My Top 25 Roller Coasters as of 2025 (2/6/26)

It’s time to get those typing thumbs warmed up because right now, I’m putting a bullseye squarely on my chest. Today, I’m gonna count down my top 25 roller coasters as of the end of 2025.  I haven’t done one of these since the 2023 season finale, and with two years’ worth of new experiences, I think it’s time.  This has been my most requested topic as of late, and with a monster season planned for the new year, I figure it’s a good time to pause, reflect, and then give you a preview of what’s to come.

Mako Sound Effect Credit: TheRyGuyCoasters - YouTube

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Transcript

What’s up coaster nerds it’s Erik from Coaster Redux and this is Redux Rundown.  It’s time to get those typing thumbs warmed up because right now, I’m putting a bullseye squarely on my chest. Today, I’m gonna count down my top 25 roller coasters as of the end of 2025.  I haven’t done one of these since the 2023 season finale, and with two years’ worth of new experiences, I think it’s time.  This has been my most requested topic as of late, and with a monster season planned for the new year, I figure it’s a good time to pause, reflect, and then give you a preview of what’s to come, so let’s get into it.

My current coaster count stands at 270, so my top 25 will be more or less the top 9% of everything I’ve ridden.  That’s fair and mathematical, but as any enthusiast knows, ranking rides is anything but.  Before you rip those anxiously awaiting thumbs across your keyboard condemning my opinions, remember this: there’s a difference between a better roller coaster and a favorite roller coaster.  It’s objective versus subjective.  Some have stats, others have feels.  One may be bigger while the next captures your heart.  Then throw in recency bias.  When did you last ride?   Were you having a good day at the time?  What did you ride before and after?  Everything is in play here, so let me explain my process.

I created a new tab in my track record spreadsheet, and put coaster types across the top.  Categories included Hyper, Giga, RMC, Wood, Launched, Looping, and miscellaneous.  I then added everything I’ve ridden that might be top 25 worthy, and ranked them by category.  From there, I asked myself a simple question.  Which one would you rather ride?  Right now, based on your most recent memory?  The rankings came together from there.

But before we get to the list, here are a few interesting stats.  Of my top 25 roller coasters 12 have inversions, six are made of wood, and five feature launches.  As for the manufacturer’s cup, there are five coaster makers with only one ride each making the list.  Tied for fourth place are GCI and Mack Rides with two each.  Third goes to Bolliger & Mabillard with three.  Rocky Mountain Construction takes the number two spot with six, and if you know me, you know my number one manufacturer is Intamin with 7 coasters making the grade.     

So what’s to follow is my list.  Erik’s list.  Not necessarily the best roller coasters I’ve ridden, but my favorites.  In order.  Starting with number 25. 

The beating drums and an elevator lift in total darkness set the terrifying tone for number 25, Cannibal at Lagoon, a newcomer to the list.  When the curtain opens at the top of the menacing tower, you’re looking straight out at the Utah landscape from a height of 197 feet.  You gently glide forward towards the precipice of  one of the wildest first drops in the world, a 116 degree plunge from nearly hyper height.  It feels like you’re doing a somersault with your stomach in your throat.  You then careen through 2,759 feet of twisting steel including a soaring Immelman, a dive loop that somehow provides punchy airtime and whip, and two moments of the wildest hangtime ever in the Lagoon roll, a pair of slow-speed heartline rolls in opposite directions.

Few roller coasters intimidate me these days, but I did have some butterflies when I boarded Cannibal for the first time.  It’s an imposing structure that towers over Lagoon.  The elevator lift is freaky fast, and I love the ominous audio in the dark.  That first drop is like no other, and then there’s the fact that Lagoon built this contraption in-house.  It’s unsettling to say the least, but what I really like about Cannibal is its uniqueness.  There’s simply nothing else like it.

Ahh, the sweet sound of the Intamin fart as those upstops scream in pain preventing the train from being catapulted into oblivion.  El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure comes in at number 24, and I think it just barely made this list out of pure respect.  It’s down seven spots since my last ranking, and it’s crazy to think that at one time, it was my number one roller coaster.  When I first rode in 2014, this Intamin pre-fab wood coaster was glass smooth, and upon my return to New Jersey in 2023, it was pretty dang rough, bordering on painful in some of the potholes.

So why is it even here?  Because it’s got an incredible first drop with one of the best headchoppers of all time, probably the bar-none greatest airtime instances in the world over its two consecutive camelbacks, and holy crap, can we talk about the extreme ejector on the Rolling Thunder hill?  El Toro has four of the best roller coaster moments of all time, and they all still kick.  The problem is that the rest of the ride kinda kicks your butt.  Fortunately, Great Adventure is putting some serious love back into the bull over the next few off-seasons.  I’ll be back up that way when they open their new coaster in 2027, and if all goes well, El Toro just might return to my top ten.          

Those may be the most iconic six words in coasterdom, and they get me so hyped every time I ride my number 23 coaster, Storm Runner at Hersheypark.  It dropped one position since my previous ranking, but this is still one heck of a rush.  Zero to 72 mph two second flat.  Then it’s up a 150 foot top hat before a bonkers vertical 180 foot drop, and three of Intamin’s wonkiest inversions ever, the cobra loop and the flying snake dive.  It’s smooth, forceful, and whippy, and it’s got the most complete layout of the type.  The power of the launch is unbelievable, and while it’s the star of the show, the rest of the layout is pure adrenaline.  It may only last 50 secondsg, but it’s about as action-packed as you can get.  Here’s hoping Hershey continues to maintain this coaster for years to come. 

Next up are three of my absolute favorite wooden roller coasters.  They’re grouped together because they all deliver similar sensations, and among the types of coasters on the list, here’s where this ride type places on my preference sheet.  They all dropped pretty substantially since my last ranking, and that’s not because any of them have deteriorated, in fact quite the opposite.  They all run phenomenally.  It just happens that many of the new additions to the list are steel coasters that rank above.

It was one of the greatest marketing gimmicks of all time, but save for the shed, there’s nothing gimmicky about number 22, Mystic Timbers at Kings Island.  While it dropped nine positions since my last ranking, it’s still an elite experience, and my favorite roller coaster at Kings Island.  It’s 3,265 feet of pure euphoria, delivering GCI’s signature combination of airtime and laterals simultaneously while absolutely tearing through the woods.  It’s got that outta control feel you want from a wood coaster while still running like brand new, owing to the use of ipe, a Brazilian hardwood that lasts longer than the traditional southern yellow pine.  And no doubt the Kings Island maintenance team keeps up with this ride on a daily basis ensuring it’s always on the right track.

There’s nothing like the smell of grease on a lift hill and views of the Great Smoky Mountains, and Thunderhead at Dollywood takes the number 21 spot.  It’s down seven positions from my last rankings, but it actually picked up one where it counts.  Based on my rides in 2022, I ranked Mystic Timbers above Thunderhead, but after riding both back-to-back again in 2024, I had to swap them.  Both are GCI wooden roller coasters with nearly identical stats, but Dollywood put some serious TLC into Thunderhead between my visits, and man, this thing runs like a dream!  It’s the most delightfully twisted wood coaster I’ve ever ridden, and it’s action-packed from start to finish, weaving a thrilling tapestry of timbers all while throwing you outta your seat.  Front row is king on Thunderhead, and it’s almost never got a line, making it an easy ride to marathon, and it’s so good, you’ll want to take maximum advantage!

And number 20 is GhostRider at Knott’s Berry Farm, the wildest ride in the west, and my favorite roller coaster in California.  Somehow, its first drop is only 108 feet, but it maintains ferocious speed through a whopping 4,533 feet of track.  Built by CCI in 1998, this ride was perfected by GCI with a full refurbishment in 2016.  The result is a mash-up of the best from both manufacturers.  You get CCI’s airtime-driven layout with big hills and sharp bunny hops combined with GCI’s aggressive lateral-laden transitions, and best of all, their Millennium Flyer trains.  The moment known simply as, “the drop,” which comes after the original mid-course brake and dives into the structure provides incredible ejector in the back, and while the first half of GhostRider is awesome, its second half is world class.  You’re absolutely hauling through the structure with wood flying by on all sides with more airtime than you can stomach.  Then the finale is a seemingly endless 450 degree helix to the right leaving you plastered to the side for an eternity.  The biggest bummer for GhostRider is its garbage capacity, so it’s always got the longest line in the park.  Still, it’s one of the best wood coasters out there, and an all-out airtime machine that rides perfectly.

That bass drop has nothing on the drops to come.  Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point has more overall altitude than any coaster I’ve ridden and it’s ranked number 19.  A newcomer to the list, this ride sits two places above the defunct Kingda Ka from my last ranking.  While it’s not an apples to apples comparison, I think I slightly prefer this to Ka, but I’m not sure.   Anyway, this Zamperla re-imagining of Top Thrill Dragster sends you into the 400 foot height range twice, and you’re into triple digit speeds at three distinct points throughout the ride experience.  The prototype Lightning trains are bold and beautiful with massive wheels, an elongated Formula One nose, and elevated seats with a minimalist over the shoulder lap bar.  Suffice it to say, you’re going up high and you’ll be as free as a bird.

It’s no surprise that the swing launch on Top Thrill 2 has nothing on Dragster’s original hydraulic acceleration, but what it lacks in all-out intensity, it makes up for in duration.  The backwards spike provides neverending float as you slow, reach the top, and begin to fall.  The sense of speed on the backwards launch, and the subsequent boost up to 120 is visceral, and the way you maraud over that top hat is like no coaster out there.  It’s like way too fast, and you’re ejected no matter where you sit.  Then you get a wallop of laterals in the downward twist that feels like it’s almost too much.  A fellow rider summed it up perfectly.  Short but sweet.  Riding the rails at these speeds is about as exhilarating as it gets, and while Top Thrill 2 has some outstanding moments, they’re only enough to crack my top 20.

That feeling of doom is built into North America’s first tilt coaster, and I’d like to formally introduce Vekoma in my top 25.  Gone are the days of rough Boomerangs and SLC’s.  Siren’s Curse at Cedar Point is my number 18 roller coaster, and obviously it’s making its debut on my list along with its manufacturer.  Forget the tilt gimmick for a moment.  The ride that follows that vertical plunge is like nothing I’ve experienced before.  There’s simply nothing smoother.  It’s dynamic though its winding course complete with two corkscrew inversions, but the beauty is in the nuances.  One whips you like VelociCoaster’s mosasaurus roll, and the other has hangtime.  There’s wonderful flojector airtime on the triple down.  You have amazing onboard audio, a gorgeous light package on the trains, and even a tunnel to amplify the thrill.  The vest restraints are supremely comfortable and have plenty of give for the ride’s airtime.

Vekoma’s got a winner on their hands, and we haven’t even talked about the tilt, so let’s get into that.  It’s the ultimate photo op for the Instagram world.  It’s sublimely terrifying to place all your trust into the redundant safety measures because at the end of the day, this track disconnects from itself, and if Final Destination’s fate were to have its way, you’d be done for.  At least you’d go out doing something you enjoy.  

Now American theme parks have gone crazy with B&M dive coasters lately, capitalizing on the easy marketing buzz they inevitably create.  I don’t have any dives on this list.  Not because I don’t enjoy them, but because the drop is the single stand-out moment, followed by unremarkable and predictable layouts.  Siren’s Curse is different.  It’s a great roller coaster that packs every sensation I could want into a compact package.  The tilt is the cherry on top.  So go for it Six Flags.  Put one at every park.  I will ride them, and I will love them.  Just don’t clone them.

There’s something oddly calming about a B&M lift hill.  Is that strange?  Maybe so if you’re a member of the GP, but for us enthusiasts, we know exactly what to expect.  Unless it was built within the last few years, it’s gonna be smooth, flowy, and fun!  Number 17 is Candymonium at Hersheypark, and it’s up three spots from last time. I think that’s because B&M’s newer hypers are parabolic perfection providing delightful prolonged floater airtime that the older ones simply can’t match.  Candymonium has a wonderful first drop before heading away from the park, followed by a giant camelback leading into the turnaround.  The speed hill on the return run is a highlight with stellar prolonged floater airtime.  Then there’s an upward helix and you get a little sideways airtime on the exit as the Swiss version of Lexus dabbles their pinky toe into a modern element, and it works!

Candymonium concludes with a joyful trip around the fountain in Hershey’s new entry plaza, and this ride is just pure fun!  With three trains in operation, its lines are manageable for most of the day, and man, does this ride make a statement upon entering the sweetest place on Earth.  It’s far from the most intense ride in the park, but it’s a crowd pleaser without a doubt.

That IMAScore soundtrack hits so hard going up the lift, making you feel like you’re a shark just waiting to capture your prey.  Mako at SeaWorld Orlando is number 16, up four places on this list.  It’s probably my most-ridden roller coaster over the last few years because I have a United Parks pass, and I always stop for a couple of laps when I’m in Orlando.  It’s just so dang easy to marathon because it rarely has a line; a refreshing contrast to other coasters in this theme park Mecca.  The more I ride, the more I love these modern B&M hypers.  

The first half is pure bliss!  You have a steep first drop, a massive high-banked turn, and then the four-second airtime hill.  You’re just outta your seat forever!  You snap around a hammerhead turnaround, hit a lightly trimmed camelback that still delivers, then get a crazy head-chopper before more prolonged floater in the speed hill.  The second half after the mid-course is weaker, but you’ve got some sweet snappiness before a low skim across the park’s central lagoon.  

Last time around, Candymonium topped Mako because it’s got a better second half.  Today, the shark stands supreme because its first half is just so strong.  This may recency bias 100%, but no matter how I feel on a given day, this pair of coasters make me smile from start to finish, and they’re as re-rideable as they come.

That sound is now extinct, and number 15 has undergone two name changes since I last rode in 2018, making it the most difficult ride on this list to rank, but there’s no doubt in my mind it has to be here, and its position hasn’t changed.  I made my best efforts to ride Pantherian at Kings Dominion this year, but it didn’t work out.  It was closed when I ventured north to Virginia to ride Rapterra, and when I passed through the area again in the fall, it happened to be on a Monday when the park was closed.

This just may be the most intense roller coaster in the world.  It’s 305 feet tall with a 300 foot first drop at 85 degrees, and it’s got a special place in my heart because it was my first giga, and of course it’s an Intamin.  Pantherian is all about greyout-inducing turns and wildly whippy transitions, but it’s got some airtime moments as well, with two monster camelbacks intermingled between the twisty bits.  No coaster on the planet throws you harder into direction changes, and it’s that unique combination of positive G’s, airtime, and whip that makes Pantherian.  This ride may have placed higher if I’d ridden it more recently.

The way the wide winged train departs the station will leave you saying, “This just doesn’t feel right.”  It’s just so darn fast.  You’ll have that same sinking feeling as you climb 200 feet up way too quickly via cable lift on my number 14 coaster, Skyrush at Hersheypark.  Down three places from my last list, that feeling of unease will continue as you barrel down the 85 degree first drop with a wacky kink that’ll leave you breathless.

At only 3,600 feet long, Skyrush is tall and fast, crammed into a tiny space above Spring Creek, making a diabolical figure-8 filled with ejector airtime and ridiculously tight turns.  It uses an unusual four-across wing style train, and while the whip is wild on the outer seats, so too is the rattle.  The forces are so strong that it was nicknamed “Thigh Crush” because the lap bars would lower during the ride and dig into your legs.  I noticed this, but it wasn’t a major bother for me.  In 2024, the lap bars were replaced, and by most accounts, it’s now even better!  I didn’t ride it with this modification, but I can’t wait to get back to Hershey to check it out.

That motor revving worked great when Lightning Rod at Dollywood launched you up the lift hill, but it’s since been replaced by a high-speed chainlift to improve reliability.  While this coaster dropped six places due to the launch removal, I can confidently say that number 13 runs as well as it did in 2022 once it drops off the Dollys.  

This topper track wood coaster from RMC has been through numerous changes since it was introduced in 2016.  The launch speed was dialed back, and most of the wood track was replaced by steel IBOX rails before the launch was removed for the 2024 season.  Still, despite all its challenges, there’s no denying the all-out thrill of Lightning Rod.  You drop at 73 degrees into a ravine, and experience two of the best sideways airtime moments ever with a huge wave turn and a whippy Twist-and-Shout.  Next comes the legendary quad down which banks left and right while stepping down the mountainside.  It’s one of the greatest sequences of airtime anywhere, and it’s done in a gorgeous setting.  Then don’t sleep on the finale, a sweeping upward reverse leading into the final brakes.  

While the failed experiment of a launched woodie has faded into roller coaster history, it’s a testament to RMC that Lightning Rod’s layout continues to provide an elite experience despite removing its signature element.

It’s another lift hill heading into the woods, but this time we’re not in the Great Smoky Mountains, but rather the Ozarks.  Dollywood’s sister park, Silver Dollar City built the first RMC topper track wood coaster, and it’s number 12, Outlaw Run.  New to the list, I rode this for the first time in 2024, two days after Lightning Rod, and while it was never launched, its subsequent layout is Lightning Rod done better.  You have a 162 foot drop at 82 degrees leading into one of the best terrain coasters on the planet.  

After that first drop, you cruise through an overbanked inversion beneath a majestic canopy of trees, and get ejected again and again as you twist back through the lift, before a larger than life wave turn that rivals Lightning Rod’s.  On the return to the station, you bleed off speed in the most bizarre way possible, two consecutive heartline rolls, that provide crazy hangtime as you climb back up to the station.  

Now I’m shocked as I’m recording this to find that Outlaw Run is 800 feet shorter than Lightning Rod.  It feels so much longer, and I guess that’s a good thing.  It can be a bit bumpy, especially in a wheel seat, but this layout is unrivaled for non-stop intensity and stunning natural views.

While that’s a big claim, I imagine it was true back in 2000.  The internet sure thought so.  Yet 25 years later, it’s still a stand-out at Cedar Point.  Millennium Force is number 11, dropping two spots this time around, but there’s no denying its mass appeal.  The world’s first giga coaster exploded onto the scene catapulting Intamin from obscurity into the mainstay of roller coaster manufacturers.  It has a freaky fast cable lift up an impossibly steep hill, a first drop at 80 degrees, three overbanked turns, and a top speed of 93 mph and 65.95 feet of track.

Sure those stats are impressive, but it’s the vibe of this ride that really makes it.  You’re riding in the tiniest trains you’ll find on a major thrill coaster.  They feel like riding in a go-kart.  Super low to the track, with a minimalistic T-bar that gently kisses your thighs.  You climb skyward beside Lake Erie and upon release, it’s all about unadulterated speed.  The drop will have you wishing that lap bar was bigger, and you’re soon careening through overbanks, tunnels, and airtime hills with a sublime level of float.  It’s not super intense, but it’s two minutes of pure joy.              

Wildcat’s Revenge at Hersheypark grabs the 10 spot, and is new to the list.  The newest IBOX wood coaster conversion from RMC is a stunner with some of the most ridiculous whip and laterals you’ll find on any roller coaster.  It starts with a brand new truss lift hill reaching a height of 140 feet, and from the moment you release from the chain it never lets up.  You’ve got the world’s largest step-up underflip, a gnarly zero-G stall, and two zippy zero-G rolls that honestly feel way too fast.  There’s plenty of airtime here as well, plus two speedy unbanked turns that’ll throw you sharply sideways.  This is the second RMC to be designed by Joe Draves, and as much as I love Alan Schilke’s work, Draves’ designs are just a quarter step more intense.  Wildcat’s Revenge is an outstanding full package ride, and my favorite at Hersheypark.  My only lament is that while the ride is incredible as a whole, it lacks a signature stand-out wow moment.

And what a Voyage it is!  Number nine is my favorite wooden roller coaster, and no surprise, it’s the Voyage at Holiday World, another newcomer to the list.  With a colossal 6,442 feet of track, this terrain coaster rides like three roller coasters in one, and with two minutes and 45 second of total ride time, if ever there was a coaster that actually feels long enough, this is it. 

You begin with a 154 foot first drop into three large camelback hills on the outbound run.  It almost feels like a hyper.  Then the Voyage gets low and fast trying to kill you with airtime and laterals as it screams through the trees in its middle twister section.  Then after the mid-course brakes, it only seems to get faster in a finale that throws the book at you.  You face tunnels, twists, airtime, and laterals as you blow out of the trees, cross over the lift hill, and take a victory lap around the station and the entrance to the Thanksgiving themed area.  Only upon hitting the final brakes can you finally catch your breath.

The Voyage is a lot, and it’s seriously crazy that a roller coaster like this exists, especially at a small family-owned amusement park in southern Indiana.  But Holiday World is passionate about their wood coasters, and all three are impeccably maintained.  Now if I can just get there for Holiwood Nights to get a trimless night ride.  Gotta get on that!

Did you hear that?  It’s the sound of six rapid-fire ejector airtime hills trying to snap your femurs, and it’s the finale of my number eight roller coaster, Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point, and it maintained the same position on my list.  Now, SteVe and I have an interesting relationship.  It seems every time I talk about it, I feel compelled to explain why it’s not my number one roller coaster, because so many enthusiasts have it in that spot, it almost seems like it should be a given.  That means I go into how I don’t like the choppy repetitive airtime moments at the end because they do nothing for me and are borderline painful.  But I’m not gonna do that this time around.  I want to focus on what makes Steel Vengeance worthy of a position in my top ten.

Simply put, the world’s first hyper hybrid from RMC is long, thrilling, and has more airtime than any roller coaster in the world.  It’s got a wicked 90-degree first drop, the first two airtime moments never end, and that’s just the beginning.  The upwards barrel roll is so whippy and continues that whip on the exit.  That’s my favorite moment on the ride, by the way.  And then you continue in a disorienting maelstrom of track until you blast back into the infield for a crazy ejector-laden double up into the mid-course which rarely kisses the train.

The final lap through the structure has some of the best visuals of any roller coaster as you boogie by the bents in wave turns and zero-G rolls.  RMC truly throws the book at you through this entire ride.  It’s a showcase of what they can do, and I love it!

Welcome to Fun Spot America Atlanta, a tiny little park in Georgia that somehow, some way built a massive ground-up RMC IBOX coaster named for its founder.  Number seven is ArieForce One, and it’s also making its debut on the list.  I had the pleasure to ride it just one week after it opened, and it was like being at an enthusiast event.  There was no line, I got eleven rides in all different seats, nerding out with new friends who traveled from around the region to check it out.

ArieForce One shines because while most coasters have one or maybe two outstanding moments, this one has four, and interestingly, they comprise the middle of the ride.  The 146 foot first drop and raven truss dive are great starters, but for me, the ride comes alive with North America’s largest zero-G stall, where the local tradition is to play rock, paper, scissors while inverted.  It’s so much fun!  Then you’re pegged hard into the lap bar on a wild outer bank soaring above the station before rocketing upward into a double up with yet more ejector.  Next is AFO’s crowning moment, dubbed the Arcade Roll because it rapidly whips you upside down above the game hall in a way I’ve never felt before.  The ride concludes with a tight helix, another zero-G roll, and the quad down, on which I have the same complaint as the ending of Steel Vengeance.  

Still, ArieForce One has that same Joe Draves ferocity as Wildcat’s Revenge, but its elements are more memorable.  Everything hits hard, and I love what RMC did with this clean sheet design.  Plus, you just can’t beat that patriotic color scheme with the red and blue rails and white supports.  I sincerely hope this ride makes financial sense for Fun Spot, and that we see more additions to the quirky little park in the future.

This ride does good alright!  Number six is Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City, yet another first timer.  This was the first roller coaster in years to completely obliterate my expectations.  Prior to my first ride, I didn’t much care for spinning coasters, but Mack Rides takes the concept to a whole new level.  The first drop is only 90 feet, but it’s vertical, beginning from the station platform and thanks to magnets on the train, you’ll experience it sideways.  In either of the back two rows, this is my favorite drop on any roller coaster, making me laugh harder than anything three times its size.

From there, Time Traveler throws you into a veritable spaghetti bowl of track complete with two launches and three inversions.  Ride a vertical loop sideways?  Launch facing backwards?  Get thrown gut first into your lap bar on a twisting airtime hill?  Depending on the cycle, you can get all that and more, and the real triumph of Time Traveler is that it’ll leave you wanting to make the jump time and time again because every time is different, and no matter what time, you’ll have the time of your life! All that combined with a charming story and a stunning station, and you’ve got one of the most fun, unique, re-rideable roller coasters in the world.  Just gotta figure out how to get to Plopsaland Belgium to ride its newer big sister, Ride to Happiness.

On my first visit to Universal Epic Universe, I had to resist the urge to kick my shoes off in utter joy after my first lap on Stardust Racers, which takes the number five spot in its inaugural year.  I also proclaimed it was a shoe-in top ten roller coaster and here it is!  This pair of dueling multilaunch coasters from Mack Rides mimic riding a comet through space, and while it looks a bit slow from off ride, it’s super fast-paced complete with non-stop ejector airtime throughout 5,000 feet of track.

You begin by boarding some of the most beautiful roller coaster trains in the world and turning beneath the massive station for the first launch.  Up until now, Mack launches had been considered pedestrian, but this one took my breath away.  It starts punchy enough, then lets off the gas for a second as you cruise over the transfer track to the maintenance bay.  On the other side, you get a wallop of a boost up to 62 mph before heading up into the initial top hat, fellow riders right next door.  You’re literally flung outta your seat on the top and stay that way down to ground level. You then rise up and the trains split apart and begin an elegant waltz, whizzing above and below one and other in perfect sync before separating to rejoin for a head-to-head pass.

The second booster launch gets both trains set-up for Stardust’s signature element, the Celestial Spin, and the visuals combined with the forces make it one of the greatest moments on any roller coaster.  Green pulls up and rolls right on the ascent, spiraling around yellow’s straight climb, while yellow performs a barrel roll down drop around green’s vertical plunge.  It’s absolutely mesmerizing.  The two trains stay together for the finale, twisting around one and other through a series of banked turns with more airtime pops before a winner is declared in the final brakes.

No matter which side you ride, or where you sit, you’re a winner on Stardust Racers.  This is dueling done to perfection, making what would otherwise be an outstanding roller coaster just that much more fun!  And this thing absolutely comes alive at night.  The lights are spectacular as they shimmer away from Celestial Park, and the onboard soundtrack turns from whimsical to aggressive.  Stardust Racers is a total vibe, and it’s a phenomenal airtime machine.  It would just need a greater variety of elements in order to place higher.              

There’s nothing like the sound of an Intamin LSM lift hill to get you excited for one of the most unique roller coasters ever built.  Number four is Maverick at Cedar Point, holding the same spot from my last list.  The first ever Intamin Blitz coaster, it’s the ultimate Swiss Army Knife, a coaster with so many different features, doing each one perfectly.  

Don’t be fooled by its meager 100 foot drop.  Taken at 95 degrees, it’s a powerhouse of ejector airtime no matter the row.  You stay low, twisting through rockwork and trees along the Lake Erie shore, and the whip on the transitions is mind-blowing.  There’s heavenly ejector airtime over a camelback before you enter the Twisted Horseshoe roll, a pair of smooth opposing corkscrews with great snap leading into the second launch.

Here, you rocket to 70 mph below the station and break out into daylight for a twisted finale complete with two Stengel Dives and a final airtime hill to boot.  Maverick is super dynamic, and it’s a coaster I could ride all day without getting bored.  It’s the exact opposite of repetitive, as there’s a new sensation around every corner executed flawlessly, and at the end of the day, there’s simply nothing else I’ve done that rides like this.  Despite a lack of any record-setting statistics, Maverick remains my favorite roller coaster at Cedar Point, proving that in my mind, size isn’t everything, and originality gets bonus points.

The team at Carowinds takes immense pride in continuously rolling trains on their signature attraction, Fury 325.  Fresh off its tenth anniversary season, the world’s tallest roller coaster with a lift hill returns to my number three position.  B&M did something special with Fury, and nothing since has replicated the magic of riding rails at these speeds.  I could wax poetic about the endless 320 foot first drop because it’s everything you could want, especially in the back.  And while it’s a legendary moment, it doesn’t define Fury.   

Personally, I prefer to take a slight hit on the first drop and ride towards the front, preferably on the left side of the train.  Up there, you really feel the wind in your face, and the way Fury whips you from side to side at 90 plus mph on the outbound run gives me butterflies just thinking about it.  B&M managed to combine laterals, whip, and just a hint of float in those direction changes, all while you’re skimming low to the entry plaza.

Then you enter that iconic treble clef turnaround, twist upward, and get a wild dose of strong airtime while sideways before the Hive Dive beneath the pathway.  It’s such a cool moment.  But don’t sleep on Fury’s airtime either!  The finale features three large bunny hills providing perfectly prolonged flojector with a helix and a killer headchopper in the middle.  Fury 325 is Millennium Force done better.  It’s all about speed, but it’s just got better elements.  It’s one of the most re-rideable roller coasters out there, and I’ve never had a lengthy wait for the pleasure.  Fury’s just pure fun, and with Carowinds being an easy first or last stop when road tripping from Florida, I always love stopping in for a few laps.

Yup, it’s another obnoxiously loud lift hill from RMC, but the ride that follows takes Fred Grubb’s IBOX track design and maximizes its potential.  It was Alan Schilke’s swan song, and his magnum opus.  A coaster that’s just about perfect.  Holding onto my number two spot is Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.       

Let’s start with the first drop.  It’s wild.  The ride is 206 feet tall, and so too is the drop.  It’s taken at 91 degrees, you’ve got a head chopper through the structure at the bottom, and as far as first drops go, it’s got few equals.  The first half is flawless, beginning with an eternal outer bank to get your thighs properly acquainted with the restraint.  Then there’s the Death Roll, a barrel roll down drop taken so fast you’re pinned to the lap bar and the side bolster for so long you’re not sure how many times you went upside down.  Then you’ve got that Twist and Shout over the station with wonderful whip, and the most prolonged sideways airtime I’ve ever felt.  

With no mid-course, Iron Gwazi never lets up, and the second half throws you through a wave turn, a brief zero-G stall, and three more big airtime moments before you barrel into the brakes.  Sure, it’s not as long as SteVe, but I prefer that.  Every element hits.  There’s no filler.  No repetition.  Just purpose.  Iron Gwazi does its job, and it’s a masterpiece I’m happy to have close to home.  If only they could fix those operations, and that ridiculous locker policy.

And returning as my number one roller coaster, this thing’s got more teeth than anything I’ve ridden to date.  Every time I’ve proclaimed a new number one roller coaster, I knew it on the brake run after my first ride.  It has to blow my mind and leave no doubt about it.  While I’ve ridden 197 roller coasters since my first time on Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal Islands of Adventure, many have come close, but none has matched that feeling of shock and awe as I walked down the exit stairs.  To this day, I still come off the ride saying, “Yup, still number one.”  So let me tell you why.

It starts with the theming and the story, and it’s about as elegantly simple as can be.  You’re at a theme park, Jurassic World, and you’re about to ride a roller coaster, VelociCoaster.  Its vehicles are specially designed to safely transport you through the raptor paddock.  Thanks to Universal, immersion is now unlocked.

The trains from Intamin are the best in the business.  You sit high for a great view, and the lap bars lowering from overhead can’t be beat.  After a swift boarding, you’re out the door and launching into the raptor enclosure.  I still don’t remember every twist through this convoluted combination of rockwork, greenery, and dinosaur statues, but I do know it’s dynamic, featuring an Immelman and a dive loop back-to-back.  There’s airtime aplenty even in the inversions, and the raw excitement builds by the second.

Then you enter the second launch, and it feels like you’re going too fast.  You hit 70 mph and get yeeted over the 155 foot top hat, hang upside down in the longest stall ever, and enter a maniacally profiled double helix that throws you into strong positives, an outer banked fake out, and a mini wave turn.  Every moment is powerful; more exciting than the last, and VelociCoaster is still building.  

You break out over the park’s central lagoon and scream over a speed hill before entering the coup de grace, the best inversion in existence, and my all-time favorite roller coaster moment, the Mosasaurus Roll.  You’re mere feet from the water and you’re thrust through the whippiest, wildest, wackiest heartline roll you’ll ever feel.  You get laterals, you get airtime, and in this single moment, Intamin imagined an interaction with gravity that my brain still can’t comprehend.  It’s world class, and I simply can’t get enough.  

You bank upward into an S-bend and enter the final brakes completely exhilarated.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  The pacing is what makes VelociCoaster.  It starts strong, and improves as it goes.  Some enthusiasts call the first half weak, but I love it!  It’s super fun, and it needs to be there.  A proper plotline needs a beginning, a middle, and an end.  The paddock section is a perfect introduction.  Then the intensity ramps up with the second launch, top hat, stall, and helix.  We’re in the thick of it now, and we’re heading towards the final battle.  That’s the Mosasaurus Roll, an epic finale that’ll give you goosebumps and leave you wanting more.  VelociCoaster is storytelling forged in steel, and while I’ve yet to ride a roller coaster that tops it, I hope to some day. 

Universal Studios Florida just announced its 2027 replacement for Rip Ride Rock It, an Intamin multilaunch coaster featuring controlled spinning, Fast and the Furious: Hollywood Drift, with their California counterpart opening its own version later this year.  Can a combination of VelociCoaster and Time Traveler take my number one spot?  I can’t wait to find out.  Or just maybe I’ll have to travel farther in search of the next best thing.

Anyway, that’s a wrap on my Top 25 roller coasters as of 2025, as well as season four of Coaster Redux.  I had some major life changes last year which prohibited me from taking a major trip over the summer, so I didn’t do as much as I would have liked, but with all that firmly in the rearview, I’m poised for 2026 to be my best year ever!  I wanted to put this Top 25 list on record before I start the next season because it’s going to be a whopper!  I can’t wait to tell the stories as they unfold, and I can’t thank all of you enough for listening to the podcast and for supporting me.  This little passion project of mine is growing quickly, and I absolutely love your feedback, so leave a comment on Spotify, or drop me a line on Instagram, Facebook, and X @coasterredux.  I can’t wait to bring you along for what’s to come.

That being said, I’m beyond excited to announce a four-part, four-park series to kick off Season 5.  You see, I’m a roller coaster and theme park enthusiast, and I live in Florida, but I haven’t been to the Walt Disney World Resort since I was a child.  As I’ve rediscovered this hobby over the last few years, I’ve chosen to visit Universal, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens when taking that long drive north.  Now that I’ve been there and done that, I want to uncover the magic I’ve been missing.  I’ll go in-depth on everything from booking rides on the app to the food, and of course the rides as a thrill-focused enthusiast returning to Disney for the first time as an adult.  I’ll start my adventure at Disney’s Animal Kingdom for Expedition Everest, Avatar Flight of Passage, and more, coming very very soon.

And with that, thank you for listening to Redux Rundown.  Until next time, enjoy the ride.