The race for the planet's tallest and fastest steel coaster has raged on ever since Cedar Point of Sandusky, Ohio introduced the first ride to break the 20-story height mark - the Magnum XL-200 which opened to worldwide fame in 1989. And, 11 years later, the same park brought to life Millennium Force, the first 'Giga-Coaster' breaking 30 stories in height. The same year, 2000, a mammoth steel coaster rose up at a park accross the ocean, topping off Millennium Force for height, speed and length and going down as the #1 record-breaker in all three of those categories at 318' in height, 95-MPH in speed, and 8,133' in length. Making it's home at Nagashima SpaLand in Nagashima, Japan Steel Dragon 2000 is named for the year of the Dragon, 2000, and lives up to it. The Giga-Coaster comes from D.H. Morgan Manufacturing (now known as Chance-Morgan) and stays similar to that manufacturer's previous 200'+ coasters in following an out & back layout, but the similarities end there.

The trip starts off with a bend out of the station, then the world's tallest lift hill begins. And where the Millennium Force reaches the top in a matter of seconds, Steel Dragon gives riders plenty of time to take in the surroundings. But then, at last, the Dragon gets to the good stuff, beginning the 68-degree, 310' plunge back down. The following Camelback Hump is a Morgan tradition, only 100 feet higher than any of their previous creations in this case, topping off at over 25 stories. Next up is the turnaround element, beginning with a swoop curve 200 feet in depth, then a unique combo of inclined helices sweeping up and around to the right, then the opposite direction. The track then banks around to the left and swerves around a U-turn, and trains soon navigate their way around supports to the mid-point blocking brake section. Now, while your typical Chance-Morgan-designed Hyper ride features a straight run of hops back to the station, Steel Dragon takes riders over eight of these airtime treats. After the hop, a tunnel takes thrillseekers over a maneuver in darkness in pitch black. After number three and four of the humps, a second tunnel follows and leads the ride back to the station area.