A Brief History
On May 21, 2005, Six Flags Great Adventure became home to the tallest roller coaster in the world. Called Kingda Ka, the 456 foot tall steel ride eclipsed Ohio’s Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster for the height crown, and boasted a top speed of 128 miles per hour to boot!
Digging Deeper
The world of roller coasters is not stagnant, and the title of the fastest coaster today is held by Formula Rossa in Abu Dhabi, with a top speed of 149 MPH! At 1.29 miles, Formula Rossa is the second longest coaster, beaten by Steel Dragon’s 1.54 miles in Japan.
Roller coasters are the premier amusement park ride, although other rides can also be thrilling or fun. Besides speed, acceleration, loops, tight turns, and flying upside down, another measure of a coaster is the maximum drop in height, currently held by Kingda Ka at 418 feet. What is your favorite roller coaster?
Question for students (and subscribers): Would you say roller coasters are the greatest thrill rides? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Hook, Patrick. Ticket To Ride: The Essential Guide to the World’s Greatest Roller Coasters and Thrill Rides. Chartwell Book, 2019.
Roller Coaster. Roller Coasters Magazine 2023. Roller Coaster, 2023.
The featured image in this article, a JPG preview of a WEBM file by https://www.youtube.com/user/ismamv, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
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