Have one last wild fling at summer and plan a timeshare rental vacation where you can get the adrenalin rush of an extreme roller coaster ride. This is the last of our 3-Part series on exploring the best roller coasters in America as suggested by Arthur Levine, a travel writer and self-proclaimed "theme park-aholic." In Part 3 we are going to explode into the best of the Extreme roller coasters - these are what Levine calls the "merciless" ones.
Top Roller Coaster Rides – Part 1 (Mild Rides)
Top Roller Coaster Rides – Part 2 (Intermediate Rides)
(Photo courtesy of orlandorollercoaster.com)
- Rent an Orlando timeshare and head to Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando for a wild ride on The Incredible Hulk (see photo). "Not for the faint of heart," says Levine, "you haven't truly lived until you've experienced The Incredible Hulk's wild and unique uphill launch. It accelerates to 40 mph in approximately 2 seconds and then speeds through several inversions. When it opened in 1999 it featured the world's tallest cobra roll at 110 feet.
- A Boston timeshare rental will put you less than an hour's drive from Six Flags New England in Springfield, MA. This is where you'll find Bizarro, a hypercoaster of the best kind - it keeps you screaming up until the last second when the magnetic brakes slam on. "The high-speed first drop is pure coaster nirvana," says Levine. With a 70-degree angle of decent the train accelerates to nearly 80 mph. This amazing coaster has a height of 208 feet, but drops you 221 feet - straight into an underground, fog-enshrouded tunnel!
- Just an hour's drive from either a timeshare rental in New York City or an Atlantic City timeshare rental, the extreme coaster, Kingda Ka, is thrilling crowds at Six Flags Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. This "strata coaster" is currently the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. The train is launched by a hydraulic launch mechanism to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. At the end of the launch track, the train climbs the main tower, reaching a height of 456 feet.
- Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion, in Doswell, Virginia, is just over an hour from your Williamsburg, Virginia timeshare rental. Only one of currently three giga coasters in the world it opened in April, 2010. It's the tallest of its type on the East Coast (launch coasters can be taller, but this is the tallest of the traditional gravity driven coaster using a cable to pull it to the top). The first drop is 300 feet at an astounding 85-degree angle, and is the fastest coaster of its type in North America, getting up to 90mph.
Top Roller Coaster Rides – Part 1 (Mild Rides)
Top Roller Coaster Rides – Part 2 (Intermediate Rides)
(Photo courtesy of orlandorollercoaster.com)
Holy Buckets! Look at that Picture - are you KIDDING Me???!!!