Kings Island, Cedar Point roller coasters among fastest in the world. See the list
Friday is National Roller Coaster Day, and if you're looking to up the thrill level for it, head to Kings Island or Cedar Point.
Both parks have some of the fastest roller coasters on the planet, according to a recent story published at Jalopnik, a website that covers the automotive industry, transportation, technology and more.
Author Andy Kalmowitz writes that the site chose the topic because, in general, car enthusiasts enjoy going fast, "but a lot of the time, those speeds are frowned upon by 'the law' and 'other motorists' and 'common sense.'" So they need to look for high-speed excitement elsewhere, like roller coasters.
Here's the full list of fastest roller coasters in the world and where rides at Cedar Point and Kings Island rank.
Orion at Kings Island
Top speed: 91 mph
Coming in at No. 12 on the list is the Orion at Kings Island, which reaches speeds of up to 91 mph, according to Kings Island's website.
The theme park says Orion is one of only seven "giga coasters" worldwide. That designation is a class of coaster with a drop or height of 300 to 399 feet, according to the park.
Orion is King Island's tallest, fastest and longest steel coaster. It has a 300-foot first drop, and then sends riders over seven more hills on its 5,321 feet of track.
It was named the Best New Amusement Park Attraction for 2020 in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards poll.
Millennium Force at Cedar Point
Top speed: 93 mph
At No. 10 on Jalopnik's list is Millennium Force at Cedar Point, which hits a top speed of 93 mph.
Another giga coaster, Millennium Force was the first to top 300 feet, according to Cedar Point's website. When it opened in 2000, the coaster also featured the longest drop and fastest speed.
Millennium Force shoots riders over hills, past lagoons and through tunnels.
The best of the Point: Cedar Point earns 2 spots on USA TODAY 10Best lists for theme parks, hotels
Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point
Top speed: 120 mph
No. 3 on the list is Top Thrill 2, which opened in May but was shut down after a couple of weeks for modifications and has yet to reopen.
Cedar Point bills the coaster as "the tallest and fastest triple-launch strata coaster" on its website. It launches riders three times, and they experience three "free fall" weightless moments. Those moments include a "rollback," where riders are first launched forward and pause before heading backward for another launch up a vertical tower. A third launch sends riders at speeds of 120 mph.
What are the fastest roller coasters in the world?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, every coaster on this list is made of steel. The Jalopnik article says wooden coasters just can't compete for speed. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, formed in the merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags, has seven of the fastest coasters; Carowinds and Canada's Wonderland were also Cedar Fair parks.
The fastest coasters in the world, per the site's survey, are (top speed in parentheses):
Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (149.1 mph)
Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure (128 mph)
Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point (120 mph)
Red Force at Ferrari Land (111.8 mph)
Do-Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland (111.8 mph)
Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain (100 mph)
Ring Racer at Nurburgring (99.4 mph)
Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land (95 mph)
Fury 325 at Carowinds (95 mph)
Millennium Force at Cedar Point (93 mph)
Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland (92 mph)
Orion at Kings Island (91 mph)
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Cedar Point, Kings Island roller coasters among world's fastest. See the list
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