A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least 200 feet (61 m).^[1][2] The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, which features a height of 205 feet (62 meters). The next hypercoaster, Pepsi Max Big One, opened five years later at Blackpool Pleasure Beach featuring a height of 213 feet (65 m).

Other roller coaster manufacturers may or may not recognize the term hypercoaster when naming their models. Intamin calls their hypercoaster model a Mega Coaster, and Bolliger & Mabillard labels theirs a Hyper Coaster. The competition between amusement parks to build increasingly taller roller coasters eventually led to the next height classification for roller coasters known as giga coasters, which have a height or drop measuring at least 300 feet (91 m). This was soon followed by the world's first strata coasters – exceeding 400 feet (120 m) – with the release of Top Thrill Dragster in 2003.

The world's first hypercoaster was Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point, which cost $8 million to construct. Cedar Point hired Arrow Dynamics for the design and construction began in 1988. Since its debut on May 6, 1989, Magnum XL-200 has accommodated over 36 million riders.^[3] Cedar Point's official blog states that after building the ride, "...discussion was focused on just what a roller coaster such as Magnum should be called. After all, it had no loops like most of the other large steel coasters of the time and was so much bigger and faster than its non-looping brethren. After a couple of years, the name everyone agreed upon was hypercoaster."^[4]

Hypercoasters were originally built for speed and airtime, to counter the trend of constructing bigger and bigger looping coasters. To accomplish this the elements of a hypercoaster often include a large first drop, several additional drops of declining height, a large turn or helix, and then many airtime-inducing hills. Hypercoasters are commonly designed with an out and back layout, although there are occasionally hypercoasters that use a twister layout, such as Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America, and others that combine both, such as Diamondback at Kings Island.

Hypercoasters are highly-ranked in the annual Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards. In 2006, Six Flags New England's Superman: Ride of Steel (later named Bizarro and Superman The Ride) was ranked first place. Others such as Magnum XL-200 (third), Nitro (fourth), and Apollo's Chariot (fifth) followed closely behind in the top five, with hypercoasters making up the majority of the Top 10 Steel Coasters.^[5] By 2010, hypercoasters completely filled the top 10, as well as 16 of the top 20.^[6]

Hypercoasters were first manufactured by Arrow Dynamics in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Since then, a number of companies, including Bolliger & Mabillard, Intamin, D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, and Giovanola have designed and constructed hypercoasters.

Though hypercoasters are typically steel roller coasters, Son of Beast at Kings Island was the first and only wooden hypercoaster. Due to a number of issues, the ride was eventually demolished in 2012.^[7][8]

In 2018, Cedar Point opened the first hybrid hypercoaster, Steel Vengeance. Steel Vengeance is the first hypercoaster manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction.^[9]

Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) has produced 18 models over 21 years of production of hyper coasters, making it one of the more successful models manufactured by the company.^[11]

The first installation of the hyper coaster was Apollo's Chariot located in Busch Gardens Williamsburg.^[12][13] It was one of the two models released in 1999, the other being the Floorless Coaster. It was made in a similar style to the TOGO, D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, and Arrow Dynamics hypercoasters. In 2012, B&M produced its first giga coaster, Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland, exceeding 300 feet in height. Bolliger & Mabillard do not use the term giga, but have continued to produce roller coasters in this class.^[14]

The typical design of B&M's hyper coaster model includes a large lift hill then a large drop with a steep angle of descent, and typically includes airtime hills. One exception, Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America does not have this standard "out-and-back" layout, but rather features a "twister" layout.^[15]

The trains feature seven to nine cars of one row with four seats, resulting in each train seating 28 to 36 riders. Depending on the dispatch time and the number of trains, the coasters typically have a capacity of 1,200 to 1,500 riders per hour. Each seat features a unique clamshell restraint. Some trains used on B&M Hyper Coasters feature staggered seats, where the two outer seats are located farther back than the two center seats, creating a more open experience. Currently, this staggered seating arrangement is only featured on four coasters: Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, Diamondback at Kings Island, Thunder Striker at Carowinds, and Shambhala at PortAventura Park.

The following is a list of roller coasters with a height of at least 200 feet (61 m). Shuttle roller coasters are typically not classified as hypercoasters and are therefore listed separately.^[27]

Complete circuit

More information Name, Park ...

Name	Park	Country	Manufacturer	Height	Opened	Status	Ref
Magnum XL-200	Cedar Point	United States	Arrow Dynamics	205 ft (62 m)	May 1989	Operating	[28]
The Big One	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	United Kingdom	Arrow Dynamics	213 ft (65 m)	May 1994	Operating	[29]
Desperado	Buffalo Bill's	United States	Arrow Dynamics	209 ft (64 m)	August 1994	Closed	[30]
Wild Thing	Valleyfair	United States	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing	207 ft (63 m)	May 1996	Operating	[31]
Fujiyama	Fuji-Q Highland	Japan	TOGO	259 ft (79 m)	July 1996	Operating	[32]
Big Apple Coaster	New York-New York Hotel & Casino	United States	TOGO	203 ft (62 m)[note 1]	January 1997	Operating	[33]
Steel Force	Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom	United States	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing	200 ft (61 m)[note 2]	May 1997	Operating	[34]
Mamba	Worlds of Fun	United States	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing	205 ft (62 m)	April 1998	Operating	[35]
Apollo's Chariot[lower-alpha 1]	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	170 ft (52 m)[note 3]	March 1999	Operating	[36]
Raging Bull	Six Flags Great America	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	202 ft (62 m)[note 4]	May 1999	Operating	[37]
Ride of Steel	Six Flags Darien Lake	United States	Intamin	208 ft (63 m)	May 1999	Operating	[38]
Goliath	Six Flags Magic Mountain	United States	Giovanola	235 ft (72 m)	February 2000	Operating	[39]
Superman The Ride	Six Flags New England	United States	Intamin	208 ft (63 m)	May 1999	Operating	[40]
Superman – Ride of Steel	Six Flags America	United States	Intamin	208 ft (63 m)	May 2000	Operating	[41]
Millennium Force[lower-alpha 2]	Cedar Point	United States	Intamin	310 ft (94 m)	May 2000	Operating	[42]
Son of Beast	Kings Island	United States	Roller Coaster Corporation of America	218 ft (66 m)	May 2000	Defunct	[43]
Steel Dragon 2000[lower-alpha 2]	Nagashima Spa Land	Japan	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing	318.3 ft (97.0 m)	August 2000	Operating	[44]
Nitro	Six Flags Great Adventure	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	230 ft (70 m)	April 2001	Operating	[45]
Titan	Six Flags Over Texas	United States	Giovanola	245 ft (75 m)	April 2001	Operating	[46]
Phantom's Revenge	Kennywood	United States	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing/Arrow Dynamics	160 ft (49 m)[note 5]	May 2001	Operating	[47]
X2	Six Flags Magic Mountain	United States	Arrow Dynamics	175 ft (53 m)[note 6]	January 2002	Operating	[48]
Silver Star	Europa-Park	Germany	Bolliger & Mabillard	239.5 ft (73.0 m)	March 2002	Operating	[49]
Xcelerator	Knott's Berry Farm	United States	Intamin	205 ft (62 m)	June 2002	Operating	[50]
Thunder Dolphin	Tokyo Dome City Attractions	Japan	Intamin	262.5 ft (80.0 m)	May 2003	Operating	[51]
Top Thrill Dragster[lower-alpha 3]	Cedar Point	United States	Intamin	420 ft (130 m)	May 2003	Closed	[52]
Superman el Último Escape	Six Flags México	Mexico	Chance Morgan	219.8 ft (67.0 m)	November 2004	Operating	[53]
SheiKra	Busch Gardens Tampa	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	200 ft (61 m)	May 2005	Operating	[54]
Kingda Ka[lower-alpha 3]	Six Flags Great Adventure	United States	Intamin	456 ft (139 m)	May 2005	Operating	[55]
Stealth	Thorpe Park	United Kingdom	Intamin	205.1 ft (62.5 m)	March 2006	Operating	[56]
Goliath	Six Flags Over Georgia	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	200 ft (61 m)	April 2006	Operating	[57]
Zaturn	Space World	Japan	Intamin	205 ft (62 m)	April 2006	Defunct	[58]
Eejanaika	Fuji-Q Highland	Japan	S&S Worldwide	249 ft (76 m)	July 2006	Operating	[59]
Griffon	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	205 ft (62 m)	May 2007	Operating	[60]
Behemoth	Canada's Wonderland	Canada	Bolliger & Mabillard	230 ft (70 m)	May 2008	Operating	[61]
Diamondback	Kings Island	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	230 ft (70 m)	April 2009	Operating	[62]
Diving Coaster	Happy Valley Shanghai	China	Bolliger & Mabillard	213.3 ft (65.0 m)	August 2009	Operating	[63]
Thunder Striker	Carowinds	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	232 ft (71 m)	March 2010	Operating	[64]
Project 305[lower-alpha 2]	Kings Dominion	United States	Intamin	305 ft (93 m)	April 2010	Operating	[65]
Wild Eagle	Dollywood	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	210 ft (64 m)	March 2012	Operating	[66]
Leviathan[lower-alpha 2]	Canada's Wonderland	Canada	Bolliger & Mabillard	306 ft (93 m)	April 2012	Operating	[67]
Dinoconda	China Dinosaurs Park	China	S&S Worldwide	226.4 ft (69.0 m)	April 2012	Operating	[68]
Shambhala	PortAventura Park	Spain	Bolliger & Mabillard	249.3 ft (76.0 m)	May 2012	Operating	[69]
Skyrush	Hersheypark	United States	Intamin	200 ft (61 m)	May 2012	Operating	[70]
Bullet Coaster[lower-alpha 1]	Happy Valley Shenzhen	China	S&S Worldwide	196.8 ft (60.0 m)[note 7]	July 2012	Operating	[71]
OCT Thrust SSC1000[lower-alpha 1]	Happy Valley Wuhan	China	S&S Worldwide	196.8 ft (60.0 m)[note 8]	March 2014	Operating	[72]
Fury 325[lower-alpha 2]	Carowinds	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	325 ft (99 m)	March 2015	Operating	[73]
The Oath of Kärnan	Hansa Park	Germany	Gerstlauer	239.5 ft (73.0 m)	July 2015	Operating	[74]
Cannibal	Lagoon Amusement Park	United States	Lagoon Amusement Park	208 ft (63 m)	July 2015	Operating	[75]
Flash	Lewa Adventure	China	Mack Rides	200.2 ft (61.0 m)	January 2016	Operating	[76]
Flying Aces	Ferrari World Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	Intamin	206.7 ft (63.0 m)	February 2016	Operating	[77]
Valravn	Cedar Point	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	223 ft (68 m)	May 2016	Operating	[78]
Coaster Through the Clouds	Nanchang Wanda Park	China	Intamin	242.8 ft (74.0 m)	May 2016	Operating	[79]
Mako	SeaWorld Orlando	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	200 ft (61 m)	June 2016	Operating	[80]
Red Force[lower-alpha 2]	Ferrari Land	Spain	Intamin	367 ft (112 m)	April 2017	Operating	[81]
DC Rivals HyperCoaster	Warner Brothers Movie World	Australia	Mack Rides	202.1 ft (61.6 m)	September 2017	Operating	[82]
Steel Vengeance	Cedar Point	United States	Rocky Mountain Construction	205 ft (62 m)	May 2018	Operating	[83]
Draken	Gyeongju World	South Korea	Bolliger & Mabillard	206.7 ft (63.0 m)	May 2018	Operating	[84]
Hyperion	Energylandia	Poland	Intamin	252 ft (77 m)[note 9]	July 2018	Operating	[85]
Hyper Coaster	Land Of Legends Park	Turkey	Mack Rides	200.2 ft (61.0 m)	2018	Operating	[86]
Yukon Striker	Canada's Wonderland	Canada	Bolliger & Mabillard	223 ft (68 m)[note 10]	May 2019	Operating	[87]
Steel Curtain	Kennywood	United States	S&S Sansei	220 ft (67 m)	July 2019	Operating	[88]
Zadra	Energylandia	Poland	Rocky Mountain Construction	206 ft (63 m)	August 2019	Operating	[89]
Orion[lower-alpha 4]	Kings Island	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	287 ft (87 m)[note 11]	July 2020	Operating	[90]
Candymonium	Hersheypark	United States	Bolliger & Mabillard	210 ft (64 m)	July 2020	Operating	[91]
Iron Gwazi	Busch Gardens Tampa	United States	Rocky Mountain Construction	206 ft (63 m)	March 2022	Operating	[92]
Beyond the Cloud	Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World	China	Mack Rides	203.4 ft (62.0 m)	July 2022	Operating	[93]
Hyperia	Thorpe Park	United Kingdom	Mack Rides	236 ft (72 m)	May 2024	Under construction	[94]
Falcons Flight[lower-alpha 3]	Six Flags Qiddiya	Saudi Arabia	Intamin	619 ft (189 m)	TBD	Under construction	[95]
Iron Rattler	Six Flags Qiddiya	Saudi Arabia	Vekoma	208 ft (63 m)	TBD	Under construction	[96]
Spitfire	Six Flags Qiddiya	Saudi Arabia	Intamin	239 ft (73 m)	TBD	Under construction	[97]

Close

Shuttle

More information Name, Park ...

Name	Park	Country	Manufacturer	Height	Opened	Status	Ref
Moonsault Scramble	Fuji-Q Highland	Japan	Meisho Amusement Machines	229.7 ft (70.0 m)	June 1983	Defunct	[98]
Tower of Terror II[lower-alpha 2]	Dreamworld	Australia	Intamin	377.3 ft (115.0 m)	January 1997	Defunct	[99]
Superman: Escape from Krypton[lower-alpha 3]	Six Flags Magic Mountain	United States	Intamin	415 ft (126 m)	March 1997	Operating	[100]
Batman & Robin: The Chiller	Six Flags Great Adventure	United States	Premier Rides	200 ft (61 m)	June 1997	Defunct	[101]
Mr. Freeze	Six Flags Over Texas	United States	Premier Rides	218 ft (66 m)	March 1998	Operating	[102]
Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast	Six Flags St. Louis	United States	Premier Rides	218 ft (66 m)	April 1998	Operating	[103]
Speed – The Ride	NASCAR Café	United States	Premier Rides	224 ft (68 m)	April 2000	Defunct	[104]
Wicked Twister	Cedar Point	United States	Intamin	215 ft (66 m)	May 2002	Defunct	[105]
Big Air	E-DA Theme Park	Taiwan	Vekoma	209.3 ft (63.8 m)	December 2010	Operating	[106]
Turbo Track	Ferrari World Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	Intamin	210 ft (64 m)	March 2017	Operating	[107]
Legendary Twin Dragon / 传奇双龙	Chongqing Sunac Land	China	Intamin	229.6 ft (70.0 m)	February 2021	Operating	[108]

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1. This is a hypercoaster that is not taller than 200 ft (61 m), but has a drop of over 200 ft (61 m).
2. This is a hypercoaster that is also a giga coaster, a roller coaster that exceeds 300 ft (91 m) in height.
3. This is a hypercoaster that is also a strata coaster, a roller coaster that exceeds 400 ft (120 m) in height.
4. This is a giga coaster that is not taller than 300 ft (91 m), but has a drop of over 300 ft (91 m).