I like roller coasters, like A Lot. In fact, I recently traveled to a land of endless allergens just to ride a well loved coaster, and it was so good that it inspired me to make a list of my top coasters, just so it could be added to said list. So here we are, the best coasters I specifically have ridden.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Epcot – Walt Disney World, Orlando FL
This ride took everything I love about Space Mountain (see below) and brought it to a whole new level. The ride is an indoor roller coaster that essentially takes place flying through space. The ride is synced to several songs, and when I rode it I happened to get “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Flock of Seagulls. The ride vehicles can rotate and every twist and turn felt perfectly choreographed to the song.
Ride by Vekoma
2. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Islands of Adventure – Universal Studios, Orlando Fl
This is not an endorsement of the property. This is not an endorsement of it’s author. This is a review of the roller coaster and ride system, which is simply spectacular.
The ride has 7 different launches, as well as a section where the physical ride vehicle and tracks are dropped like 10 or 20 feet fully vertically, only to go into a horizontal launch afterwards. It is one of the most creatively laid out coasters I’ve ever ridden, and riding on a ride vehicle modeled after an old Triumph really added to the feeling of speed. It feels *way* faster than a top speed of 50 mph, and I truly hope Intamin brings this coaster design to a different park under a different theme.
Ride by Intamin
3. Space Mountain
Disneyland – Disneyland Resort, Anaheim CA
A literal classic. An indoor coaster in a dark room with stars and galaxies projected everywhere. The ride in California resembles a wild mouse coaster, it is extremely compact and has sharp turns, sudden drops, and stops. The dark room obscures the track, leading to a super exciting trip. The 60’s spacey surf rock complete the experience. An all time great, a must ride, simply amazing.
Dishonorable Mentions: Ghost Galaxy and Hyperspace Mountain are bad reskins of this ride. They add a bunch of projectors where either a literal ghost, that is also a literal galaxy, chases you (for some reason). Or just shows like really out of place Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters. The music isn’t as good and the projectors are honestly distracting. The ride is still great but the “special versions” just suck.
Ride by Walt Disney Imagineering
4. Twisted Colossus
Six Flags Magic Mountain – Valencia CA
A “hybrid” coaster, Rocky Mountain Construction completely overhauled the “Colossus” wooden coaster and added a bunch of support and a steel track, leading to a coaster that has elements of both a wooden and steel coaster.
The original Colossus was a dueling coaster with two tracks and two cars, tho operationally they rarely sent both coasters up the lift hill at the same time. The ride was a traditional rickety wooden coaster with sharp turns and hills for days. The renovation to Twisted Colossus combined both dueling tracks into one huge track, meaning you do two loops around the coaster in slightly different configurations. The ride takes advantage of the steel elements to includes inverted zones which would be impossible in traditional wooden coasters (hence the “Twisted” part of the name). The coaster conserves the wooden, rickety feel, with a smoother experience that wont completely rattle every bone in your body, and a truly special experience in a surprisingly long ride.
Ride originally by International Amusement Devices, Renovated by Rocky Mountain Construction.
5. Incredicoaster/California Screamin’
Disney California Adventure – Disneyland Resort, Anaheim CA
The first launch coaster (im sure that’s true for a lot of people), this is such a good ride. The coaster is themed after boardwalk coasters, so the layout is similar to that of wooden coasters, but with all the benefits of both a spectacular launch and a really fun loop. The ride isn’t too smooth, it feels just a little rattley, without being offputting. IMO it was better as California Screamin’, but it is still a good coaster after the retheme and that doesn’t move where it lands on this list.
Ride by Intamin
6. Goliath
Six Flags Magic Mountain – Valencia CA
Just a plain simple fantastic Hypercoaster. 255 foot drop, intense centrifugal force around a ton of banked turns and helixes. Straight-ahead, and spectacular. I don’t have much to romanticize about this ride compared to the rest, I just fucking love it. Big drop big turn big good.
Ride by Giovanola
7. Phantom’s Revenge
Kennywood – Pittsburgh, PA
At one point claiming the fastest coaster and longest drop, Phantom’s Revenge inspired me into making this list bc I needed to know where the ride landed. You go up a lengthy lift hill to take the first drop of like 150 ft before going over the second hill. This hill reveals the second, 225 foot drop. The ride somehow manages to go over 80 mph and has some really interesting swooping sections, taking advantage of all the speed to give you a hell of a ride.
The second drop just opening up in front of you while you’re at speed is just some absolutely inspired coaster design and ingenious terrain use.
Ride by Arrow Dynamics, Renovated by DH Morgan
8. Full Throttle
Six Flags Magic Mountain – Valencia CA
I keep using the phrase “spectacular” or “incredible” because it keeps being true. But I think the best term for this coaster is “impressive”. It is a launch coaster that features a absolutely massive top hat on top of one of the biggest loops in the world.
The ride features two forward and one backward launch and is just a fun ride.
Ride by Premier Rides
9. Tatsu
Six Flags Magic Mountain – Valencia CA
A record breaking coaster in its day, it towers over the park and is one of the tallest coasters around. The ride system makes you feel like you are flying and is one of the smoothest and most fun experiences I can have on a coaster. The zero g rolls feel so good when in a suspended ride car. I have been told the ride can be painful for bustier people, so take that into consideration
Ride by Bolliger & Mabillard
10. Expedition Everest
Animal Kingdom – Walt Disney World, Orlando FL
Tallest Disney coaster (at only 112ft, lol), this ride feels like the culmination of Disney’s various Mountain coasters. The backwards section genuinely caught me by surprise and had me giggling through the ride. Being Disney, the themeing is impeccable.
Ride by Vekoma
Honorary Mention:
- Ghost Rider – Knotts Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA – There are no pure wooden coasters on my list. I love them so much, they’re such a good format, but none of the wooden coasters I’ve ridden come close to my top 10 list. Of the pure wooden coasters I’ve ridden, this is by far the best.
- Velocicoaster – Universal Islands of Adventure, Orlando, FL – Incredibly fast smooth swooping coaster. I really wanted to include it on my list, but the flying feeling of Tatsu barely beat out the smooth ride of Velocicoaster. The Velocicoaster launch is exceptional.
- Big Thunder Mountain – Disneyland, Anaheim, CA – my second fav coaster of the park, and one of my fav coasters of all time. It is just a fun time, I know the track so well. Expedition Everest just does everything Big Thunder does, but better, while also doing a better Matterhorn.
Disclaimer: I am but one girl. A trans girl even, which makes travel hard. I grew up in SoCal so the majority of the coasters will be restricted to my local coasters. I am making this list partially to refer back to as i go to more theme parks, to expand it as I experience more coasters.
I have also started a Notion doc with every coaster and ride i’ve ridden since my Disney World trip right before Florida decided to make trans ppl illegal. You can find my unfiltered, fresh opinions in that doc here. Do not ask me to explain my rating system, it is purely vibes based.