
Altitude has become the defining characteristic of roller coasters - ismavis
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/17/travel/17Coasters.html
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ohitsdom
Weird article title. I was hoping to read an article about the constraints of
building tall roller coasters (and hard limits, if any). This is just a review
of 4 tall roller coasters, not even the steepest ones[0]. TBD if we can build
one with a 500 foot drop.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_roller_coaster_ranking...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_roller_coaster_rankings#Longest_steel_roller_coaster_drops)

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bdamm
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_Coaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_Coaster)

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comrh
I remember messing up my math in high school physics and accidentally
designing one of these of my own.

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Animats
That's an ad. In the New York Times. Whatever happened to editorial standards?

Back in 2014, there were lots of videos of Oculus Rift VR of simulated roller
coasters, and the videos are on YouTube. That fad seems to be over.

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jds375
Huge fan of the millennium force. Has anyone tried the top thrill dragster at
Cedar Point? Seems pretty epic, albeit very short.

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bamboo_7
Gigas and Stratas are two different beasts. Despite the height and speed
differences, Millenium Force > Top Thrill in my opinion.

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jerhinesmith
Agreed. Top Thrill is great for the "thrill" of hitting 120 mph and dropping
~400 feet, but it's over in a matter of seconds. I think they nailed it with
the drag race metaphor. There's very little anticipation, and the payoff is
immediate.

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npongratz
Most runs, Top Thrill Dragster indeed has little anticipation. I have
experienced an exception once: I was in the front seat and glanced up,
straight ahead, as the countdown started. In that instant just before takeoff,
I noticed a number of seagulls lazily floating a couple feet above the track.
Watching those birds continue across the tracks and out of the path of my face
were the longest two to three seconds of my life.

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DuskStar
Even better than that is when you're in the coaster waiting to go, and then
the one before you doesn't quite make it over - so you get to watch it come
hurtling back at you! (And then wait 15 minutes for the wind to go down again)

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ctdonath
An insightful mockumentary on the subject is _The_Centrifuge_Brain_Project_:
[https://vimeo.com/58293017](https://vimeo.com/58293017)

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wittekm
This article is confusing - what defines a gigacoaster? Why isn't the Kingda
Ka (tallest North American roller coaster), for example, among them?

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ojbyrne
Because a giga-coaster is specifically defined as smaller than that one:

"Enthusiasts use the term to apply to a roller coaster with a drop of 300 to
399 feet, meaning that its riders fall the length of a football field.
(Anything beyond 400 feet and you’re in strata coaster terrain.)"

So yeah, weird article.

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foldor
I was surprised to see the Leviathan was one of only 5 roller coasters in this
category. I'll admit that seeing it in person is _incredibly_ intimidating
though. So much so that it was the only one I haven't been on yet.

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dctoedt
Watching the videos full-screen on a decent-size monitor creates just a bit of
the sensation of the drops and turns.

