Highest roller coasters : top 5 roller coasters!
The highest roller coasters
In this hub I will show you some of the highest roller coasters in the world. The title is never constant, every few years, a new roller coaster is built and it claims the title from another one that stayed on top for years. So here is the first:
1-The Kingda Ka - New Jersy, USA:
This is the tallest roller coaster in the world right now with a height of 456 feet which equals to 139 meters. It was opened in May 12, 2005. The Kingda Ka has a hydrolic launch mechanism that can accelerate to 128 miles within 3.5 seconds!. The ride lasts for about 30 seconds.
This is a scary ride in my personal opinion and requires a lot of guts to try but it would be a wonderful and thrilling experience, it's the highest roller coaster in the world after all.
It was struck by lightning in 2009 which caused some damage, it was repaired and it's operating now.
2-The Top Thrill Dragster
This is also a complete circuit roller coaster (like the Kingda Ka, and these are the only 2 roller coasters with a complete circuit, called stratacoasters). It's the second highest roller coaster.
Height : 420 ft = 130 meters.
Location : the Cedar Point park, Sandusky, Ohio.
It was the very first coaster to reach 120 mph using a hydraulic launch system in the world.
The theme of this ride is the Top Fuel Drag Racing motor sport !
Rollbacks can occur in roller coasters if the weather is windy or wet as the speed of the launch becomes less than that needed to climb the hill, in this case the train stops before it reached the top and rolls back. High roller coasters like the ones in this hub have safety mechanisms to stop a rollback with braking fins that makes it stop safely and smoothly.
3-Superman : The Escape
It's about 415 ft (126 m). The Superman roller coaster is located in the Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.It's a shuttle roller coaster (not a complete circuit). Someday, it was the tallest roler coaster in the world.
The theme is obvious : Superman! You will see a large Superman (S) shiled drawn on the ground as well as statues of Superman's parents displayed. It was also the world's fastest ride in the past but both records of speed and height were taken.
4-Tower of Terror (Dreamworld)
This one is located Dreamworld in the Gold Coast, Australia. It was the highest until the Superman roller coaster opened. It's 377 ft (115 meters) high.
Some people do not consider it a roller coaster because it is just tower that the cars climb just to fall back down. It's one of the fastest in the world and can accelerate to 160 mph in 7 seconds then you fall vertically (a 100 meter free fall!) that is 38 stores height!
5-Steel Dragon 200
Located at Nagashima Spa Land in Japan. It's one of the highest and the fastest roller coasters in the world. It was opened on 2000 (the year of the dragon!).
Height: 318 feet
Top speed: 95 mph.
The ride lasts for about three minutes. It was temporarily closed due to a minor accident from 2003 to 2006.
