The 25 Most Significant Theme Park Rides This Century

2005–2009

Expedition Everest, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, 2006

From one peak to another, the next attraction is a high point in roller coaster design and themed entertainment, Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Imagineers and Vekoma, the manufacturer, opened one of the most detailed and intricate attractions ever in April 2006 after six years of planning and construction. Expedition Everest is quite possibly the best of its kind, being a 21^st-century version of Disney’s classic mountain roller coaster format; at the very least, it’s the largest Disney mountain.

The course weaves in and around a convincingly fabricated, mountainous structure just shy of 200 feet tall, making it the highest-reaching attraction at Walt Disney World. The mountain is remarkable, and so is the coaster.

Expedition Everest is a well-regarded family coaster that’s gentle enough for timid riders, also having a few surprises that are exciting enough for thrill seekers too. It was the first Disney coaster to switch trains forward and backward mid-ride; that may seem like a novelty, but this feature is used as an adventurous storytelling element.

The ride is comfortably intense as well. Despite looking like a runaway train, Expedition Everest has a modern outboard rail track style; Vekoma typically manufactured inside-mounted rails, but this was their first large-scale installation of the smoother design, which is now a signature of their modern work.

All that considered, Expedition Everest was the most expensive coaster at the time of its opening, costing an estimated $100 million. That investment was worthwhile for the ride and establishing Animal Kingdom as a true Disney park, not just a zoo as some critics may have suggested.

Other recent Disney mountain coasters, such as Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars at Hong Kong Disneyland or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Shanghai Disneyland, have followed in the yeti-sized footsteps of Expedition Everest.

On the topic of the yeti, the ride’s monstrous animatronic famously does not work as intended, but even without that feature, Expedition Everest is a peak attraction in Disney history and across all theme parks this century.

The Voyage, Holiday World, 2006

Wooden roller coasters may seem old fashioned, but the world-class woodies of the 21^st century prove the ride type is timeless. Modern examples include the terrain-hugging Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce; the towering El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure; its South Korean sibling, T Express at Everland; Waldameer’s relentless Ravine Flyer II; or the inverting Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City.

None, however, seem to be as widely and consistently celebrated as Holiday World’s headlining attraction: The Voyage.

Manufactured by The Gravity Group in 2006, this is not your grandparents’ wooden coaster. The Voyage is a hybrid structure, having traditional wooden track and modern steel supports, but what makes this coaster stand out is its unmatched ride experience.

The name, The Voyage, fits the Thanksgiving-themed area in Holiday World, but it’s also an accurate description for that continuously chaotic layout. The Voyage is a full-on, fast-paced expedition deep into the woods, having seemingly unlimited momentum across more than 6,000 feet of track. It reaches some of the tallest heights and fastest speeds on any wooden coaster, hurtling through large drops, 90-degree banked turns, and nearly 25 record-breaking seconds of total airtime.

Holiday World’s flagship attraction is ranked atop the best wooden coasters in the world for good reason. From start to finish, The Voyage is a showcase of classic thrills with modern engineering, making it one of the most significant rides of this century.

Maverick, Cedar Point, 2007

Some roller coasters are significant for breaking records, which are just as incredible as the rides themselves. For a time, major regional parks were in an arm’s race to build bigger, faster coasters, until the park that started it all steered in another direction.

In 2007, Cedar Point opened a small-but-mighty coaster that was just as good as the record-breakers—or arguably better—without massive stats: Maverick. This 105-foot Blitz Coaster by Intamin may sit in the shadow of coasters four times its size, but Maverick is a reminder that coasters don’t need to break records to be good.

Its stats may not jump off the page, but Maverick is the definition of quality, having a picturesque setting and intense layout. At 70 mph, Maverick packs two launches, a 95-degree drop, snappy turns, and two inversions—not including the heartline roll, which was removed before opening.

Maverick is considered an elite coaster beyond just Cedar Point, making a big impact around the world with a relatively small stature. Despite lacking records, Maverick paved the way for the next era of better, but not always bigger, roller coasters.