I’ve written before about the best water slides at sea, and one of the things I touched on was the speed that they offer, but the speed is nothing compared to the speed of a roller coaster. Now while there are currently no roller coasters available at sea (come ooooon guys, get it sorted!), there are a number of amazing coasters you could quite easily visit as part of a cruise holiday, with many theme parks close to embarkation and disembarkation ports – the perfect excuse to extend your holiday. On this list I’ve compiled some of the notable ones – these make Blackpool’s Big One look like a city monorail.
Formula Rossa
Where: Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi
Known as: The fastest roller coaster in the world
There aren’t many roller coasters where you have to wear safety goggles in order to ride, but this is one of them – at high speeds you don’t want to be smashing insects into your eyes at these speeds. It uses a hydraulic launch system to catapult the car up to a top speed of 150mph – for comparison, Rita Queen of Speed has a top speed of 62mph, so this is 2.5 times faster. It’s definitely worth adding a visit to Ferrari World onto any Middle East cruise itinerary.
Kingda Ka
Where: Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Known as: The tallest roller coaster in the world
Kingda Ka is a strata roller coaster, one of only two in the world (the other is Top Thrill Dragster), and it is the tallest roller coaster in the world, measuring 139 metres. If you want to compare that, it’s over twice the height of The Big One in Blackpool and it’s taller than both the Statue of Liberty and the Great Pyramid of Giza. It’s big. It’s also not far from ports in New Jersey and New York – ideal for Transatlantic, Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries.
El Toro
Where: Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Known as: The fastest wooden roller coaster in the world
Everyone knows that a wooden roller coaster, with the same specs as a steel one, would be much scarier. It’s that ‘rickety’ feeling that always raises that doubt – one day you just KNOW it’s going to fall apart, but will it be today? This one’s the quickest in the world, and it’s in the same theme park as Kingda Ka. Twice as many reasons to go. Expect top speeds of 70mph – but you won’t feel like you’re nicely cruising in a safe car on a motorway on this.
Takabisha
Where: Fuji-Q Highland Theme Park, Yamanashi, Japan
Known as: The steepest roller coaster in the world
If you go on a cruise of the Far East that includes Tokyo, it’s just a couple of hours to the Fuji-Q Highland Park. This roller coaster has a drop of 121 degrees – that means you drop back on yourself. The only way to accurately portray the scary view is to ask you to watch the video.
Steel Dragon 2000
Where: Nagashima Spa Land, Kuwana, Japan
Known as: The longest roller coaster in the world
This roller coaster is quite a distance from Tokyo, but if you extend a cruise for a few days then it is definitely worth the visit. It is 2,479 metres long, which makes it over 1.5 miles long. It’s a ride that lasts over three minutes, which is an eternity in the realm of coasters, so it’s definitely one that you’ll want to try.
By Ian Lewis
Google
Photo credit: Sarah_Ackerman
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