Surprising Timeline of the World’s Tallest Roller Coasters

With the recent news of the impending implosion of Kingda Ka and the upcoming record-breaker Falcon’s Flight, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the history of the world’s tallest roller coasters. Using a new visualization tool, we’re able to animate a timeline of the world’s tallest roller coasters from the past fifty years, 1975 to 2025, starting at 100 feet. Watch the video below (full screen!) to see when each roller coaster opened, where it’s located, and how long its reign lasted.

World’s Tallest Roller Coasters

Here are some of my key notes and observations about the history of the world’s tallest roller coasters:

• Height is defined as the tallest point directly above the ground – not drop or total elevation difference. For example, if Dollywood’s Lightning Rod were built on flat ground, it would’ve made this list.
• Shuttle coasters (non-complete circuit, back-and-forth style coasters) get credited for the height of the structure but the vehicles usually don’t reach the tallest point. This timeline would look quite different if we removed all the shuttle coasters.
• The timeline shows when a coaster is standing but not operating (SBNO) for most of a year, so if you see one randomly drop out then come back, that’s why.
• Colors are for location, as shown in the key at the bottom. I was originally using the colors to track wood versus steel but large, wooden roller coasters basically die with Son of Beast (which does make an appearance).
• The tallest wooden roller coaster the year before Son of Beast opened? The Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
• Before doing this research, I never realized Montezooma’s Revenge was the tallest roller coaster in the world for one year in 1978.
• I had never heard of the Loop Coaster at Tojoko Toy Kingdom before. It’s crazy that we were so close to getting a 200 foot tall hyper coaster back in 1979.
• Magnum XL-200 gets all the credit for being the first hyper coaster even though Moonsault Scramble proceeded it by six years (because it’s a shuttle coaster).
• Vortex at Kings Island (RIP) was tied for 5th tallest roller coaster in the world when it opened in 1987.
• Moonsault Scramble was technically the tallest roller coaster from 1983 to 1995. Fujiyama only holds the title for a year before it gets smashed by Tower of Terror and Superman: The Escape.
• In 2003, Cedar Point had four of the top twenty tallest roller coasters in the world: Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force, Wicked Twister, and Magnum XL-200.
• Millennium Force debuted as the third tallest roller coaster in the world in 2000 (before being overtaken by Steel Dragon 2000 a few months later). It dropped to as low as 8th in 2017 but has since crept back up to fourth place!
• Fujiyama is the oldest roller coaster out of the current top twenty tallest roller coasters in the world.
• To make the list of top twenty tallest roller coasters in 2025, you have to be taller than 236 feet.
• Besides having the king of the world’s tallest roller coasters, Six Flags Qiddiya City will also be home to the 239 foot tall Spitfire, an Intamin LSM launch coaster with a top speed of 78.9 miles per hour. They’re also going to have a 208 foot tall tilt coaster named Iron Rattler.
• Only 7 of the top 20 tallest coasters are found in North America in 2025. This is a big change from 2000, when 16 out of 20 were in North America.
• By the end of 2024, Europe had a personal best of six coasters in the top twenty thanks to the addition of Hyperia at Thorpe Park and the closing of other roller coasters.

Do any of the roller coasters that pop up on the timeline surprise you? Would you like to see more videos like this? Let us know in the comments below!

Tags: 2000 coasterscoasters-101guinness world recordtallest roller coasterworld's tallest