Roller coasters aren’t for everyone, but for some – especially fearless kids and adults looking for a bit of adventure – they can be a real draw. But you need to try them at least once in your lifetime, so, add them to your family vacation bucket list. Let’s face it, in this world of health and safety, we rarely get a chance to take a risk. Sure, there’s almost no risk at all in riding the scariest roller coaster, but at 149mph, upside down in a five-second barrel roll, your brain probably won’t believe you. I researched the three scariest roller coasters in the world! And here they are for you.
The greatest thing of all is that you don’t have to stay in the country for a great roller coaster experience. There are some truly mind-altering contraptions across the world just waiting to give you and your family a minute and a half of pure terror. If you’re worried about flying long haul with your kids, don’t be. Carriers such as American Airlines are great for young families, and their crews are well-trained in the art of Dealing with Other People’s Children.
Photo by: Karyn Christner
3 of the Top World’s Scariest Roller Coaster
Fly red in Abu Dhabi
The Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi is the fastest roller coaster in the world, reaching a top speed of 149mph, making it one of the scariest roller coasters in the world, and whisking you across 1.3 miles in just a minute and a half. Ferrari World is like a shrine to the mighty automobile company, and celebrating speed, of course, is number one. Formula Rossa is a great homage to the engineers and designers of all things Ferrari, and it may well represent the longest and yet fastest 90 seconds you’ve ever experienced.
Sky high at Cedar Point
With speed, height (over 200 feet), and massive double-twist barrel rolls, the world’s biggest so-called “suspended-impulse” roller coaster gives even coaster experts an experience to remember. Set on the beach at Cedar Point, only a few hundred yards from the resort’s very first roller coaster location, the Wicked Twister is unlike any other coaster in the world. It relies on linear induction motors that push and pull the carriage, increasing its velocity with every ride up one of its two towers, until finally, the car makes it to the very highest point at 206 feet in the air.
Drop deep at Fujiyoshida, Japan
Containing the world’s only banana roll – an inversion that forces the riders into their seats – as well as the steepest incline of all roller coasters – a 121-degree drop (yes, 90 degrees would be an immediate straight-down drop, so over 90 means riding under the cliff itself) – the Takabisha at the Fuji-Q Highland theme park, in Fujiyoshida, Japan, has to be one of the most truly terrifying buzz rides ever. There’s every kind of roll and loop to take, with seven twists in just under two minutes, and none of you will find a single bit that is even slightly boring; even the start begins with a brain-blowing 360-degree twist and a steep drop.
Whether you’ve always had the hankering to have a crazy vacation somewhere, or if your kids look at every scariest roller coaster in the world as the next big challenge, these places all have great resorts, lots of kid-friendly activities, and places to stay, and make a cool all-round holiday to tell your friends (at school and work) about.
