Do you think we'll ever see taller and faster coasters?

Do you think coasters will get any taller or faster? I know Kingda at Six Flags holds the height record and a coaster in Dubai holds the speed record, but do you think any park will attempt to break those records or do you think coasters have peaked? I'm thinking any taller or faster is getting too dangerous.

It's only too dangerous for the guy who signs the checks. :)

I hope we see taller and faster. Obviously right now the park is focusing on family fun which I support but they shouldn't stray away from what people love them for and what made them great. Big coasters also make Cedar Point different than Kings Island.

I think the park is getting to the point where the next big coaster will need to replace another coaster. It seems to be the only alternative to demolishing more family rides like the three removed last year. For that reason I don't mind the threads speculating which ride will go next.

This isn't a speculation thread. I'm just asking for opinions if you think we'll see taller or faster coasters ANYWHERE, not just CP.

Yes! Anything is possible. 50 years 200ft was impossible. As long as people keep dreaming, new highs and thrills will be reached.

Faster is inevitable, but taller would be a complete waste of money.

I think 200MPH is pushing dangerous. Hitting a fly at that speed could hurt really bad. Mythbusters tested getting hitting a bug at highway speeds on a motorcycle could potentially be deadly if it hits you in the throat. Hitting bugs isn't the only thing dangerous, there's also high G-Forces.

G-gorces can be engineered out of rides, though. For example, take a look at the profile of MF's first drop, vs Magnum's - you can see a substantially larger radius in the pull out on MF.

I think they will continue to be a smoother ride.

I once read -- somewhere, I can't remember where -- that there is no real limit to how tall a coaster can be. Problems arise with how long a coaster would have to be to burn off the speed generated coming down that hill. Most parks won't have enough room to build a coaster long enough.

If that were entirely true, TTD would probably end somewhere in the middle of the parking lot.

It is entirely true. Even more modestly tall rides - like Maverick - head into the final brakes at very high speed. That indicates that the ride is too fast for the length of the track. And since track costs money, and you don't want half of your ride to be brakes, there is a practical limit for how fast coasters can be.

And that goes doubly so for height. The tallest coasters in existence can't even exist (in a practical sense) as standard coasters. They're launch-top hat-brakes.

Hence, building a taller coaster would be a very bad business decision, and not a very fun ride regardless. And we're pretty much at the practical speed limit as well.

I don't think the parks can justify the cost to build larger coasters than MF and TTD.

I feel like the novelty and practicality of record breakers has peaked to be honest, at least in regards to height and perhaps in regards to speed as well.

With coasters at least I get the sense we're approaching the threshold of discomfort and practicality for passengers otherwise we would've seen speed at least pushed harder. It's like how CART had to cancel an indycar race at Texas in 2001 or so because the lateral G-forces on the drivers were causing them to black out at speed in the corners.

Granted that's at 240-ish vs the 150-ish that the Ferrari World coaster is, but we're also talking a firesuited and helmeted driver in a custom-fitted seat and tub versus a much more exposed coaster seat that has to be able to accommodate pretty much all bodytypes.

They will for sure get taller/faster, no doubt.

In fact, I think one of the more limiting factors are the wheels... They have heat issues with many of the fastest rides that require cooling during or after the ride so they don't get gummy and such.

Look at the problems they've had with Steel Dragon in Japan. Morgan thought that they had taken into account all the possible variables in it and they still wound up with it trying to destroy itself. At the moment, I think that we have seen coasters the highest and fastest we going to get for a while.

I wonder if you could get 400ft coasters with a more traditional lift hill?

^ I think the main problem with that is space. Not many parks have huge amounts of space to accommodate a 400-500 ft lift hill

^ To go along with the lift-hill having to take up space; any fast ride would need that extra space to handle the elements - unless you brake soon after the first drop. I also wonder what the limits are for chains and cables. Or would you have to use LSM or some other lift-mechanism.

With the re-direction of CF/CP I wonder if our next big coaster will be a family ride? What are the new limits of how fast and high a family coaster should be? I often see wee-ones in line or in the station for Magnum and Mean Streak. So 200' and over 50mph is not an issue for parents? I don't have a kid so I can't judge what is an acceptable ride for a child other than height limit. Talking to parents it seemed like Magnum was a "no..." about 10-15 years ago but now it is "you're over 48" so sure!"

I dont think you will see much taller or faster then what you see now. i think the new wave of technology will be on the design of coasters and how crazy your experience can be on a 200ft coaster, such as GateKeeper