The Fastest Roller Coasters in the World

1. Formula Rossa (Ferrari World Abu Dhabi)

Formula Rossa (Ferrari World Abu Dhabi) is an Intamin launched coaster that broke world records at its November 2010 opening, reaching peak speeds of 149 miles per hour. The coaster’s track was inspired by the course of the famed Autodromo Nazionale Monza racetrack in Italy and is intended to simulate the experience of riding at high speeds within a Formula One race car. It reaches its top speed within the first five seconds of its launch, speeding down its 1.4-mile course, one of the longest steel coaster tracks in the world. The complete ride lasts 92 seconds, with all riders required to wear protective safety goggles to prevent impact with airborne objects.

2. Kingda Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Kingda Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure) is the tallest roller coaster in the world, dropping riders from a height of 456 feet. The coaster was designed by Intamin associates Stakotra and is located at Jackson, New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure theme park. At the time of its construction, it was the fastest coaster in the world, reaching a maximum speed of 128 miles per hour less than four seconds after its hydraulic launch. After its initial top hat tower, the coaster sends riders through a 270-degree spiral and ascends a second 129-foot hill, which produces sensations of weightlessness for riders. The ride was opened to the public in May of 2005, and since 2014, has incorporated the Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom drop tower onto the side of its top hat hill.

1 Six Flags Blvd, Jackson, NJ 08527, Phone: 732-928-2000

3. Red Force (Ferrari Land)

Red Force (Ferrari Land) is located within Tarragona’s Ferrari Land amusement park, a park within the PortAventura World theme park resort suite that opened to the public in April of 2017. The Intamin coaster is the anchor ride of the new Ferrari Land park, which also features a Junior Red Force family racing coaster. It is Europe’s tallest and fastest coaster, accelerating riders to a top speed of 111 miles per hour within five seconds of its launch before ascending a 367-foot hill. The race car-themed coaster showcases three official Ferrari logos along its 2,887-foot course. A seating area is offered near the coaster’s top hat hill for park visitors to watch coaster launches.

Avda de l'Alcade Pere Molas, s/n, 43840 Vila-seca, Tarragona, Spain, Phone: +34-9-02-20-22-20

4. Superman: Escape from Krypton (Six Flags Magic Mountain)

Superman: Escape from Krypton (Six Flags Magic Mountain) broke world records for height and speed at its 1997 opening, when it was originally branded as Superman: The Escape. The Intamin coaster opened alongside Dreamworld’s Tower of Terror II and debuted the revolutionary new Linear Synchronous Motor launch technology, which allowed it to reach a maximum launch speed of 100 miles per hour within seven seconds. Riders experience gravitational forces up to 4.5Gs during the ride’s backward launch before ascending a 415-foot hill at a 90-degree angle. During the ride’s ascent and 328-foot drop, riders achieve 6.5 seconds of weightlessness. In 2012, the Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom twin drop towers were added to the side of the ride’s hill.

26101 Magic Mountian Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355, Phone: 661-255-4100

5. Steel Dragon 2000 (Nagashima Spa Land)

Steel Dragon 2000 (Nagashima Spa Land) is located within Mie Prefecture’s Nagashima Spa Land, part of the Nagashima Resort vacation destination. The ride was constructed by Morgan Manufacturing and has remained the longest roller coaster in the world since its August 2000 opening, with a track length spanning 8,133 feet. The coaster’s name is a reference to the Japanese year of the dragon, one of the signs of the culture’s zodiac calendar, which was the cycle sign of its opening year. Two tunnels are showcased throughout the coaster’s track, which features a first hill of 318 feet. It reaches maximum speeds of 95 miles per hour throughout its four-minute ride.

333 Nagashimacho Urayasu, Kuwana-shi, Mie-ken 511-1192, Japan, Phone: +81-5-94-45-11-11

6. Fury 325 (Carowinds)

Fury 325 (Carowinds) is the world’s tallest and fastest giga coaster, reaching a maximum height of 325 feet. The coaster was designed by manufacturing firm Bolliger and Mabillard and was opened at the Carowinds theme park in 2015. Since then, it has been voted as the best steel coaster in the world twice by Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards, taking the title previously long held by Cedar Point’s Millennium Force.

The coaster reaches maximum speeds of 95 miles an hour during its three minute and 25 second ride, navigating elements such as a high-speed s-curve, camelback hill, and near-180-degree banked turns. The coaster remains the tallest coaster in the world to use a traditional chain lift and is the largest B&M coaster in the world, exceeding Canada’s Wonderland’s Leviathan by 19 feet.

300 Carowinds Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28273, Phone: 704-588-2600

7. Millennium Force (Cedar Point)

Millennium Force (Cedar Point) broke six world records at its 2000 opening and is associated for the coining of the term giga coaster, referring to coasters breaking the 300-foot height barrier. Though its records have been broken by a number of coasters throughout the world since its opening, the coaster is credited with changing the way modern coasters are constructed, implementing technologies such as the cable lift hill, and with popularization of ticket-to-ride reservation systems following the long lines after its opening. The ride remains the third-longest coaster in North America, featuring a 310-foot opening hill and reaching speeds of up to 93 miles per hour. It has been voted as the world’s number one steel coaster 10 times by Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards, only ever beaten by Carowinds’ Fury 325. At night, the ride is lit with the Luminosity: Ignite the Night LED light show, which infuses the park’s nighttime skyline with color.

1 Cedar Point Dr, Sandusky, OH 44870, Phone: 419-627-2350