Have a good time Nationwide Curler Coaster Day on one of many 10 finest coasters within the US

Half glee and half terror, curler coasters present an impossible-to-match feeling and the last word dopamine hit. You are strapped and secured, after which inside seconds, you are catapulted at speeds that may surpass 100 mph.

Whether or not chugging up a elevate hill or launching into inversions, curler coasters can encourage euphoric highs and a wholesome dose of exhilaration. Improvements in curler coasters fuse cutting-edge expertise with the timeless thrills of air time, steep drops and wonderful theming.

As Nationwide Curler Coaster Day approaches Aug. 16, I’ve compiled this listing of 10 of one of the best coasters within the U.S.

Metal Vengeance

Location: Cedar Level, Sandusky, Ohio

With a world-record-setting trip expertise, Metal Vengeance has earned its place on the high of nearly each curler coaster listing. Cedar Level is sometimes called the “curler coaster capital of the world,” and Metal Vengeance is the park’s lynchpin.

The data on this mammoth coaster embrace the world’s longest hybrid curler coaster at 5,740 ft and essentially the most air time on any curler coaster, clocking in at a surprising 27.2 seconds. The 2-minute-and-30-second trip is unrelenting and begins with a 200-foot drop at 90 levels with speeds that attain 74 mph. From there, you will encounter three zero-g rolls, a zero-g stall and overbanked turns that push the boundaries of physics.

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The intricately laid observe weaves at a speedy tempo all through the big picket construction, with loads of near-miss thrills and shut calls. Add in a finale of 5 small air-time hills, and you’ve got an ideal coaster that can make your head spin and coronary heart flutter with pleasure.

Time Traveler

Location: Silver Greenback Metropolis, Branson, Missouri

They broke the mildew when engineering Time Traveler at Silver Greenback Metropolis. It is a physics-defying, genre-busting, spinning curler coaster. That is the world’s quickest, steepest and tallest spinning coaster, with a surprising 90-degree vertical drop proper out of the station and two launches that ship you hovering by way of the maze of observe.

The g-forces on this coaster alone are value touring to this charming theme park within the Ozarks close to Branson. The distinctive round trains attain speeds of as much as 50.3 mph as every automobile free-spins by way of three inversions and air-time moments. The graceful trip is most thrilling from the again row, although the trip expertise is totally different each time.

Wildcat’s Revenge

Location: Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Unrelenting in one of the best ways, Wildcat’s Revenge at Hersheypark debuted in June 2023 to raves, and it earned the Golden Ticket Award for Greatest New Curler Coaster of 2023. This new Rocky Mountain Building addition to the coaster-centric park is a two-minute-and-36-second jolt of exhilaration, reaching a high pace of 62 mph.

From the trip’s first gut-wrenching 82-degree drop, you are on a course the place there are not any trims or brakes — simply sheer pace. It aggressively barrels by way of 4 inversions and a number of other air-time moments. The primary ingredient you will expertise is the world’s largest “underflip,” an inversion tucked into an upward 270-degree roll right into a dive down towards the aspect. Solely the bravest riders can maintain each palms up throughout this intense ingredient.

The zero-g stall (that is when the observe twists 180 levels and stays inverted for a piece of the observe) on this trip is a brand new normal on RMC coasters and a private favourite. You may be pleasantly stunned by all of the abrupt adjustments in path all through the course.

Twisted Colossus

Location: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California

A sprawling park full of 20 curler coasters, Six Flags Magic Mountain is a coaster-lovers paradise about an hour north of Los Angeles. Of all the good coasters within the park, Twisted Colossus tops the listing with its distinctive structure and thrilling near-miss parts.

This one-of-a-kind hybrid from Rocky Mountain Building is constructed as a dueling twin coaster with a novel profit: You get to trip each tracks with out stopping on the station. This lengthy steady circuit options side-by-side tracks with a coveted high-five ingredient as each trains financial institution towards one another at 90 levels. The prolonged observe consists of many shock drops, sharp twists and an exciting stall over the observe beneath.

Add within the pleasure of attending to expertise the trip twice in a single go, and you’ve got two unbelievable trip experiences on one rousing coaster.

Phoenix

Location: Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pennsylvania

Deep within the woods of central Pennsylvania, you will discover America’s largest free-admission amusement park, Knoebels. Household-owned and -operated since 1926, this oasis of household enjoyable harkens again to the times of yesteryear with classic rides and Dutch Nation allure.

The largest draw right here is Phoenix, a picket curler coaster that has been bucking riders with glee since 1985. This curler coaster has reached legendary standing for its double out-and-back structure that reaches a high pace of 45 mph (however feels a lot sooner on this observe).

The true triumph is the coaster’s third act: a rollicking five-hill dash full of hair-raising air-time moments. The restraints right here enable for some freedom inside your seat which provides much more of a wallop as you pummel towards the station, again to terra firma.

Fury 325

Location: Carowinds, Charlotte

Irrespective of how excessive you set your expectations for the tallest, quickest, longest giga coaster in North America, Fury 325 will exceed them.

This metal surprise delivers an impeccable trip expertise with speeds that attain a surprising 95 mph from its preliminary gut-wrenching, 320-foot drop. You will not discover inversions on this observe, however there isn’t any want for them as you zip by way of hills and banked turns at high speeds.

That is the uncommon coaster that you will discover crosses state strains, routing between North Carolina and South Carolina. You may really feel the unbelievable pace and g-forces on all 32 seats of the coaster practice, although the entrance row is one of the best to get a primary glimpse at every ingredient on this towering trip.

Jurassic World VelociCoaster

Location: Common Islands of Journey, Common Orlando, Orlando

Strap in for one of many smoothest and most intense curler coaster rides on Jurassic World VelociCoaster. The coaster utterly immerses you within the Jurassic World setting, from a exceptional queue that brings you up shut with raptors to an thrilling lead-up to a launch that finds you rocketing out of a raptor cage.

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From that preliminary highly effective launch of 0 to 50 mph in two seconds, you are taken on a mad sprint run with 12 air-time moments and a 100-foot-long zero-g stall. One of the best a part of the structure comes in the course of the observe: The practice enters its second launch and boosts riders from 40 to 70 mph in 2.4 seconds up a steep climb to a 155-foot high hat ingredient seen from each nook of the park.

The lengthy observe finishes with a picture-perfect barrel roll over the park’s lagoon because it returns to the station from an ideal raptor hunt.

Cheetah Hunt

Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa

Properly into its second decade of sudden thrills at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Cheetah Hunt nonetheless reigns supreme. This triple launch coaster charts a novel course that is as thrilling as it’s scenic.

You may begin with a bolt from the station as you flip right into a second launch that can ship you excessive into the treetops, simply as a cheetah climbs a tree to scout its prey. For a short second, you will benefit from the peaceable breeze and wonderful park views earlier than a drop that sends you coasting by animal habitats and botanic gardens.

The true delight of this coaster is its third act because it races inside inches of the bottom, teetering over babbling brooks and ducking underneath bushes in an exciting re-creation of a cheetah on the hunt. The trip has a number of extra tips up its sleeve because it reveals a 3rd and last launch that propels you thru a number of wonderful air hills as you jaunt again to the station out of your world-class hunt.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Location: Epcot, Walt Disney World, Orlando

Fuse Disney World favorites House Mountain and Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster and add a contact of the spinning teacups from the Mad Tea Social gathering to get the triumphant Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

This family-friendly, one-of-a-kind coaster is an intergalactic journey that enlists you to hitch the Guardians of the Galaxy to assist retrieve the Cosmic Generator from the malicious Eson. After an endearing and well-plotted pre-show, you are loaded right into a five-car practice. Every of the 5 automobiles rotates independently, on a managed and timed axis, to divert your consideration to varied scenes and theme parts all through the three-minute, 20-second trip. The trip begins with an exciting 60 mph backward launch right into a high hat ingredient adopted by a collection of thrilling tight turns, helixes and sudden drops.

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One of many delights of driving this coaster is that its soundtrack is randomly chosen for every trip from six pop songs. Gather all six trip experiences with these songs: “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps, “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock of Seagulls, “Conga” by Miami Sound Machine, “All people Desires to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, “One Method or One other” by Blondie and “September” by Earth, Wind and Fireplace.

Kingda Ka

Location: Six Flags Nice Journey, Jackson Township, New Jersey

The defining construction of Six Flags Nice Journey’s skyline, Kingda Ka isn’t solely the tallest coaster within the park, it is the tallest on the planet. It measures 456 ft excessive. Add in that it is the quickest curler coaster in North America — reaching speeds as much as 128 mph — and you’ve got one shockingly quick and excessive trip.

The trip begins with a jolting hydraulic launch that reaches its most pace in simply 3.5 seconds. From there, you will bolt up the big U-shaped construction, rolling up earlier than cresting on the peak for one of the best views of the park and, if the climate’s proper, the Manhattan skyline within the distance.

Then it takes you straight down by way of a 270-degree spiral and right into a 129-foot camel hump earlier than hitting the brakes and bringing you again to the station. Clocking in at 50 seconds, this might nicely be one of the crucial thrilling minutes of your summer season.

Backside line

For a lot of, curler coasters are the spotlight of any theme park expertise. Even if you’re too younger (or frightened) for the coasters on this listing, most parks even have family-friendly coasters.

For many who can trip these high coasters, you will be hard-pressed to seek out extra thrilling coasters within the U.S.

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