Top 10 Highest Roller Coasters in the World
10. Intimidator (305 ft)
Intimidator 305 is a steel roller coaster located in Doswell, Virginia, United States, at Kings Dominion. Built by Intamin, Intimidator 305 opened as the fourteenth roller coaster of the park to the public on 2 April 2010. It is situated on the former Safari Monorail ride site, in the park’s Safari Village section near Anaconda. It is the second Giga Coaster to be designed in North America, following the Millennium Force at Cedar Point, standing at 305 feet (93 m) tall and hitting speeds of up to 90 miles per hour (140 km / h) The $25-million investment has been the highest in park history of any coaster.
Intimidator 305 sits on the former Safari Monorail occupied land that closed in 1993. On 1 June 2009, Kings Dominion broke ground on Intimidator 305. A few days later the first bits of track arrived. The first bits of steel were erected on August 19. In November 2009 the 305-foot (93 m) lift hill was overtaken. Construction teams have continued to construct the ride over the winter and on January 9, 2010, the last piece of track was removed. The first test run of Intimidator 305 was on Sunday 14 March 2010.
9. Leviathan (306 ft)
Leviathan is a steel roller coaster in the park’s Medieval Faire area at the Wonderland of Canada, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is the first roller coaster designed by Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard to reach 91.5 meters (300 ft) in height, putting it in a class of roller coasters generally known as giga. At 1,672 meters (5,486 ft) long, 93.3 meters (306 ft) high, and with a peak speed of 148 km / h (92 mph), Leviathan is Canada’s highest and fastest roller coaster, taking records previously held by Behemoth around the park.
8. Millennium Force (310 ft)
Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster in amusement park Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Manufactured by Intamin, it was the fourteenth roller coaster of the park which dates back to Blue Streak’s opening in 1964. Upon completion in 2000, Millennium Force broke six world records and became the world’s first giga coaster, a concept invented by Intamin and Cedar Point to describe roller coasters in height exceeding 300 feet (91 m) and completing a full circuit. It was briefly the world’s highest and strongest, before Steel Dragon 2000 opened later that year.
The Millennium Force features a cable lift hill of 310 feet (94 m) with a 300-foot (91 m) drop, two tunnels, three overbanked turns and four hills. As well, the coaster has a maximum speed of 93 mph (150 km / h). Millennium Force has been voted number one steel roller coaster ten times in Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards since its debut; as of 2019, it had never been ranked below second.
7. Steel Dragon 2000 (318 ft)
Steel Dragon 2000 is a steel roller coaster in Mie Prefecture, Japan, located at Nagashima Spa Land amusement park. Built by Morgan Manufacturing, on August 1, 2000 Steel Dragon opened its doors to the public, taking its name from Chinese astrology and zodiac calendars where the year 2000 reflects the dragon. In its debut, it set many world records, becoming the world’s longest roller coaster with a track length of 2.479 meters (8.133 ft), as well as the highest and fastest among complete-circuit coasters.
6. Fury 325 (325 ft)
Fury 325 is a steel roller coaster, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Carowinds amusement park. On 28 March 2015, Fury 325, manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, opened to the public. It features a 6,602-foot (2,012 m) track that reaches a maximum height of 325 feet (99 m), making it the world’s fifth-highest roller coaster and the highest overall among roller coasters utilizing a conventional chain lift hill. Riders reach speeds of up to 153 km / h (95 miles per hour), winding around high-speed curves and going under and over the main entrance to the park. Fury 325 was also named the best steel coaster in Amusement worldwide.
In September 2012 in one of its meetings the Charlotte City Council debated proposals for a new roller coaster and it was announced that the ride would cost around $30 million. It was discussed in a closed-session meeting that the roller coaster would be 70 feet (21 m) higher than the Intimidator roller coaster in the park, which is 232 feet (71 m), meaning that the new coaster will be 302 feet (92 m) long.
5. Red Fury (367 ft)
Red Force is a steel-launched roller coaster located in Salou, Catalonia, Spain, at Ferrari Land, inside PortAventura World. Fabricated by Swiss manufacturer Intamin, the ride opened on 7 April 2017. With an altitude of 112 meters (367 ft) and a top speed of 180 km / h (112 mph), Red Force is Europe’s highest and fastest roller coaster as of 2019.
If the train leaves the station it is accelerated from zero to 180 kilometers per hour (112 mph) in 5 seconds by linear synchronous motors. The train then ascends a top hat of 112 meters (367 ft) wide, turning to the right 90 degrees. When the train reaches the top hat, it descends back down, turning 90 degrees to the left again. This causes the train to fly parallel but in the opposite direction to the launch line. The train then steps through a flat brake run and scales a short airtime hill before reaching the final set of brakes.
4. Tower of Terror 2 (377 ft)
The Terror Tower II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia’s Dreamworld amusement park. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it became the world’s first roller coaster to hit speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 km / h) making it the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster of its period. The ride was situated at the Dreamworld Tower which also houses free fall ride to The Giant Drop.
The construction of the steel and concrete structure cost 16 million A$. The original ride featured a shorter tunnel of 80 meters (260 ft), a rigid lap bar using a hydraulic locking mechanism and holding 15 passengers at a time.
The relaunched trip will hold 14 passengers. It propels passengers with a gross weightlessness of 4.5 g and 6.5 seconds, to just under 161 kilometers per hour (100 mph). As of 2010, the ride was fourth in the highest roller coaster rankings, threeth in the highest roller coaster drop rankings and fourth in the fastest roller coaster rankings.
3. Superman: Escape from Krypton (415 ft)
Superman: Escape from Krypton is a steel shuttle roller coaster, located in Valencia, California, at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It was the world’s tallest roller coaster when it opened in 1997, and its speed of 100 mph (160 km / h) was tied for the highest with Tower of Terror II, a similar roller coaster that debuted at Dreamworld in Australia two months earlier. Such two coasters were the first to use Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) technology to drive high speed vehicles.
The park initially planned to open the ride in 1996 but due to many issues with the launch system the opening was postponed. The coaster was closed for refurbishment in late 2010, and reopened as “Superman: Escape from Krypton” in 2011. The refurbished ride included new trains facing backwards, speeds up to 104 mph (167 km / h), and a new color scheme was applied on it.
2. Top Thrill Dragster (420 ft)
Top Thrill Dragster is a roller coaster with steel accelerator situated at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Manufactured by Intamin, after Blue Streak in 1964, this was the sixteenth roller coaster to be installed at the park. It opened in 2003 as the world’s tallest roller coaster and the first full-circuit roller coaster to reach a height of more than 400 feet (120 m). Kingda Ka later overtook her height record at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2005. Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka are the only coasters found in the strata.
1. Kingda Ka (458 ft)
Kingda Ka is a steel roller coaster, located in Jackson, New Jersey, at Six Flags Great Adventure. Crafted by Werner Stengel, Kingda Ka is an Intamin Accelerator Coaster model which opened on 21 May 2005 as the world’s highest and second fastest roller coaster. It is also the second ever built strata coaster, a roller coaster which exceeds 120 m (400 feet) in height. Top Thrill Dragster was the first and both records had been kept previously.
A hydraulic launch mechanism starts the train, accelerating to 128 miles per hour (206 km / h) in 3.5 seconds. At the end of the launch track, the train climbs the main top hat tower feature, reaching an altitude of 456 feet (139 m), before falling 418 feet (127 m) and finishing the course in 28 seconds. Although Kingda Ka is still the tallest, when it opened at Ferrari World in 2010, Formula Rossa broke her speed record.
