Steel Dragon 2000
The ride's 97-meter lift hill and the first few camelback hills
Nagashima Spa Land
Location	Nagashima Spa Land
Coordinates	35°01′52″N 136°43′48″E / 35.031156°N 136.730078°E / 35.031156; 136.730078
Status	Operating
Opening date	1 August 2000 (2000-08-01)
Cost	$52,000,000 USD
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
Designer	Steve Okamoto
Track layout	Out and back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	97 m (318 ft)
Drop	93.5 m (307 ft)
Length	2,479 m (8,133 ft)
Speed	152.9 km/h (95.0 mph)
Inversions	0
Duration	4:00
Max vertical angle	68°
G-force	3.5
Height restriction	140–185 cm (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 1 in)
Trains	Multiple trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
Trains built by	Bolliger & Mabillard
Steel Dragon 2000 at RCDB

Steel Dragon 2000 (スチールドラゴン2000, Suchīru Doragon Nisen) is a steel roller coaster located at Nagashima Spa Land amusement park in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Built by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, Steel Dragon opened to the public on August 1, 2000. It takes its name from Chinese astrology and zodiac calendars in which the year 2000 represents the dragon. It broke several world records upon its debut, becoming the longest roller coaster in the world with a track length of 2,479 metres (8,133 ft), as well as the tallest and fastest among complete-circuit coasters. It remains the longest, and with a maximum speed of nearly 153 km/h (95 mph), it is among the fastest featuring a traditional lift hill.

History

In November 1999, Nagashima Spa Land announced that they would be building Steel Dragon 2000. It would be the second giga coaster to be built, following Millennium Force at Cedar Point.^[1]

Steel Dragon 2000 officially opened to the general public on August 1, 2000.

The ride originally featured trains built by Morgan. In 2013, Steel Dragon 2000 received new trains from Bolliger & Mabillard.^[2][3]

Layout

Out of the station, the track makes a right hand turn onto the lift hill. Due to the length of the lift hill, it utilizes two chains with separate motors. At the crest of the lift hill, the track plummets down a 307 feet (94 m) drop to the ground, before passing over a 252 feet (77 m) tall airtime hill. After this hill, the track rises over a 210 feet (64 m) tall hill before dropping to the right into a pair of helixes, the first one being clockwise and the second being counterclockwise. Following the second helix, the track maneuvers through the supports of the first helix and third hill and makes a left turn into the midcourse brakes, which start the return trip.

The return trip consists of a series of airtime hills, running parallel to the outbound track, before hitting the final brake run next to the base of the lift hill. From the brake run, trains pass through the transfer track and storage area before making a sweeping left turn to return to the station.

Design

• Much more steel was used to build Steel Dragon 2000 compared with most other rollercoasters. This was for earthquake protection. This is part of the reason the coaster cost over US$50 million to build.^[4]
• The ride includes two tunnels.

Records

• Fifth tallest steel roller coaster in the world at 318.3 feet (97.0 m) tall. It is behind Kingda Ka, Top Thrill Dragster, Red Force and Fury 325.
• Fifth longest roller coaster drop at 306.8 feet (93.5 m).^[5]
• World's longest roller coaster since August 2000.^[6]

Incident

On August 23, 2003, a sheared axle caused one of the trains to lose a wheel. A passenger suffered a serious back injury and a 28-year-old man swimming in the water park pool was injured when he was hit in the hip with the 32 centimetres (13 in) wheel.^[7][8] The ride was closed for over three years and reopened on September 3, 2006.^[9]

Awards