Roller coasters are getting better. Not taller, nor faster, but better. Better
isn’t an easy thing to quantify though. What makes one ride better than another?
Does it have something to do with their height, speed, or length? Perhaps it’s how unique they
are? Or is it that one dangles you below the track? Maybe you just like the colour green?
Like most things, roller coasters are subjective. People like different things from their roller
coaster experiences, whether it’s a strong launch or lots of upside-down moments. So naturally, the
best way to find out whether roller coasters are getting better is to ask you to compare the roller
coasters you’ve ridden and ultimately produce some sort of ranking. Only some sort of roller
coaster nerd would go about spending the time and effort to produce such a thing.
So I did that, I asked 2596 people to rank as many of the roller coasters they’ve ridden as
possible. Throughout just over a month, they collectively ranked 129562 roller coasters - an
average of 50 rides per person. To determine which roller coasters were better than others,
I compared every roller coaster against every other roller coaster in everyone’s
rankings. This generated 18 million pairs of roller coaster combinations! From this,
I could see what rides the majority of people preferred. And what did we find? Well…
The World’s Best Roller Coasters The 10th best roller coaster in
the world, according to 2596 people from across the globe is Wildfire,
a wooden roller coaster in Kolmården, Sweden.
9th, The Voyage at Holiday World, USA 8th, Lightning Rod at Dollywood, USA
7th, El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure, USA - there are a lot of US roller coasters in this list
6th, Ride to Happiness at Plopsaland De Panne, Belgium
5th, Fury 325 at Carowinds, USA 4th, Zadra at Energylandia, Poland
3rd, VelociCoaster - the new double launch coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, USA
2nd, Steel Vengeance, a hyper hybrid roller coaster made of
both steel and wood at Cedar Point, USA And number one, the new for 2022 Iron
Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa, another hyper hybrid roller coaster in the USA.
So, the best roller coaster in the world,
Iron Gwazi, opened just last year. The roller coaster it stole the number one spot from,
Steel Vengeance, opened in 2018. Whilst VelociCoaster, the third best ride,
opened in 2021! Of the world’s top 10 roller coasters, 3 of them opened in the 2020s,
5 in the 2010s, and 2 in the 2000s. What did I say? Roller coasters are getting better!
The world’s top 100 roller coasters tell a similar story too. 23 of the world’s best roller coasters
opened in the 2020s, 46 in the 2010s, 24 in the 2000s, and just 6 in the decades before the new
millennium. We can look even closer though. New world-leading roller coasters often come
in bursts across specific years. In 2018, 9 roller coasters opened around the globe which currently
sit among the world’s top 100 rides, including Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point, Hyperion at
Energylandia, and Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City. 8 top 100 roller coasters opened in 2016,
including Lightning Rod at Dollywood, Wildfire at Kolmården and Taron at Phantasialand. Whilst
6 top 100 roller coasters opened in 2019, 2015, and 2006 too, such as Zadra at Energylandia,
Fury 325 at Carowinds, and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure respectively.
So, what’s causing this improvement - why are newer roller coasters better?
Technological improvements The answer to this question used to be
much easier - technological improvements. Roller coasters in some shape or form have been around
for centuries. Over time, the technology available to make rides has improved,
allowing for more interesting, unique, and intimidating roller coasters to be built.
In 1975, the first modern-day inverting roller coaster opened to the public. Corkscrew at Knotts
Berry Farm blew people’s minds by featuring two back-to-back corkscrew elements, throwing
guests upside down. A year later, Six Flags Magic Mountain opened the Great American Revolution, now
the New Revolution, the world’s first modern-day roller coaster to feature a loop. And thus,
the race had begun. Theme parks across the globe scrambled to cram as many inversions into their
roller coasters as possible. Just over 10 years after the Corkscrew, Shockwave opened at Six
Flags Great America with 7 inversions. This grew to 10 in 2002 with Thorpe Park’s Colossus and a
whopping 14 with The Smiler at Alton Towers’ in 2013, which still holds the record to this day.
At roughly the same time, another race was happening—the race to build the world’s
tallest roller coaster. Cedar Point kicked it off in 1989 with the debut of Magnum XL-200,
a 205ft 63m tall giant. Just six record-breaking roller coasters
later and the world’s tallest had more than doubled in height. Kingda Ka,
the world’s tallest roller coaster today, opened in 2005 measuring an incredible 456 ft 139m high.
While some parks fought to build world record-breaking rides, others created new
types of roller coasters to stand out amongst the crowd. The mid-80s saw the debut of the
stand-up roller coaster, which saw guests stand up throughout their ride. This was followed in
the early 90s by the inverted roller coaster, a type of ride which saw guests hang below
the track. Then came the dive coaster, with its vertical drop; the flying coaster, which suspends
guests in a prone flying position, the hyper coaster, the wing coaster, and so many more.
As record-breaking, or new types of roller coasters are revealed, older ones seemingly
fall out of fashion. Legacy rides, ones which don’t thrill guests as much as they used to,
often see reduced ridership over time. Eventually, theme parks decide to remove their older roller
coasters, usually to make room for new ones. Although, this isn’t always the case. Some
older rides continue to thrill guests even to this day. The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s
Islands of Adventure, which currently ranks 89th in the world, opened in 1999. In 2015, instead
of scrapping the ride, a decision was taken to extend its life by replacing the entire track
during a large-scale refurbishment. Nemesis at Alton Towers - ranked 52nd in the world - opened
in 1994 and is currently undergoing a similar refurbishment to ensure it’s ready to thrill
guests for many years to come. Many older rides, including the Incredible Hulk Coaster and Nemesis,
were great roller coasters when they opened, and continue to be great roller coasters today.
However, over the past decade or so, the advancement of these thrill rides
has slowed down. Theme parks are no longer in a race to break records,
and new roller coaster models don’t appear as frequently as before. Ride technology has
already improved drastically and will continue to improve in the future, although at a likely
slower rate. If this is true, what’s the driving force behind roller coasters getting better today?
Theming and experiences
An ever-growing number of new roller coasters rely on quality to draw crowds and thrill guests.
Instead of aiming to be the tallest of their kind, theme parks want their rides to provide solid,
well-rounded experiences. Large destination resort parks like Disney and Universal have always relied
on theming and immersive stories to draw crowds. Now, smaller theme parks have turned to the same
tactic. Ride budgets are used effectively to create experiences, which may include more
than just a pure roller coaster. Rides like Baron 1898 at the Efteling, Wicker Man at Alton Towers,
and Copperhead Strike at Carowinds aren’t the world’s best pure roller coasters. Instead, they
provide quality experiences by utilising theming to enhance guests' immersion during the ride.
The RMC Effect Part of this aim for quality has also
come in the form of roller coaster design. Not the type of roller coaster, nor the records it breaks,
but the shape of the track. It’s the turns, twists, hills and drops that make a roller coaster
a roller coaster. Perfecting the order and design of these key elements leads to better rides.
That’s exactly what RMC did, among several other things. RMC, Rocky Mountain Construction,
is a company which builds roller coasters. In 2011, they debuted their first ride,
the New Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas. The company often removes the old and uncomfortable
track from wooden roller coasters and replaces it with an all-new steel track equivalent. During
the process, the rides’ layouts are drastically altered. Hills are made steeper, turns are made
sharper, and inversions are added where there weren’t any before. RMC’s design philosophy, from
the beginning, has been to make old wooden roller coasters do things that they couldn’t do before.
RMC’s rides have been a resounding success. 5 of the world’s top 10 roller coasters were built by
Rocky Mountain Construction, including the world’s best, Iron Gwazi, and the second best, Steel
Vengeance. Their rides feature elements that were practically unseen before. Large outward-banked
airtime hills throw you to the side; huge zero-g stalls suspend you for multiple seconds at a time;
and excessively steep drops provide an unstoppable sense of speed. Features that
would have been considered too uncomfortable for traditional rides became fashionable and exciting.
Over a decade after RMC’s first roller coaster, the company’s influence continues to spread.
Several other manufacturers of roller coasters have begun to push the boundaries too. Despite
being built by a different company, Intamin, both VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure
and Taiga at Linnanmäki, feature RMC-like zero-g stalls. Vekoma’s Fønix at Fårup Sommerland,
features a similar stall element as well. Whilst the new roller coaster from MACK Rides coming
to Thorpe Park, codenamed Exodus, will feature RMC-like large outward-banked airtime hills too.
In their quest to improve older wooden roller coasters, RMC has changed the game. Elements that
would have once been deemed unconventional, have become the new standard. RMC’s design philosophy
has improved roller coasters by pushing innovation in ride design, instead of just ride technology.
Not every ride is the best Roller coasters are getting better,
but that doesn’t mean that every new roller coaster is better than the last. Theme parks
cater to a range of audiences. They have a multitude of rides and attractions to suit
different age groups and demographics. Not every new roller coaster is built with the intention
of being the world’s best. Just look at Busch Gardens Tampa. In 2016, they built Cobra’s Curse,
an innovative spinning roller coaster designed for families. Then, in 2019, they debuted Tigris,
a compact triple launch coaster. Finally, in 2022, they constructed Iron Gwazi,
currently the world’s best roller coaster. Cobra’s Curse and Tigris weren’t designed to
be the best, but instead, to serve a specific purpose. Both rides expanded the variety of
attractions available at Busch Gardens Tampa, offering guests more experiences than before.
Conclusion So yes, roller coasters are improving. According
to 2596 people, 5 of the world’s top 10 roller coasters opened within the last 5 years. But,
for how long? Technological improvements have led roller coaster innovation in the past. Immersive
experiences and ride design lead roller coaster innovation today. Who knows what roller coaster
innovation will look like in the future?
Thank you for watching, and, we’ll see you all next time.