Roller coasters: the heart-pounding giants of amusement parks. We usually think of the tallest, fastest, or loopiest rides. But what about the wonderfully weird? Some coasters throw the rulebook out the window, offering experiences so strange you’ll question if they’re real or just a wild dream. Get ready to explore ten roller coasters from across the world that proudly march to the beat of their own strange, clanking drum!
10 Cobra
Shuttle-Loop coasters are park classics, known for delivering a quick, looping thrill. They typically launch you through a loop and up a slope, or pull you up a backward lift. But Cobra, at Conny-Land in Switzerland, takes a different path. Instead of a simple slope to burn off speed, this ride features a unique element called the “Scorpion Tail.” Riders are twisted upside-down diagonally before zipping through the loop again. Built by Pax Company and opened in 2010, Cobra even introduced new trains in 2020 where some riders face each other, adding another layer of shared, disorienting fun.
9 Der Schwur des Kärnan
At first glance, Der Schwur des Kärnan in Germany’s Hansa Park looks like a fairly standard, albeit impressive, hypercoaster. It stands 239 feet tall and hits speeds of 78 mph. But its weirdness is cleverly hidden. As the train ascends the 90-degree chain lift, it doesn’t just go up. Near the top, it unexpectedly drops you backward before climbing the rest of the way for real this time! And just when you think the ride is over, after the final brakes, Kärnan surprises you with a secret barrel roll hidden inside its fortress structure. Talk about a thrilling plot twist!
8 Time Traveler
Next, we journey to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, to meet Time Traveler. This coaster truly lives up to its name. Why? It combines so many disorienting elements: spinning cars, a high-speed Linear Synchronous Motor launch right out of the station, a 90-degree drop, and three upside-down moments. Built by Mack Rides in 2018, it was the world’s only Extreme Spinning Coaster model for a few years. Riders love the unpredictable spinning combined with intense forces, making you feel like you’ve jumped through time itself.
7 Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain
Staying in the U.S., we find the Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain at Indiana Beach. What makes this wooden coaster so odd? Instead of typical trains, riders are enclosed in mine carts, facing each other! These carts then navigate a chaotic track, weaving in and out of an artificial mountain built over Lake Schafer. Even weirder, this ride replaced an old dark ride. In 2002, the park manager decided to gut the mountain and cram a wooden coaster inside. The result is a one-of-a-kind, bumpy adventure where you share terrified glances with your fellow miners.
6 Orphan Rocker
This Australian coaster is unique because it never officially opened to the public! The Orphan Rocker, built in 1988 at Scenic World, had several peculiar features. It offered stunning views from the edge of a 700-foot cliff. Its seats swung back and forth, even though they were on top of the track. And its name? It was built G-EuZBJuaBw near Orphan Rock mountain. Perhaps the strangest part is that Scenic World staff designed and built it themselves, rather than using an established manufacturer. Sadly, tests showed it was too rough or inconsistent for riders. Attempts to fix it continued until 2004, but demolition began in 2017, leaving it a legend.
5 Tower of Terror
Located at Gold Reef City in South Africa, the Tower of Terror might seem like a typical Dive Coaster, known for holding riders before a 90-degree plunge. However, this one drops you into an actual, decommissioned gold mine shaft! The tower structure itself was moved from an old mine. Instead of a chain lift, a single piece of track carrying the car ascends on an elevator within the mine shaft. And the drop isn’t straight down; it twists slightly, leveling out at an angle and subjecting riders to a park-claimed 6 Gs of force! That’s truly intense.
4 Unknown Coaster at Kathmandu Funpark
Our next stop is Nepal, and another quirky Shuttle-Loop. This coaster at Kathmandu Funpark, built around 2004, is shrouded in mystery due to the park’s limited online presence. It’s one of three rides from Parkash Amusements. What set this blue coaster apart? While it followed the typical Shuttle-Loop pattern – lift hill, drop, loop, and another slope – it allegedly didn’t have an automatic lift hill. Reports claim the operator had to manually pull the car up using a lever! This enigmatic ride unfortunately closed in the 2010s, though a similar model in India apparently has an automatic lift.
3 Gravity Max / 搶救地心
Ah, Gravity Max! This Taiwanese coaster from Discovery World is practically a legend in clickbait videos, and for good reason. Built by Vekoma in 2002, the ride itself is mostly a standard corkscrew model after its unique lift. The real showstopper is its 114-foot lift hill. Similar to Tower of Terror, the train ascends on a piece of track that’s like an elevator. Then, the entire track section, with riders on it, tilts downward a full 90 degrees, holding everyone face-down before releasing them into the drop. It’s designed to make you think you’re about to fall off the track, and Vekoma only ever made one like it!
2 Roller Ball
Wiener Prater in Austria is an unusual park where different showmen operate their own rides. Roller Ball, run by Kern and Waldmann, is a standout for its weirdness. This coaster model suspends riders on the side of the track, not above or below. As the car winds down a compact, serpentine track, it flips riders back and forth. Built in 2020 by Ride Engineers Switzerland, Roller Ball is one of three of its kind, using its vertical design to fit into a small space. It’s a dizzying, flipping good time that’s definitely not for the faint of stomach.
1 Sequoia Magic Loop
And for our grand finale of weirdness, we head to Gardaland in Italy for Sequoia Magic Loop. This ride, built in 2005 by S&S Sansei, features a unique inversion called the “Saxophone.” What’s a Saxophone, you ask? Imagine a roller coaster flipping you completely upside down… and then just staying there, traveling a significant distance while you’re inverted, before flipping right-side up again. Sequoia Magic Loop does this not once, not twice, but three times! It’s arguably one of the most disorienting and eye-catching coasters on the planet, potentially hanging riders upside down longer than any other.
These roller coasters prove that thrills can come in all sorts of strange and wonderful packages. From backward drops to tilting tracks and manual lifts, the world of amusement rides is full of creative, if sometimes baffling, engineering!
Which of these weird roller coasters would you dare to ride? Or do you know of any others that deserve a spot on this list? Leave your comment below!
