We’ve had the megacoaster, the hypercoaster and the mighty gigacoaster and ever since the 4th of May 2003, coaster enthusiasts all over the world have enjoyed the eye-popping experience of Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster, the world’s first strata coaster. Two years after their mighty creation, Intamin AG gifted Six Flags the world’s second stratacoaster – and its tallest too. Kingda Ka is 456ft tall which is just 36ft more than the Dragster, but still enough to steal the Dragster’s title. The Dragster reaches a maximum speed of 120mph with Kingda Ka beating that just by 8mph. It might not seem like much in numbers but you’ll certainly notice the difference if you actually pluck up the courage (and queue-enduring patience) to try out both these rides.

With the heights of the only two currently existing stratacoasters, it’s pretty easy to grasp the definition of the word: a stratacoaster is one whose height lies between 400ft and 499ft. If this raises any questions about ‘Superman: The Escape’of Six Flags, which stands 415ft high bear in mind that the Superman doesn’t have a closed circuit. Passengers simply fall back the way they go up.

The best thing about both these coasters is that if you ride it during a thunderstorm you have a chance to get struck by lightning! No, that’s just a joke. Neither rides operate while it rains.