Best Amusement Parks for Thrill Seekers
If you love to feel the wind in your hair, your heart in your throat and your stomach in your socks, you’ve probably visited a few theme parks in your time. Sure, we’d all love to spend our days paragliding or jumping out of planes, but amusement parks can provide that rush of adrenalin when you’re just looking for a satisfying thrill.
We haven’t ranked these because there are so many awesome rides out there that it’s almost impossible to label any single park “the best”. What we can promise you, however, is that a visit to any of these parks will give you a special buzz that only comes from speed, height, and gravity-defying inversions.
Ferrari World, United Arab Emirates
This is the home of Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest roller coaster. It can reach a top speed of 150 miles an hour and will literally blow you away. You can also try out any of the other four coasters, try your hand at driving a Ferrari, or challenge yourself on the interactive motion simulator.
Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Kingda Ka is the world’s tallest roller coaster and you’ll find it among the attractions at Six Flags in Jackson, New Jersey. It reaches a height of 456 feet and accelerates to 128 miles an hour in just 3.5 seconds. While you’re there, check out the 415 feet Drop of Doom, the world’s tallest drop tower.
Everland, South Korea
Among the 5 themed areas, this park holds the world’s steepest wooden roller coaster along with many other world-class thrill rides. It also has an award-winning water park with a variety of steep-drop tube slides.
Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando
The Incredible Hulk Coaster has seven inversions, two subterranean trenches, and as much adrenalin-pumping action as you can handle. Check out Skull Island: Reign of Kong if you want to be terrorised by a giant ape and be sure not to miss Doctor Doom’s Fearfall. Yes, that 185-foot drop really will suck the fear right out of you.
Nagashima Spa Land, Japan
The Steel Dragon opened in 2000 and is still the longest roller coaster in the world. It cost more than $52 million to build and is over 8,000 feet long with a maximum vertical of 68° and two tunnels. You can also take a ride on the Aurora Wheel, a huge Ferris Wheel that’s almost 300-feet wide.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach, England
This may not be the biggest park in the world, but it’s certainly one of the oldest. The first attractions opened in 1896 and Pleasure Beach now boasts 10 roller coasters and a host of other thrill rides. The latest is Icon, the first multi-launch coaster in the country with the enticing tag-line of “Dare to Ride”.
Cedar Point, Ohio
With 17 coasters and 71 rides, this theme park is a magnet for thrill seekers. Steel Vengeance is the latest additional to the line-up, breaking 10 world records when it opened in May 2018. These included the world’s tallest, fastest and steepest hybrid roller coaster. This park won the award for “Best Amusement Park in the World” for 16 consecutive years and is also home to maXair, one of only two Giant Frisbee rides in the country.
No matter how you like to get your thrills, be sure to enjoy the ride!