Scary rides for those who want to go faster
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/08/2010 (5543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The roller-coaster has come a long way since it was patented in 1885, with the first amusement park ride of this kind appearing at New York’s Coney Island measuring 180 metres long and 15 metres high. Here, from the travel website Cheapflights.com, are the top-10 fast, fierce and ferocious roller-coasters you can dare to try this summer.
Behemoth
Canada’s Wonderland, just north of Toronto
Built in 2008, this $26-million project turned out to be the fastest and tallest roller-coaster in Canada. Starting with an 85-degree descent and speeding up to 130 km/h in 3.9 seconds, this ride has eight drops and double-banked horizontal loops.
Eejanaika
Fuji-Q Highland Park, Yamanashi, Japan
Opened in 2006, this fourth-dimension ride has seats that can rotate 360 degrees forward or backward in a controlled spin. It’s the second of its kind on the planet (the first is at Six Flags in the U.S.), but Eejanaika surpasses its predecessor in both height and speed, rising 76 metres in the air, and zooming to a speedy 126 km/h.
Tower of Terror
Coomera, Queensland, Australia
Shooting straight up into the sky on an L-shaped track, this magnetic induction shuttle coaster runs on linear synchronous motors, which propel it into a free-floating position and then forces a drop to retrace its route backwards. At 160 km/h, it’s one of the fastest roller-coasters on the planet.
Steel Dragon 2000
Nagashima Spa Land, Japan
Steel Dragon 2000 boasts an impressive speed of 153 km/h, but what’s most remarkable is that it gets to that speed by using only a traditional lift hill. It rises 97 metres in the air and at a length of 2,479 metres and a time span of four minutes, this ride is the world’s longest.
Furius Baco
PortAventura, Spain
The seats on this roller-coaster are placed on either side of the track, so passengers are totally exposed on three sides and if you’re the one on the outer edge, you get an extra thrill of being completely out in the open, rushing in at an average of 135 km/h.
Megafobia
Oakwood Coaster Country, Pembrokeshire, Wales
One of the most respected wooden roller-coasters, Megafobia runs on a twister-style layout. Coming in at 100 seconds in time, standing at 26 metres tall and at 900 metres in length, Megafobia shows passengers that its old-time wooden frame isn’t something to be scoffed at.
Nemesis
Alton Towers, England
Nemesis has bragging rights for being Europe’s first inverted roller coaster. Dangling riders in its ski-lift-like seats, it loops and twists without mercy. Fun fact: This ride won a world record in 2004 for having 32 passengers ride it without wearing any clothes.
— Postmedia News