Roller Coasters

For a change, I would like to offer a serious and informative post. I've had a fairly successful summer in the "roller coaster" department, with trips to Coney Island and Hershey Park. So, I've been doing some research into roller coaster records.

I'll admit that looking strictly at records is no way to judge a roller coaster. Focusing on records such as highest or fastest ignores the overall design of a coaster. However, records are still interesting, and they can help plan trips to potentially fun roller coasters.

This is not a rehashing of roller coaster records, anyone can look those up. These are my special notes on certain records that I have noticed, focusing on coasters that I will be able to visit easily, or that I am familiar with.

Wood Coasters


The famous Coney Island Cyclone is the 13th fastest wooden coaster in the US (at 60 mph). That's pretty good, considering how old it is, and how many wooden coasters have been built in just the past 20 years.














What's the fastest wooden coaster that we in Virginia can easily get to?




El Toro, at Great Adventure in New Jersey, built just this year. It's the 2nd. fastest wooden coaster (70 mph). It is also the 2nd. highest in the US, at 181 feet, and features the 2nd. biggest drop, at 176 feet.

This is a MUST ROAD TRIP!










For comparison, Hershey's fastest wooden coaster is the Lightening Racers at 51 mph (the other two wooden coasters at Hershey are at 50 mph).

At Kings Dominion, the Rebel Yell is listed at 56 mph, with a height of 85 feet. I didn't find a speed for the Grizzly, but the height was listed as 87 feet.

Metal Coasters

Metal coasters come in so many shapes and designs that it's hard to compare them. So, I've made up my own special statistic that reflects what I'm looking for in the "best coaster to visit next."

((I make my own statistic))

To be considered, the coaster must be a "real" coaster. This eliminates the coaster-like rides that shoot you over just one hill. In my book, a "real" coaster must involve several drops and turns.

The next factor for my "ideal coaster" is no shoulder restraints. Although I enjoy coasters with shoulder restraints, and they allow for all kinds of rolling and looping, I find that they make you feel just a little bit too safe and secure. I realize that this is just personal preference, but it's my BLOG.

So -- The coaster with the biggest drop, that's REALLY a coaster, with no shoulder restraints (i.e. only a lap bar), east of the Mississippi:

And the winner is:

Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Ohio: drop of 300 ft.


This is the 4th. largest drop of any metal coaster in the US. Speed of 93 mph makes it the 4th. fastest.

















As a closer alternative, there is Nitro at Great Adventure, with a drop of 215 feet (tied for rank of 10th.), reaching 80 mph.