While the vast majority of roller coasters 200 feet or taller are still giving rides, a small handful have either been removed or are standing idle, out of operation.
Although roller coasters have always been about offering a thrilling experience to a rider that can’t be found anywhere else, it took decades of coasters being a part of the worldwide summer experience before boundaries were more actively pushed.
Breaking up the monotony of wooden coasters and shorter, steel coasters that introduced inversions, Cedar Point made themselves the hot destination for enthusiasts in 1989 with the opening of Magnum XL-200 – the world’s first-ever roller coaster to eclipse 200 feet in height.
Needing a name to highlight the significance of such an event, Cedar Point and Arrow Dynamics began marketing the ride as a “hypercoaster” – defined by its then-record-breaking 205 feet in height.
The opening of Magnum kicked off a roughly 16-year long sprint for the record books known as the “coaster wars,” which saw the record-breaking height for a roller coaster balloon from 205 feet in 1989 to a mind-boggling 456 feet in 2005, upon the opening of Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.
Emphasizing just how much of an explosion this was in the coaster world, Kingda Ka was the 22nd roller coaster in the United States alone to reach 200 or more feet in height – and was just the second to eclipse a height of 400 feet.
While the coaster world ended up taking a direction away from extreme heights and speeds and more towards other thrilling elements such as launches and beyond-vertical drops, the legacy of the coaster wars remains prominent among enthusiasts – with many rides released in this 16-year timeframe remaining among the most popular coasters in the world.
But what about the select few that no longer remain in operation? How did such large, thrilling rides fall out of favor with either the public or the parks that hosted them?
There are currently four hypercoasters that once operated in the United States that are no longer open. Two of these rides remain standing but not operating, while the other two were demolished and removed from their parks.
While most of their counterparts continue offering hundreds of thrilling rides every day of every summer, here’s a deeper look into the four hypercoasters of yesteryear:
1. Desperado – Buffalo Bill’s Hotel and Casino (Primm, Nevada)
Only the second hypercoaster to open in the United States and just the third in the world, Desperado gave its first rides at the now-defunct Buffalo Bill’s Hotel and Casino in August 1994, going on to operate until February 2020.
Featuring a 209-foot height with a drop of 225 feet, Desperado reached top speeds of 80 miles per hour while offering nearly 6,000 feet of track.
The coaster was the third and final traditional hypercoaster developed solely by Arrow Dynamics, who went out of business eight years after the opening of Desperado in 2002.
Located around 37 miles southwest of the Las Vegas Strip on the Nevada-California border, both the roller coaster and hotel were out of the way from most tourists visiting the area – ultimately spelling out the demise for both entities.
Though the coaster remains standing, it has now been out of operation for well over six years, while the hotel itself closed nearly one year ago to the date on July 7, 2025.
2. Superman: Ride of Steel – Six Flags America (Woodmore, Maryland)
One of two Superman: Ride of Steel coasters to utilize the same layout (with the other located at Six Flags Darien Lake), this coaster served as the prime attraction at Six Flags America from its opening in 2000 until the park’s closure in November 2025.
While this ride may very well still have a future, just one of the coasters at Six Flags America was relocated for the 2026 season, with the fate of this coaster and the others that remain standing at the park up in the air.
Featuring a 208-foot lift hill and a 205-foot drop with top speeds of 73 mph, this Intamin hyper doesn’t exactly stand out when compared to other hypercoasters across the country – though it was a clear highlight at the now-defunct park.
Those wanting the experience of this ride can still make their way out to Darien Center, New York, where its clone remains in operation at Six Flags Darien Lake.
3. Son of Beast – Kings Island (Mason, Ohio)
Perhaps one of the most infamous roller coasters in American history, Son of Beast opened at Kings Island in 2000 as the world’s first (and still only) wooden hypercoaster, while also being the first modern wooden roller coaster to include a traditional vertical loop.
Marred by rushed construction and poor design, Son of Beast only lasted at Kings Island until 2009, with two major incidents severely impacting the coaster’s operation in its later years.
Most notably, the vertical loop was removed before the 2007 season due to the ride switching to lighter trains that wouldn’t be able to traverse the loop in an effort to reduce strain on the poorly built and designed structure of the coaster.
Another incident in 2009 that resulted in a head injury to a rider led to the coaster’s eventual permanent closure, with the ride not operating again after receiving reports of the injury on June 16, 2009.
This coaster was an absolute behemoth in every sense of the word, towering to a 218-foot height before plunging on a 214-foot drop with the ride reaching top speeds of over 78 mph.
While I unfortunately never got a ride on Son of Beast, I did get to see the coaster in its original form with my own eyes on a family visit to Kings Island in 2002. My older sister, who did ride it, maintains that it was one of the most intense and thrilling coaster experiences of her life.
After multiple years of standing but not operating, Son of Beast was demolished in 2012. The space the coaster once occupied is now held by Banshee, an inverted roller coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard.
4. Kingda Ka – Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey)
A gargantuan ride that held the distinction as the world’s tallest roller coaster for its entire lifespan, Kingda Ka was simply a slightly taller and faster adaptation of Top Thrill Dragster, which had opened two years prior at Cedar Point.
Kingda Ka added 28 feet in height, 28 feet in drop length and eight miles per hour in speed to crown it as the world’s tallest and fastest coaster upon its opening, though the latter record would be broken by Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi.
Kingda Ka‘s launch-reliant design that was solely about breaking records made it a fixture at the park throughout its lifespan – but also made it a maintenance nightmare and one of the park’s more unreliable rides.
Known as a “stratacoaster” for eclipsing 400 feet in height, Kingda Ka‘s permanent closure was announced shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season, with the ride’s demolition taking place in February 2025.
Less than a year after its demolition, all of its previous records would be obliterated by Falcons Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia, which reaches a height of 534.8 feet with a drop of 518.4 feet – most notably featuring an elevation change of 640 feet throughout the course of the ride with top speeds of 155.3 mph.
- When was the last time each NFL team had the No. 1 overall draft pick?
- 4 Canadian roller coasters I’d love to get the chance to ride
- How many NBA players have scored 25,000 or more career points?
- My Mount Rushmore of concerts I’ve attended
- A full list of the NBA players with 10,000 or more career assists
Leave a Reply