Minnesota has an interesting roller coaster lineup. Most of the coasters
come from a Cedar Fair park in Valleyfair and an indoor park in Nickelodeon Universe.
Find out my favorite 10 roller coasters in the Gopher State in this video!
Before starting the countdown, I want to note that I have not been to Spirit Mountain
so the Timber Twister alpine coaster will not be featured on this list.
You also will not see Valleyfair’s Corkscrew on this list. This Arrow looper is ok, but it
couldn’t beat the 10 other coasters on this list. Last but not least, you will find separate
reviews for over half these rides that have already been published on this channel.
10) Mad Mouse at Valleyfair- This is one of the few Arrow wild mice. It’s not as
fast as the Michigan’s Adventure one, but it does have strong laterals on the
initial hairpin turns and a few small pops of airtime on the drops in the second half.
Just beware this ride’s capacity. It’s one of the least efficient coasters I have seen anywhere.
9) Avatar Airbender at Nickelodeon Universe- This Intamin half pipe feels sort of like a flat ride,
but it’s quite fun. You get nice floater airtime on the ascents. And while the valleys don’t have
much positive Gs, you’ll get a burst of spinning that mixes in some lateral forces. Then you also
have great visuals every time you ascend a spike. 8) Fairly Odd Coaster at Nickelodeon Universe-
This is the original Gerstlauer spinner and it’s neat seeing how it was crammed into the existing
infrastructure. This one seems to run faster than the Pandemonium clones at the Six Flags parks.
You get better spinning, particularly in the second half, even if you have a balanced car.
You also get a bit of airtime during the finale. I did say the ride had a shuffle in my old review,
but the ride was running very smoothly in 2022. 7) High Roller at Valleyfair-
This classic wood coaster doesn’t carry much speed, but it does have some nice airtime.
Most hills give smaller pops of airtime, but a few of the hills, particularly the giant camelback on
the outward run and the final bunny hill, deliver more potent ejector pops. This ride also smooth in
all rows, making it well-worth experiencing. 6) Excalibur at Valleyfair-
This is a bizarre creation from Arrow Dynamics. It looks like a mine train, but it has elements
more reminiscent of a scaled down hyper coaster. The first drop is trimmed, but once you clear the
brakes, those in back get delayed and violent burst of ejector airtime. The ride then blazes
through a short layout, which also includes an intense s-hill that will eject everyone.
The ride is short and a bit bumpy, but it has enough power to make it worth your while.
5) SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge at Nickelodeon Universe- This is one of the
earlier Gerstlauer Eurofighters. While it has over-the-shoulder restraints and some
jerky transitions, the headbanging thankfully isn’t too bad. So I could enjoy the layout.
There’s the usual beyond-vertical drop with a good burst of ejector airtime. But that’s
not all. There is a forceful vertical loop. A speed hill with a surprise jolt of airtime.
And a barrel roll chalk full of hangtime. 4) Pepsi Orange Streak at Nickelodeon Universe-
This Zierer tivoli coaster feels more like a high speed monorail than a traditional coaster
and that’s fine. You get some incredible views as you soar over rides and pathways.
And at one point you even go through a cave shared with Log Chute. The forces are minimal- just some
light laterals and a faint pop of airtime- but the visuals more than carry the experience.
3) Steel Venom at Valleyfair- This is currently the best Intamin Impulse coaster out there.
Why? The holding brake. This is a freaky element that defies gravity. There’s something unnatural
feeling coming to a stop staring at the ground, only to have your body fall into the restraint.
Then you have the usual elements around it. You have some solid launches,
particularly in reverse, plus good weightlessness on both spikes.
2) Wild Thing at Valleyfair- The original Morgan hyper coaster is weak for the genre, but it still
is an enjoyable ride with some notable elements. The first drop gives nice floater airtime in the
back and then the second hill is one of the most sustained airtime moments in the world.
It offers roughly 5 straight seconds of floater airtime. The turnaround has some neat views of
Route 76, but the finale is ruined by a harsh mid-course trim. Those final bunny
hills barely offer any airtime when the brake engages, and it almost always does nowadays.
1) Renegade at Valleyfair- This is one of the best woodies from Great Coasters International.
This is one of their best layouts. The pacing is fantastic and arguably the ride’s standout
feature. The first half is in an isolated, backstage area. You have some larger turnarounds
with the usual pops of airtime plus some smaller straight hills with some awesome
sustained floater airtime. The second half crosses over a road and runs along the midway,
finishing with some small but punchy hills. There are two possible downsides. One, the
ride has a shimmy. This doesn’t bother me since the trains are extremely well cushioned. Two, the
seatbelts are retractable unlike the other GCIs and can limit how much airtime you experience.
But these aren’t major issues for me, which is why it’s still my favorite coaster in the state.
But it’s not my favorite ride in the state. That honor goes to Log Chute at Nickelodeon Universe.
This is my second favorite log flume anywhere after Splash Mountain. You have
two great drops plus some underrated theming as you pass through these atmospheric caves.
So those are the top 10 roller coasters in Minnesota. What is your favorite coaster in
this state? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it
if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a lot more roller
coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!