The Top 100 Virtual Roller Coaster Rides, Vol. 4
Point-of-view roller coaster videos have become an at-home craze. Use this ranking to tour the world’s best coasters—from themed attractions to the tallest and fastest rides on Earth.
The Retro Global Amusement Park: Roller Coaster Edition
Countries Represented (25):
🇺🇸 🇨🇳 🇫🇷 🇵🇱 🇯🇵 🇳🇴 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 🇸🇪 🇦🇺 🇹🇷 🇦🇪 🇬🇧 🇧🇪 🇪🇸 🇸🇦 🇫🇮 🇰🇷 🇮🇹 🇩🇰 🇲🇽 🇨🇦 🇹🇼 🇮🇪🇨🇭
Introduction
As a child, I was fascinated by roller coasters. But I also loathed the sight of them.
Due to issues with motion sickness and vertigo I’ve had as long as I can remember, I’ve only ever ridden two roller coasters: the Yankee Cannonball, a now 92-year-old wooden coaster at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire—where my family used to go every summer in the 1980s because Digital Equipment Corporation, the then-employer of my late father, Robert Abramson, held its annual family day there—and another less daunting but still exhilarating ride at the same amusement park, an SDC Galaxi coaster retired in 2004 that records say was called Rockin’ Rider but I think had a different name (either Galaxi or Mouse Trap) when I rode it in the 1980s (see the “Special Citations” section, below, for a great video of an identical coaster).
In 1984, my dad had a heart attack which he survived, though heart problems would cause his death in 2020 36 years later. From the day—when I was eight years old—that paramedics and firemen filled our small condo’s top floor to help my father down to a waiting ambulance, I was certain I would one day die of a heart attack and even had a particular belief that events like roller coaster rides were just waiting to do me in. By the beginning of the 1990s, I was determined to never ride a roller coaster again.
When my dad passed away early on in the pandemic—again, not of COVID-19, but still under circumstances that made those who loved him well aware that he’d been hospitalized in the midst of a once-in-a-century international event—I found myself more nostalgic for the past than I’d ever been at any other point in my adult life. I began playing Nintendo and Super Nintendo video games again (as subscribers to Retro won’t be at all surprised to hear, given the size and scope of this publication’s Video Games section) and even found myself watching roller coaster videos online.
It was nice. Watching POV roller-coaster rides at home caused me little vertigo and, while I certainly didn’t get the same sense of speed and danger as I would’ve actually gotten being on a ride, I found that knowing a bit about what that experience would be like scratched a palpable itch for me—while not causing me any trauma-born anxiety.
Only recently did I learn that roller coaster POV videos are becoming a very big deal, and not just because they help people who do ride actual roller coasters decide which ones they want to ride (it may not surprise you that some adventuresome souls travel the world trying to ride all of the best roller coasters, which are helpfully ranked—on an annual basis—here and here and here). It seems that there are many people who do not want to go to amusement parks regularly, if at all, but who do want just a taste of what the experience is like.
Minus the high ticket prices, long lines, overpriced food, and pushy crowds, of course.
Virtual Coaster Riding
It probably also won’t surprise anyone to learn that virtual roller coaster riders—those who watch roller coaster POV videos with the lights off, the sound up, and on the best television screen they can find—judge rides a little differently than they would if they were riding a coaster “live.” The value of certain components of roller coaster riding is lessened if a) you’re watching video of it at home and b) you’re partly doing so because you experience motion sickness or other issues when or if you ride roller coasters on-site. (I should note that some people who do love riding roller coasters at amusement parks also like watching videos of coasters due to nostalgia, a logistical inability to get to certain locations, the cost of traveling to such parks, and/or concerns about being in extremely crowded places in the aftermath of a years-long international pandemic).
With virtual coaster riding, you might find yourself considering much more than usual the following aspects of the roller coaster-riding experience:
The aesthetics of the structure;
the smoothness of the track and the camera work;
the duration of the ride;
the pacing and length of the lift hill;
the terrain over which the ride has been built;
the availability of surprising vistas;
the presence of interesting optical illusions;
the sonics of the ride;
the presence or absence of unwanted distractions;
the ride’s sense of speed and airtime;
any conceptual setpieces; and
any unusual track features.
Some virtual riders find—I know I do—that, with occasional exceptions, lift hills and inversions and corkscrews aren’t actually that fun to watch, whereas the sound of a wooden roller coaster creaking in what feels like a dangerous way may be even more central to a virtual experience than it already is to a live one. Even ride components that virtual and live riders are likely to equally enjoy, for instance the speed of the ride, register differently at home versus a park; on video, a slightly slower ride may well feel faster because of something as esoteric as the shape and spacing of the crossbars on the track or the recorded audio’s sensitivity to ambient wind during the recording.
In other words, divining which virtual roller coaster experiences are the “best” is as much an art as a science, depends heavily on individual “riders’” idiosyncratic bases for nostalgia, and draws sufficiently from ideas about visual and multimedia literacy that it’s the perfect subject for a ranking on a website like this one (that is, one whose author is a former professor of digital studies). I expect to make further updates to this ranking as I try out more tracks—I’ve seen, I think, nearly a hundred by now—and do even more to hone my sense, as a cultural critic, of what makes a great virtual coaster-riding experience.
I hope you’ll take a “ride” on these coasters and let me know what you think of them!
Key
🇺🇸: Location (Nation)
⏱️: Duration of Ride
📓: Multiple Launches
📹: Multiple Video Perspectives
🧑🏽🤝🧑🏻: Dueling Coaster
🏆: Record-Setting Ride
📔: Wooden Coaster
📕: Trackless Coaster
📗: Flying Coaster
📘: Water Coaster
The Top 100 Best Virtual Roller Coaster Rides in the World
{with the “🔷” symbol denoting a new ride added since last edition of this Retro series}
1 | Steel Vengeance (🇺🇸)
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
⏱️: 2:11
2 | GhostRider (🇺🇸)
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California
⏱️: 2:22
📔: Wooden Coaster
3 | Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (🇺🇸)
Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida
⏱️: 3:10
4 | Tron Lightcycle Power Run (🇨🇳)
Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, China
⏱️: 1:42
5 | Big Thunder Mountain (🇫🇷)
Disneyland Paris in Chessy, France
⏱️: 3:27
📓: Triple Launch
6 | The Velocicoaster (🇺🇸)
Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida
⏱️: 1:19
7 | Zadra (🇵🇱)
Energylandia in Zator, Poland
⏱️: 1:32
8 | Medusa (🇲🇽)
Six Flags Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico
⏱️: 1:26
9 | Big Apple Coaster (🇺🇸)
New York–New York Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada
⏱️: 2:10
10 | Hakugei (🇯🇵)
Nagashima Spa Land in Kuwana, Japan
⏱️: 1:55
11 | Maverick (🇺🇸)
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
⏱️: 1:48
📓: Double Launch
12 | Wildcat’s Revenge (🇺🇸)
Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania
⏱️: 1:39
13 | Lightning Rod (🇺🇸)
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
⏱️: 1:07
🏆: Speediest Lift Hill (6 seconds)
14 | Iron Gwazi (🇺🇸)
Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida
⏱️: 1:49
15 | The Beast (🇺🇸)
Kings Island in Mason, Ohio
⏱️: 5:29
📔: Wooden Coaster
📓: Double Launch
🏆: Longest Lift Hill (102 seconds)
🏆: Longest Ride (329 seconds)
16 | Goliath (🇺🇸)
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois
⏱️: 1:37
📔: Wooden Coaster
17 | Steel Dragon (🇯🇵)
Nagashima Spa Land in Mie Prefecture, Japan
⏱️: 3:01
🏆: Second Longest Lift Hill (77 seconds)
18 | Helix (🇸🇪)
Liseberg in Gothenburg, Sweden
⏱️: 1:19
19 | El Toro (🇺🇸)
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey
⏱️: 1:52
📔: Wooden Coaster
20 | Fury 325 (🇺🇸)
Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina
⏱️: 2:04
21 | The Voyage (🇺🇸)
Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana
⏱️: 2:40
📔: Wooden Coaster
22 | Thundercoaster (🇳🇴)
Tusenfryd in Vinterbro, Norway
⏱️: 1:48
📔: Wooden Coaster
23 | Toutatis (🇫🇷) 🔷
Parc Astérix in Plailly, France
⏱️: 1:23
24 | Untamed (🇳🇱)
Walibi Holland in Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands
⏱️: 1:47
25 | Blue Fire (🇩🇪)
Europa Park in Rust, Germany
⏱️: 1:37
26 | Outlaw Run (🇺🇸)
Silver Dollar City in Stone County, Missouri
⏱️: 1:12
📔: Wooden Coaster
27 | Leviathan (🇦🇺)
Sea World in Queensland, Australia
⏱️: 1:33
28 | Millennium Force (🇺🇸)
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
⏱️: 1:40
29 | Mystic Timbers (🇺🇸)
Kings Island in Mason, Ohio
⏱️: 2:29
📔: Wooden Coaster
📹: Front Seat and Back Seat Videos
30 | Tremors (🇺🇸)
Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho
⏱️: 1:49
📔: Wooden Coaster
31 | Troy (🇳🇱)
Attractiepark Toverland in Sevenum, The Netherlands
⏱️: 2:11
📔: Wooden Coaster
32 | Colossos (🇩🇪)
Heide Park in Soltau, Germany
⏱️: 2:12
📔: Wooden Coaster
33 | Wildfire (🇸🇪)
Kolmården Zoo in Norrköping, Sweden
⏱️: 1:13
📔: Wooden Coaster
34 | Wicked Cyclone (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts
⏱️: 1:31
35 | The Joker (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California
⏱️: 1:31
36 | Iron Rattler (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio
⏱️: 1:53
37 | Twisted Timbers (🇺🇸) 🔷
Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia
⏱️: 1:45
38 | New Texas Giant (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas
⏱️: 1:57
39 | Thunderhead (🇺🇸)
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
⏱️: 1:31
📔: Wooden Coaster
40 | Balder (🇸🇪)
Liseberg in Gothenburg, Sweden
⏱️: 1:54
📔: Wooden Coaster
41 | ArieForce One (🇺🇸)
Fun Spot America in Fayetteville, Georgia
⏱️: 1:23
42 | Abyssus (🇵🇱) 🔷
Energylandia in Zator, Poland
⏱️: 1:20
📓: Double Launch
43 | Fønix (🇩🇰)
Fårup Sommerland in Blokhus, Denmark
⏱️: 1:18
44 | Hades 360 (🇺🇸)
Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
⏱️: 2:01
45 | Incredicoaster (🇺🇸)
Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California
⏱️: 2:06
46 | Gold Striker (🇺🇸)
California’s Great America in Santa Clara, California
⏱️: 1:37
📹: Front Seat Forward and Front Seat Backward Videos
📔: Wooden Coaster
47 | Titan (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas
⏱️: 2:13
48 | Loch Ness Monster (🇺🇸) 🔷
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia
⏱️: 2:39
📓: Double Launch
49 | Superman (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts
⏱️: 2:10
50 | Shambhala (🇪🇸) 🔷
Port Aventura World in Catalonia, Spain
⏱️: 1:42
51 | Silver Star (🇩🇪) 🔷
Europa Park in Rust, Germany
⏱️: 2:04
52 | Stunt Pilot (🇺🇸) 🔷
Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho
⏱️: 1:11
53 | Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California
⏱️: 1:30
54 | Jersey Devil (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey
⏱️: 1:26
55 | Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio
⏱️: 1:09
56 | Railblazer (🇺🇸) 🔷
California’s Great America in Santa Clara, California
⏱️: 1:14
57 | Raging Bull (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois
⏱️: 2:13
{Note: See the famous back-seat perspective discussed in the video below here.}
58 | Rodelbahn Oeschinensee (🇨🇭)
Kandersteg Mountain in Kandersteg, Switzerland
⏱️: 2:56
📕: Trackless Coaster
59 | Skyrush (🇺🇸)
Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania
⏱️: 1:01
60 | Gemini (🇺🇸) 🔷
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
⏱️: 2:31
🧑🏽🤝🧑🏻: Dueling Coaster
61 | Zambezi Zinger (🇺🇸) 🔷
Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri
⏱️: 1:41
62 | T-Express (🇰🇷)
Everland in Yongin, South Korea
⏱️: 2:37
📔: Wooden Coaster
63 | Wicker Man (🇬🇧)
Alton Towers in Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
⏱️: 2:26
📔: Wooden Coaster
64 | Formula Rossa (🇦🇪)
Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
⏱️: 1:06
📹: Front Seat Forward and Front Seat Backward Videos
🏆: Fastest Coaster (149 mph)
65 | Hans Uber Kopf (🇩🇪)
Erlebnispark Tripsdrill in Cleebronn, Germany
⏱️: 1:05
📗: Flying Coaster
66 | Orion (🇺🇸)
Kings Island in Mason, Ohio
⏱️: 1:34
67 | Twisted Cyclone (🇺🇸)
Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia
⏱️: 1:24
68 | Sky Wheel (🇩🇪)
Skyline Park in Bad Wörishofen, Germany
⏱️: 1:40
69 | Cannibal (🇺🇸)
Lagoon in Farmington, Utah
⏱️: 2:01
70 | Cú Chulainn (🇮🇪)
Emerald Park in Kilbrew, County Meath, Ireland
⏱️: 1:42
📔: Wooden Coaster
71 | Turtle Coaster (🇹🇷)
The Land of Legends in Antalya, Türkiye
⏱️: 1:55
📘: Water Coaster
72 | Viper (🇺🇸)
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois
⏱️: 1:59
📔: Wooden Coaster
73 | Diamondback (🇺🇸) 🔷
Kings Island in Mason, Ohio
⏱️: 2:01
74 | Leviathan (🇨🇦)
Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Canada
⏱️: 2:13
75 | Pantheon (🇺🇸)
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia
⏱️: 1:21
76 | Manta (🇺🇸)
Seaworld in Orlando, Florida
⏱️: 1:35
📗: Flying Coaster
77 | The Great Nor’Easter (🇺🇸)
Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey
⏱️: 1:34
📗: Flying Coaster
78 | Mine Blower (🇺🇸)
Fun Spot America in Kissimmee, Florida
⏱️: 1:27
79 | The Monster (🇺🇸)
Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa
⏱️: 1:37
80 | iSpeed (🇮🇹)
Mirabilandia in Ravenna, Italy
⏱️: 0:51
81 | Intimidator 305 (🇺🇸)
Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia
⏱️: 1:06
82 | American Eagle (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois
⏱️: 2:30
📔: Wooden Coaster
🧑🏽🤝🧑🏻: Dueling Coaster
🏆: Best Airtime
83 | Poltergeist (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio
⏱️: 0:52
84 | Taiga (🇫🇮)
Linnanmäki in Helsinki, Finland
⏱️: 1:07
📓: Double Launch
85 | Kingda Ka (🇺🇸)
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey
⏱️: 0:31
🏆: Tallest Coaster (456 feet)
86 | Storm Chaser (🇺🇸)
Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky
⏱️: 1:26
87 | The Alpine Coaster (🇺🇸)
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
⏱️: 1:38
88 | Reptilian (🇺🇸)
King’s Dominion in Doswell, Virginia
⏱️: 1:31
📕: Trackless Coaster
89 | Great White (🇺🇸)
Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey
⏱️: 1:44
90 | Loup-Garou (🇧🇪)
Walibi Belgium in Wavre, Belgium
⏱️: 1:27
📔: Wooden Coaster
91 | Baron 1898 (🇳🇱)
Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands
⏱️: 1:34
92 | Maximus’ Blitz Bahn (🇳🇱)
Attractiepark Toverland in Sevenum, The Netherlands
⏱️: 1:02
📕: Trackless Coaster
93 | Kid Flash (🇺🇸) 🔷
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio
⏱️: 0:50
🧑🏽🤝🧑🏻: Dueling Coaster
📹: Red Coaster and Yellow Coaster Videos
94 | Gravity Max (🇹🇼)
Lihpao Land in Houli Hsiang, Taichung, Taiwan
⏱️: 1:57
{Note: The narrator in this roller coaster video uses expletives. Viewer discretion is advised.}
95 | Dragon Coaster (🇵🇱)
Energylandia in Zator, Poland
⏱️: 0:57
📗: Flying Coaster
96 | Defiance (🇺🇸)
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
⏱️: 1:02
97 | Anaconda (🇫🇷) 🔷
Walygator Grand-Est in Maizières-les-Metz, Lorraine, France
⏱️: 2:23
📔: Wooden Coaster
98 | Karacho (🇩🇪)
Erlebnispark Tripsdrill in Cleebronn, Germany
⏱️: 0:50
99 | Zippin Pippin (🇺🇸) 🔷
Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin
⏱️: 1:42
📔: Wooden Coaster
🏆: Cheapest Coaster ($1)
100 | Prowler (🇺🇸) 🔷
Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri
⏱️: 1:40
📔: Wooden Coaster
Worldwide Honorable Mention Virtual Roller Coaster Rides
{with the “🔷” symbol denoting a new ride added since last edition of this Retro series}
HM1 | Phantom’s Revenge (🇺🇸) 🔷
Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania
⏱️: 1:57
HM2 | Montaña Suiza (🇪🇸)
Monte Igueldo Amusement Park in San Sebastián, Spain
⏱️: 1:20
HM3 | Tempesto (🇺🇸)
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia
⏱️: 0:45
HM4 | Cyclone (🇺🇸)
Luna Park at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York
⏱️: 1:53
📔: Wooden Coaster
Special Citations
SC1 | Yankee Cannonball (🇺🇸)
Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire
📔: Wooden Coaster
This is the roller coaster of my childhood. It’s one of the oldest “woodies” out there, as it was first opened all the way back in 1930. There’s actually absolutely nothing scary about this ride—and yet I can’t tell you how much it scared me when I was just a boy.
SC2 | Falcon’s Flight (🇸🇦)
Six Flags Qiddiya near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
If built to current blueprints, Falcon’s Flight will be at once the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster on Earth. The video below first offers a CGI ride of the future attraction from a third-person perspective, then switches to what you’ll really want to see: a first-person view of the ride.
SC3 | Galaxi (🇺🇸)
formerly at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire (1970 to 2004)
When I was a kid, Canobie had one of the three dozen SDC Galaxi coasters ever built, and it was the first—and also, the second-to-last (see above)—roller coaster that I ever rode. The SDC Galaxi below belongs to Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock, Texas. Galaxis sometimes show up at fairs now, as they’re designed to be easily transportable.
SC4 | Skyscraper (🇺🇸)
planned for Skyplex Orlando in Orlando, Florida
Is Skyscraper actually going to be built? A few years ago the answer was a definite no, but now there are rumors that this positively insane coaster—which, as you can see from the video below, will take riders from the top of a skyscraper to the bottom by going around the outside of it—may actually happen. Check out the video to see what was (or may yet still be) planned. Even if this sort of coaster doesn’t happen in Florida, it’s a very good bet that it will happen somewhere. The idea is just too good to abandon.
Want to quickly find the newly added entries? Probably super obvious to most but on the off chance it helps anyone, you can simply Ctrl + F the "🔷" symbol to quickly find all the new additions. Happy... uh, coastering?