4 Best Las Vegas Roller Coasters Ranked (by Data)
Visiting Las Vegas for its rollercoasters is like visiting McDonald’s for its salad. It is not the main draw, but…
Las Vegas does have one world-class hypercoaster and two good enough rollercoasters for the average coasterhead.
Only one of the city’s four operational rollercoasters is a must-skip, so you can look forward to at least three on your Vegas visit. Here are the best roller coasters in Las Vegas:
| Rollercoaster | Track Length | Drop | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Big Apple Coaster | 4,777 ft | 144 ft | 67 mph |
| Canyon Blaster | 2,423 ft | 66 ft | 41 mph |
| El Loco | 1,300 ft | 90 ft | 45 mph |
| Dragon Coaster | 523 ft | n/a | 8 mph |
Ranking rollercoasters by experience alone can be difficult. After all, experience is subjective, and what works for one rollercoaster enthusiast may not work for another. Data is more objective, so it is best to rank thrill rides by thrill metrics.
The most common thrill metrics to rank rollercoasters include speed, height, and inversions. Other track maneuvers can be exciting but are harder to quantify. Take a look at the baseline data below.
- Height – Las Vegas’s tallest rollercoaster is 203 feet high, while its shortest rollercoaster is 9 feet high.
- Length – The shortest rollercoaster track in Vegas is 523 feet long, while the longest one is 4,777 feet long.
- Seating Capacity – Rollercoasters in Las Vegas seat 4 to 28 people per train.
- Drop – Sin City’s greatest drop is 144 feet high, while its smallest rollercoaster has no drop
- Top Speed – The fastest rollercoaster in Vegas has a maximum speed of 67 miles per hour. Its slowest rollercoaster moves at 8 miles per hour.
- Ride Duration – The longest rollercoaster ride in Las Vegas lasts 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The shortest one lasts only 45 seconds!
Now that you have a baseline, you can see why the following Las Vegas rollercoasters are ranked the way they are. You can also see which ones are worth your time according to the metrics that matter to you..
1. The Big Apple Coaster
- Location: New York-New York Hotel and Casino
- Date Opened: January 3, 1997
- Height: 203 ft
- Length: 4,777 ft
- Seating Capacity: 18 riders per train
- Drop: 144 ft
- Top Speed: 67 mph
- Ride duration: 2:40
The Big Apple Coaster has a track height of over 200 feet, making it Sin City’s only hypercoaster. With a maximum speed of 67 miles per hour, it is also one of the fastest rollercoasters in Nevada. It is located at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino (Vegas Strip).
It is the city’s most popular rollercoaster not just because of its height and speed but also because of its central location. Not everyone who gets on The Big Apple Coaster is a diehard coasterhead. The ride’s specs are pretty balanced: exciting enough for seasoned riders but not too scary for the average rider.
As with any popular attraction, The Big Apple Coaster’s main drawback is its queue time. You can expect to wait up to one hour before getting your turn on the rollercoaster. And that, in Vegas time, is like five years.
But if you power through the 30 to 60-minute wait, you will experience everything the Big Apple Coaster has to offer. A view of the strip and the New York hotel, two inversions, and, of course, the thrill of zipping through 4,777 feet of steel tracks in 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
- The Big Apple Coaster is located at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino.
- It was formerly known as the Manhattan Express and then The Rollercoaster
- The ride has a maximum vertical angle of 55°
- The Big Apple Coaster has the biggest drop in Las Vegas.
2. Canyon Blaster
- Location: Adventuredome
- Date Opened: August 23, 1993
- Height: 94 ft
- Length: 2,423 ft
- Seating Capacity: 24 riders per train
- Drop: 66 ft
- Top Speed: 41 mph
- Ride duration: 1:30
Canyon Blaster is an indoor rollercoaster with a top speed of roughly 41 miles per hour. It features a double corkscrew, which is its biggest draw. It has a total of four inversions and a drop height of 66 feet
The ride’s first drop is much smaller than its main drop. It lulls you into a false sense of security, after which there is a slight curve before the main drop.
The entire experience lasts 1.5 minutes, during which you experience one track maneuver every 15 seconds (on average). So, in the sheer number of curves, turns, and airtime, this ride is among the top rollercoasters in Las Vegas.
It has an average wait time of 30 minutes on a good day and 45 minutes when the Adventuredome is crowded. Given that it is one of two rollercoasters at the amusement park, these queue times are surprisingly low.
You’ll love this ride if you are a fan of track maneuvers. The Canyon Blaster’s double loop and double corkscrew combo is iconic. If you’re after the biggest drop and the greatest speed, then this rollercoaster might not be your favorite.
That said, Las Vegas doesn’t have many rollercoasters, so riders can’t really afford to be picky.
- Canyon Blaster is one of two indoor rollercoasters in Las Vegas
- The ride is located at the second level of Adventuredome
- It has four inversions (most for a Las Vegas rollercoaster)
- The ride generates a G force of 3.5g
3. El Loco
- Location: Adventuredome
- Date Opened: February 18, 2014
- Height: 90 ft
- Length: 1,300 ft
- Seating Capacity: 4 riders per car
- Drop: 90 ft
- Top Speed: 45 mph
- Ride duration: 1:13
El Loco is Adventuredome’s second rollercoaster and the only one apart from Canyon Blaster. It has a decent 45 mph speed and a 90-foot drop.
The ride’s name translates to “The Lunatic,” which is an allegorical reference to its speed and track maneuvers. This ride isn’t ‘el loco’ by average coasterhead standards but is among the fastest rollercoasters in Las Vegas.
El Loco’s highlight is its near-90 drop (roughly 90 degrees), where riders nosedive towards the ground before getting rescued by the curved tracks that head towards a double dive loop. All of this is packed within a track length of 1,300 feet.
This ride lasts 1 minute and 13 seconds and has a height restriction of 48 inches. It is a must-ride for any coasterhead visiting Vegas, again, because it makes up 25% of the city’s rollercoasters.
Fans of speed and over inversions will love El Loco, but coasterheads who have experienced giga coasters may not be impressed.
- El Loco has the steepest vertical angle in the city
- It is located at Adventuredome (Circus Circus in Winchester, Las Vegas)
- The ride has two inversions and a 90-foot drop
4. Dragon Coaster
- Location: Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix
- Date Opened: August 2000
- Height: 9 ft
- Length: 523 ft
- Seating Capacity: 28 riders per train
- Top Speed: 8 mph
- Ride duration: 00:45
This rollercoaster is best for children and a skip for the average coaster head. It moves at a snail’s pace of 8 miles per hour for most of its 45-second duration. There are no note-worthy track maneuvers, so if you’re a fan of inversions and loops, this ride is definitely not for you.
It is located at Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix, where there are no other rollercoasters. So, if you skip this ride, you can remove Mini Gran Prix from your checklist. Instead, head over to Adventuredome, which houses two rollercoasters and is 11 minutes away from The Big Apple Coaster.
- The Dragon Coaster is located at the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix.
- It is the smallest and the slowest rollercoaster in the city.
