Wheels of Steel

If you're looking for the fastest, tallest rides, the rides that turn you upside down and subject your body to more twists and turns than an F-18 in a dogfight, better think steel.

Steel coasters began replacing all-wood coasters shortly after World War II. They've become increasingly sophisticated, becoming taller, faster, and capable of inverting riders and whipping them through tight corkscrew turns. Today, coaster fans can take their pick of thrill rides all over the globe. Here's a quick overview of the world's most notable wheels of steel.

The Need For Speedcolor>
For the tallest, fastest ride with the biggest drop, coaster fanatics will want to consider a trip to Japan's Fujikyu Highland Park, where the coaster Fujiyama awaits. This all-steel beast towers some 259 feet off the ground and offers riders a 230-foot drop — the longest in the world, at least for now.

However, the top speed of this coaster is 81 mph, just one mile per hour more than the fastest coasters in the U.S. Is the extra oomph worth the trip? Coaster fans say "You bet!"

But for velocity junkies who'd rather be stateside, look no further than Pittburgh, Pennsylvania, where the Steel Phantom resides at Kennywood Park. Clocked at 80 mph, this coaster is in a dead heat with the Primm, Nevada-based Desperado.

A Hair-Raising Experiencecolor>
Fans of the inversion — that hair-raising and sometimes stomach-turning part of the ride where one is racing upside down — will want to save up their frequent flyer miles. To experience eight inversions in one ride, they'll have to book passage to Spain to encounter the all-steel Dragon Khan, or head to Rio de Janeiro to meet the dread Monte Makaya with its triple barrel roll.

For those who'd prefer a U.S.-based, inversion-intensive coaster, the aptly-named Great American Scream Machine, with its seven inversions, awaits at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.

In addition, Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida; Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California; and Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, feature coasters with seven inversions.

For information on any of the coasters mentioned here, or their respective theme parks, see our searchable index of roller coasters all over the globe, the Find a Ride feature, provided courtesy of Coaster.net.

Written by Sean Wolfe.
Roller coaster statistical information provided by World of Coasters.