The fifth part of my ranking series, I start to get into some highlights of mine as I run through all 102 roller coasters I’ve gotten a chance to ride.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
60. Queen City Stunt Coaster – Kings Island
Premier Rides, 45.2 ft height, 31.2 ft drop, 40 mph, 1,960 ft length
Originally opening in May 2005 during the park’s Paramount era as a coaster themed to the 2003 movie The Italian Job, this Premier Rides family coaster was renamed to Backlot Stunt Coaster after Cedar Fair took over – with the Kings Island coaster getting another recent makeover.
While my wife and I rode this in June 2024 under the Backlot Stunt Coaster name, this ride is now known as Queen City Stunt Coaster at Kings Island, featuring Cincinnati-theming and a slew of references to the city’s highways and landmarks.
Although undoubtedly a family coaster, don’t sleep on the opening moments of this coaster – which uses an LIM launch to catapult riders from 0 to 40 mph in just three seconds directly into a rising helix that will make even the more experienced coaster riders grey out a little bit.
This ride’s theming as taken a further step up since its switch to a Cincinnati-themed coaster in 2025, but my experiences on it were still excellent. From the use of pyrotechnics midway through to a dark section that ends with the ride’s signature short drop in front of the queue line, the Queen City Stunt Coaster is a complete experience for guests of all ages visiting the park.
This coaster does have a small capacity, so it may not be worth sinking 90 minutes into a wait with how great Kings Island’s coaster lineup is. Still, it’s one worth riding, so maybe hit this one early on during your visit.
59. Demon – Six Flags Great America
Arrow Dynamics, 102 ft tall, 90 ft drop, 50 mph, 2,130 ft length
An entry-level thrill ride for every kid in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas growing up, this classic Arrow looper has been at the park since its opening in 1976 – existing in its current form as Demon since the 1980 season.
While Corkscrew at Cedar Point was my first upside-down coaster, Demon holds a special place in my heart as a coaster I rode to unlock the confidence needed to ride bigger coasters – finally setting aside my fear of 100-foot tall coasters to start my June 2010 visit to the park with this ride.
Since then, it’s remained one of my absolute favorites when it comes to Arrow loopers. Although a basic ride with two loops, a tunnel and a double corkscrew after the opening drop, Demon makes you feel all of every one of its elements.
Although the loops provide some decent force for a coaster of its ilk, the real highlight of Demon actually comes on that forgotten first drop – with riders sitting towards the back of the train catching an unexpected pop of ejector airtime that seamlessly leads into the pair of vertical loops.
As Six Flags Great America and California’s Great America opened simultaneously in 1976 under Marriott’s ownership, both parks received a Demon – which both remain in operation today.
While the rides are virtually indistinguishable, I’ll give the California’s Great America Demon the edge. In addition to its gorgeous natural surroundings, the CGA Demon also includes orange-painted rails – a nice theming twist compared to the all-black appearance of Demon at Six Flags Great America.
58. Demon – California’s Great America
Arrow Dynamics, 102 ft tall, 90 ft drop, 50 mph, 2,130 ft length
My writeup for Demon can be seen above at No. 59.
57. Blue Hawk – Six Flags Over Georgia
Vekoma, 122 ft tall, 109 ft drop, 52 mph, 2,742 ft length
Among the more overlooked coasters in the park, this Vekoma looper opened back in March 1992 after a three-season stay at Conko’s Party Pier, a defunct theme park in New Jersey, from 1989 to 1991.
While its appearance and bulky harnesses make it quite clear to experienced thrillseekers that this is not a smooth ride, it’s also nowhere near as violent as I was expecting it to be – with Blue Hawk maintaining a solid pace through its five-inversion layout.
Although I would have preferred a conventional first drop to the angled descent that Blue Hawk takes, it also seems pretty clear that it’s merely a function of the coaster’s compact layout, making up for this drawback with several headchopper moments between inversions.
I wasn’t expecting much during my ride on this coaster in May 2024, and I left with a slightly higher opinion of it than I went in expecting. These coasters are a dying breed – and while Blue Hawk is surely among the rougher rides in the park, its forceful inversions help make up for it. Just don’t try to marathon this one.
56. SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge – Nickelodeon Universe
Gerstlauer, 74.5 ft tall, 43.5 mph, 1,371.4 ft length
Conventional wisdom would suggest that a SpongeBob-themed coaster would be a tame kiddie coaster, filled with references to the show while going low on intensity. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Gerstlauer and Nickelodeon Universe did not understand the assignment.
The premier coaster at Mall of America’s Nickelodeon Universe, Rock Bottom Plunge takes riders up a completely vertical lift hill before its namesake plunge – a beyond-vertical 97.5 degree drop that remains the steepest drop I’ve personally experienced on a roller coaster.
From there, this Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter plows its way through two inversions while packing nearly 4.5 Gs, making this a relatively intense ride that is certainly not for a beginner enthusiast or young child.
While this coaster can get a bit rough if you marathon it as I did in August 2011, it is ultimately the best coaster in this small park by a good margin – so try to pace your rides if you find yourself in Bloomington, Minnesota.
55. Mean Streak – Cedar Point
Dinn Corporation, 161 ft tall, 155 ft drop, 65 mph, 5,427 ft length
An absolute behemoth of a woodie, this monstrosity from Dinn Corporation operated at Cedar Point from May 1991 until September 2016, when the ride was shuttered for its conversion into Steel Vengeance, widely considered to now be among the best coasters in the world.
However, its reputation was anything but during its days as Mean Streak, a wooden coaster that lived up to what the Dinn Corporation had become known for in the coaster world – very large wooden coasters that were probably going to jolt you around a good amount.
When it comes to the stats, Mean Streak packed the intensity – and mostly delivered on it for the on-ride experience. Not many wooden coasters include drops of over 150 feet, with riders feeling every bit of the blistering 65 mph speeds the train hits after reaching the bottom of that first drop.
This coaster was fast, loud, intense and rough, and it remains one of the rougher wooden coasters I’ve gotten a chance to ride. While I wasn’t trying to hop right back on, this coaster brought a level of intensity and speed that is rarely found on true woodies – especially today as many of those coasters were met with the same RMC rejuvenation fate that Mean Streak was.
I still enjoyed my ride in August 2013, especially considering this coaster has been extinct for a over a decade – despite living on as a beloved hybrid coaster that currently tops my bucket list.
54. Whizzer – Six Flags Great America
Schwarzkopf, 70 ft tall, 64 ft drop, 45 mph, 3,100 ft length
Quite possibly the greatest family coaster of all-time, this classic spiral-lift Schwarzkopf has been in operation for all of Six Flags Great America’s existence – remaining an incredibly popular ride today among families and thrillseekers alike.
A true one-of-a-kind coaster, Whizzer sits riders one across with three riders to a train, with smaller riders given the option to sit on the lap of a larger passenger. The strange seating arrangement only adds to the charm of this ride, which takes a gradual 64-foot descent into a wooded area in the middle of the park, perhaps taking some influence from Arrow mine trains.
The relatively lengthy coaster features plenty of low-to-the-ground moments where riders are given some mild positive Gs and a pleasant breeze, along with a few underrated pops of airtime throughout.
I first experienced this ride in August 2003 – less than a year after the coaster was slated to be removed before a fan- and enthusiast-led effort to preserve the coaster at the end of the 2002 season was successful – resulting in the removal of Arrow mega-looper Shockwave instead.
I’ve gotten dozens of rides on this in the 23 years since I first experienced the Whizzer, and I find myself loving it every bit as much as an adult as I did as a kid. A fun, still surprisingly smooth ride that puts you right on top of whoever you came to the park with that day, it’s hard to not find yourself erupting in laughter as you make your way off this classic coaster.
53. The Racer – Kings Island
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, 88 ft tall, 82.17 ft drop, 53 mph, 3,415 ft length
A landmark ride in the history of roller coasters, it was none other than The Racer that reignited Americans’ fascination with amusement parks after the classic woodie was featured in an iconic 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch – sparking immense popularity for both the coaster and Kings Island in general.
Opening alongside Kings Island itself in April 1972, this PTC woodie takes the amazing elements and characteristics of many of their other coasters and greatly enhances it with the racing dynamic – something Kings Island still maintains today as many other parks have abandoned running both trains of a racing coaster.
This coaster is the perfect size for a standard woodie – clocking in just under 90 feet tall while still providing some punch with an 82-foot drop. The Racer maintains solid speed throughout its out-and-back layout, which itself helps enhance the racing element of the ride.
While both trains ascend the lift hill and descend the drop together, both sides diverge off to their respective sides after the first series of airtime hills before reconverging towards the center at the end of the coaster.
I first rode this in July 2002, and it was the most intense coaster I had rode for several years as I spent much of my earlier childhood petrified of heights. In a full circle moment, I got a couple of rides on this back in June 2024 and loved every bit of my trip back in the time machine.
Even in a park with much bigger thrills and better wooden coasters, no true coaster enthusiast could pass up a chance to experience some history on The Racer.
52. Great American Scream Machine – Six Flags Over Georgia
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, 105 ft tall, 89 ft drop, 57 mph, 3,800 ft length
Another PTC woodie, this relic of a coaster opened in March 1973 and has remained in operation since, with its massive structure and L-shaped layout occupying the back of the park for over a half-century.
This coaster has a widespread reputation among enthusiasts as one of the rougher wooden coasters in the country, although I had high hopes ahead of my May 2024 rides thanks to a recent retracking the coaster had undergone.
My wife and I had the pleasure of riding this on an otherwise empty train, and it was an absolute blast. While the first drop and subsequent airtime hills are great elements, it’s this coaster’s setting that catapults it above some other similar wooden coasters, with riders suddenly placed into the quaint Georgia countryside while traversing the furthest reaches of the coasters layout – well tucked away from the rest of the park.
Our second ride on a full train helped me realize why this coaster still has such a brutal reputation for roughness, with the return trip of the out-and-back layout feeling particularly jolty and painful, with our seating towards the back of the train not helping at all in that regard.
As Six Flags Over Georgia already boasts a woodie-turned-RMC with Twisted Cyclone, it’s great to see that Great American Scream Machine still fills the void of a classic woodie – with its scenery and character still shining through to this day.
51. Flight of Fear – Kings Island
Premier Rides, 74.2 ft tall, 54 mph, 2,705 ft length
An indoor steel launched coaster themed to outer space, this ride features one of the tamest launches one could experience before making up for it with a disorienting cocktail of twists, turns and inversions.
The 0-to-54 mph LIM launch in four seconds likely felt a lot more potent at the time of the coaster’s June 1996 opening, but it still serves as a fun way to start a ride entirely in the dark, leaving riders only guessing what comes next.
What follows is a maze-like traversing through a knot of track in a spaghetti bowl-type layout, with the ride’s darkness leaving guests unsure if they’re upside down or not at some points of the ride.
Although the coaster never regains the speed it starts the ride with, the coaster almost feels like Space Mountain on steroids – with more unpredictable movement at the expense of less immersive theming.
For those curious about the ride while wanting to have a better idea of what they’d actually be experiencing, feel free to take a look at Poltergeist at Six Flags Fiesta Texas – a nearly identical ride that is entirely outdoors.
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