Is Universal's VelociCoaster still the world's best roller coaster?

Yes.

No.

It's the best roller coaster that most enthusiasts and users of TPI have been on, considering that most of us live in Orlando. I'm sure if you bought me a flight and ticket to Europa Park, I'd like Voltron way better than Velocicoaster. It's just unlikely that every voter has been on ride to happiness, Velocicoaster, Voltron, Fury 325, steel vengeance, Iron Gwazi, stardust racers, and any other major roller coaster outside of the U.S.

Just got back from my yearly riding of Velocicoaster and it still is my favorite. My son and I have found that a year is just enough time to forget every turn so it's like riding for the first time again. That last barrel roll over the water is just amazing. I've also only ever been on it at night, so maybe that makes it more thrilling.

Best I've been on.

"It's the best roller coaster that most enthusiasts and users of TPI have been on"

That might be true for some TPI contributors/users, but I'd say most real coaster and theme park enthusiasts have experienced a wide array of coasters that would almost certainly include one of the handful that are often ranked higher than Velocicoaster like Fury 325, Steel Vengeance, Iron Gwazi, Ride to Happiness, Voltron, Zadra, Toutatis, and others. Certainly folks who only have experience with the domestic destination parks would likely rank Velocicoaster #1, but if you are a true enthusiast, you've been to way more parks.

But Russel, what if you're an enthusiast who doesn't have the budget for international trips?

I put Ride to Happiness and Iron Gwazi above Velocicoaster in my list, but Voltron below it.
Fury is still my #1 :)

@AngryDuck - That's fine, and everyone is entitled to their option. That's not to say Velocicoaster isn't a great coaster, and just like how Disney attractions are naturally rated higher simply because more people have experienced them, it gets a slight boost in the rankings because so many more people have ridden it compared to top European and Asian coasters.

We all have blind spots (I haven't ridden Zadra, Ride to Happiness, Hyperia, and many others), but arguments like this and other rankings should encourage those of us who haven't ridden what others consider to be the "best" to get to more parks in he future. The way I look at it, if you have enough money to visit the US destination parks on a regular basis (especially at the prices Disney, and by extension Universal are charging these days), you should have enough resources to take an international trip every few years in lieu of a domestic one.

IMO, VelociCoaster was never truly the best coaster ever (and isn't even the best coaster in Florida at present), but I fully understand why it has that title given the makeup of the voter pool on this site. Given that most enthusiasts seem to rank VelociCoaster in their top five and Stardust Racers more top twenty, I'm not betting on it getting dethroned, but I could see a newness bias potentially bumping it off the top spot. I'd be very surprised if anything else got it, even with the rave reception Siren's Curse got this year (and AlpenFury, but I'm guessing few TPI readers made it up there this year).

For the first time since 2007, I unfortunately did not get on a single new major coaster in 2025 for reasons I'll not discuss here, but I'll go ahead and do my annual posting of my current top twenty (out of over 700 I've ridden)...

1. Fury 325 (Carowinds)
2. Voyage (Holiday World)
3. Steel Vengeance (Cedar Point)
4. Hakugei (Nagashima Spa Land)
5. Pantherian (Kings Dominion)
6. Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
7. Iron Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)
8. VelociCoaster (Universal Studios Islands of Adventure)
9. F.L.Y. (Phantasialand)
10. Taron (Phantasialand)
11. Schwur des Karnan (Hansa-Park)
12. Maverick (Cedar Point)
13. El Toro (Six Flags Great Adventure)
14. Expedition GeForce (Plopsaland Deutschland)
15. Twisted Colossus (Six Flags Magic Mountain)
16. Wildcat's Revenge (Hersheypark)
17. Lightning Rod (Dollywood)
18. Skyrush (Hersheypark)
19. Twisted Timbers (Kings Dominion)
20. Outlaw Run (Silver Dollar City)

"In AJ we trust."

AJ, that is an impressive list and although I haven't ridden most (I've ridden 8 and I have NO excuse for not riding Iron Gwazi as I live in Orlando -- it's just that Busch is no longer a day trip for me and I HATE I-4!) Anyway, I can't disagree with your list. And love seeing SkyRush. Have never understood the hate for that ride.

I've started coming around on Skyrush after the restraint changes (I have it at #39 on my list). However, I still think Pantherian (formerly Intimidator/Project 305) is miles better and not nearly as "whippy". My current top 20 is...

1. Voltron (Europa Park)
2. Iron Gwazi (BGT)
3. Velocicoaster (IOA)
4. Steel Vengeance (Cedar Point)
5. Alpen Fury (Canada's Wonderland)
6. Fury 325 (Carowinds)
7. Pantherian (KD)
8. Lightning Rod (Dollywood) - LSM lift (haven't ridden with the new lift yet)
9. Pantheon (BGW)
10. El Toro (SFGAdv)
11. F.L.Y. (Phantasialand)
12. Leviathan (Canada's Wonderland)
13. Iron Rattler (SFFT)
14. Taron (Phantasialand)
15. Alpengeist (BGW)
16. TT2 (Cedar Point)
17. Manta (SWO)
18. The Smiler (Alton Towers)
19. Helix (Leiseberg)
20. Cannibal (Lagoon)

Velocicoaster is the best.

It's not the most intense but with it's themeing and narrative, it's the single best rollercoaster as a single, unified experience.

Voltron is great but too rough, I'd like Velocicoaster much more. It's personal preference.

@Russell - some of us can't even afford to visit US destination parks, so foreign parks are out of the question. Although I did manage to visit two parks in the UK back when I had a job, now that my income is below the poverty level I'm struggling to raise the money to visit Universal in order to find out why VelociCoaster is so popular. I'd really like to ride Hagukei, Voltron and Zadra but that would be even more expensive. I think that people who are well off have no conception of how it is to be under severe financial constraints.

@Bobbie - My comment was in no way meant to disparage those on fixed or low incomes, but was more aimed at those who spend thousands of dollars to visit Orlando and/or SoCal every year (or multiple times in the same year) and then claim it's too expensive to travel abroad (one of the main reasons why I dislike DVC though understand why some folks commit to that program). Unless you physically live in one of those regions, visiting parks in Central Florida and SoCal can be just as expensive (and sometimes even more expensive) than traveling to parks in Europe or Asia. Even if you do live in those regions, the costs to visit the top parks are often double or triple the cost of admission to foreign parks, and the US domestic parks are only getting more and more expensive to visit and enjoy with all the crowds or upcharges to mitigate them.

While I understand there are people who cannot financially afford even occasional trips to the domestic destination parks, I feel that if you can afford regular trips to Orlando and/or SoCal, you probably have the financial means to spend a week's vacation in Europe or Asia every 3-5 years.