Are you a thrill-seeker? A fiend for adrenaline? Do you find yourself often frequenting theme parks, searching eagerly a coaster capable of inducing a sufficient amount of excitement? Rollercoasters have been popular in America since the 1920s, but their history actually stretches back even further. As it turns out, the idea of rollercoasters were actually conceived as a potential distraction against Satan’s many temptations. In 1884, unmoored by the proliferation of local brothels and saloons, LaMarcus Adna Thompson invented what was called the Switchback Gravity Railway, a coaster in Coney Island that locals could patronize for just 5 cents. The coaster was gravity-powered, consisting of slow-moving cars rolling along at roughly 6mph, as riders enjoyed a constructed scene presented before them. In its first manifestation, the roller-coaster was more of a slow-moving trolley, not the gargantuan steel structures we observe today.
As coasters become more popular, experimentation with them also concomitantly grew. In the 1880s, Lina Beecher tinkered with the concept of a vertical loop, which came into fruition with the Flip Flap Railway, located at Sea Lion Park, in Brooklyn. Though the Great Depression curtailed the popularity of frivolous amusements like theme parks, by the 1950s, Americans were once again eager to reward themselves with fun. In 1959, Disneyland introduced a revolution in rollercoaster design with the construction of the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction; which was the first rollercoaster to leverage tubular steel tracks. The application of steel allowed rollercoaster designers the ability to incorporate new elements like loops, corkscrews, and many other maneuvers into their coasters. By 1975, the first modern-day roller coaster featuring an inverted element opened at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, California: It was called the Corskscrew.
Since then, the design of rollercoasters have become increasingly daring. The tallest rollercoaster in the world – The Kingda Ka — reaches a summit of 465 feet, taking visitors on a steep vertical ascension before plummeting precipitously to the ground. The fastest rollercoaster in the world is located in Abu Dhabi and is called the Formula Rossa. Riders go from zero to 149 miles per hour in just 4.98 seconds. The longest rollercoaster in the world, the Steel Dragon, is located in Japan and stretches for a total of 1.5 miles.
In this article, we’ll explore the 6 fastest rollercoasters in America, providing you with ideas to satiate your next adrenaline-soaked adventure.
Kingda Ka
Location: Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Top Speed: 128 MPH
Background: For a maximum thrill, search no further than the Kingda Ka. Colloquially, it can be referred to as the “King of Rollercoasters.” It holds such honorifics as being the tallest rollercoaster in the world, as well as being the fastest rollercoaster in North America. It reaches a zenith of 465 feet, or roughly 85 stories. Riders are launched from the departing station with gusto, reaching 128MPH in 3.5 seconds, climbing a 90-degree vertical with eyes firmly rolled back. Once the summit of the coaster is reached, riders then plummet immediately down in a 270 degree spiral. It is an experience fit for royalty.
Top Thrill Dragster – 6 Fastest Rollercoasters in America
Location: Cedar Point, Ohio
Top Speed: 120 MPH
Background: Likely the inspirational source for Kingda Ka, TTP (Top Thrill Dragster) opened in 2003 and was coined the world’s first “strata-coaster,” reaching a heretofore unheard of height of 420 feet. Reaching a speed of 120 MPH in only 4 seconds, TTP broker barriers for rollercoaster enthusiasts seeking an apex of excitement. In the small blue-collar town of Sandusky, Ohio, TTP dominates the skyline of the otherwise unostentatious city, signaling powerfully that thrills are only several steps away from the doldrums of everyday life. Similar to Kinga Ka, TTP accelerates vertically to its summit, provides riders with a brief sigh of relief at the summit, before barreling into the nether of a 90 degree vertical, pinwheeling impossibly fast toward the ground. The ride itself is roughly 15 seconds long, but oh, but those 15 seconds contain multitudes.
Superman: Escape from Krypton
Location: Six Flags Magic Mountain
Top Speed: 100 MPH
Background: Superman: Escape From Krypton, is located in Valencia, CA, at Six Flags Magic Mountain. As its name attests, it mimics the caped superheroes’ escape from his dying home planet, Krypton. With green-colored rails, mimicking the color of the notorious mineral from Krypton, Kryptonite, Escape from Kryton features 1,315 feet of steel track and reaches a vertical of 415 feet. Visitors are strapped into the coaster, anxiously anticipating a blast off that escalates from 0 to 100 MPH in seven seconds. What goes up, however, must come down; and the latter portion of Superman consists of a death-defying plummet to the rollercoaster’s base, reaching speeds of nearly 92 MPH. For a short stretch of time, riders can experience what it’s truly like to be the red-caped crusader depicted in the comic books and movies.
Fury 325 – 6 Fastest Rollercoasters in America
Location: Carowinds, North Carolina
Top Speed: 95 MPH
Background: The longest giga coaster in North America, Fury 325 opened at Carowinds Theme Park in 2015, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Riders settle themselves in a 32-seat open-air passenger train, before soaring to a height of 325 feet. Upon reaching their apex, passengers plummet 91 feet, then racing through a 190 feet barrel-turn, culminating in a high-speed S curve, reaching speeds of up to 95 MPH. Additional maneuvers are integrated into the latter-half of the rollercoaster, which lasts for approximately 3 ½ minutes. Recipient of numerous accolades, including the “Best New Ride of 2015,” the “Best Steel Coaster” and the “World’s Best Steel Coaster,” visitors to the attraction are sure to “Feel the Sting” it engenders.
Millenium Force
Location: Cedar Point, Ohio
Top Speed: 93 MPH
Background: Millennium Force was conscientiously designed to emphasize that “bigger is better.” Anointed at the turn of the millennium, in 2000, it birthed the idea of a giga coaster: A complete circuit coaster between 300 and 399 feet in height. When it debuted, it had the longest drop and reached the highest speed of any coaster in North America, topping out at 93 MPH. Since its inception, it has consistently been ranked among the world’s best rollercoasters. Even though it has since been superseded, it remains an iconic fixture of the Sandusky skyline. Shooting riders over hills, through lagoons, and beneath tunnels, Millennium Force offers an invigorating adventure to all patrons of Cedar Point.
Orion – 6 Fastest Rollercoasters in America
Location: King’s Island, Ohio
Top Speed: 91 MPH
Background: Who knew Ohio was such a playground of rollercoasters? Orion, situated at King’s Island, is the theme park’s tallest, fastest, and longest steel coaster. Orion is a themed roller-coaster, similar to Superman, insinuating humans into a situation where a diaspora of meteors are imminently heading toward Earth. A program has consequently selected a mass of volunteers to reach another habitable planet within the constellation of Orion. The coaster acts as a simulator for the vehicles that will need to be engineered in order survive the extremes of interstellar travel. The coaster reaches a vertical of 287 feet, before plunging 300 feet to the base of coaster, which is underground. A lighting package illuminates the vertical at night and the rollercoaster features a soundtrack produced by IMAscore.
