3. The Beast – Kings Island

By far the oldest ride on this list, The Beast’s roots trace all the way back to 1979, the Jimmy Carter administration. In other words, unless you’re over the age of 38, you weren’t even born when Kings Island constructed one of your three favorite roller coasters in the world.

The Beast has stood the test of time for two primary reasons. One is that coaster fanatics love and embrace the classics. The other is the clever design. When it opened in 1979, it was the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in the world. All of those records have long since fallen by the wayside. What hasn’t changed is the visionary design.

The Beast starts you with a turn as you exit the boarding station. Then, it adds a climb 110 feet into the air before plunging the rider 135 feet straight down, a stunning accomplishment for a coaster from 1979. It was once the pinnacle of ride design. Even today, it remains one of the cleverest and most imitated ride structures in the industry.

2. Maverick – Cedar Point

Cedar Point’s marketing team is quick to describe it as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. Theme Park Tourist readers clearly agree. How else would we explain what I’m about to say? One of Cedar Point’s newer roller coasters, Maverick, is the second highest rated coaster on the Top 100. It’s also only the second highest rated coaster from Cedar Point. Yes, one park claims the top two spots on our charts. If that’s not dominance, I don’t know what is.

Built in 2007, Maverick is a steel roller coaster that launches at tremendous pace. The ride accelerates from zero to 70 miles per hour in roughly three seconds. That’s also its top speed, but I wouldn’t describe the launch as the best feature. Instead, it’s the amazing 95-degree drop that occurs during the ride. Yes, that’s more than straight down.

Perhaps the most stunning part of Maverick is that the version that you love so much isn’t even the intended one. Cedar Point originally had a heartline roll as part of the roller coaster. That element proved too brutal on riders, and so park planners replaced it with an s-curve. Yes, one of the most intense coasters on the planet could have been even more severe. The only limitation was…the human physique. Mankind simply isn’t tough enough for what Maverick was capable of delivering.

1. Millennium Force – Cedar Point

When you’re right, you’re right. It’s a tautology that’s particularly true here. Since its inception in 2000, Millennium Force has lorded over the competition as THE greatest roller coaster of the 21st century. Many imitators and potential successors have followed it. All of them have failed to wrest the title away, though. Millennium Force is unquestionably the best ride in the world for adrenaline junkies.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Millennium Force’s reign of dominance is that so many of its stats are still among the greatest in the world. Almost 17 years after its arrival, this roller coaster is still among the tallest, fastest, and longest in the world. It goes 93 miles per hour, offers an 80-degree drop, covers 6,595 feet worth of track, and contains a top G-force of 4.5. Today, it’s difficult to encapsulate what a quantum leap Millennium Force was back in 2000, but the fact that its metrics are still so impressive is telling. You’re right to vote it the best roller coaster in the world…because it is and it has been since the turn of the millennium.