Roller Coaster List

May 20, 2023 1 Lists

Ever since I conquered my fear of roller coasters as a kid, I’ve always loved riding them. Thus, I started my “coaster list.” This isn’t unlike a travel project, but I wouldn’t call it one as new roller coasters are always built. (Travel projects have more finite goals, and in this case, my goal is to ride as many coasters (past, present, and future) as possible.

Rules

“Smokey–this is not ‘nam. There are rules.“

There are so many things in the world that can be called a roller coaster, so early on in keeping this list I decided that I should establish a few ground rules defining what counts and what doesn’t. The rules haven’t changed much over the years–only to accommodate some new types of roller coasters (i.e. – water coasters, 4D Coasters, the Sky Rocket II, etc.) The rules are:

  • A Roller Coaster is defined by me as a track structure with advanced design elements (lift hills, drops, loops, etc.) which is propelled in part by some sort of transfer of kinetic energy. That means, no:
    • Slides
    • Tracks with few to no advanced design elements / kinetic energy build up / release elements. Say, for example, the High in the Sky Seuss Trolly Train Ride. Or extremely small roller coasters that go in a basic loop (like at a mall.) Or the SkyRide on top of the Carnival Vista. However–I WOULD count BOLT: The Ultimate Sea Coaster once (if I ever get to ride it…)
  • Roller coasters that are in two different places that share the same name count, provided the tracks are notably different. (For example: Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas (a 4D spinning coaster) and Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Over Texas (a B&M Batman clone) are named the same, but the tracks are very different.)
  • Slow moving rides with sustained kinetic energy don’t count, as they’re basically trains / monorails. High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride at Universal Orlando doesn’t count.
  • “Thrill” dark rides that aren’t roller coasters aren’t counted. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye & Dinosaur don’t count, but Verbolten, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure do count.
  • The same tracks in different locations are only counted once. So, the Boomerang Vekoma is only counted once for each variant ridden. In other words, if the ride can fairly fit the description, “if you’ve ridden it once, you’ve ridden it everywhere,” it’s only counted once. Using the Boomerang as an example, you can count the non-family variants of the boomerang thrice, as there’s 3 different variations.
  • The same ride backwards doesn’t count. So, Mr. Freeze & Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast at Six Flags Over Texas only counts once–either forward or backward. However, The Racer in Kings Island has two sides: a red (left) side and a blue (right) side–and each side isn’t identical, though pretty similar. As a result, The Racer is counted twice. As a corollary, in the past, The Racer in Kings Island has been run with the car going backwards. This does not add a “credit” to the count and isn’t counted.
  • Log Flumes Don’t Count. But, given the tracked design of “Escape from Atlantis,” they count.
  • Temporary installations don’t count. I classify temporary installations as roller coasters which aren’t intended to be installed for over a year.
  • Re-Tracked / Converted Rocky Mountain Coasters absolutely do count. For example, at Cedar Point: Mean Streak counts, and so does Steel Vengeance. (Of course, provided the ride was ridden in both states.). Same for The Texas Giant and the New Texas Giant, or similar.
  • Mirror images of the same track DO count. And if you think they shouldn’t, you tell me that the “Omega” side of Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom isn’t better than the “Alpha” side…

The list below in in a very specific order. The parks are listed from East to West. (The coasters within each park aren’t in any specific order.) Without further ado…

Tokyo DisneySea (2)

Tokyo Disneyland (1)

When I visited in 2024, Space Mountain was being re-built.

Tokyo Dome City (1)

Space Mountain – Mission 2, Discoveryland, Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris & Walt Disney Studios Paris (4)

Luna Park, Coney Island (New York) (1)

Six Flags Great Adventure (9)

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom (7)

Busch Gardens Williamsburg (7)

Six Flags America (5)

Hersheypark (14)

Manta, SeaWorld Orlando

SeaWorld Orlando (7)

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Universal Studios Orlando

Universal Studios Florida (3)

VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Universal Studios – Islands of Adventure (7)

Universal’s Volcano Bay (1)

Typhoon Lagoon (3)

  • Crush ‘n’ Gusher – Banana Blaster
  • Crush ‘n’ Gusher – Coconut Crusher
  • Crush ‘n’ Gusher – Pineapple Plunger

Epcot, Orlando, Florida (1)

Slinky Dog Dash at Night, Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Orlando, Florida (2)

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom (6)

Expedition Everest, Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom (2)

SheiKra, Busch Gardens Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa (10)

Steel Vengeance’s Lift Hill, with Maverick in the Foreground at Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH.

Cedar Point (18)

Banshee, Kings Island

Kings Island (17)

Six Flags Over Georgia (9)

Note:  I didn’t ride the Mind Bender because it “broke” while we were preparing to board the ride, and we ran out of time.

Kentucky Kingdom (9)

The Legend (in the pouring rain), Holiday World

Holiday World (4)

Mt. Olympus – Wisconsin Dells (3)

At the Mall of America, 3/2006.

Mall of America (3)

Silver Dollar City (7)

Spinning Dragons at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City

Worlds of Fun (5)

Note: Zambezi Zinger was closed the day we visited, so we didn’t get to ride it.

Cars from Iron Shark on the Galveston Historic Pleasure Pier

Galveston Historic Pleasure Pier (1)

Boardwalk Bullet, Kemah Boardwalk

Kemah Boardwalk (1)

The State Fair of Texas (0)

  • Crazy Mouse
  • Zillerator
  • Windstorm

Note: These aren’t counted as they were temporary installations. These used to be counted but aren’t any longer after solidifying the rules on this list.

New Texas Giant (foreground) and Titan (Background), Six Flags Over Texas

Six Flags Over Texas (13)

I cannot count the Joker, as it’s the exact same as Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, counted below.

Frontier City (5)

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels (1)

  • Dragon’s Revenge (Water Coaster)

Six Flags Fiesta Texas (6)

SeaWorld San Antonio (3)

Joyland (1)

  • Crazy Mouse
  • Galaxi – Not counted because identical track layout to Mouse Trap at World of Wonderland

World of Wonderland (5)

The Manhattan Express in front of New York, New York on the Las Vegas Strip

Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip: (2)

SeaWorld San Diego (2)

The Matterhorn, Disneyland

Disneyland (5)

California Screamin’ and Mickey’s Fun Wheel on Paradise Pier, Disney’s California Adventure

California Adventure (2)

Knott’s Berry Farm from the Sky Cabin – Silver Bullet in front / left (red & yellow), GhostRider in back / right (Brown). Not a bad view of “B Park.“

Knott’s Berry Farm (11)

Universal Studios, Hollywood (1)

Six Flags Magic Mountain (17)

California’s Great America (9)

Giant Dipper, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (2)

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (4)

TOTAL: 260 COASTERS (As of 9/13/2026)

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Joe

Joe is an engineer for Southwest Airlines who spends his weekends traveling with his family. He has a keen interest in photography, horology, food, and emerging technology. (Please note that opinions expressed on this blog are those of Joe, and not of Southwest Airlines.)

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1 Response

  1. Bill Atkins says:
    August 8, 2022 at 12:45 PM

    Really incredible!
    You should attempt to get this published in a new book.
    As always;
    Bests
    Bill Atkins

    Reply

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