6. GhostRider – Knott’s Berry Farm

One of the strengths of Knott’s Berry Farm is its theming. Living in the shadow of Disneyland, the park seems like the imitator. In reality, the Ghost Town section of the farm debuted in the 1930s (!), more than two decades prior to Disneyland.

Half a century later, GhostRider arrived at Ghost Town. It immediately became the longest wooden coaster in California, with a massive 4,533 feet of track. With such size and a top speed of 56 miles per hour, this ride lasts more than two and a half minutes. And to highlight the theming of a runaway mine cart, the colors represent the various metals found within. They are copper, silver, and gold, and Knott’s Berry Farm updates the look and style every few years to keep the theming fresh. The look reinforces the sensation that you’re on a rickety cart that could fall apart at any second as you zoom into the unknown.  

5. The Joker – Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Vallejo, California tends to get lost in the shuffle a bit as a theme park destination. That may change in future years, as their 2016 addition, The Joker, is a true game-changer. Formerly a wooden track coaster known as Roar, this attraction completely changed its structure. It’s now a steel coaster hybrid. Park planners simply placed steel tracks on top of the existing wooden backbone.

The combination of steel and wood has become quite popular in recent years, and it’s the underlying architecture for two of the top five coasters in California right now. The hybrid ride experience isn’t quite as pure as standard steel coasters, and that’s a good thing. The ride is a bit rougher, fitting for something named after Batman’s greatest foe.

The second iteration of the attraction does include a slightly different track layout. It’s a taller structure with a steeper drop, giving The Joker an extra speed boost. It still “only” reaches a top speed of 53 miles per hour, but the erratic nature of the ride makes it feel faster.

Give Six Flags Discovery Kingdom credit. They re-imagined a stale coaster as something different and fairly original. Roar was just okay, but The Joker is one of the five best coasters in the state.

4. X2 – Six Flags Magic Mountain

Quick, name all the dimensions you know! There’s length, width, and depth, right? Well, according to the ride designers at Arrow Enterprises and Magic Mountain, you’re missing one. They claim that X2 is the world’s first 4D roller coaster, and even if you question their physics, you must admire their ambition.

The coaster cart for X2 is such a spectacle that it awes anyone who sees it in action. Per Magic Mountain logic, 4D is when each rider rotates differently, independent of the other people connected. X2 operates like a flying roller coaster, but it adds that additional element of extra spin for the individual coaster sections.

In simplest terms, X2 has two sets of rails. The outer group carries all the weight of the coaster carts. The inner group of rails rotates the carts on their own axes, creating a unique secondary spin in addition to the regular coaster trajectory. X2 offers a ride within a ride. This type of motion isn’t for everyone, as it’s like a mini-Mad Tea Party contained within a regular roller coaster ride.

X2 is legitimately one of the ultimate thrill rides; it’s also not for everybody. In terms of engineering marvels, it is the greatest achievement on this list. Graded solely as a roller coaster, it falls a bit behind the top three simply due to its intensity.