Are you a white-knuckle warrior? A G-force embracer? Or perhaps a 'scream if you wanna go faster' type of rider? Wherever you get your theme parks thrills, these record-breaking roller coasters are sure to fuel your fears (in a good way). From the world's fastest coaster to the oldest, we've rounded up the rides that have made the record books. Buckle up!
Read on to discover the world's record-breaking roller coasters...
Kingda Ka, which opened in 2005, holds a few impressive records. It is the fastest roller coaster in North America, the world's tallest coaster, and has the largest drop on a ride made of steel: 418 feet (127m). It uses a hydraulic launch system to propel passengers 128 miles per hour (206km/h) up a vertigo-inducing 456 feet (139m) into the air in a matter of 3.5 seconds. Lots of roller coasters use a long hill climb, building tension for what’s to come. Not Kingda Ka. Here, you face the speed straight away. Essentially a rocket coaster rather than a roller coaster, Kingda Ka is for the ultimate thrill-seeker.
Expedition Everest is the world’s most expensive roller coaster. It cost a cool $100 million (£51m) to construct and took six years to conceive, plan and build. The roller coaster, which opened in 2006, is boarded from a Tibetan village at the base of Mount Everest and then whizzes you through the icy Himalayas at 50 miles per hour (80km/h). It is Disney World’s tallest attraction, standing at 199.5 feet (61m). Any taller and it would have needed a red flashing light on top to warn passing aircraft.
Then and now: captivating images of America's oldest theme parks
Aptly named The Beast, this is the longest wooden roller coaster in the world stretching for a staggering 7,361 feet (2,243m). Set on 35 acres of woodland, it was the longest and fastest roller coaster in the world when it opened back in 1979. The Beast has two vertical drops each over 135 feet (41m), eight banked turns, a 125 feet (38m) tunnel and a 540° helix tunnel. It has held the longest wooden coaster mantle for over 40 years now.
For the fastest coaster in Europe, you need to head to Ferrari Land in Spain. Red Force, which opened in 2017, peaks at a blistering 111.9 miles per hour (180km/h). It is also Europe’s highest roller coaster at 367 feet (112m). Like a Formula One car, it accelerates off the grid in just five seconds and catapults you straight into the sky and back down again. Definitely not for the faint-hearted but a must for F1 fans.
Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster was the first strata coaster in the world when it opened in 2003. This specific type of ride uses a powerful launching system to propel the roller coaster upwards of 400 feet (122m) at a 90° angle and back down at the same angle. The Top Thrill Dragster rockets riders to 120 miles per hour (193km/h) in 3.8 seconds. It’s become an iconic ride among roller coaster enthusiasts.
Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Resort is home to Europe’s longest roller coaster, appropriately named The Big One. The out-and-back ride takes three minutes to get around, with a track that measures over a mile in length (5,497 feet/1,675m) and features plenty of tension-building hill climbs combined with exciting descents. Riders experience positive G-forces of up to 3.5g – and of course panoramic views of Blackpool’s seafront. The Big One took the title for Europe’s longest coaster after The Ultimate, in North Yorkshire, England, was closed and then demolished in 2023.
This eight-year-old ride shares the record for the world's largest inversion loop (with Hyper Coaster in Turkey) at 139 feet (43m). The unique loop wraps around another part of the track, which also features a chain lift hill and zero-G roll. Flash is set in China’s biggest amusement park, Lewa Adventure.
Love this? Follow our Facebook page for more travel inspiration
Hyper Coaster also holds the record for the largest loop with Flash in China. Both loops are 139 feet (43m) and were built by the same company, Mack Rides. Hyper Coaster carried its first riders in 2018. It takes riders up a huge lift hill before dropping through a 180° left turn straight into the colossal loop at 72 miles per hour (116km/h).
The Great Scenic Railway in Melbourne is the oldest operating roller coaster in existence. It opened in 1912 and has remained in operation ever since. It was designed by ‘the father of modern roller coasters’ LaMarcus Adna Thompson. The track features 3,173 feet (967m) of dips and turns with amazing views of Port Phillip Bay. The trains themselves weigh nearly two tonnes each and clip along at a steady 37 miles per hour (60km/h).
Even the name, Steel Dragon 2000, makes the spine tingle. This is officially the longest steel roller coaster in the world. Opened in 2000, it takes daring riders along a 8,133-foot track (2,479m) and sends them plummeting 307 feet (94m) at speeds of up to 95 miles per hour (150km/h). The ride also has the most steel ever used on a roller coaster to protect it from earthquakes.
Check out these eerie abandoned amusement parks around the world
The Fury 325 is the longest steel roller coaster in North America. It is also the fastest and tallest giga coaster of its kind in the US, as it reaches heights of 325 feet (99m) and has an 81° drop. It's got a huge 190 feet (58m) barrel roll that the riders take at 95 miles per hour (153km/h). But with 6,600 feet (2,011m) of track, it lasts longer than some speedy coasters – three minutes and 20 seconds.
The fastest roller coaster in the world right now has a mind-bending top speed of 149.1 miles per hour (240km/h). We're dizzy just thinking about it! The hydraulic launch system gets to its top speed quickly too – in 4.9 seconds, to be precise. It goes so fast that passengers have to wear protective glasses. The train carriages are shaped like Formula One Ferrari racing cars and the track itself is full of tight turns and drops, reminiscent of a Grand Prix course.
The Steel Curtain sits perched on a hill, towering over Kennywood Park and can be seen for miles around. From a distance, it looks like a strange monolith of steel, but as you get closer, you start to see the track with its loops, drops and record-breaking nine inversions. It is the only roller coaster in the world to be named after an American football team – well, the defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers from the 1970s, who were so feared their defensive line was nicknamed the Steel Curtain.
Switchback is the only wooden shuttle roller coaster in the world, meaning it can go backwards and forwards. During the quirky ride, the locomotive-themed trains make two journeys through an old grocery store, before completing the circuit backwards. It also holds the record for the steepest angled drop of all wooden roller coasters at 87°.
Valravn opened in 2016 and is a record-breaking floorless coaster. Riders' feet dangle about as they whizz 223 feet (68m) in the air, the coaster then pauses for four scary seconds before it bombs down a 90° drop. When it opened it held the records for tallest, fastest and longest dive roller coaster, before Canada's Yukon Striker took over in 2019.
Speaking of Yukon Striker, this incredible dive coaster is the star attraction at Canada's Wonderland. Reaching heights of 245 feet (75m), speeds of 80 miles per hour (130km/h) and boasting a track length of 3,625 feet (1,105m), Yukon Striker is not for the faint-hearted. The best bit? Hanging over a 90° drop for three seconds before darting into an underwater tunnel. A complete 360° loop also awaits – the only one of its kind for a dive coaster.
Setting world records since it launched in 2013, Full Throttle is as unique as it is scary. It has the tallest vertical loop in the world, and at 160 feet (49m) it's the only coaster in the world to have a track on the outside of the loop. Full Throttle also features three separate 70 mile per hour (113km/h) launches. One in particular propels riders backwards around the massive loop, stops midway, switches direction mid loop and dives back into a tunnel towards the 'top hat' (the outside of the track).
Named after the not-so-scary Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this incredible indoor roller coaster tops the record books for having a vertigo-inducing 121.5° vertical drop. Just 0.5° steeper than previous record-holder, Takabisha in Japan, this relatively new ride (it opened in 2019) goes from 0-62.1 miles per hour (100km/h) in just two seconds, before climbing a lift hill, hanging for what seems like an eternity, then descending the steepest coaster slope in the world.
It is a tie for the title of the world’s highest wooden roller coaster. Both the T Express in South Korea and Wildfire in Sweden rise 183.3 feet (56m) towards the sky. The T Express has a vertical drop of 150.9 feet (46m) while Wildfire drops from 160.8 feet (49m).
Proving to be the most extreme coaster of its kind, Goliath in Six Flags certainly lives up to its name. It has a couple of records to boast about, including the world's tallest drop for a wooden coaster, at 180 feet (55m), as well as the fastest, reaching speeds of 72 miles per hour (116km/h). Before conquering Goliath, riders must endure three over-banked turns, a 180° zero G-roll twist, two inversions and a spiralling inverted zero G stall.
It is another tie, this time for most inversions on a wooden roller coaster. Both have three inversions, which is quite a feat on wooden tracks. Reaching speeds of nearly 72 miles per hour (115km/h), Wildfire is slightly quicker than Outlaw Run (68 miles per hour/109km/h).
California’s Six Flags Magic Mountain is also the home of the tallest and longest single-rail coaster on the planet. Opened in 2022, the Wonder Woman Flight of Courage is 3,300 feet (1,010m) long and reaches 13 stories high, travelling at speeds of up to 58 miles per hour (94 km/h).
So which theme park has the most of these incredible, white-knuckle, hair-raising rides? And the winner is… Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, US. It has a whopping 20 individual roller coasters. Time to plan a trip…
Now discover the USA's best roadside attractions worth travelling to