Records

Sunday, July 20th 2008

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Roller coasters are great objects for setting world records. Be it height, length, or speed, coaster records usually get broken every season. There's no record for the longest time a coaster has sat in a bath of beans, though!

SPEED is determined by the top speed a coaster hits in miles per hour. A coaster usually hits the top speed at the bottom of a drop or from a launch system, such as LIM, LSM or Hydraulic.

Some parks boost their coasters HEIGHT by using "sea level" as the base measurement. The height records here are measured from ground level to the highest part of the track.

The LENGTH of a coaster is the total length of one complete coaster circuit.

WORLD RECORDS

SPEED	HEIGHT	LENGTH
1. KINGDA KA Six Flags Great Adventure (2005) 128 mph	1. KINGDA KA Six Flags Great Adventure (2005) 456 ft	1. STEEL DRAGON 2000 Nagashima Spaland (2000) 8113 ft
2. TOP THRILL DRAGSTER Cedar Point 120 mph	2. TOP THRILL DRAGSTER Cedar Point 420 ft	2. DAIDARASAURS Expoland 7677 ft
3. DODONPA Fuji-Q Highland 106.9 mph	3. SUPERMAN THE ESCAPE Six Flags Magic Mountain 415ft	3. THE ULTIMATE Lightwater Valley 7442 ft

EUROPEAN RECORDS

SPEED	HEIGHT	LENGTH
1. FURIUS BACO PortAventura (2007) 83.5 mph	1. SILVER STAR Europa Park (2002) 239 ft	1. THE ULTIMATE Lightwater Valley (1991) 7442 ft
2. STEALTH Thorpe Park 80 mph	2. PEPSI MAX BIG ONE Pleasure Beach Blackpool 213 ft	2. PEPSI MAX BIG ONE Pleasure Beach Blackpool 5497 ft
3. SILVER STAR Europa Park 78.9 mph	2. STEALTH Thorpe Park 205 ft	3. SILVER STAR Europa Park 5315 ft

NORTH AMERICAN RECORDS

SPEED	HEIGHT	LENGTH
1. KINGDA KA Six Flags Great Adventure (2005) 128 mph	1. KINGDA KA Six Flags Great Adventure (2005) 456 ft	1. BEAST Kings Island (1979) 7395 ft
2. TOP THRILL DRAGSTER Cedar Point 120 mph	2. TOP THRILL DRAGSTER Cedar Point 420 ft	2. SON OF BEAST King's Island 7032 ft
3. SUPERMAN THE ESCAPE Six Flags Magic Mountain 100 mph	3. SUPERMAN THE ESCAPE Six Flags Magic Mountain 415ft	3. MILLENNIUM FORCE Cedar point 6595 ft

ASIAN RECORDS

SPEED	HEIGHT	LENGTH
1. DODONPA Fuji-Q Highland (2001) 106.9 mph	1. STEEL DRAGON 2000 Nagashima Spaland (2000) 318 ft	1. STEEL DRAGON 2000 Nagashima Spaland (2000) 318 ft
2. STEEL DRAGON Nagashima Spaland 95 mph	2. THUNDER DOLPHIN LaQua 262 ft	2. DAIDARASAURS Expoland 7677 ft
3. THUNDER DOLPHIN LaQua 80.8 mph	3. FUJIYAMA Fuji-Q Highland 262 ft	3. FUJIYAMA Fuji-Q Highland 6708 ft

CORPORATE RECORDS

Roller coaster with the most inversions:	- Colossus, Thorpe Park, UK - Tenth Ring Roller Coaster, Chimelong Paradise, China	TEN INVERSIONS EACH
Oldest Operating Theme Park:	Bakken, Denmark.	OPENED 1583
Park With The Most Coasters:	Cedar Point, OH, USA	17 COASTERS
Park With The Most Rides:	Six Flags Great Adventure, NJ, USA.	72 MECHANICAL RIDES
Oldest Operating Coaster:	The Scenic Railway, Luna Park, Australia.	OPENED 1912
Most Visited Theme Park:	Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, FL, USA.	15,170,000 VISITORS IN 2004

ENDURANCE RECORDS

Longest Coaster Marathon:	401 HOURS	Richard Rodriguez (USA) on Pepsi Max Big One & Big Dipper, Pleasure Beach Blackpool in August 2007.
Highest Average Age On A Coaster:	75.25 YEARS	32 riders on Big Dipper, Pleasure Beach Blackpool.
Most Coasters Ridden In 24 Hours:	74 COASTERS	P. Guamo, A. Spivak, J. Kirwood, A. Monroe Rye (All USA), 9th Aug 2001. Ten parks in four states, using a helicopter.

If you think we've missed out an important record or have our facts wrong, please email ian@coasterforce.com

Sources: Guinness Book of Records 2005, www.RCBD.com and The Top Ten of Everything