I have so many questions...
Seeing as how several of you are bewildered by my choice of coasters, I'll explain the controversial picks.
2. Intimidator 305. I only rode this coaster once in the summer of 2017, and
I favor intensity above everything else in a coaster. I like some non-intense coasters too, but I found it mental how I305's first turn nearly made me greyout as I'd expected it to. Combine that with the relentless pacing, and how every S-curve throws your body from one side of the train to the other, and for me it's my
favorite steel coaster of all time.
5. Mindbender. This is a super underrated gem that I see
@CanobieFan also loves. Similarly to I305, Mindbender's first 2 vertical loops offer an
insane sustained force of 5.3Gs. The twisted, snappy dive down from the indoor ceiling makes for
one of my favorite coaster drops ever. It's a relentlessly paced ride (and a long one at that), features lots of swift directional changes but not on the level of I305/Maverick's, and has an ejector pop that can still be felt through the bulky restraint system. And oh, if you lean back on the restraints/make sure your ears are above the accordions of death (aka horrible OTSRs), then you are guaranteed an incredible ride!
9. The Beast. A legendary night ride that shocked me so much is why this coaster is where it is. I'd waited 50 minutes for this coaster, the longest I'd wait at Kings Island, and expected a rough, boring and painful wooden coaster as many others had told me it was. But I soon grew to enjoy the bouncy roughness that makes you feel like you're flying at a hundred miles an hour, on your 7,000+ foot journey through what felt like a national forest at night. The helix at the end glued me to the side of my seat for its entirety, and is one of my favorite moments on a wooden coaster up there with Voyage's third down (3rd dip on the triple down that sends you FLYING), Phoenix's airtime buffet finale, and Mine Blower's inversion & double down duo.
10. Phoenix. Knoebels is my favorite amusement park of all time, shockingly, as I'd expected Cedar Point to easily top this seemingly small and family-owned amusement park. But I came out of Cedar Point a bit disappointed, yet I came out of Knoebels stunned. Phoenix was my 100th coaster credit and I'd heard that it was an overrated coaster, because its floater airtime was relatively weak. Then I rode it; the first half of the ride is nothing special, just what you'd expect from a well-maintained wooden coaster. A brief pop of floater here or there, relaxing turns... and then the double up-double down hill came. I instinctively clutched onto my restraint on the double down, as I was being forced to stand up. This was a real eye-opener for me. And then, after another turn, the bunny hills came. Oh man, was I not expecting this. I stood up once, then twice, then three times, and finally a fourth; but before Phoenix could cram any more insanity in, it hit the brakes. I came off of Phoenix awestruck.
13. Swamp Fox. See my previous response to
@HeartlineCoaster
17. Millennium Force. On my first ride of this coaster, sitting in the very back, I was very underwhelmed that morning. It was forceless as others had told me, but the reviews had failed to leave out the fact that this ride has a consistent rattle that is worse than many B&M's. Then, that night, I waited in a 30-45 minute long queue to ride once more. The rainbow colored lights on the lift had attracted me from afar, and so I took my seat in the fourth row. That next ride was what makes me praise Millennium Force so much... the rattle from before was nonexistent, and somehow the airtime was even stronger as I sat closer to the front! I feel like Mille gets too much flack for not being on the level of Fury/I305, but it's still an amazing coaster nonetheless. At least the GP cheered when returning to the station every single time, for good reason!