List of roller coaster rankings

While there have been hundreds of different roller coasters built, there have been just a few that were notable for specific reasons. Some reasons include:

• first coaster of a specific kind, style, or manufacturing material; ground-breaking.
• first use of unique technology.
• first time a particular record-breaking threshold was crossed.
• historical significance

The coasters mentioned here are not intended to be a complete list of all coasters ever created, but are significant for their role in the amusement industry.

Roller coaster firsts

• First coaster featuring cars that locked onto track: Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville (Russian Mountains of Belleville). Paris, France. 1817.
• First complete-circuit coaster: Promenades Aériennes (The Aerial Walk). Paris, France. 1817
• First looping coaster (non-circuit): unnamed, Frascati Garden. Paris, France. 1846
• First use of powered chainlift: Gravity Pleasure. 1885
• First use of lapbar: Drop-The-Dips, Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y., USA. 1907
• First coaster with a möbius-style track: Racer, Kennywood, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA. 1927
• First tubular steel coaster: Matterhorn Bobsleds, Disneyland, Anaheim, Ca., USA. 1959
• First coaster over 100 feet (30.48 m) tall: Serpent of Fire, La Feria Chapultépec Mágico (Mexico City, Mexico). 1964
• First indoor coaster: Space Mountain, Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Fl., USA. 1975
• First "modern" coaster to invert passengers; two inversions: Corkscrew, Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, Ca., USA. 1975
• First "modern" coaster with a vertical loop: Revolution, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, Ca., USA. 1976
• First coaster with three inversions: Corkscrew, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Oh., USA. 1976
• First coaster to feature two interlocking loops: Loch Ness Monster, Busch Gardens Europe, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. 1978
• First coaster with four inversions: Carolina Cyclone, Carowinds, North Carolina and South Carolina, USA. 1980
• First coaster with a "Cobra roll" style inversion: Orient Express (roller coaster), Worlds of Fun, Kansas City, Mo., USA. 1980
• First suspended coaster: Bat, Kings Island, Cincinnati, Oh., USA. 1981
• First coaster with heartline inversion: Ultra Twister, Japan. 1981
• First coaster with five inversions: Viper, Darien Lake, Darien, N.Y., USA. 1982
• First coaster to run trains entirely backwards: Racer, Kings Island. 1982
• First coaster to run stand-up trains: EXT, Worlds of Fun. 1983
• First coaster with six inversions: Vortex, Kings Island. 1987
• First coaster with seven inversions: Shockwave, Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, IL), USA. 1988
• First complete circuit coaster over 200 feet (60.96 m) tall: Magnum XL-200, Cedar Point. 1989
• First looping coaster to feature an underwater tunnel: Anaconda, Kings Dominion, Doswell, Va., USA. 1991
• First inverted coaster: Batman The Ride, Six Flags Great America. 1992
• First suspended standup roller coaster with spinning cars: Telepherique, Parc Saint Paul 1992 [1]
• First inverted coaster with a "Cobra roll" style inversion: The Raptor, Cedar Point. 1994
• First coaster with eight inversions: Dragon Khan, Port Aventura, Salou, Spain. 1995
• First coasters to use magnetic propulsion (LIM) system: Outer Limits: Flight Of Fear Kings Island and Flight of Fear, Kings Dominion. 1996
• First coaster (non-complete circuit) over 400 feet (121.92 m) tall: Superman, The Escape, Six Flags Magic Mountain. 1996
• First flying coaster: Skytrak, Granada Studios, (Manchester, United Kingdom). 1997
• First diving coaster: Oblivion, Alton Towers, (Alton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom). 1998
• First floorless coaster: Medusa, Six Flags Great Adventure. 1999
• First inverted, dueling roller coasters: Dueling Dragons, Universal Orlando,Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fl. 1999
• First complete circuit coaster over 300 feet (91.44 m) tall: Millennium Force, Cedar Point. 2000
• First wooden coaster with vertical loop: Son of Beast, Kings Island. 2000
• First wooden coaster over 200 feet (60.96) tall: Son of Beast, Kings Island. 2000
• First coaster with a 90° vertical drop: Cliffhanger, Taiwan. 2001
• First air-launched coaster: Hypersonic XLC, Paramount's Kings Dominion. 2001
• First hydraulically-launched coaster: Xcelerator, Knott's Berry Farm. 2002
• First coaster with ten inversions: Colossus, Thorpe Park. 2002
• First coaster with rider seats that rotated on their own axis (a "4th dimension"): X, Six Flags Magic Mountain 2002
• First complete circuit coaster over 400 feet (121.92 m) tall: Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point. 2003
• First coaster with a "fly-through" station: Thunderhead, Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tn., USA. 2004
• First coaster to feature a "bent cuban eight": G-Force, Drayton Manor Theme Park (Drayton Manor, United Kingdom) 2005

Roller coaster world records

Tallest steel roller coasters

These are the tallest continuous steel circuit roller coasters in the world. Parentheses indicate when that coaster was tallest.

1. Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township, New Jersey, USA, 139m / 456 feet (May 2005 - Present)
2. Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, USA, 128 m / 420 feet (May 2003 - May 2005)
3. Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima SpaLand, Nagashima, Mie, Japan, 97 m / 318 feet (August 2000 - May 2003). Note: this coaster is not active as of 2003.
4. Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, USA, 94.5 m / 310 feet (May 2000 - August 2000)
5. Thunder Dolphin at LaQua Korakuen Park, Tokyo, Japan, 80 m / 263 feet
6. Fujiyama at Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, 79 m / 259 feet

Superman The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California is 415 feet tall, but it is not a continuous circuit coaster. For safety reasons, the cars on the ride only go to a height of about 325 feet.

Tallest wooden roller coasters

These are the tallest continuous wooden circuit roller coasters in the world. Parentheses indicate when that coaster was tallest.

1. Son of Beast, Paramount's Kings Island. 218 feet.
2. Colossos, Heide-Park Soltau, 196 feet and 10 inches with a 159-foot drop.
3. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure, 188 feet with a 176-foot drop.
4. Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, 179 feet with a 124-foot drop
5. The Voyage, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, 173 feet with a 154-foot drop.

Highest wooden roller coaster drops

These are the tallest drops on continuous wooden circuit roller coasters in the world. Parentheses indicate when that coaster was tallest.

1. Son of Beast, Paramount's Kings Island. 214 feet.
2. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure, 176-foot drop.
3. Colossos, Heide-Park Soltau, 159-foot drop.
4. Mean Streak, Cedar Point, 161 feet tall with a 155 foot drop.
5. The Voyage, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, 173 feet tall with a 154 foot drop.
6. Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, 179 feet with a 124-foot drop

Fastest roller coasters

These are the fastest roller coasters in the world. Parentheses indicate when that coaster was fastest.

1. Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township, New Jersey, USA, 128 mph / 206 km/h (May 2005 - present)
2. Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, USA, 120 mph / 193 km/h (May 2003 - May 2005)
3. Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, 106.9 mph / 172 km/h (December 2001 - May 2003)
4. Superman The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, USA, 100 mph / 161 km/h (March 1997 - December 2001)
5. Tower of Terror at Dreamworld, Coomera, Queensland, Australia, 100 mph / 161 km/h

Longest roller coasters

1. Steel Dragon 2000 in Nagashima, Mie, Japan at 8133'4". (Note: this coaster is not in operation as of 2006.)
2. Daidarasaurus, Expoland. 1970 2340 m (7677 ft 2 in or 1.454 miles)

Tallest vertical loops

1. Viper, Six Flags Magic Mountain. (140 ft)
2. Dominator, Geauga Lake. 2000 41.1 m (135 ft)

Number of coasters at a single park

1. Six Flags Magic Mountain, opened their 17th coaster in 2006.
2. Cedar Point, opened their 16th coaster in 2003.

Tallest dive coasters

1. SheiKra, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida 2005 200 ft 90 degree dive.

Longest wooden coasters

1. The Beast, Kings Island, Mason, Ohio Present 7,400 ft.
2. Son Of Beast, Kings Island, Mason, Ohio 7,032 ft.
3. The Voyage, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, Santa Claus, Indiana 6,442 feet.
4. Shivering Timbers, Michigan's Adventure, Muskegon, Michigan 5,383 feet.

Highest roller coasters

1. High Roller, Stratosphere Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, at 1,081 feet (329 m) above the surrounding terrain. The ride closed at the end of 2005.