The Biggest Plunges
Somewhere between the clack of a chain lift and that terrible, wonderful silence before the plunge, we remember why we line up for these machines at all. The drop. That moment when the air seems to stop moving, when your stomach tries to find its way up into your throat, and you wonder—just for half a second—if this was a mistake. And then gravity takes over. We’ve gathered twenty coasters with the biggest drops on the planet. They’re not all the fastest or the tallest, but each one has a fall that makes people scream like they’ve never screamed before.
1. Kingda Ka – Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Still the record-holder for tallest coaster in the world, Kingda Ka pulls you up 456 feet in the air and then shoots you straight down 418 feet. That’s nearly the height of a 40-story building. The drop isn’t graceful—it’s a bullet shot down a vertical track. Some swear the real thrill isn’t the fall but the launch that accelerates you to 128 mph in just over three seconds.
2. Fury 325 – Carowinds, North Carolina
The name isn’t subtle, and neither is the drop. At 320 feet, Fury 325 dives beneath a pedestrian bridge before whipping past the park entrance. The whole structure glows teal at night, giving off an almost aquatic aura as if you were about to board a neon sea monster waiting to swallow you whole.
3. Steel Dragon 2000 – Nagashima Spa Land, Japan
It opened in the year 2000, because of course it did. Steel Dragon’s 307-foot drop is only the beginning of a ride that lasts over four minutes, which is an eternity in coaster time. The track seems to stretch on past the horizon, and the first fall feels longer than it should.
4. Millennium Force – Cedar Point, Ohio
When this coaster debuted in 2000, people weren’t ready. At 310 feet tall, with a 300-foot first drop, there was a sense that Cedar Point had broken some invisible barrier of human invention. The lake breeze made the drop sharper, colder—like an icy slap to the face.
5. Intimidator 305 – Kings Dominion, Virginia
This ride starts with a 300-foot drop right off the bat, and banking turns so intense the park had to rework them because riders found themselves on the verge of passing out. The plunge itself is clean, brutal, and quick, but you may find yourself blinking back stars at the end from the centrifugal force.
6. Leviathan – Canada’s Wonderland, Ontario
The plunge on this Toronto staple careens riders down 306 feet at an angle that feels unnatural to the human body. It’s smooth but disorienting, and it seems to pull you straight into the ground before swinging back up.
Chester from Brazil on Wikimedia
7. Silver Star – Europa-Park, Germany
For years this was considered Europe’s tallest coaster. With its 219-foot drop, Silver Star is wide, sweeping, and almost ballet-like compared to the violent dives elsewhere. Riders often say the scariest part isn’t the drop itself but the feeling of weightlessness that dominates the second half of the ride.
Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick on Wikimedia
8. Red Force – Ferrari Land, Spain
Red Force rockets you 367 feet into the air and then drops you 335 feet at speeds up to 112 mph. It’s so fast that your brain struggles to process it in real time and only realizes what’s happened later while you’re standing by the souvenir shop.
9. Shambhala – PortAventura, Spain
Located right next door to Red Force, Shambhala feels oddly spiritual. At 255 feet high, the ride is themed around Himalayan expeditions, complete with faux temples and prayer-flag colors all around you.
10. Goliath – Six Flags Great America, Illinois
The name may be overused in the coaster world, but this Goliath earns it. The first drop is 180 feet, and it comes with a near-vertical 85-degree angle, as though you’d stepped off the balcony of your apartment building. The wooden supports creak in the summer heat, and you think that if the fall somehow didn’t kill you, the foot-long splinters probably would.
Jeremy Thompson from United States of America on Wikimedia
11. El Toro – Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
El Toro’s 176-foot drop is steep—steeper than most wooden roller coasters dare to go. This one feels different too, rougher somehow, as if the train is being pulled down by something heavier than gravity. The rattling, clattering noise is part of the thrill, and you can’t help but think it’s all going to go to pieces at any moment.
12. Takabisha – Fuji-Q Highland, Japan
This one’s famous for its 121-degree drop after a slow, deliberate pause at the top. You hang there, facing forward, staring down. At last, after an excruciating wait, the track folds under itself and you’re whipped downward faster than your body expects.
Olivier Bruchez from Lausanne, Switzerland on Wikimedia
13. Steel Vengeance – Cedar Point, Ohio
This hybrid wood-steel coaster turns heads for more reasons than one. The 200-foot drop isn’t the tallest, but the rapid-fire assault of inversions, airtime, and chaos add to the sensory overload.
14. Orion – Kings Island, Ohio
Orion drops 300 feet with a clean, straight line that feels designed for maximum stomach drop. What’s interesting is how open the ride looks. With its wide track, there’s nothing blocking your view of the open skies and the ground rushing up at you.
15. Eejanaika – Fuji-Q Highland, Japan
It’s not just the 249-foot drop that’s punishing, it’s the fact that the seats rotate, twisting you head over heel. The experience has been described as falling into a blender.
16. Hyperion – Energylandia, Poland
Europe’s tallest and deepest drop coaster, Hyperion plunges 262 feet into a tunnel partly filled with water mist. The spray hits you mid-descent, like crashing through a storm cloud.
17. Titan – Six Flags Over Texas
The first drop is 255 feet, and the orange track is visible for miles across Arlington. There’s something uniquely Texan about it; it’s large, loud, and unapologetic. The plunge comes with a rumble that shakes the ground beneath, as if the earth is struggling to sustain the load.
18. Phantom’s Revenge – Kennywood, Pennsylvania
The first drop is an impressive 160 feet. Thanks to the terrain, the second drop is an even bigger 228 feet. The double whammy is what makes it special. You think the worst is over, and then you very quickly realize you’re mistaken.
Larry Pieniazek, User:Lar, (primary) on Wikimedia
19. Superman: The Ride – Six Flags New England
The first plunge is 221 feet into a tunnel that is both dark and echoing. The sound of screaming gets swallowed by concrete. For a second, you can’t tell if you’re moving or if the world is rushing past you as you careen towards the ground.
Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands on Wikimedia
20. Wildfire – Kolmården Wildlife Park, Sweden
This wooden coaster has a 160-foot drop and was built on a cliff overlooking the sea. The view of the surrounding ocean and forest is spectacular, and then…well, you fall. The drop isn’t record-breaking, but the setting makes it unforgettable.
