With all of the buzz around Fury 325, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the World’s Tallest and Fastest Giga Coaster. Many have asked exactly what the “giga” refers to. What is a giga coaster? A giga coaster is a roller coaster that’s between 300 and 399 feet tall and completes a full circuit. The first giga coaster was Millennium Force which opened at Cedar Point in 2000. Today, there are six in operation around the World. Below is a list of the giga coasters that are currently operating: NameHeightTheme ParkLocationYear Opened Red Force367.3 feetFerrari LandSalou, Spain2017 Fury 325325 feetCarowindsCharlotte, NC2015 Steel Dragon 2000318.3 feetNagashima Spa LandNagashima, Japan2000 Millennium Force310 feetCedar PointOhio, USA2000 Leviathan306 feetCanada's WonderlandOntario, Canada2012 Intimidator 305305 feetKings DominionVirginia, USA2010 Ride Experience: Giga Coasters are Tall and Fast! Giga coasters are incredibly tall and fast roller coasters. They’re skyscraper-like lift hills help them generate intense speeds of 90 mph or more. Instead of using loops to turn riders upside-down, they use all that speed to thrill riders by climbing large hills and then diving back to the ground. Some also provide high-speed twists and turns. Kings Dominion’s Intimidator 305 focuses most of its insane course on heavily banked track and twisted transitions from side-to-side. Fury 325 has a mix of twist, turns, and a few hills. Currently, all giga coasters are steel roller coasters. In terms of height and speed, they are only surpassed by strata coasters that use powerful launch systems to rocket higher than 400 feet tall. Ferrari Land’s Red Force fits the definition of a giga coaster, but like the strata coasters (Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster) it uses a launch rather than a lift hill. To give you an idea of what giga coasters are like, here’s video of Fury 325 at Carowinds:For a POV video and more, see my full review of Fury 325. To learn more about other roller coasters terms and see lists of record holders my Coasterology posts. Also, see which ride won in this giga-sized Roller Coaster Showdown: Fury 325 vs Intimidator 305 What’s Your Take? Have you ridden a giga coaster? Leave a comment below. Image courtesy of CoasterImage. 11 Responses Ethan June 14, 2015 Actually, by the strictest defintion, a launched coaster between 300-399 feet tall cannot be considered a giga coaster. Otherwise, Tower of Tower Dreamworld would be the tallest and fastest giga coaster. The same applies with Xcelerator and why it’s not true hyper coaster. Reply Bobbie Butterfield June 14, 2015 A sucker for long drops, I enjoy giga coasters more than most. I’ve ridden four of the five and rank them as follows: 1) Fury 325; 2) Leviathan; 3) Intimidator 305; and 4) Millennium Force. Fury 325 gets the top spot due to the intensity and insane speed, although Leviathan isn’t far behind. I liked I-305 more than MF because of the numerous twists in the track, giving the feeling of being snapped back and forth, which made for a novel ride experience. And although I’ve always preferred Intamin rides to B&M, for this group B&M comes out ahead. B/c I prefer the cable lifts on Intamin to chain lifts, I was afraid that the ascent to the top on the two B&M models would be agonizingly slow but in fact it’s surprisingly fast. Reply Alex June 29, 2015 Ethan that coaster doesn’t complete a full circuit Reply Joel July 2, 2015 Thanks Alex. It’s right there in the definition, but I guess he missed it. Reply Eric Cruz July 18, 2015 The Fury’s drop is ETERNAL lol…. The drop is a little too long but that’s just me because I’m sure most people enjoyed it… By the time you’re halfway through the coaster, you’ve already forgotten how intense the drop is because the speed and adrenaline gets to you. It’s so fun and it sucks that I could only ride it once because of the length of the line. Best coaster I’ve ever ridden Reply Claudette Melanson July 27, 2015 Hi, I live in Kitchener Ontario and we visit Wonderland many times a year. We’ve ridden Leviathan so many times. That first drop is unbelievable and the camel humps are huge too. I almost chickened out the first time but so glad I didn’t. Best ride ever! Reply Michael November 17, 2015 I think I will like all of them. However I will like Fur325 much much much much much much better than all of them except for Steel Dragon 2000. As they say in Japan こんにちは Kon’nichiwa Reply Danny Tipton May 27, 2016 I have rode the fury 325 – 21 times so far this year and want more. i have season passes so i know i will be riding it more, my goal is to ride it 50 times this year. Reply Lana August 7, 2017 I have never experienced anything like this ride. The Fury 325 is insanely thrilling. The drop takes your breathe away and the speed is purely adrenal rush. I loved all of it, all 3 minutes and 25 seconds. My first giga ride and ready for the next. Reply shane cheek August 29, 2017 i hope busch gardens williamsburg gets a giga coaster Reply Theodore September 13, 2019 Can’t wait for Orion at KI to open in 2020! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Ethan June 14, 2015 Actually, by the strictest defintion, a launched coaster between 300-399 feet tall cannot be considered a giga coaster. Otherwise, Tower of Tower Dreamworld would be the tallest and fastest giga coaster. The same applies with Xcelerator and why it’s not true hyper coaster. Reply
Bobbie Butterfield June 14, 2015 A sucker for long drops, I enjoy giga coasters more than most. I’ve ridden four of the five and rank them as follows: 1) Fury 325; 2) Leviathan; 3) Intimidator 305; and 4) Millennium Force. Fury 325 gets the top spot due to the intensity and insane speed, although Leviathan isn’t far behind. I liked I-305 more than MF because of the numerous twists in the track, giving the feeling of being snapped back and forth, which made for a novel ride experience. And although I’ve always preferred Intamin rides to B&M, for this group B&M comes out ahead. B/c I prefer the cable lifts on Intamin to chain lifts, I was afraid that the ascent to the top on the two B&M models would be agonizingly slow but in fact it’s surprisingly fast. Reply
Eric Cruz July 18, 2015 The Fury’s drop is ETERNAL lol…. The drop is a little too long but that’s just me because I’m sure most people enjoyed it… By the time you’re halfway through the coaster, you’ve already forgotten how intense the drop is because the speed and adrenaline gets to you. It’s so fun and it sucks that I could only ride it once because of the length of the line. Best coaster I’ve ever ridden Reply
Claudette Melanson July 27, 2015 Hi, I live in Kitchener Ontario and we visit Wonderland many times a year. We’ve ridden Leviathan so many times. That first drop is unbelievable and the camel humps are huge too. I almost chickened out the first time but so glad I didn’t. Best ride ever! Reply
Michael November 17, 2015 I think I will like all of them. However I will like Fur325 much much much much much much better than all of them except for Steel Dragon 2000. As they say in Japan こんにちは Kon’nichiwa Reply
Danny Tipton May 27, 2016 I have rode the fury 325 – 21 times so far this year and want more. i have season passes so i know i will be riding it more, my goal is to ride it 50 times this year. Reply
Lana August 7, 2017 I have never experienced anything like this ride. The Fury 325 is insanely thrilling. The drop takes your breathe away and the speed is purely adrenal rush. I loved all of it, all 3 minutes and 25 seconds. My first giga ride and ready for the next. Reply
