10. The Beast

© Kevin Hulme. Click for source.

Location: Kings Island
TPT100 Rank: 26

Easily one of the most revered and celebrated wooden coasters in the world, The Beast at Kings Island in Ohio lives up to its name. Opened in 1979, the ride is still the longest wooden roller coaster in the world at a whopping 7,359 feet long and with a staggering 4:10 ride time. The Beast is so well-loved, wooden coasters have been purposefully built just a bit shorter, as it seems universally understood that the Beast deserves the record! During the ride's four minutes, the train careens through tunnels and along the forest floor. The Beast is a terrain coaster, with its wooden track built into the hills and valleys of Kings Island's woods. In fact, the ride sprawls out over 35 wooded acres. The coaster's deafening finale is a slanted drop that roars into an enclosed 540° helix.

Famously, you can't see any more of The Beast than the track you're currently on since it all sits below tree level. Ask coaster enthusiasts about Beast night rides and you'll hear about the exciting horror of careening through the forest at 65 miles per hour in pitch black darkness, with only the moon above and the dark endlessness all around without a light in sight. Let's put it this way - day or night, you won't forget the Beast!

9. Millennium Force

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Location: Cedar Point
TPT100 Rank: 23

Remember the year 2000? Roller coaster fans always will, since it signaled the arrival of Millennium Force. The sleek royal blue coaster with its 300-foot hill running along the coast of Lake Erie broke just about every record for the time. It was the first full-circuit coaster ever to break the 300-foot height barrier, also giving it the longest drop and fastest speed. Even with over 6,500 feet of track, Millennium sure feels like it maintains its 93 mile-per-hour tempo through most of the ride. With no inversions nor any mid-course brakes, Millennium is like a speeding bullet, racing through enormous overbanked turns and sailing over airtime hills with unexpected grace and deafening velocity. Even the most seasoned of coaster afficionados disembark with grins, as Millennium is simply unique. There's no other coaster with the same style and attitude. That's a compliment.

8. Space Mountain

© Lisa Bettany, click for source.

Location: Disneyland
TPT100 Rank: 22

Magic Kingdom in Florida was actually the first to open a Space Mountain, with the original Disneyland following in its footsteps a few years later. The two rides, though, share nothing in common. Magic Kingdom's is actually two coasters mirror-imaged and snuggled next to each other (both modeled after Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds). 

Disneyland's is a whole other creature, with three themed lift hills (including updated effects), two-by-two seating, a much faster and more wild ride, and synchronized on-board audio that perfectly lines up to the ride experience. As well, each autumn the mountain becomes home to Ghost Galaxy, a genuinely-startling take on the classic as incredible special effects simulate a galactic ghoul's loud and frightening chase. With Ghost Galaxy in season, the ride's iconic white dome is cast in dreary green as – a few times an hour – the entire dome pulsates with the creature's roars thanks to texture-mapping projection.

Magic Kingdom's version of the interstellar coaster has its own devoted fan base, but it only comes in at number 86 on the TPT100. Disneyland's, meanwhile, rockets forward to number 22, making it the 9th highest-rated coaster on the list.  

7. Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride

© Universal

Location: Universal Studios Florida
TPT100 Rank: 19

Billed as the world's first psychological thrill ride, Revenge of the Mummy truly is a thing of wonder. The roller coaster begins as a dark ride, encountering one of the most advanced and horrifying animatronics figures on Earth. The dark ride then passes through chambers of gold, flames, attacking mummies, lowering walls threatening to crush the whole train, scarab beetles, and more. After an unexpected trip backwards and a hidden turntable that rotates the train through a scene, the coaster launches uphill and into the Mummy's smoke-filled mouth, careening through the dark. What happens next is a tightly-guarded secret, but suffice it to say, the best is yet to come. Folks go nuts for Revenge of the Mummy, and rightly so. The Premier coaster is quick, nimble, and unlike anything else you can find in Orlando or the United States for that matter. First timers will be shocked. 

6. The Smiler

© Kip Hakes, click for source.

Location: Alton Towers
TPT100 Rank: 17

For the life of us, we can't tell if the intentions of the Ministry of Joy are insidious or benevolent! Surely, a secret organization hellbent on spreading smiles couldn't be that bad! Enter The Smiler. This absolutely insane coaster is constructed around the Ministry's Marmalizer contraption, a sort of technological arachnid with five arms corresponding to five smile-improving techniques. The hypnotic coaster just reeks of brainwashing, but if the pulsating visuals of the queue and Marmalizer don't sell you, the ride's stats will. With 14 inversions, The Smiler turns riders upside down more times than any other coaster on Earth. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind experience, The Smiler is waiting. Those Ministry of Joy fellows aren't half bad.