Could You Handle the World's Steepest Roller Coasters?

Updated 03/19/18

Cannibal roller coaster at Lagoon — ••• Courtesy of Lagoon

For those seeking a huge adrenalin rush, it makes perfect sense to seek out the world's fastest coasters or the world's tallest coasters. What thrill-seekers wouldn't want to tackle insane speeds or extreme heights, attributes that are intrinsic to these venerable rides? But coasters with drops that are beyond 90 degrees? What's the point?

After all, roller coasters with inversions such as loops or corkscrews have been sending riders careening head over heels into full 360-degree acrobatic maneuvers for years. Still, there's something wild about cresting a coaster hill and not being able to see the bottom of the steeper-than-freefall drop. And it can be weird and wonderful to experience the drop with the front of the train angling inward as it barrels down the hill.

So which coasters are the steepest, meaning the angle of descent of the rides' primary drops? Here's the count down to the steepest roller coasters.

01 of 13
No. 1 (tie): Takabisha at 121 Degrees

••• Alex Brogan/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0
A custom Euro-Fighter (a model of coaster from the manufacturer, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides), Takabisha is a launched coaster. Instead of using a traditional lift hill, it uses magnetic launch motors to blast its cars from 0 to 62 mph in 2 seconds. In addition to holding the record for the highest angle of descent, a crazy 121 degrees, the coaster also offers seven inversions and a nearly 2-minute ride.
Fuji-Q Highland, a major park in Japan, offers a number of record-seeking coasters, including Dodonpa, one of the fastest roller coasters in the world, and Fujiyama, one of the longest and tallest roller coasters in the world.
- Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Japan
- Launched Euro-Fighter coaster
- Height: 141 feet
- Top speed: 62 mph
02 of 13
No. 1 (tie): Green Lantern at 121 Degrees

••• Phalinn Ooi/themeparkgc/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0
This is an "El Loco" model from the manufacturer, S&S Worldwide. In addition to its crazy-steep drop, it also includes Wild Mouse-style hairpin turns. There are conflicting reports about the actual angle of descent, with numbers ranging from 120 degrees to more than 122 degrees. We'll split the difference, and settle on 121 degrees.
- Warner Bros. Movie World, Queensland, Australia
- Steel coaster
- Top speed: 41 mph
03 of 13
No. 2: Crazy Bird at 120 Degrees

••• Theme Park Review
One of the world's steepest coasters is inside an indoor theme park in China. In addition to its beyond-90-degree drop, Crazy Bird includes two inversions: a dive loop, and an in-line twist.
- Happy Valley, Tianjin, China
- El Loco-style coaster
- Height: 98 feet
04 of 13
No. 3: Cannibal at 116 Degrees

••• Courtesy of Lagoon
Opened in 2015, Cannibal features an enclosed, vertical lift hill and an incredibly steep 116-degree drop. It is one of the highlights at Lagoon.
- Lagoon, Farmington, Utah
- Steel coaster
- Height: 208 feet
- Top speed: 70 mph
Continue to 5 of 13 below.
05 of 13
No. 4: Timber Drop at 113 Degrees

••• Freddo/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0
Another "El Loco" model, Timber Drop features similar specs and offers a similar ride to Green Lantern (and other El Loco rides on this list).
- Fraispertuis City, France
- Steel coaster
- Height: 59 feet
- Top speed: 41 mph
06 of 13
No. 5: Mumbo Jumbo at 112 Degrees

••• Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands
Similar to Steel Hawg (next on the list) and made by the same manufacturer, Mumbo Jumbo climbs about as high, goes about as fast, and is not a Euro-Fighter. It also shuttles back and forth in a compact space and features Wild Mouse-like hairpin turns.
- Flamingo Land, Malton, UK
- Steel coaster
- Height: 98 feet
07 of 13
No. 6: Steel Hawg at 111 Degrees

••• Patrick McGarvey/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0
Another one of the few non-Euro-Fighter models on the steepest coaster countdown, Steel Hawg also uses single-car trains (with a total of four passengers). Unlike many of the other coasters on this list, Steel Hawg incorporates Wild Mouse-style hairpin turns to amp up the thrills.
- Indiana Beach, Monticello, Indiana
- Steel coaster
- Height: 96 feet
- Top speed: 41 mph
08 of 13
No. 7: Monster at 101 Degrees

••• Adventureland
Monster was manufactured by the same company that builds the Euro-Fighter coasters, but it is a different model. Unlike most of the Euro-Fighters on this list, the Adventureland ride reaches a robust 65 mph and includes five inversions.
- Adventureland Park, Altoona, Iowa
- Steel coaster
- Height: 133 feet
- Top speed: 65 mph
Continue to 9 of 13 below.
09 of 13
No. 8 (tie): Saw-The Ride at 100 Degrees

••• Bigbosspatch at en.wikipedia
The custom Euro-Fighter is themed to the grisly "Saw" movies. In addition to the usual coaster mayhem, there are some set pieces, including rotating saw blades, to accentuate the theme.
- Thorpe Park, Chertsey, UK
- Euro-Fighter coaster
- Height: 100 feet
- Top speed: 55 mph
10 of 13
No. 8 (tie): GaleForce at 100 Degrees
Opened in 2017, GaleForce is a coaster that launches forwards, backwards, and forwards until finally hurtling over the top and dropping at a 100-degree angle.
- Playland's Castaway Cove, Ocean City, New Jersey
- Steel coaster
- Height: 125 feet
- Top speed: 64 mph
11 of 13
No. 9 (tie): 14 Coasters at 97 Degrees

••• Canobielakepark/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0
There are 14 coasters, most of which are Euro-Fighter models, that drop at a 97-degree angle. One of them is Untamed at Canobie Lake Park. It is a smaller version of the standard model.It features three inversions, including an Immelmann and a Zero-G Roll, and, of course, a beyond-vertical drop (in this case, 97 degrees).
Other 97-degree coasters include Fahrenheit at Hersheypark, Huracan at Belantis in Leipzig, Germany, Predator at IMG Worlds of Adventure in Dubai, UAE, Rage at Adventure Island in Southend-On-Sea, UK, and Typhoon at Bobbejaanland in Lichtaart, Antwerp, Belgium.
- Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire
- Euro-Fighter coaster
- Height: 72 feet
- Top speed: 43.5 mph
12 of 13
No. 10: HangTime at 96 Degrees

••• Cedar Fair Entertainment
As its name implies, HangTime hangs for a few seconds after cresting its lift hill to let passengers ponder the 96-degree drop that follows. It offers five inversions. At night, it has a spectacular light package that lights up the midway at Knott's.
- Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California
- Infinity coaster
- Height: 150 feet
- Top speed: 57 mph
Continue to 13 of 13 below.
13 of 13
No. 11 (tie): 5 Coasters at 95 Degrees

••• Jeremy Thompson/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
There are five coasters that drop passengers at a 95-degree angle. Four of them, including Dollywood's Mystery Mine, are "Euro-Fighter" models from the ride manufacturer, Gerstlauer. The rides generally feature large, single-car trains (Mystery Mine's cars have two rows and seat eight passengers), climb 90 degrees up a top hat tower and soar down the other side of the tower at a vertical angle of descent greater than 90 degrees, in this case, 95 degrees. What makes Mystery Mine unique is that it is a themed ride and part of the action takes place indoors.
The other 95-degree Euro fighters are Kráter at Parque Del Café in Montenegro, Colombia, Iron Shark at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas, and Tantrum at Darien Lake in Darien, New York.
It's not anywhere near the tallest coaster at coaster-crazy Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. And it's not the fastest. But Maverick might be the best. With its multiple launches, unique car design, silky...MORE smooth ride, and 95-degree drop, Maverick has a lot of compelling features and is incredibly fun.
- Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
- Euro-Fighter coaster
- Top speed: 46 mph