A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements usually designed to produce a thrilling experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters first appeared in the 17th century, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island.
Cedar Point is a 364-acre (147 ha) amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounce. Prior to the merger with Six Flags in 2024, Cedar Point served as the "flagship park" of the Cedar Fair amusement park chain and hosted the corporate headquarters. Known as "America's Roller Coast", the park features 17 roller coasters, which ranks third among amusement parks in North America behind sister parks Canada's Wonderland (18) and Six Flags Magic Mountain (20).
A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely on wheels made of polyurethane or nylon to keep each train car anchored to the track. The introduction of tubular steel drastically changed roller coaster innovation, allowing for greater speeds, higher drops, and more intense elements such as inversions.
Top Thrill 2 is a launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The ride originally opened as Top Thrill Dragster in 2003, becoming the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, as well as the first ever strata coaster – a height classification of 400 feet (120 m) or more. Designed by Werner Stengel, the Accelerator Coaster model from Intamin debuted with a height of 420 feet (130 m) and could accelerate from 0 to 120 mph (190 km/h) in 3.8 seconds. It was themed to Top Fuel drag racing, with the launch track designed to resemble a dragstrip, and it consistently ranked as one of the world's top steel coasters in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards publication. Top Thrill Dragster's records were surpassed in 2005 by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Incredicoaster is a steel launched roller coaster located at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride was originally opened to the public as California Screamin' in early 2001. It is the only roller coaster with an inversion at the Disneyland Resort and it is the fastest, reaching a maximum speed of 55 mph (89 km/h). With a track length of 6,072 feet (1,851 m), Incredicoaster is the sixth-longest steel roller coaster in the world.
Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.
Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, it was the park's fourteenth roller coaster when it opened in 2000, dating back to the opening of Blue Streak in 1964. Upon completion, Millennium Force broke five world records and was the world's first giga coaster, a term coined by Intamin and Cedar Point to represent a roller coaster that exceeds 300 feet (91 m) in height. It was briefly the tallest and fastest in the world until Steel Dragon 2000 opened later the same year. The ride is also the third-longest roller coaster in North America following The Beast at Kings Island and Fury 325 at Carowinds.
The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is a steel roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Designed by Ron Toomer and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the public on 28 May 1994 as the tallest and steepest roller coaster in the world, featuring a height of 213 feet (65 m) and a drop angle of 65 degrees. It held the title as the tallest until 1996 when Fujiyama opened in Japan. Construction of the ride cost £12 million. The ride was sponsored by Pepsi until 2011, at which time Pepsi Max was removed from the name.
Magnum XL-200, colloquially known as simply Magnum, is a steel roller coaster built by Arrow Dynamics at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. When it opened in 1989, it was the tallest, fastest, and steepest complete-circuit roller coaster in the world as well as the first hypercoaster – a roller coaster that exceeds 200 feet (61 m) in height. Some have credited Magnum with starting a period in the industry known as the roller coaster wars, in which amusement parks competed with one another at a rapid pace to build the next tallest and fastest roller coaster. More than 40 million people had ridden Magnum by 2009.
Wicked Twister was an inverted roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Designed by Werner Stengel, it was a second-generation, double-twisting Impulse model manufactured by Intamin. Wicked Twister opened as the tallest and fastest inverted coaster in the world on May 5, 2002. It was retired by the park on September 6, 2021, closed on September 7, and gave over 16 million rides during its lifetime.
Superman: Escape from Krypton, originally known as Superman: The Escape, is a steel shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. When it opened in 1997, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world, and its maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) was tied for the fastest with Tower of Terror II, a similar roller coaster which opened two months earlier at Dreamworld in Australia. Both were the first to utilize Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) launch technology to propel vehicles, although the intended opening date in 1996 at Magic Mountain was postponed due to issues with the launch system.
Alpengeist is an inverted roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, Alpengeist has an Alpine mountain region theme and opened in 1997 as the tallest inverted coaster in the world. The name "Alpengeist" is German for "Ghost of the Alps" or "Alpine Spirit", and the ride is themed to a runaway ski lift. It has the records for the tallest complete circuit inverted coaster in the world, tallest inverted roller coaster in the United States, and the longest complete circuit coaster drop in the world.
Rougarou, formerly known as Mantis, is a floorless roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard, the roller coaster originally opened in 1996 as a stand-up roller coaster called Mantis, which at the time was the tallest, fastest, and longest of its kind in the world. Cedar Point had planned to name the ride Banshee, but due to negative publicity following the announcement, the name was later changed to Mantis.
Raptor is a steel inverted roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The coaster, which broke many records upon its opening in 1994, differs from previous inverted coasters. Instead of having a short layout designed to fit into a compact area like Batman: The Ride, Raptor was designed with a larger, 3,790-foot (1,160 m) layout, making it the tallest, fastest and longest inverted roller coaster in the world when it opened. It features six inversions, including a cobra roll, a first for inverted roller coasters. The ride is themed as a bird of prey.
Steel Vengeance, formerly known as Mean Streak, is a steel roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The roller coaster, originally constructed by Dinn Corporation as a wooden roller coaster, was rebuilt by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and opened to the public on May 5, 2018. It is a hybrid coaster, using RMC's steel I-Box track and a significant portion of Mean Streak's former support structure. Upon completion, Steel Vengeance set 10 world records, including those for the tallest, fastest, and longest hybrid roller coaster.
Dominator is a floorless roller coaster located at Kings Dominion amusement park in Doswell, Virginia. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard, it originally opened in 2000 as Batman: Knight Flight at Six Flags Ohio, in Aurora, Ohio. It was given its current name when Cedar Fair purchased the Ohio park in 2004. However, following Six Flags Ohio ’s eventual permanent closure in 2007, the coaster was relocated to Kings Dominion, where it reopened on May 24, 2008. Dominator is located fairly close to the park’s main entry plaza, in the area known as International Street.
Leviathan is a steel roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Medieval Faire section of the park, the Hyper Coaster model from Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard is the first roller coaster manufactured by the company to exceed a height of 91.5 metres (300 ft), putting it in a class of roller coasters commonly referred to as giga. At 1,672 metres (5,486 ft) long, 93.3 metres (306 ft) tall, and with a top speed of 148 kilometres per hour (92 mph), Leviathan is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, taking the records previously held by Behemoth on the opposite side of the park. As of July 2020, Leviathan is ranked as the seventh-tallest roller coaster in the world, the sixth tallest coaster by drop height, and the fourth-tallest traditional lift-style coaster in the world.
GateKeeper is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), it was the fifth Wing Coaster installation in the world. The ride opened on May 11, 2013, on the most successful opening weekend to date in the park's history. GateKeeper featured the highest inversion in the world when it opened, with its 170-foot (52 m) Wing Over drop. It also broke several Wing Coaster records, including those for height, speed, track length, drop height and number of inversions. The coaster has a 170 ft (52 m), 40-degree inclined lift hill with a 164 ft (50 m) drop and features two support towers with keyhole elements that the trains travel through. Its maximum speed is approximately 67 mph (108 km/h).
Valravn is a steel roller coaster at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Built and designed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), it is the first Dive Coaster model in the Cedar Fair chain of parks and opened on May 7, 2016, as the tallest, fastest, and longest of its kind in the world. It remains the tallest, sharing its height record with Yukon Striker at Canada's Wonderland. Valravn is also the first Dive Coaster to use B&M's vest-style, over-the-shoulder restraints and the third Dive Coaster overall to open in the United States. The installation marked the hundredth roller coaster from B&M, dating back to the company's founding in 1988.
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