Scariest roller coasters in Asia

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As we ring in a new era of Disneyland, the shutters are coming down on Six Flags Magic Mountain – AKA Thrill Capital of the World – on 2nd November 2025. It’s tragic news indeed for those of us who are roller coaster fiends and won’t make it to the USA before then. All is not lost, however, because there are plenty of equally thrilling options on home turf – here are the scariest roller coasters in Asia you should go for, counting down from 10th place:

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10. Screaming Condor

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Shuttle coaster propelling riders 56m up and back

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Image credit: @godfreylin_ via Instagram

Leofoo Village Theme Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is home to the Screaming Condor – though its Chinese name 笑傲飛鷹 (xiào ào fēi yīng) literally translates to “Laughing Eagle”. We’re not sure who would be laughing on this roller coaster, which features a 1km-long, U-shaped track that goes 56m straight up at a 90° propulsion on one arm, and spiralling on the other.

In roller coaster terminology, that’s a vertical rollback, and twisted vertical rollback, with multi-passes through the point of embarkation. This back-and-forth, twisted version of a Viking ride goes on for 1.5 minutes, hitting a maximum speed of 105km/h. Writer’s note: I feel a little green writing about this, yet AI tells me the thrill factor of this ride is a measly 6.5/10.

Thrill factor: 6.5/10

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9. Insane Speed

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Floorless coaster with 5 inversions

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Also in Taiwan is Insane Speed, AKA 衝瘋飛車 (chōng fēng fēi chē), found in Janfusan Fancyworld theme park. Coming in at number 9 in Asia, this roller coaster is floorless, and clocks in 5 inversions, including loops, dive loops, and interlocking cockscrews – read: you’re going to be spinnin’ round and round. If you find a sense of security in grinding your feet into the floor of your roller coaster carriage, you might want to rethink taking this ride.

Similarly clocking in at 2 minutes, with a track that’s also 1km long, Insane Speed scores higher on the thrill factor thanks to the more complete roller coaster experience it offers, versus the repetitive, linear ride that is Screaming Condor.

Thrill factor: 7/10

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8. Diving Machine G5

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It’s time to try defying gravity

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You don’t have to go far to find the 8th scariest roller coaster in Asia – Diving Machine G5 is also found in Janfusan Fancyworld. Good news: it’s not floorless. The not so good news: there’s a 55m almost-vertical drop.

Image credit: @coasterforce via Instagram

At 87.5° steep, the face-down plunge, which you’ll be taking at a reported 110km/h, after being suspended on the edge for a neverending 7 seconds, will give you that heartstopping moment of weightlessness where you’ll truly be defying gravity.

Thrill factor: 7.5/10

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7. Gravity Max

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World’s first tilting coaster

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Roller coaster addicts, I think you guys just go straight to Taiwan lah. Because number 7 on this list is also found in Taiwan, at Lihpao Land in Taichung. The world’s first – or one of the world’s first – tilting coasters, Gravity Max will have you more weightless than Glinda with its 90° drop.

Image credit: @coaster_studios via Instagram

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of a tilting coaster, think of it as a platform you’re on, which then flips nose down. Very shortly after it’s locked into its vertical position, you’re released down a 35m drop, hitting speeds of 90km/h. You’ll shoot through a tunnel, and out into a 27m-tall loop, before spinning through a helix and grinding to a stop. Doesn’t sound so bad when you put it this way I suppose – just 2-plus minutes of losing your soul.

Thrill factor: 8/10

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6. Flying Aces

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Top Gun, Ferrari-style

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Image credit: @coasterforce via Instagram

We finally head out of Taiwan to Abu Dhabi, home of Ferrari World and soon, the world’s 7th Disneyland. You can’t hear Ferrari and think this will be some tame kiddo ride, and you are right. The Flying Aces is their first entrant on this list, and shows up in the form of a wing coaster, where riders sit on either side of the track with nothing above or below them, giving them a unique flying sensation and great views – if they have the sanity to appreciate this.

What to expect: the world’s tallest non-inverted loop at 63m, speeds of up to 120km/h, 1.5km worth of track, and a heartline roll to finish. Yup, it’s exactly what it sounds like – 360° rotations around the level of riders’ chests, giving rise to a sense of floating.

Thrill factor: 8.5/10

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5. Steel Dragon 2000

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Longest roller coaster in the world

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The absolute irony of the Steel Dragon 2000 is where it’s found – in Nagashima Spa Land, Japan. It takes a certain kind of spunk to think of taking roller coasters as a form of relaxation, methinks. When Steel Dragon 2000 was first introduced in the Y2K, it held the honours of being the fastest, tallest, and longest roller coaster in the world, though it’s been overtaken for the first 2.

Image credit: @darrenwang101

Scaling heights of 97m, with a drop of almost 94m, and top speed of 153km/h, this ride is a whopping 4 minutes long. For the record, Let It Go is only 3:43 minutes short. P.S.: this ride has no inversions, only lots of airtime from drops.

Thrill factor: 8.5/10

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4. Dinoconda

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4th-dimension spinning

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Writer’s note again: consider me more extinct than dinosaurs by this point. Dinoconda, found in the China Dinosaur’s Park in Jiangsu, China, comes in at fourth on this list of scariest roller coasters in Asia primarily because of its being a fourth-dimension roller coaster.

What is this fourth dimension? It’s the rotation of roller coaster riders independently of the track’s orientation. You’re looking at zero-gravity rolls, nearly 90° drops, and 14 360° free-flips at speeds of 126km/h; meanwhile the fourth-dimension means you’re also spinning every which way. I’m not sure you’ll know which way is up by the end of this ride.

Thrill factor: 9/10

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3. The Flying Dinosaur

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Roller coaster-ing on your belly

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Image credit: @lift.hills.and.launches via Instagram

The Pteranodons were the main act in Jurassic Park III, and at The Flying Dinosaur in Universal Studios Japan, they’re responsible for having “[seized] you from behind and [pulling] you high into the sky”.

Yes, you’ll be dropped thereafter, from a height of 38m, into a 100km/h zero-gravity roll, a helix, a pretzel loop, more twists, even what’s known as a fly-to-lie: you’re switched from a flying position to a lying position – belly down to belly up. You read that right – unlike the other coasters on this list, you start this ride in a prone position, laying flat on your carriage.

Thrill factor: 9/10

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2. T Express

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Asia’s best wooden coaster

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T Express in Everland, South Korea, is no ordinary mine train ride. It may not come with any inversions, but it packs a whole lotta scariest roller coaster in Asia punch. It comes with a 45m drop and speeds of 104km/h, plus vertical angles of 77°, making it the longest, fastest, and steepest wooden coaster in Asia. In terms of height, it’s right at the top worldwide.

Image credit: Samsung C&T

As of 2024, however, a portion of the tracks was replaced with steel, so it’s not completely a wooden coaster anymore. Still, you’ll experience airtime, AKA negative G-forces, 12 times on this ride.

Thrill factor: 9.5/10

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1. Eejanaika

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Guinness world record-holder: most inversions in a coaster

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Fuji-Q Highland in Japan is never far from the minds of roller coaster aficionados, and Eejanaika is the best of the best here, and in Asia too. Six Flags Magic Mountain had their X2, and Eejanaika is its 2.0: taller, faster, and longer. It’s a fourth-dimension roller coaster again, and shares the world record for most inversions in a ride – even if 11 of these are seat inversions. Take this as you will, but the independent rotations are controlled, rather than freely spinning.

Image credit: @rollycoaster via Instagram

There’s also an 89° vertical drop, which gets you to speeds of 126km/h; unsurprisingly, there are zero-G rolls, drops of 65m, and fly-to-lie flips.

Thrill factor: 10/10

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Bonus: Formula Rosso

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Formula One without the driving

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Image credit: @rollycoaster via Instagram

If you’d like to experience the thrills of being driven in a Formula One race, Formula Rosso is your best bet. Found in Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the world’s fastest roller coaster propels you to 240km/h in 4.9s, with riders feeling as much as 4.8 G-force during the ride.

At just over 2km in length, this track is the second-longest steel coaster in the world. It’s so fast, riders need to put on goggles to protect their eyes.

Naysayers, though, critique this ride’s lack of airtime hills and inversions, which makes it less thrilling a roller coaster than others on this list.

Thrill factor: 7/10

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These are the scariest roller coasters in Asia

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The clock is ticking on Six Flags Magic Mountain, but it’s okay, because there’s more than a fair share of scariest roller coasters in Asia too. Of course, this list is but the tip of the iceberg, and all of the theme parks listed have loads more rides for the more faint of heart. Here’s a summary of all the roller coasters above:

#	Coaster Name	Location	Asia Rank	Thrill Factor	Max Speed (km/h)	Height (m)	Track Length (m)	Ride Duration (min:sec)
1	Eejanaika	Fuji-Q Highland, Japan	1	10/10	126	76	1,153	2:10
2	T Express	Everland, South Korea	2	9.5/10	104	56.02	1,641	3:00
3	The Flying Dinosaur	Universal Studios Japan	3	9/10	100	46	1,124	3:00
4	Dinoconda	China Dinosaurs Park, China	4	9/10	126	69	1,058	2:30
5	Steel Dragon 2000	Nagashima Spa Land, Japan	5	8.5/10	153	97	2,479	4:00
6	Flying Aces	Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, UAE	6	8.5/10	120	63	1,500	2:30
7	Gravity Max	Lihpao Land, Taiwan	7	8/10	90	35	1,000	2:00
8	Diving Machine G5	Janfusun Fancyworld, Taiwan	8	7.5/10	110	55	1,000	2:00
9	Insane Speed	Janfusun Fancyworld, Taiwan	9	7/10	86	40	1,000	2:00
10	Screaming Condor	Leofoo Village Theme Park, Taiwan	10	6.5/10	105	56	1,000	2:00

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• Places to visit in Thailand outside of BKK
• 1-day Singapore itinerary for tourists & bored locals

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This post was brought to you by Changi Recommends. [Note: This promo has since ended and the promotions featured in this article may no longer be available.]
Originally published on 31st October 2016, and last updated on 15th May 2025.