The top 10 roller coasters in the USA

The Voyage at Holiday World is the best wooden roller coaster in the world and it is not really even close. Sorry, El Toro. And yes…it’s now my #1 coaster in the United States.

The relentless ferocity is almost unbelievable, tearing through the forests of Indiana like a runaway train from hell. The Voyage is a ride that you actually have to learn how to ride, it is an animal, and carries its absurd pacing all the way to the end.

Highlights: The Spaghetti Bowl, which is the iconic section of the ride embedded in the forest that converted me into an enthusiast.

Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) has created a masterpiece at Busch Gardens Tampa and it is called Iron Gwazi. The intensity of pure thrill is combined with a constant flawless grace, stringing together element after element unlike any coaster on this planet. Iron Gwazi is a perfect roller coaster.

Highlights: The Death Spiral needs to be experienced to be believed. And the purple wash of lighting at night creates an unforgettable and dreamy ride.

Steel Vengeance, or “Stevie” as it is known in enthusiast circles, is yet another perfect rollercoaster by RMC. This ride is an absolutely behemoth, spanning across a massive section of lakeside at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The coaster produces ridiculous airtime and multiple dynamic inversions, and does so like a knife cutting through hot butter.

Highlights: The Outer Bank Airtime Hill is jaw-dropping every time, and the overall ride time feels like it goes on forever.

The hype is real. Velocicoaster at Universal Studios Orlando (pictured, top) delivers pure joy with high intensity and grace. By far Intamin’s best creation to date, combining slick trains with perfect restraints and incredible theming to create a coaster that feels truly next-generation. The multiple launches are a dream, the elements are divine, and it truly feels like you are being chased by raptors in their raptor cage.

Highlights: The Mosasaurus Roll along the is so dope. This is a barrel role near the end of the ride that ejects you out of your seat in the most pleasant way possible. Also, the elongated Zero-G Stall and of course The Top Hat are premium elements.

What an absolutely bizarre coaster situation. In a random plot of land on the side of the road outside Atlanta, GA stands one of the most incredible coasters in the world. RMC does it again with a masterpiece of airtime and pace. And what’s really crazy is that if you go during the week, you can ride ArieForce One over and over again, marathoning without even waiting in line.

Highlights: Ooh it’s tough to choose one. But it’s got to be the ridiculous, elongated stall that blissfully flies you upside down for what feels like an eternity.

I have a love-hate relationship with this coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. And right now I’m in love with it. One of the most ridiculous coasters on this planet, a “4D” ride type that was only built twice — X2 was the prototype, Eejanaika in Japan was the predecessor. G-Forces. Utter confusion. True fear response. A rare bird that has me asking myself “am I really riding this again?” every time I enter the queue.

Highlights: X2’s first drop is maybe the best single coaster element I’ve experienced. A 200ft, face down dive that produces involuntary vocal response every single time I ride it.

Such a zippy and twisty ride! Maverick at Cedar Point in Sandusky packs a major punch in a very small footprint, using snazzy banked turns, endless inversions, and feisty airtime hills to simulate the sensation of riding on the back of a bucking bronco. The first drop is beyond vertical which kicks the ride off with the sense of being off the rails.

Highlights: The launch in the tunnel comes out of nowhere and still brings me total joy every time I ride it. I love experiencing the launch with friends who have no idea it is coming, pure coaster excellence.

This legendary Intamin hypercoaster at Hersheypark is the king of hypers. The accelerated elevator lift barrels you up the lift hill and throws you over the first drop, initiating the ride with a force that is carried through the whole layout. There’s not another coaster that combines pure force with agile banked turns and airtime hills, it’s as if Maverick and Millennium Force had a love child. The sensation of flight is unmatched.

Highlights: The S-Hill. The combination of positive g-s on the banked turn that then transitions into negative g, ejector air, is phenomenal. Every hill on this ride is glorious, but the S-Hill is out of this world.

It is impossible to overstate the sheer power and force that Fury 325 delivers. This giga-coaster outside of Charlotte, NC is one of the tallest coasters on this planet standing 325 feet tall, and simulates the feeling of flying better than any coaster I’ve ever been on. The speed, the g-forces, the unreal magnitude of this ride is truly mind-numbing.

Highlights: The first drop, no doubt. Fury is 325 feet tall, and the first drop is absolutely terrifying and exhilarating. Your brain can barely comprehend what it is experiencing, reaching 95 mph at the bottom of the drop.

This is not the scariest ride by any means. In fact, Hagrid’s is considered a family coaster. Most coaster enthusiasts would call this ride “tame”. But I don’t care. The ride is simply fun. Riders get to either sit on the seat of a motorbike or in the side car of the motorbike, a train system that adds significant levels of joy to the experience. There are multiple launches, and even a surprising track-drop designed into this wonderfully themed coaster.

Highlights: The train itself is the highlight. Riding the ride while you grip the handlebars of a motorbike makes you instantly feel like a kid again. Or choose the sidecar, where you can kick back and leisurely enjoy the high-speed views