5. Kingda Ka
the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster
Arms down, head back and hold on. With only 28 seconds, the Kingda Ka may not be very long, but it’s bound to leave you wide eyed and twitching. Located at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, USA, it’s the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. The train is launched by a hydraulic launch mechanism 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, reaching a height of 456 feet (139 meters)! At a cost of US$25 million, the Kingda Ka opened to the public on May 21, 2005, was closed several times for different technical problems and was also struck by lightning in early May 2009.
4. Dodonpa
the highest launch acceleration, 2.7 g
Dodonpa messes with your mind from the moment it starts, as passengers are forced to wait anxiously in a darkened tunnel before the countdown to an insanely fast acceleration out of the tunnel, screaming down the track and then getting fired up and over two humps which have 90 degree drops on each side. When the Dodonpa was opened in 2001, it was the fastest roller coaster in the world. As of 2010, it is not the fastest but still has the highest launch acceleration at 2.7 g. It is 52 meters (170 feet) tall, and has a launch speed of 172 km/h (107 mph), which is reached in less than 2 seconds. Located at Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, its hill goes straight up, down a hairpin curve, and then goes straight down.
3. Steel Dragon 2000
the world’s longest track length, 8,133ft
Built by Morgan Manufacturing, this gigacoaster at Nagashima Spa Land Amusement Park in Mie Prefecture, Japan, opened in 2000 — “The Year of the Dragon” in Asia. It debuted only months after Millennium Force and surpassed the Cedar Point coaster as the world’s tallest complete-circuit coaster. You might be used to getting on a roller coaster and stepping off much sooner than you hoped – scream, scream and it’s all over. Not on this ride – the Steel Dragon is quite the endurance coaster. It’s so long that you might actually deplete your ability to scream by the end of the record breaking 8,133ft long track, the one record it still holds.
2. Top Thrill Dragster
Kingda Ka’s arch rival
Kingda Ka’s arch rival, the Top Thrill Dragster was the first “Strata Coaster”, loosely defined as a complete circuit coaster that is over 400 feet tall. Located at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, USA, it reaches speeds of up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h) and when it first debuted in 2003, it set three new records: tallest, fastest and steepest drop on a roller coaster; all of them later claimed by the Kingda Ka.
1. Thunder Dolphin
Tokyo’s most terrifying ride
Known for its unique design around buildings in central Tokyo’s Dome City Attractions amusement park, the Thunder Dolphin starts off with a dizzying 218 foot lunge at a steep 80 degree angle. You then race around the track at speeds in excess of 80 mph making this impressive 3,500-foot long, 26-story tall a mental joyride. The ride passes through both a hole in the LaQua building, as well as through the Big-O, the world’s first hubless Ferris wheel. Thunder Dolphin’s maximum speed is 130 km per hour, or 80 miles per hour.
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