A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least 200 feet (61 m).[1][2] The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, which features a height of 205 feet (62 meters). The next hypercoaster, Pepsi Max Big One, opened five years later at Blackpool Pleasure Beach featuring a height of 213 feet (65 m).
Other roller coaster manufacturers may or may not recognize the term hypercoaster when naming their models. Intamin calls their hypercoaster model a Mega Coaster, and Bolliger & Mabillard labels theirs a Hyper Coaster. The competition between amusement parks to build increasingly taller roller coasters eventually led to the next height classification for roller coasters known as giga coasters, which have a height or drop measuring at least 300 feet (91 m). This was soon followed by the world's first strata coasters – exceeding 400 feet (120 m) – with the release of Top Thrill Dragster in 2003.
- ^ "When Brain Trauma Is at the Other End Of the Thrill Ride". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
- ^ "Millennium Force: The Hypercoaster Rules No More". Thrillride.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2011-05-12.