3. Goliath – Six Flags Over Georgia

Six Flags Over Georgia actually pre-dates Walt Disney World as one of the first amusement parks in the southeast. Its reputation has never matched that of Carowinds, much less Magic Kingdom, though. In the mid-2000s, the Six Flags Entertainment Corp. took a hard look at the 290-acre property and recognized that some of the attractions were failing to attract anybody. Great Gasp, an outdated parachute drop, and Looping Starship, one of those swinging ship thingies, were correctly determined to be a waste of space.

In their place, Six Flags determined to build something that was a rarity in the southeast to that point, a hypercoaster. Enter Goliath, a $20 million steel roller coaster that is 20 stories tall and capable of speeds up to 70 miles per hour. With approximately 4,500 feet of track, Goliath offers a sustained adrenaline rush for three and a half minutes. Its other highlights are a trio of bunny hops toward the end and a heart-dropping 540-degree downward helix midway through. Six Flags Over Georgia is not the first name on people’s lips when they think of southeastern theme parks, but Goliath should be a roller coaster on people’s thrill ride bucket lists.

4. Tennessee Tornado – Dollywood

Nestled in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, Dollywood is one of the most beloved parks in North America due to its familial nature. While there was a paucity of thrill rides in the early years after Dolly Parton purchased Silver Dollar City from its previous owners, the past 15 years have witnessed a tremendous expansion in terms of coasters and other exciting attractions.

One of the most interesting changes involved the circuitous path of the River King Mine Train, which soon became known as River King Run-Away Mine Train. Oddly, that ride’s name changes were only beginning. It was sold by Six Flags St. Louis to Dollywood, where it was relocated and once again renamed, this time changing to Thunder Express. The hybrid wood/steel coaster wasn’t even done, as the park planners at Dollywood decided to sell it again. It has since found a permanent (?) home in Hot Springs, Arkansas as Magic Springs and Crystal Falls.

Dollywood kicked out the Coaster That Cannot Stay Named in favor of their ambitious new project, Tennessee Tornado. This new steel coaster maximizes the gorgeous treetops and mountain views of the area while providing the rider with a 63 mile per hour thrill ride. While Tennessee Tornado will never be mistaken as the tallest (163 feet) or longest (one minute and 48 seconds) ride, its incorporation of its surroundings rivals Millennium Force’s Lake Erie backdrop. Truly, it is an amusement park ride about the journey, not the destination.

5. Maverick – Cedar Point

At the roller coaster capital of the world, the twistiest, turniest ride is not a log flume. No, the White Water Landing attraction no longer exists at Cedar Point, which makes the younger version of me sad. What stands in its place, however, is a majestic ride whose design was so intense that it was altered prior to debuting.

Maverick is only the fourth longest ride at Cedar Point at 4,450 feet and its 70 miles per hour maximum velocity, while impressive relative to the rest of this list, is mundane compared to other coasters at the park. What’s the big deal, then? Maverick’s initial drop includes a 95-degree turn. Take a moment to visualize that. Several of the attractions listed above are noteworthy for drops in the mid-70s. Over 90 degrees means more than a right turn. Downward. Originally, the turns were even more dramatic, but the Intamin architects had to dial their ambition down a notch once they realized that the tracks would have struggled to handle the added tension. Maverick pushes the upper boundaries of current steel roller coaster technology in providing the most thrilling turns that are physically possible right now.