HOLLYWOOD—I love rollercoasters America. I think I have always loved them since I was old and TALL enough to ride them. There is something about having that suspension of control. When you’re on that coaster, there is nothing you control, physics is at play and once you are locked in what happens next is not in your wheel house. You might have an idea as to what will unfold. You might now how fast and high the drop is, but beyond that everything else is a mystery.
You may ask what provoked this conversation about rollercoasters, how about a recent visit to one of the greatest amusement parks in the world, Cedar Pointe. If you are asking me how many coasters, I cannot count them all on both hands. However, if you’re looking for thrills galore this is the amusement park to visit people! There is something for everyone: kids, teens and adults, not to mention the food, there is nothing like carnival or fair food people.
Fresh cut French Fires, funnel cakes, candy apples, corn dogs, BBQ, drinks, ice cream, cotton candy, you name it, guess what they have it. However, I want to talk about the coasters people. I feel like I have become numb to the riders as of late. I mean a 100 foot drop used to terrify me, 200 feet, I’m gasping, if you hit 300 feet that is near past out effect people, and the tallest ride at the park, the Top-Thrill Dragster, has to be perhaps one of the most iconic and nearly 420 feet and taking off at nearly 120 mph. I remember the first time I saw that ride I said, “Not a chance, am I getting on that.” However, I got on it, it knocked my socks off and then I got on it again and it was like nothing.
You know that feeling of butterflies when you ride a rollercoaster. I still get them, but the level of fear and uncertainty that I used to have I no longer have it people. I have shifted those jitters to just experiencing the fun of coasters, rather its 30 seconds or 3 minutes. I love the notion of just having that gut reaction of being terrified, but having the time of my life at the same time. One of the best has to be the Magnum XL which has a drop over 200 feet, but has the craziest, roughest ride for patrons. Those radical ups and downs after coming thru that tunnel will leave you gasping for air.
How about the Millennium Force, which has a drop over 300 feet and its right near Lake Erie. Scared me to the core the first time I rode, it, but hands down it is my favorite rollercoaster at the park and I have to get on it every time I visit. Rather I wait 20 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours, it so worth it. I love the Valravn, which has the steepest drop that you absolutely feel out of all the coasters, as you are teased the drop before you actually drop intensifying those butterflies. You have the Maverick which takes off at a rapid speed more than 90 mph, but it never seems to be functional.
I love the Rougarou which happens to be a floorless coaster that has inversions and loops that are exciting as hell. The same goes for the Raptor and the Gatekeeper, and who can forget about the classics like the Gemini, Blue Streak and Corkscrew. We all cannot forget the newbie, the Steel Vengeance that drops over 200 feet and is the coaster that has a speed unlike anything I have ever ridden in my life. This is a rollercoaster where you cannot have anything in your pockets. No keys, no change, no watch, no jewelry, no wallet, no glasses, no baseball caps, NOTHING. You are locked in this contraption with your legs and lower waist and the drop you feel every single bit of it people. However, the wait is the main problem. I’m not waiting 2 hours for this one people I’m just not.
There are also the typical carnival favs of spinning rides, and I hold a torch for the fun Skyhawk that swings back and forth with two sides that holds you in the air for a period of time reaching heights of almost 125 feet. I think I’ve named some of the big rides at the park and there are plenty more, not to mention 2-3 water rides that if its steamy, you can be cooled off, especially with one ride that delivers the water people.
I have even considered the notion of recounting all of my visits to the various rollercoasters I have been on at various amusement parks throughout the United States. I just love them, what I can I say, I know I’m not the only person who seeks such thrills of adrenaline that you cannot get elsewhere. If you are indeed a coaster enthusiastic share your thoughts of the best rollercoasters in the United States.
