The 15 Tallest Roller Coasters in the World Will Take You to New Heights

Falcon’s Flight: Over 600-Foot Drop

It's not built yet, so it’s not officially ranked. But when Falcon’s Flight opens in late 2024, it will take the crown for the tallest roller coaster in the world—by a considerable margin. Everything planned for the record-breaking coaster is impressive. It will dive off of a cliff into a valley to achieve its incredible drop. It will also accelerate to about 155 mph, which will make it the world’s fastest roller coaster. And spanning approximately 2.5 miles, it will positively shatter the record for the world’s longest roller coaster.

• Six Flags Qiddiya, to be built near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia
• Type of coaster: Magnetic launch coaster
• Height: To be announced

Kingda Ka: 456-Foot Drop

When it opened in 2005, Kingda Ka was the world's fastest (at 128 mph) and tallest roller coaster. It doesn't come close to the record for the world's longest coaster ride. In fact, at 50.6 seconds it may be among the shortest.

It's since been topped in the speed category, but it's still incredibly fast. Does its height and speed make it a great ride? Not necessarily. Read our review of Kingda Ka.

• Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey
• Type of coaster: Hydraulic launch rocket coaster
• Height: 456 feet

Top Thrill 2: 420-Foot Drop

Cedar Point has a history of introducing record-breaking coasters, including Magnum XL-200, the first hypercoaster to break the 200-foot threshold and the ride credited with starting the “coaster wars.” Top Thrill 2, formerly known as Top Thrill Dragster, held the record of the world's tallest (and fastest) coaster for a few years, though the ride lasted a mere 17 seconds. It has since been eclipsed by the similar Kingda Ka, but it is still one heckuva tall, fast, and great ride. The reimagined triple-launch coaster, reopening summer 2024, now has an extended duration of two minutes.

It sits smack in the middle of Cedar Point’s midway, and is almost as much fun to watch as it is to ride. Before it takes off like a bullet, huge racing lights on its tower build anticipation by changing from red to yellow to green.

• Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
• Type of coaster: Hydraulic launch rocket coaster
• Height: 420 feet

Superman: Escape From Krypton: 415-Foot Drop

Formerly known as the tallest roller coaster in the world, Superman: Escape from Krypton holds the distinction of being the first coaster to drop more than 300 feet and to feature a tower over 400 feet. When it debuted in 1997 (as Superman: The Escape), it was also the world's fastest coaster. Problem was, it often fell shy of its theoretical top speed of 100 mph and far shy of the top of its 415-foot tower. Even worse, the groundbreaking ride often ground to a halt and experienced a lot of downtime.

In 2011, Six Flags gave Superman a makeover with new cars and a new lease on life that has it running with greater height (and, likely, speed) as well as with more regularity. It also reversed the shuttle trains so that they blast out of the station backwards and send passengers free-falling down the 415-foot tower facing forwards.

• Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California
• Type of coaster: Magnetic induction shuttle coaster
• Height: 415 feet

Red Force: Approximately 367-Foot Drop

Like Top Thrill 2 and Kingda Ka, Red Force has a top-hat tower that goes straight up and straight down. Unlike those rides, the Spanish coaster uses magnetic motors instead of hydraulic propulsion to launch it out of the loading station. Red Force features a Ferrari theme and, appropriately enough, hits nearly 112 mph in five breathtaking seconds.

PortAventura, one of Europe’s biggest and best theme parks, is also home to another record-breaking ride, Shambhala, which is on the list below. Located on the coast near Barcelona, the resort’s two theme parks offer a total of nine coasters.

• Ferrari Land at PortAventura, Salou, Tarragona, Spain
• Type of coaster: Magnetic induction rocket coaster
• Height: 367 feet

Fury 325: 325-Foot Drop

Known as a "Giga-Coaster" (for surpassing 300 feet in height), Fury 325 debuted in 2015. It makes quite a splash at the front of Carowinds when it passes under the path leading to the front gate. The crazy-high coaster uses a traditional lift hill to climb its enormous lift hill. In addition to its impressive stats—it drops at a disarming 81 degrees and tops out at 95 mph—Fury 325 is acknowledged by park enthusiasts as being among the world’s best roller coasters. 

• Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Type of coaster: Out and back Giga-Coaster
• Height: 325 feet (hence the name)

Millennium Force: 310-Foot Drop

Cedar Point's second entry on the world's tallest coasters list is a more traditional thrill machine (although Millennium Force uses an elevator cable instead of a lift chain to more quickly move its trains up its mammoth 310-foot hill). Accelerating to 93 mph, the coaster is so intense that some passengers experience a brief moment of "grayout" at the bottom of the first drop.

Lots of coaster fans love Millennium Force. Others, however, move it down a few pegs for a variety of reasons. For example, despite its incredible height and speed, Millennium Force is surprisingly devoid of much airtime. After its initial drop, Millennium Force is fast, but can seem oddly lackluster.

• Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
• Type of coaster: Out and back Giga-Coaster
• Height: 310 feet

Steel Dragon 2000: 307-Foot Drop

As with Fury 325, Steel Dragon 2000 uses a traditional lift hill (rising an incredible 318 feet) and gravity to propel it to a face-melting speed of 95 mph. At four minutes and with a length of 8,133 feet, the coaster is the world's longest. Steel Dragon 2000 is located at Nagashima Spa Land, one of Japan’s premier thrill ride destinations. The park boasts a total of 13 roller coasters.

• Nagashima Spa Land, Nagashima, Japan
• Type of coaster: Out and back terra-coaster
• Height: 318 feet

Leviathan: 306-Foot Drop

Another entrant in the relatively limited Giga-Coaster field, Leviathan was the first to meet the specifications from Bolliger and Mabillard, makers of super-smooth and sleek coasters. (The company also manufactured Fury 325.) While the ride is incredibly tall and incredibly fast, given B&M's "track" record, it's also incredibly smooth. Leviathan may not be the tallest roller coaster in the world, but it sure is the tallest roller coaster in Canada. The ride is located in Ontario park Canada's Wonderland, which ranks third in the world for theme parks with the most roller coasters.

• Canada's Wonderland, Maple, Ontario, just outside Toronto
• Type of coaster: Out and back Giga-Coaster​
• Height: 306 feet

Intimidator 305: 300-Foot Drop

Like Millennium Force, the original Giga-Coaster at sister park, Cedar Point, Intimidator 305 is all about crazy speed, intense G-forces, and wild height. Heck, it brags about its wacky height right in the name. Intimidator 305 does not include any inversions, nor does it incorporate any gimmicky features such as a hydraulic launch or onboard audio. But it does go insanely high and rattles riders with enough positive Gs to, well, intimidate the heck out of them. The coaster is currently undergoing a "transformation", according to the park, so even more shocking surprises may await.

• Kings Dominion, Doswell, Virginia
• Type of coaster: Out and back Giga-Coaster
• Height: 305 feet

Orion: 300-Foot Drop

Another Giga-Coaster, Orion ties for the 10th spot on the world’s tallest coaster list for its massive 300-foot drop. Like Leviathan and Fury 325, it was designed and built by Bolliger and Mabillard. Opened in 2020, it is the 14th coaster at Kings Island.

• Kings Island, Mason, Ohio
• Type of coaster: Giga-Coaster​
• Height: 287 feet

Pepsi Hyperion: 262-Foot Drop

Opened in 2018, Pepsi Hyperion flies at a ferocious 88 mph. Its first drop is at a nearly vertical 84 degrees. The Polish park Energylandia, also operates a second coaster, Speed. Despite its name, Hyperion actually tops it for speed.

• Energylandia, Zator, Malopolskie, Poland
• Type of coaster: Mega-coaster
• Height: 253 feet

Coaster Through the Clouds: 256-Foot Drop

As with Millennium Force, the massive Coaster Through the Clouds uses a cable lift to more quickly get its trains up its 256-foot lift hill. It is the tallest roller coaster in China. At 85 mph, it is also the country's fastest coaster.

• Nanchang Wanda Park in Xinjian, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
• Type of coaster: Hypercoaster
• Height: 256 feet

Shambhala: 256-Foot Drop

The mountain-expedition themed coaster is also one of the world's fastest (at 83 mph). Shambhala rises 249 but drops 256 feet because it enters an underground tunnel at the bottom of its first drop. It includes five airtime hills, the smallest of which is 70 feet (which is bigger than some coasters’ highest point).

• PortAventura in Salou, Tarragona, Spain
• Type of coaster: Hypercoaster
• Height: 249 feet

Unranked: SkyScraper- 570-Foot Drop

We used to rank this never-opened ride at the top of our page in the first position. This is because at one time, it appeared that construction crews were actually going to build all 570 feet of SkyScraper. In anticipation of its eventual debut, we gave it the number-one spot on our tallest coaster rundown. Now that it's been delayed a number of times, it seems that the project is defunct, however. That's why we've moved it to the bottom of the list.

SkyScraper would have reportedly climbed a 570-foot observation tower. It would have supposedly reached speeds of 65 mph, and its plans called for inversions. The ride would have been located at the SkyPlex on International Drive in Orlando.

Although it's unlikely it will ever take passengers up 570 feet into the air, you can read more about the plans for what would have been the world's tallest roller coaster in Florida.