Roller Coaster World Records

Today's blog post will be dedicated to talking about roller coaster World records. Every year amusement parks try to create the best coasters possible and aim to beat some kind of World record. I will be using Roller Coaster World Records and also help from Coaster101. Lets begin with those records.

We will begin with the tallest roller coaster in the World. Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure reaches a height of 456 feet high. It is also the second fastest roller coaster at 128mph. Other contendors for height are Top Thrill Dragster and Superman.

Next we will review the fastest roller coasters in the World. In first place is Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Dubai. It launches you at a staggering 149mph. That is over double the average interstate speed limit (70mph). Second is Kinga Ka and Top Thrill Dragster is third.

Additionally, there are even records for the steepest drop angle. The record is help by Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan. The coasters drop is at a 121 degree angle. You have to check out the POV video to really get a feel for how steep this coaster is. Its close followers are the "Green Latern Coaster" and "Crazy Bird."

Finally, we have the longest coaster lengths in the World. The longest roller coaster in the World is the Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land in Japan. It is 8,133 feet long, which is 1.54 miles long! It also last a whopping four minutes! Runner-up to this award is "The Ultimate" followed by "Fujiyama."

Records are huge marketing tools that amusement parks use, so parks are continuously looking for new and improved ways to beat these records.

Top Thrill Dragster Review

             Today I am going to review the popular roller coaster, Top Thrill Dragster. This coaster is located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.  What makes this coaster so great is its height and speed. At one point, this was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the World. Top Thrill Dragster stands at 430 feet tall and goes a whopping 120 mph in less than four seconds!  You have to see it to believe it.

                What I love so much about this ride is that it truly goes along with its dragster theme. Once on the ride, you pull up to the launching zone where there is racetrack starting lights just like at a real drag racing event. Along the right side of the dragster car there are bleachers with spectators sitting, waiting for you to launch. To me, this point is the scariest part of the ride. You are waiting for what feels like hours at this launch pad before you are get shot 120 mph.

                The ride lasts about 17 seconds, but in my opinion, you don’t realize where you are till about the 10^th second due to the speed. The ride length is disappointment along with the wait time.  This ride boasts a long line always and if the line becomes too long, you might not even get to ride. The reason is because this ride is very unreliable. It is breaking down constantly and allows for longer waits.

                My final opinion on this roller coaster is that I do recommend riding it. I think it takes the right person to ride it because it really is a scary roller coaster. I give it 8 out of 10 on overall quality of the ride. Go check it out and tell me what you think of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.

Top Thrill Dragster

All facts come from the Cedar Point website at Cedarpoint.com