The 25 Most Significant Theme Park Rides This Century

2000–2004

Millennium Force, Cedar Point, 2000

What more appropriate way to start this list than with the giga coaster that defined the 2000s, Millennium Force? Cedar Point set the pace for the new millennium by opening the world’s first complete-circuit coaster over 300 feet tall.

This 310-foot-tall, 93-mph marvel broke five world records upon opening in May 2000, holding those titles for a few months until Steel Dragon 2000 opened at Nagashima Spa Land. Still, the 300-foot barrier was an incredible milestone for Intamin, Cedar Point, and the entire amusement industry. Superlatives aside, Millennium Force was widely regarded as the best roller coaster throughout much of the new millennium.

Similar coasters—such as Expedition GeForce at Plopsaland Deutschland or Intimidator 305, now known as Pantherian, at Kings Dominion—owe much to the monumental achievements of Millennium Force. Although sleeker attractions have opened since, the original giga coaster is still well respected. Its towering heights, relentless speeds, and graceful intensity continue to thrill riders a quarter of a century later.

Millennium Force is, without a doubt, one of the most significant theme park rides of the century.

Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, Tokyo Disneyland, 2000

Significant rides aren’t always massive record breakers. As a willy nilly, silly old bear once said, “Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” This next ride isn’t quite 300 feet tall, but it was just as massive for the industry.

Disney has long been at the forefront of dark ride innovation, and one in particular unlocked acres of potential. Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland was ahead of its time when it opened in September 2000. It may seem like a typical Disney attraction, but it was revolutionary by being the first modern, fully trackless dark ride.

Unlike traditional dark rides, which of course follow a track, trackless dark rides can nimbly maneuver across an open area. This technology allows ride vehicles to criss-cross around one another, change direction unexpectedly, and follow unique paths for individualized experiences.

The innovative ride system introduced by Pooh’s Hunny Hunt became the foundation for Disney’s next generation of premier attractions. Examples include Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Disney Adventure World and EPCOT, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park, as well as Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland, and others to be mentioned later.

Apart from being the first of its kind, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt is a well-produced attraction that’s overflowing with creativity, whimsy, and artistry. It holds up as a cherished attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, even to this day. Chances are, many riders would be surprised to learn Pooh’s Hunny Hunt is well over two decades old. It’s still an impressive attraction, has elevated the possibilities of dark rides forever, and has been significant for this century.

Soarin’ Over California, Disney California Adventure Park, 2001

Gliding back to the States, the next attraction cleared a popular ride system for takeoff back in 2001, Soarin’ Over California.

This opening-day attraction at Disney California Adventure revolutionized flying theater rides with its cantilever setup. This design allows riders to board the tiered system all on one level, making the loading process and the building’s configuration more efficient.

Soarin’ is a great example of how rides don’t have to be thrilling to be great. Riders of all ages can enjoy a gentle, wide-open sensory experience that simulates hang gliding over landscapes and landmarks for a breathtaking adventure. Its combination of IMAX-quality aerial footage, wind effects, relaxing motion simulation, arrangement of themed scents, and spectacular soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith make Soarin’ a special attraction.

The ride is, at this time, presented as Soarin’ Around the World, and various versions of the attraction have ascended at several Disney parks worldwide—the newest being as recent as 2019. Soarin’ influenced an entire genre of rides as flying theater attractions can be found at destinations across the globe.

Notably, during the planning for Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, director James Cameron suggested a “Soarin’ over Pandora” Banshee type of ride. Opening in 2017, Avatar Flight of Passage is a joyful sensory experience that built upon the uplifting ride type Soarin’ established.

Soarin’ has been significant by elevating the motion simulator ride type into the beloved, sensory-rich attractions of today.

Dodonpa, Fuji-Q Highland, 2001

The next attraction turned up the intensity by being the fastest roller coaster with the quickest acceleration in the world when it opened in late 2001, Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland.

This coaster, manufactured by S&S – Sansei Technologies, used a compressed air launch to reach over 100 mph in under 2 seconds. Its blazing-fast acceleration was like a rocket, launching into wide turns and a 171-foot top hat.

Dodonpa closed for significant modifications in 2016, reopening as Do-Dodonpa the following year with increased speed and quicker acceleration. The top hat was replaced by a 161-foot-tall vertical loop, making it the fastest coaster with an inversion in the world. Do-Dodonpa was a bucket list coaster for many enthusiasts.

Unfortunately, the coaster’s record-breaking feature led to its downfall. Several injuries, including nine reports of broken bones, forced the ride to shut down. It was left standing but not operating by mid-2021 until its permanent closure was announced in March 2024.

Despite closing under troubling circumstances, Dodonpa’s prime as a prominent launch coaster secures its rank among this century’s most significant rides.

X, Six Flags Magic Mountain, 2002

From one extreme ride to another, this next attraction took roller coaster engineering to a new dimension.

X—not the one formerly known as Twitter—opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in early 2002 as the first fourth-dimension roller coaster. This $45-million contraption of a coaster puts riders on the sides of the track, which has an additional set of rails that rotate the seats for coordinated flips. That feature intensifies the experience with ground-facing drops, disorienting inversions, and general chaos around every bend.

This concept came about because designer Alan Schilke had the idea to combine a Zipper fairground ride with a roller coaster. Needless to say, the risky idea actually worked, but it came at a cost. Due to complications during development, X was the final coaster manufactured by the legendary Arrow Dynamics, forcing the historic company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The previously mentioned S&S – Sansei Technologies, which acquired the assets of the bankrupt Arrow Dynamics, has built improved installations of the fourth-dimension model, such as the highly rated Eejanaika at Fuji-Q Highland.

The original, now known as X2, still operates at Magic Mountain; it has gotten some enhancements but still holds the same critical acclaim. X redefined what coasters can do. The innovation to turn a far-fetched idea into into a real-life coaster makes X one of the most significant rides from this century.

Air, Alton Towers, 2002

Continuing on, the next attraction refined a superpower in roller coaster design.

Opening in 2002, Air at Alton Towers was the first flying coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard. Other manufacturers had built flying coasters before, but B&M’s version was more sophisticated. This model smoothly suspends riders under the track in a horizontal position, facing downward like a flying sensation.

Air features graceful maneuvers that mimic soaring through the sky, instead of the standard elements used on previous flying coasters by another manufacturer. The layout flows with fly-to-lie elements, inverting the train on top of the track and putting riders on their backs.

This trick led to a signature element on B&M’s following flying coasters, the pretzel loop. First featured on Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Over Georgia, which opened less than a month after Air, pretzel loops send riders diving head-first into an extremely forceful moment on their backs along the ground until ascending into the flying position.

B&M flying coasters and their famous pretzel loops have become crowd-pleasing models around theme parks worldwide, including Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain and The Flying Dinosaur at Universal Studios Japan. Air has since been renamed to Galactica, now having modernized theming, but its significance this century in the world of roller coasters deserves recognition.

Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point, 2003

The early years of this century brought major innovation in coaster engineering, including some of the most powerful rides ever created. The theme park world raced to new speeds in 2002 with Xcelerator, an Intamin-produced hydraulic launch coaster at Knott’s Berry Farm. The ultra-intense launch of this Intamin Accelerator Coaster, reaching 82 mph in just 2.3 seconds, generated enough speed to crest over a 205-foot top hat.

As impressive and innovative as this coaster was, Intamin was capable of even faster speeds and taller heights. That brings us to the next entry on this list, Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.

Only a few short years after breaking the 300 foot barrier, Intamin topped the 400 foot milestone when the first strata coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, opened in 2003.

The 120-mph, 420-foot marvel lasted as the fastest and tallest coaster in the world until 2005 when another Intamin record-breaker, Kingda Ka, opened at Six Flags Great Adventure. No coaster beat Kingda Ka’s 456-foot height record in its almost 20 years of operation. That’s the significance of Intamin’s Accelerator Coaster model, which also broke the speed record once again with the 149-mph Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

Intamin’s hydraulic launch systems, while innovative and forceful enough to send a coaster train more than 400 feet in the air, have been notorious for their mechanical issues. Because of that, Kingda Ka has since been permanently closed; the original Top Thrill Dragster has been overhauled by another manufacturer, Zampela, to now feature an LSM launch system and backward spike.

Regardless, Top Thrill Dragster was significant for its milestones, elite ride experience, and longevity; it operated in its original form for nearly two decades and has many years ahead as Top Thrill 2.