Now the sixth part of my ranking series chronicling all 102 roller coasters I’ve rode, here’s a look at the start of the list’s second half.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
50. Incredicoaster – Disney California Adventure
Intamin, 122 ft tall, 108 ft drop, 55 mph, 6,072 ft length
While my ride on this in March 2013 was when the coaster was known as California Screamin’, the ride itself remains unchanged after it underwent a theming overhaul after The Incredibles film franchise.
The fastest roller coaster at Disneyland while also being the only inverting roller coaster at the resort, Incredicoaster is at an ideal thrill level for the park it’s placed at – having enough to satisfy the enthusiasts and thrillseekers tagging along while still sticking to immersive theming and a ride experience that isn’t too overwhelming to children.
This coaster is an absolute blast, featuring an LIM launch at the start of the ride before embarking on a journey of over 6,000 feet of track, still making it the world’s seventh-longest steel roller coaster today.
While the loop is the aesthetic highlight of the ride, this coaster doesn’t leave too much dead space throughout, with tight transitions and vibrant theming keeping riders engaged even in the more boring parts of the ride.
Even with its past theming and especially with its current scheme, this is a coaster best done at night, with the colorful decour throughout the ride making it a one-of-a-kind experience after dark.
49. Gemini – Cedar Point
Arrow Dynamics, 125 ft tall, 118 ft drop, 60 mph, 3,935 ft length
Basically a mega mine train from Arrow, this racing steel coaster is built on a wooden structure and initially opened at Cedar Point back in June 1978, making this one of the park’s older coasters.
While it has definitely aged out of being a premier thrill ride at the park, Gemini remains one of the more unique coasters you can experience in North America, where riders ascend to and drop at heights well above 100 feet while reaching top speeds of 60 mph on a track that most enthusiasts are used to riding right along the ground.
Although I’m personally unsure of how this coaster operates today as I haven’t visited the park in over 13 years, I had a blast on this coaster during my last visit – which was dueling the entire time I was there, adding quite a bit to the experience in an era where racing coasters that are running both tracks are quite hard to come by.
Of course, when considering the coaster’s age and manufacturer, it is no surprise that this is a rough ride – it was in August 2013, and I’d imagine it’s even joltier today. Still, for a one-of-a-kind coaster that has been tied to so much history at America’s most iconic amusement park, this is one you shouldn’t pass up.
48. The Riddler’s Revenge – Six Flags Magic Mountain
Bolliger & Mabillard, 156 ft tall, 146 ft drop, 65 mph, 4,370 ft length
An absolute behemoth of a coaster, this B&M stand-up that opened back on my second birthday in April 1998 remains the tallest, fastest and longest of its kind in the world – and is certainly not for the faint of heart.
Although stand-up coasters fell out of favor with parks in the early-to-mid 2000’s, The Riddler’s Revenge is perhaps a big reason why – as riders and parks alike had a hard time imagining a stand-up coaster that could do much more than this.
In addition to inverting six times, The Riddler’s Revenge sends riders down a 146-foot plunge that reaches top speeds of 65 mph at the bottom of its descent, sending forces through your legs and feet you previously didn’t know or think was possible.
I greatly enjoyed my front-seat ride on this back in March 2013, and felt it to be an unusually smooth ride for a coaster of its kind and size. The coaster was unfortunately down during my most recent visit in January 2024, and I do anticipate that my next ride will be a bit more turbulent after another 13 years of aging.
These coasters are a dying breed, and enthusiasts still have a chance to ride the record-breaker of them all – and not to mention, likely the best of its class too.
47. The Riddler Mindbender – Six Flags Over Georgia
Schwarzkopf, 80 ft tall, 50 mph, 3,253 ft length
Another Riddler-themed ride, this classic Schwarzkopf tucked away in a corner at Six Flags Over Georgia has a lot more bite than its unimposing size would suggest – thanks to those classic circular vertical loops.
Despite only reaching a height of 80 feet, The Riddler Mindbender still reaches a solid top speed of 50 mph while weaving through a well-wooded area of the park that provides a good deal of scenery as most other rides are not visible from the coaster.
Both loops serve as the highlights of the ride, owing to the early Schwarzkopft circular loop design that exerts greater G forces than the conventional clothoid loop used by manufacturers today.
Although this coaster opened all the way back in March 1978, it didn’t feel nearly as rough as I expected it to during my ride in May 2024, alleviating what would have been my primary concern about riding an old Schwarzkopf looper.
Being one of the older rides at the park that isn’t quite as popular as some of its newer counterparts, I’m not sure how many years this coaster has left in it. But as it remains one of the more unique rides in America, try to catch a ride on it if you find yourself in Austell, Georgia.
46. Invertigo – Kings Island
Vekoma, 131.3 ft tall, 50 mph, 1,013.8 ft length
Although I somehow have still never rode a regular Vekoma Boomerang coaster, I did get a chance to ride this unique adaptation of one at Kings Island in June 2024 – an inverted boomerang with a unique seating arrangement that sits riders two across while facing each other.
This feature went hand-in-hand with the coaster’s theming during the Paramount Parks era from its opening in April 1999 until 2007, being known as Face/Off after a 1997 science fiction thriller film of the same name.
The novelty of that feature works especially well if you’re riding with friends, though I took a solo ride on this when I picked up the credit a couple of years ago.
In many ways, this coaster is what it looks like – with riders traveling through a small, inversion-heavy layout before repeating the course backwards (or forwards, depending on which direction you start in).
I started the ride with a forward course, and while I wasn’t fully impressed with the first half, the backwards run through the layout left my head spinning – with the backwards cobra roll in particular being one of the more intense single moments I’ve ever felt on a coaster.
This is a fun, intense ride – but it’s also pretty rough with very uncomfortable restraints. While this is a must-ride if you’re at Kings Island, you’re probably good with a one-and-done.
45. Superman: Ultimate Flight – Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Premier Rides, 150 ft tall, 62 mph, 863 ft length
Not to be confused with the B&M flying coasters of the same name found at multiple Six Flags parks, the Ultimate Flight at Discovery Kingdom is much different – a compact Premier Rides LSM launch coaster with two incredible elements across its 45 seconds of ride time.
Starting the ride with a multi-pass launch through the station, riders are finally given the full boost on their second time through, ascending 150 feet to the top of the ride before being taken on a hangtime-filled inline twist that is undoubtedly one of the craziest inversions one could experience.
After the slow twist, riders are given an abrupt change of pace with a twisted 90-degree drop before eventually twisting their way back into the station.
While this low-capacity coaster can definitely build a big line very quickly, it’s a great one to hit early on – especially in a park that isn’t exactly stacked with thrill rides. Having originally opened in June 2012, this remains an incredibly unique ride with a handful of clones spread out across the world.
Despite its short length and poor capacity, this is a must-ride for Discovery Kingdom visitors with one of the cooler singular elements I’ve experienced.
44. Goliath – Six Flags Magic Mountain
Giovanola, 235 ft tall, 255 ft drop, 85 mph, 4,500 ft length
When looking at this ride’s numbers or when merely staring up at it in-person, one would likely assume that this is a favorite among enthusiasts worldwide as a ride that still remains one of the tallest and fastest coasters in the world.
Digging a bit deeper, this ride has some pretty conspicuous flaws despite its massive size – although it’s still very much so a worthwhile credit for enthusiasts.
A common complaint levied towards Goliath is that the 61-degree drop on the endless 255-foot plunge to start the ride isn’t nearly steep enough, and I can’t disagree with that. While B&M hypers are known to give a riders a good jolt and feeling of weightlessness on the long, smooth drops, Goliath feels almost like a slide, with the speed increase feeling much more gradual.
Although this coaster doesn’t have the smoothness that its B&M counterparts do, it still packs plenty of solid elements – including the majestic turn after the first drop that supplies a great deal of lateral forces to riders.
Many hardcore enthusiasts complain that the ride virtually comes to a complete stop during the mid-course brake run – but I can say with a good deal of confidence that this is absolutely necessary to keep the ride in favor with the general public.
Goliath’s highlight among enthusiasts has never been the massive first drop, but the bone-crushing helix towards the end of the ride, known for its intensely high G forces and greyout/blackout potential.
During my ride in March 2013, I was left feeling quite disoriented after the ride finished, with it being quite difficult to maintain full normal vision on the final turns even if you’re fully hydrated and on a full stomach.
Honestly, if not for the sheer uncomfortable intensity of that final moment, this ride would rank a good deal higher – and I also would have given it another ride in January 2024 on my second visit, which I did not.
43. Batman: The Ride – Mid America Adventure
Bolliger & Mabillard, 105 ft tall, 50 mph, 2,693 ft length
Alas, we have reached the Batman: The Ride clones.
I’ve been on four of these, and I’m ranking them all here in order and will talk about all of them in this write-up, although the clones are all essentially indistinguishable from one another aside from their paint color.
Initially debuting as the world’s first-ever inverted coaster at Six Flags Great America in May 1992, this iconic B&M invert has since been cloned and installed at a plethora of Six Flags parks, also finding homes at Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags New Orleans – the last of which was relocated to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and renamed after the park shuttered.
I’ve rode four of the clones, catching rides on the original at Great America as well as the Batmen at St. Louis, Over Georgia and Magic Mountain.
While this coaster doesn’t really raise many eyebrows with its size, height and speed, its compact layout and whippy inversions make this coaster the epitome of a surprisngly intense ride.
After a twisted first drop, riders ascend directly into a vertical loop that puts riders’ feet above the track before flying through four more inversions in the brief layout of around 2,700 feet.
This coaster tries to melt your face the entire way through, coming through as a barrage of positive G forces that pile on riders during the coaster’s sharp turns that lead directly into zero-g rolls. Needless to say, there isn’t a split-second of downtime during this classic B&M invert.
As I’ve gotten older, the intensity of Batman has been a bit tougher to handle – but even if it’s not a ride to marathon, it is absolutely a must-ride for every thrillseeker for equal parts history and intensity.
I’ll give Great America’s Batman the top spot for being the first one and the one at my home park. Magic Mountain’s Batman comes in as my second-favorite thanks to its location within the park and particularly compact feel, while Over Georgia ranks third – as I didn’t love the setting of that clone quite as much.
St. Louis’ Batman takes the last spot, as it remains the only one of the clones I’ve rode to retain its original black track color – making it stand out a bit less aesthetically when compared to other coasters in the park.
Still, take that with a grain of salt and enjoy whatever one you get to ride. It’s the same fucking coaster at the end of the day.
42. Batman: The Ride – Six Flags Over Georgia
Bolliger & Mabillard, 105 ft tall, 50 mph, 2,700 ft length
41. Batman: The Ride – Six Flags Magic Mountain
Bolliger & Mabillard, 105 ft tall, 50 mph, 2,700 ft length
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