Fear at Great America comes from four things: a beyond-vertical drop, a launch, a hold at the top of a tower, and a long free-fall. The park is intense for the Midwest. Its top rides genuinely rival bigger-name parks, and nothing in its lineup is a pushover once you pass the 48-inch line.
This ranking orders the rides by how intense they feel: first-drop angle, launch, inversions, holds and free-fall, weighted by how hard each one hits a first-timer. Heights, speeds and height requirements come from the park’s own ride pages on sixflags.com. Where the park page gave no figure or disagreed with RCDB, I used RCDB or say so. I left out rides whose current details I could not read on an official page, so this is a partial ranking of the rides I could verify, not a full inventory of the park.
Stats at a Glance
- Scariest Ride: Wrath of Rakshasa
- Tallest Drop: 208 ft (63 m) — Raging Bull (RCDB; coaster drop). The Giant Drop tower stands 227 ft (69 m) tall
- Fastest Ride: 78 mph (126 km/h) — Maxx Force
- Most Inversions: 5 — Wrath of Rakshasa (X-Flight is also listed with 5 by RCDB)
The Ranking, Most Intense First
1. Wrath of Rakshasa (dive coaster, 48–78 in). 180 ft (55 m) tall, 171 ft (52 m) drop at a beyond-vertical 96°, nearly 67 mph (108 km/h), 5 inversions. What makes it intense: the train hangs face-first over the edge before the drop. The park calls it the steepest and most inverted dive coaster in the world. What it feels like: you look straight down at the ground, then fall past vertical into a run of loops with no time to recover.
2. Maxx Force (launch coaster, 48 in minimum). 175 ft (53 m) tall, 0 to 78 mph (126 km/h) in under 2 seconds. What makes it intense: a compressed-air launch billed by the park as the fastest in North America. What it feels like: a sudden shove into the seat back, then a fast run of inversions before your brain catches up. The park’s page counts five inversions and RCDB counts four, so treat ‘four to five’ as the safe answer.
3. Goliath (wooden coaster, 48 in minimum). 165 ft (50 m) lift hill, 180 ft (55 m) drop at 85°, 72 mph (116 km/h). What makes it intense: it is billed as the tallest and steepest wooden coaster drop, and it includes a dive loop and zero-G stall (RCDB counts two inversions). What it feels like: a nearly vertical plunge followed by floating airtime and sharp overbanked turns.
4. The Flash: Vertical Velocity (impulse coaster, 52–80 in). 185 ft (56 m) tower and 70 mph (113 km/h) per RCDB, which lists the tower’s vertical angle as 90°; neither RCDB nor the park page gives a separate drop length, so no drop figure is quoted here. What makes it intense: a launch up a twisted spike tower, then a backward run up a vertical tower and a totally vertical free fall, as the park describes it. What it feels like: short, sharp and disorienting, with a moment hanging near the top before you drop.
5. Giant Drop (drop tower, 48 in minimum). 227 ft (69 m) tower, 62 mph (100 km/h) claimed by the park. What makes it intense: pure free-fall airtime with no track to soften it. What it feels like: the floor disappears and your stomach stays behind for the whole drop.
6. Raging Bull (hyper coaster, 54 in minimum). 202 ft (62 m) tall, 208 ft (63 m) drop per RCDB, 73 mph (117 km/h), 65° first drop, no inversions. What makes it intense: a very tall first drop followed by big hills for airtime. What it feels like: a long, fast, floaty ride that thrills more than it frightens.
7. X-Flight (wing coaster, 52–78 in). About 120 ft (37 m) tall, 55 mph (88 km/h), 5 inversions per RCDB. What makes it intense: the inversions, taken with your feet dangling and no floor or track around you. What it feels like: exposed and airy, especially when you fly close to the structure on the keyhole and roll elements.
8. The Joker (spinning-seat coaster, 48–77 in). About 120 ft (37 m) tall, 54 ft (16 m) drop and 38 mph (61 km/h) per RCDB, which lists it as an S&S 4D Free Spin model. What makes it intense: the park describes a 12-story, 90-degree first hill, and the seats flip you while the track itself stays level. It has no track inversions, only seat flips. What it feels like: slow by coaster standards but disorienting, because you are spun sideways and upside down.
9. Superman: Ultimate Flight (flying coaster, 54 in minimum). 115 ft (35 m) climb, 50 mph (80 km/h), 2 inversions, 50° drop. What makes it intense: you are face-down and head-first for the whole ride. What it feels like: you fly in a pretzel loop, and the dive to the ground is more startling than fast.
10. Demon (looping coaster, 48 in minimum). About 10 stories tall, 45 mph (72 km/h) per the park (RCDB lists 50 mph / 80 km/h), 4 inversions including a double corkscrew. What makes it intense: the tight, quick loops from 1976. What it feels like: a compact, old-school looper that is over quickly.
11. American Eagle (wooden racing coaster, 48 in minimum). 127 ft (39 m) lift hill, 147 ft (45 m) drop, over 66 mph (106 km/h). What makes it intense: speed and a long, drop-heavy course on a classic wooden layout. What it feels like: a big, old-fashioned wooden ride that shakes you around more than it flips you.
12. Viper (wooden coaster, 48 in minimum). About 10 stories tall, 55 mph (88 km/h), rated a 4 out of 5 by the park. What makes it intense: a cyclone-style layout of dark, banked drops. What it feels like: a fast, twisty, rattly wooden ride that stays low to the ground.
13. Whizzer (steel spiral coaster, 42 in minimum). Speeds over 45 mph (72 km/h), rated a 3 out of 5 by the park. What makes it intense: mild speed on sweeping spiral turns. What it feels like: a friendly rite-of-passage coaster with no real drop or inversion to fear.
Intense vs Rough: Know the Difference
The genuinely thrilling rides are the modern ones, where the fear comes from the design: Wrath of Rakshasa, Maxx Force, Goliath, The Flash: Vertical Velocity, Giant Drop, Raging Bull and X-Flight. On those, the frightening moments are meant to be frightening.
The Joker is intense in a different way: it is disorienting because the seats flip, not because it is fast or rough. Rides such as Demon, American Eagle and Viper are older designs, and rider consensus is that classic steel loopers and wooden coasters can leave you rattled rather than thrilled. I did not measure ride roughness and could not verify it from an official source, so treat that as general rider opinion, not a fact about a specific ride today. Goliath is an exception among the wooden coasters and is generally regarded as smooth for its size.
If You Are Nervous, Start Here
Start with Whizzer, the mildest ride in this ranking (42 in minimum). It gives you speed and curves with no drop or inversion. Next, try Viper (48 in minimum) for a first taste of drops and airtime on a wooden coaster that stays close to the ground. Third, try American Eagle (48 in minimum) for a much bigger drop with no inversions. If you are unsure about anything, the park’s own ride pages list height requirements. Check them for the current supervising-companion wording, because I did not read that wording in full. Do not assume a companion lets a child ride below a ride’s minimum.
The one to skip if you are nervous: Wrath of Rakshasa. The face-first hold and beyond-vertical drop are the exact things that make a nervous rider regret the queue.
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Scariest Rides at Six Flags Great America FAQs
What is the scariest ride at Six Flags Great America?
Wrath of Rakshasa. It is a dive coaster with a 96° beyond-vertical drop, a face-first hold at the top, nearly 67 mph (108 km/h) and 5 inversions, with a 48–78 in height requirement. Maxx Force, with its 0 to 78 mph (126 km/h) launch, is a close second.
Which ride at Six Flags Great America has the biggest drop?
Among coasters, Raging Bull has the biggest drop I could verify at 208 ft (63 m), according to RCDB. Giant Drop is a separate case: the tower is 227 ft (69 m) tall and the ride is a free-fall. Goliath drops 180 ft (55 m) at 85°, and Wrath of Rakshasa drops 171 ft (52 m) at 96°. The Flash: Vertical Velocity has a 185 ft (56 m) tower and a vertical free fall, but I could not find a verified drop length for it, so I am not quoting one.
What is a good first thrill ride at Six Flags Great America?
Whizzer (42 in minimum) is the gentlest of the rides I verified, with speeds over 45 mph (72 km/h) and no inversions. Viper (48 in minimum) is a good second step, and American Eagle (48 in minimum) is a good third before you try the bigger rides.
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Photo: Jonrev / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.