. The first roller coasters that attached a train to a wooden track appeared in France in the early 1800s.[1] Although wooden roller coasters are still being produced, steel roller coasters, introduced in the mid-20th-century, became more common and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.[2]
![](../I/Formula_Rossa_coaster.jpg.webp)
Amusement parks often compete to build the tallest, fastest, and longest rides to attract thrill seekers and boost overall park attendance.[3] Ranked by height, speed, length, and number of inversions, roller coasters often became the focal point for competing parks. Computer-simulated models led to new innovations that produced more intense thrills while improving quality and durability.[4] The debut of Magnum XL-200 in 1989 at Cedar Point introduced the first complete-circuit roller coaster to exceed 200 feet (61 m),[5][6] marking a pivot point in the industry.[4] The new era, sometimes referred to as the Coaster Wars,[4] saw increasing competition as parks sought to be the latest to break world records, with some only lasting a year or less.[7]
The pace of competition eventually slowed, however.[4][7] Record holder Kingda Ka, the tallest coaster in the world at 456 feet (139 m),[8] has held onto its record since 2005.[4][7] Other notable coasters include Formula Rossa, the world's fastest, which reaches a top speed of 149 mph (240 km/h),[9] Steel Dragon 2000, the world's longest, measuring 8,133 feet (2,479 m),[10] and The Smiler which features fourteen inversions.[11]
Key
Key | Meaning |
---|---|
1 | Record holder |
** | Under construction |
* | Still exists but not operating |
Height rankings
Tallest steel roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Height | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kingda Ka | Six Flags Great Adventure | ![]() |
456 ft (139 m) | Intamin | May 2005 – present |
2 | Superman: Escape from Krypton[note 1] | Six Flags Magic Mountain | ![]() |
415 ft (126 m) | Intamin | March 1997 – May 2003 |
3 | Red Force | Ferrari Land | ![]() |
367.3 ft (112.0 m) | Intamin | — |
4 | Fury 325 | Carowinds | ![]() |
325 ft (99 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
5 | Steel Dragon 2000 | Nagashima Spa Land | ![]() |
318.3 ft (97.0 m) | Morgan | — |
6 | Millennium Force | Cedar Point | ![]() |
310 ft (94 m) | Intamin | — |
7 | Leviathan | Canada's Wonderland | ![]() |
306 ft (93 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
8 | Intimidator 305 | Kings Dominion | ![]() |
305 ft (93 m) | Intamin | — |
9 | Orion | Kings Island | ![]() |
287 ft (87 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
10 | Thunder Dolphin | Tokyo Dome City | ![]() |
262.5 ft (80.0 m) | Intamin | — |
Longest steel roller coaster drops
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Drop length | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kingda Ka | Six Flags Great Adventure | ![]() |
418 ft (127 m) | Intamin | May 2005 – present |
* | ||||||
2 | Red Force | Ferrari Land | ![]() |
Unknown | Intamin | — |
3 | Superman: Escape from Krypton[note 1] | Six Flags Magic Mountain | ![]() |
328.1 ft (100.0 m) | Intamin | March 1997 – May 2003 |
4 | Fury 325 | Carowinds | ![]() |
320 ft (98 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
5 | Steel Dragon 2000 | Nagashima Spa Land | ![]() |
306.8 ft (93.5 m) | D. H. Morgan Manufacturing | — |
6 | Leviathan | Canada's Wonderland | ![]() |
306 ft (93 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
7 | Intimidator 305 | Kings Dominion | ![]() |
300 ft (91 m) | Intamin | — |
Millennium Force | Cedar Point | ![]() |
300 ft (91 m) | Intamin | — | |
Orion | Kings Island | ![]() |
300 ft (91 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — | |
10 | Hyperion | Energylandia | ![]() |
269 ft (82 m) | Intamin | — |
Tallest wooden roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Height | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | T Express | Everland | ![]() |
183.8 ft (56.0 m) | Intamin | June 2009 – present |
Wildfire | Kolmården Wildlife Park | ![]() |
183.8 ft (56.0 m) | Rocky Mountain Construction | June 2016 – present | |
3 | El Toro | Six Flags Great Adventure | ![]() |
181 ft (55 m) | Intamin | — |
4 | Goliath | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
165 ft (50 m) | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
5 | Colossos - Kampf der Giganten | Heide Park | ![]() |
164 ft (50 m) | Intamin | — |
6 | The Voyage | Holiday World & Splashin' Safari | ![]() |
159 ft (48 m) | The Gravity Group | — |
7 | Hades 360 | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | ![]() |
136 ft (41 m) | The Gravity Group | — |
8 | Wodan Timbur Coaster | Europa-Park | ![]() |
131.2 ft (40.0 m) | Great Coasters International | — |
9 | Le Monstre | La Ronde | ![]() |
130.9 ft (39.9 m) | Martin & Vleminckx | — |
10 | American Eagle | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
127 ft (39 m) | Intamin | — |
Longest wooden roller coaster drops
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Drop length | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Goliath | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
180 ft (55 m) | Rocky Mountain Construction | June 2014 – present |
2 | El Toro | Six Flags Great Adventure | ![]() |
176 ft (54 m) | Intamin | June 2009 – June 2014 |
3 | Outlaw Run | Silver Dollar City | ![]() |
162 ft (49 m) | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
4 | Wildfire | Kolmården Wildlife Park | ![]() |
160.8 ft (49.0 m) | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
5 | Colossos - Kampf der Giganten | Heide Park | ![]() |
159.1 ft (48.5 m) | Intamin | — |
6 | The Voyage | Holiday World & Splashin' Safari | ![]() |
154 ft (47 m) | The Gravity Group | — |
7 | T Express | Everland | ![]() |
150.9 ft (46.0 m) | Intamin | — |
8 | The Boss | Six Flags St. Louis | ![]() |
150 ft (46 m) | Custom Coasters International | — |
9 | American Eagle | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
147 ft (45 m) | Intamin | May 1981 – May 1991 |
10 | The Beast | Kings Island | ![]() |
141 ft (43 m) | Kings Island | April 1979 – May 1981 |
Gallery
- Kingda Ka, the tallest roller coaster in the world.
- Mean Streak opened as the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world in 1991.
- Colossos of Heide Park in Germany, one of the tallest wooden roller coasters in the world.
Speed rankings
Fastest steel roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Speed | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Formula Rossa | Ferrari World Abu Dhabi | ![]() |
149.1 mph (240.0 km/h) | Intamin | November 2010 – present |
2 | Kingda Ka | Six Flags Great Adventure | ![]() |
128 mph (206 km/h) | Intamin | May 2005 – November 2010 |
* | Top Thrill Dragster | Cedar Point | ![]() |
120 mph (190 km/h) | Intamin | May 2003 – May 2005 |
3 | Red Force | Ferrari Land | ![]() |
111.8 mph (179.9 km/h) | Intamin | — |
* | Do-Dodonpa | Fuji-Q Highland | ![]() |
111.8 mph (179.9 km/h) | S&S | December 2001 – May 2003 |
4 | Superman: Escape from Krypton[note 1] | Six Flags Magic Mountain | ![]() |
100 mph (160 km/h) | Intamin | March 1997 – December 2001 |
* | Ring Racer | Nürburgring | ![]() |
99.4 mph (160.0 km/h) | S&S | — |
5 | Steel Dragon 2000 | Nagashima Spa Land | ![]() |
95 mph (153 km/h) | Morgan | — |
Fury 325 | Carowinds | ![]() |
95 mph (153 km/h) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — | |
7 | Millennium Force | Cedar Point | ![]() |
93 mph (150 km/h) | Intamin | — |
8 | Leviathan | Canada's Wonderland | ![]() |
92 mph (148 km/h) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
9 | Orion | Kings Island | ![]() |
91 mph (146 km/h) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
Fastest wooden roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Speed | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Goliath | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
72 mph (116 km/h) | Rocky Mountain Construction | June 2014 – June 2016 September 2020 – present |
2 | Wildfire | Kolmården Wildlife Park | ![]() |
71.5 mph (115.1 km/h) | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
3 | El Toro | Six Flags Great Adventure | ![]() |
70 mph (110 km/h) | Intamin | June 2009 – June 2014 |
4 | Colossos - Kampf der Giganten | Heide Park | ![]() |
68.4 mph (110.1 km/h) | Intamin | — |
5 | Outlaw Run | Silver Dollar City | ![]() |
68 mph (109 km/h) | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
6 | The Voyage | Holiday World & Splashin' Safari | ![]() |
67 mph (108 km/h) | The Gravity Group | — |
7 | The Boss | Six Flags St. Louis | ![]() |
66.3 mph (106.7 km/h) | Custom Coasters International | April 2000 – May 2000 |
8 | American Eagle | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
66 mph (106 km/h) | Intamin | May 1981 – April 2000 |
9 | The Beast | Kings Island | ![]() |
64.8 mph (104.3 km/h) | Kings Island | April 1979 – May 1981 |
10 | T Express | Everland | ![]() |
64.6 mph (104.0 km/h) | Intamin | — |
Gallery
- El Toro, formerly the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world.
- American Eagle opened as the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world in 1981.
Length rankings
Longest steel roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Length | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steel Dragon 2000 | Nagashima Spa Land | ![]() |
8,133 ft (2,479 m) | D. H. Morgan Manufacturing | August 2000 – present |
* | The Ultimate | Lightwater Valley | ![]() |
7,442 ft (2,268 m) | British Rail | July 1991 – August 2000 |
2 | Fujiyama | Fuji-Q Highland | ![]() |
6,709 ft (2,045 m) | TOGO | — |
3 | Fury 325 | Carowinds | ![]() |
6,602 ft (2,012 m) | Bolliger & Mabillard | — |
4 | Millennium Force | Cedar Point | ![]() |
6,595 ft (2,010 m) | Intamin | — |
5 | Formula Rossa | Ferrari World Abu Dhabi | ![]() |
6,562 ft (2,000 m) | Intamin | — |
6 | Incredicoaster | Disney California Adventure | ![]() |
6,072 ft (1,851 m) | Intamin | — |
* | Desperado | Buffalo Bill's | ![]() |
5,843 ft (1,781 m) | Arrow Dynamics | — |
7 | Steel Vengeance | Cedar Point | ![]() |
5,740 ft (1,750 m) | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
8 | Mamba | Worlds of Fun | ![]() |
5,600 ft (1,700 m) | D. H. Morgan Manufacturing | — |
Steel Force | Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | ![]() |
5,600 ft (1,700 m) | D. H. Morgan Manufacturing | — |
Gallery
- Steel Dragon 2000, the longest roller coaster in the world.
Longest wooden roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Length | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Beast | Kings Island | ![]() |
7,361 ft (2,244 m) | Kings Island | April 1979 – present |
2 | The Voyage | Holiday World & Splashin' Safari | ![]() |
6,442 ft (1,964 m) | The Gravity Group | — |
3 | T Express | Everland | ![]() |
5,383.8 ft (1,641.0 m) | Intamin | — |
4 | Shivering Timbers | Michigan's Adventure | ![]() |
5,383 ft (1,641 m) | Custom Coasters International | — |
5 | Jupiter | Kijima Amusement Park | ![]() |
5,249 ft (1,600 m) | Intamin | — |
6 | Python in Bamboo Forest | Nanchang Wanda Theme Park | ![]() |
5,111 ft (1,558 m) | Great Coasters International | — |
7 | Wood Coaster | Knight Valley | ![]() |
4,817 ft (1,468 m) | Great Coasters International | — |
8 | Hades 360 | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | ![]() |
4,746 ft (1,447 m) | The Gravity Group | — |
9 | Boulder Dash | Lake Compounce | ![]() |
4,725 ft (1,440 m) | Custom Coasters International | — |
10 | American Eagle | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
4,650 ft (1,420 m) | Intamin | — |
Inversion rankings
This listing contains all types of roller coaster inversions.
Steel roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Inversions | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Smiler | Alton Towers | ![]() |
14 | Gerstlauer | May 2013 – present |
** | Eleventh Roller Coaster | Great Xingdong Tourist World | ![]() |
11 | Hebei Zhongye | — |
2 | 10 Inversion Roller Coaster | Chimelong Paradise | ![]() |
10 | Intamin | February 2006 – May 2013 |
Altair | Cinecittà World | ![]() |
Intamin | — | ||
Colossus | Thorpe Park | ![]() |
Intamin | March 2002 – May 2013 | ||
Crazy Coaster | Locajoy Holiday | ![]() |
Intamin | — | ||
Velikolukskiy Myasokombinat-2 | Wonder Island | ![]() |
Intamin | — | ||
Sik | Flamingo Land | ![]() |
Intamin | — | ||
* | LightSpeed | Wonderland Eurasia | ![]() |
10 | Intamin | — |
7 | Avalancha | Xetulul | ![]() |
8 | Intamin | — |
Dragon Khan | PortAventura Park | ![]() |
Bolliger & Mabillard | May 1995 – March 2002 | ||
Steel Curtain | Kennywood | ![]() |
S&S - Sansei Technologies | — | ||
** | unknown | Mirabilandia | ![]() |
8 | Intamin | — |
Wooden roller coasters
Rank | Name | Park | Country | Inversions | Manufacturer | Record held |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Outlaw Run | Silver Dollar City | ![]() |
3 | Rocky Mountain Construction | March 2013 – present |
Wildfire | Kolmården Wildlife Park | ![]() |
Rocky Mountain Construction | June 2016 – present | ||
3 | Goliath | Six Flags Great America | ![]() |
2 | Rocky Mountain Construction | — |
4 | Hades 360 | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | ![]() |
1 | The Gravity Group | — |
Jungle Trailblazer | Oriental Heritage, Ningbo | ![]() |
Martin & Vleminckx Rides | — | ||
Jungle Trailblazer | Oriental Heritage, Wuhu | ![]() |
Martin & Vleminckx Rides | — | ||
Jungle Trailblazer | Oriental Heritage, Jinan | ![]() |
Martin & Vleminckx Rides | — | ||
Mine Blower | Fun Spot America: Kissimmee | ![]() |
The Gravity Group | — |
Notes
- A shuttle roller coaster, not complete-circuit
- Record was held by The Rattler from March 1992 – May 2000, with a height of 179.7 feet (54.8 m).[14]
- Record was held by Son of Beast from May 2000 – June 2009. It had a height of 218 feet (66 m), a drop distance of 214 feet (65 m) and a maximum speed of 78 mph (126 km/h).[15]
- Record was held by Lightning Rod from June 2016 – September 2020, before its conversion into a steel roller coaster. It had a drop distance of 165 feet (50 m) and a maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h).[19]
References
- Harris, Tom. "How Roller Coasters Work". Discovery Communications. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Census Report". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Martín, Hugo (March 13, 2012). "Thrill ride designers compete to push the limits". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- "Top Thrill Dragster: The Inside Track on Cedar Point's Landmark Coaster and Potential Final Lap". Theme Park Tourist. March 25, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- "It's opening weekend for Cedar Point". Associated Press. May 15, 2009. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
- "Magnum XL–200 20th anniversary ceremony". PointBuzz. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- Miller, Danny (July 29, 2013). "Battle Resurgence: Are the Coaster Wars back?". COASTER-net. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- Marden, Duane. "Kingda Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Marden, Duane. "Formula Rossa (Ferrari World Abu Dhabi)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Marden, Duane. "Steel Dragon 2000 (Nagashima Spa Land)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Marden, Duane. "The Smiler (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- Marden, Duane. "Steel Record Holders – Height". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- Marden, Duane. "Steel Record Holders – Drop". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Iron Rattler (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Marden, Duane. "Son of Beast (Kings Island)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Marden, Duane. "Wood Record Holders – Height". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Wood Record Holders – Drop". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Record Holders – Steel – Speed". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
- Marden, Duane. "Lightning Rod (Dollywood)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Marden, Duane. "Wood Record Holders – Speed". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Record Holders – Steel – Length". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- Marden, Duane. "Wood Record Holders – Length". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Steel Record Holders – Most Inversions". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- Marden, Duane. "Wood Record Holders – Most Inversions". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
External links
![](../I/Commons-logo.svg.png.webp)
- Roller coaster census at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Top 100 roller coasters on CoasterBuzz