VelociCoaster Top Speed: How Fast Can It Go & Is It The Fastest Coaster In The World?

As an Ohioan and avid rollercoaster rider, I've ridden my fair share of coasters, and the Jurassic World VelociCoaster is one that I've enjoyed very much. Ranked in the top five coasters in the world by Captaincoaster.com as of August 2025, the Jurassic World VelociCoaster is a steel rolling launch-type ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure with a top speed of 70 mph. 

To understand how the VelociCoaster works, you'll need to know something about the theme park engineering behind a launch roller coaster's incredible speed. Instead of a conventional lift hill, it uses a two-linear synchronous motor launch technology, the first launching the train to around 50 mph, and a midcourse boost pushing it from roughly 40 mph to about 70 mph in around 2.4 seconds. The track is set up for maximum speed, so the train can sustain its velocity, rather than having it peak and fade throughout the ride experience. It also has a 155-foot top hat element, a steep drop toward a lagoon, four inversions, and a barrel roll over open water. Its train braking is concentrated toward the end, so most of the run doesn't get interrupted.

Construction on the VelociCoaster began in 2019, and its grand opening was in June 2021 as a new headliner at Islands of Adventure. Having a top speed of 70 mph is pretty fast for a launch roller coaster in a major theme park, but it's not the fastest in the world or even in Florida, for that matter. According to Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa, the Iron Gwazi is among the most high-tech roller coasters in North America and is the tallest and world's fastest, and steepest hybrid coaster, with a top speed of 76 mph. 

Cedar Point's Top Thrill 2 roller coaster will have you firmly stuck in your seat with a speed of 120 mph, but the undisputed king of coasters is the global speed record holder, the Formula Rossa, with blistering speeds hovering around 149 mph. I can tell you from experience, it's well deserved. Even still, key VelociCoaster numbers are solid, beginning with its track length of about 4,700 feet, its peak element reaching a 155-foot top hat and steep drop back down to the lagoon. In addition, there are four inversions, including a long zero-g stall and a barrel roll over water. The magnetic launches are also controllable, smooth, and reduce moving parts, resulting in less wear compared to traditional roller coasters.

Top speed is the headline; the ride's real value comes from how the track uses that speed. Jurassic World's VelociCoaster strings together elements that suddenly change directions and load in a way that will separate you from your stomach and keep the screams coming the entire ride. It has quick transitions, sustained lateral G-forces that settle before the next move, and airtime moments that are intense but don't feel like you're being violently yanked out of your seat. 

Because the track is shaped over longer stretches, the forces turn on and off in controlled waves, so you feel a series of short acceleration bursts instead of one big hit followed by coasting, which is why the lap feels like a steady rhythm of speed instead of random jerks. For a change of pace, you can choose your seat for a different read of the track, front for a clear look into the top hat, or the back for a stronger pull on the drops and a sharper whip through the roll over the water. In other words, the speed number gets you to the dance; the total experience is what makes roller coaster thrill-seekers want to line up over and over again.