2013 - In review

[silenthillXD]

Thought i'd start this topic as I haven't seen one yet for this season, if there's anything i've missed just add it on.

1. Roller coaster of the year
2. Water ride of the year
3. Flat ride of the year
4. Park of the year
5. Scare-maze of the year
6. Biggest disappointment of the year
7. Most surprised by
8. Most excited for
9. Most memorable moment
10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on

1. Roller coaster of the year: The Smiler
Seeing as it has now joined Oblivion as my no. 1 it had to be here. I love the variety of the inversions, it's just pure fun. Sure it's not smooth or forceful. But it's just great fun! The inverted drops are all sorts of awesome!
2. Water ride of the year: Stormforce 10
After being dissapointed by Tidal Wave being incredibly dull, I wasn't expecting much, but the layout is brilliant the backwards drop was hilarious and the main drop was fantastic. Lots of love for the lack of restraints on this!
3. Flat ride of the year: Apocalypse (DM)
Genuinely the best drop tower in the UK, having the Stand Up side and the Standup Floorless sides is pure genius.
4. Park of the year: Alton Towers
Now Alton has the smiler it is miles better than Thorpe, it has such a great variety of rides, and it's got such a nice atmosphere, now it just needs some decent flats!
5. Scare-maze of the year: Terror of the Towers: What Lies Within
The actors were on top form this year. When I went through at the back of a group of three it was genuinely the scariest experience I have ever had! The vampires at the end were relentless!
6. Biggest disappointment of the year: The Asylum (Thorpe Park)
Seeing as everyone touts it as the best maze in the UK I was shocked how dull it was, the entire thing just felt un-themed and just unoriginal. Though the chainsaw finale was absolutely amazing!
7. Most surprised by - Drayton Manor
After hearing it's run down and abit crap, I was surprised on my first visit, that it has some great rides and is a genuinely fun park!
8. Most excited for - Project Helix
Helix looks to be the perfect coaster, its got a great layout with numerous launches, it genuinely looks it could be one of the best steel coasters in the world.
9. Most memorable moment - Detonator
2013 was the year I started riding drop towers, and what better way to start of than Detonator. I was so nervous, but that drop was just fantastic!
10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on - Outlaw Run
The layout looks amazing, and so full of airtime, I seriously can't wait till I can go to America to ride it

 

[Hutch]

http://www.coasterforce.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=879317&reset-settings

Not all the categories are the same, but it's basically the same idea.

 

[andrus]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Definitely Juvelen for me! What a great ride Awesome speed, transitions and just brilliant fun! I've not been to that many parks this year, but I'm sure Juvelen would've place first even if I had!

2. Water ride of the year
Speedy Gonzales, also Djurs Sommarland. Not been on any amazing water rides this year, but always enjoy these type of rubber boat slides. And Speedy Gonzales was extra fun with the theming!

3. Flat ride of the year
Vertigo at Tivoli Gardens, as always

4. Park of the year
Djurs Sommerland. My first visit and it was a very pleasant surprice! Top notch roller coasters combined with a lush atmosphere and lots of little games and fun to do inbetween the rides This actually beat my visit to Port Aventura! Definitely one of the best parks I've been to ever!!

5. Scare-maze of the year
Hotel Krueger at Tibidabo. Even though I don't understand a single word of spanish I still enjoyed this walk through a lot! Very well done interior and skilled actors.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Shambhala. Don't get me wrong. It's in my top 20, it's just not as good as I thought it would be. It has been presented as a "world beater" by many. The speed hill is definitely the best part, followed by the first drop. But the rest was just another B&M hyper and it currently rank second among those, behind Nitro which I still consider to be the best!

7. Most surprised by
Again: Juvelen. It looks like a family ride, it's promoted as a family ride, but it rides like a full-fledged adrenaline pumping thrill ride!

8. Most excited for
I second silenthillXD with Helix.

9. Most memorable moment
Bringing my friend whos scared of coasters on Fluch von Novgorod, her asking in the pre-show section: "This isn't a thrill ride, is it?" :lol: I think she liked it in the end though!

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Outlaw Run

 

[BBH]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Easily Outlaw Run.

2. Water ride of the year
American Plunge, Silver Dollar City

3. Flat ride of the year
Giant Barn Swing

4. Park of the year
Silver Dollar City

5. Scare-maze of the year
Necropolis, SFGAm

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Thunderation. Didn't have high expectations coming into it, but I was still let down by it.

7. Most surprised by
Viper backwards. Sexual.

8. Most excited for
Outlaw Run. Was not let down.

9. Most memorable moment
Smacking a stranger in the face on Outlaw.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Flying Turns

 

[Edward M]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Outlaw Run. Just phenomenal.
2. Water ride of the year
Log Flume @ SFSL. This ride just has great old school charm so I rode it about 7 times in a row because of the lack of crowds. I didn't have to get off.
3. Flat ride of the year
Cyclone Sam's. Just perfect.
4. Park of the year
Silver Dollar City. I love every square inch.
5. Scare-maze of the year
None.
6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Colossus @ Thorpe Park. I expected so much, and I got a horrible ride with far too much head banging
7. Most surprised by
Timber Wolf. I was expecting the worst ride when I got on this. I got a smooth, fun ride with nice airtime.
8. Most excited for
Outlaw Run. Not disappointed, at all.
9. Most memorable moment
The moment when I saw the beautiful Ozarks from the top of Wildfire in the front seat for my first ride at Silver Dollar City
10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Fjord Flying Dragon, looks phenomenal with so much airtime

 

[TilenB]

1. Roller coaster of the year:
Nemesis, I just love how it follows the terrain. Amazing Ride!

2. Water ride of the year:
Thinking back, I don't believe I even rode any... Either the weather was too cold or I didn't have time for anything apart the coasters...

3. Flat ride of the year:
Probably Pegasus (or something like that) in Tivoli Friheden. It's just an insane experience. Easily the best ride of those that I've ridden there (I skipped the SCAD Tower)

4. Park of the year:
Pleasure Beach Blackpool

5. Scare-maze of the year:
Tried none. Can't really remember if any of the parks that I've been to even had any.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year:
Grand National. I expected a coaster similar to Santa Cruz's Giant Dipper. It was nothing like it. Ride was rough as hell and it tried to dislocate as many vertebrae in my back as it is humanly possible...

7. Most surprised by:
Revolution. The last click on the restraint didn't happen on my seat, so I got some insane ejector airtime on the forwards section

8. Most excited for:
Helix

9. Most memorable moment:
Walking around deserted PBB on a Saturday afternoon. It really was creepy

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on:
Easy: Outlaw Run.

 

[Darren B]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Thunderbird at Powerpark, Finland. Amazing.

2. Water ride of the year
Log flume/rapids ride at Sarkanniemi. Unique, wet and great fun.

3. Flat ride of the year
Mack tower at Powerpark, Finland. Breathtaking.

4. Park of the year
Familypark, Austria. Everything about this park was fab.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Hobbs Pit, Pleasurewood Chills.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
The Smiler. It's worse than I expected.

7. Most surprised by
Rattenmuhle (Familypark, Austria). Best family coaster, EVER.


8. Most excited for
CF Finland Live and Thunderbird on said trip. Both amazing.

9. Most memorable moment
Gay Escape, Ghosterforce.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Gatekeeper?

 

[DelPiero]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Skyrush. Words cannot do it justice.

2. Water ride of the year
Bilge Rat Barges. A toss up between this and Dudley's, but barges was unbelievable fun and got us drenched.

3. Flat ride of the year
Dr Dooms Fearfall. Really great shot tower.

4. Park of the year
Hershey Park. So many things to love about this place.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Cabin in the Woods. Only one I did this year.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Top Thrill Dragster. Expected a lot more.

7. Most surprised by
White Lightening. A gem of a coaster slap bang in the middle of Orlando.

8. Most excited for
Sweden/Denmark Live. Although Heide will also be awesome.

9. Most memorable moment
Millennium Force, Front Row, 300 ft drop.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Outlaw Run.

 

[caffeine_demon]

1. Roller coaster of the year
new for 2013 - Smiler- although it's probablyt the only new for 2013 cred I did, I'm surprised how much I liked it!
new to me - probably thunderbird (although I prefered wodan last year!)

2. Water ride of the year
Vonkaputous - just nice fun!

3. Flat ride of the year
half pipe at Särkänniemi (and I'm calling it a flat ride so nyah)

4. Park of the year
Blackpool - Even if people say it's gone downhill since 10 or so years ago (My first visit was 2005), the place ALWAYS has a great atmosphere and I've loved every visit!

5. Scare-maze of the year
The circus thing at pleasurewood chills

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
The Wallace and Gromit ride - Gold mine was much better!
and - the booster thing at hyde park

7. Most surprised by
Polar explorer - legoland - Great family ride, the pre drop is so much fun - EVERYTHING 13 should have been and more!
Orkanen - Farup - Another teriffic family coaster, congrats to vekoma and farup!
Haunted mansion at hyde park - Traveling dark rides have REALLY improved since a few years ago!

8. Most excited for
Hopefully returning to heide park!

9. Most memorable moment
The whole fun park day in finland!!

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Outlaw run!

 

[Colossus]

1. Roller coaster of the year
New for 2013 - GateKeeper
Overall - El Toro

2. Water ride of the year
Haven't really done any remarkable new ones this year (unless the tornado storm at Cedar Point counts? ), so I will say Valhalla.

3. Flat ride of the year
MaxAir was probably the only new one of any note.

4. Park of the year
Hersheypark - Just a beautiful place.

5. Scare-maze of the year
None, never done one

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Skyrush, I tried so hard to love it, but it just hurt too much.

7. Most surprised by
Lightning Racer at Hershey and Thunderbolt at Kennywood, fell in love with both quite unexpectedly.

8. Most excited for
Helix

9. Most memorable moment
Fronting Boulder Dash in the dark.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Outlaw Run

 

[Hixee]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Steel - X2
Wood - Outlaw Run
Hybrid - New Texas Giant
(Based on highest ranking new entries in my top 10 for each type)

2. Water ride of the year
Honestly? None even spring to mind. Did I even ride any?

3. Flat ride of the year
Lex Luthor. I'm never doing it again ( ), but it is bloody good.

4. Park of the year
Six Flags Magic Mountain. Finally got the chance to go to the park that's been on my 'must-do' for such a long time.

5. Scare-maze of the year
None. Don't like them.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
I had a pretty good year for avoiding disappointments, and so my two would either be Hades 360 (looks amazing, but rides like ****) or just missing Full Throttle by like a week.

7. Most surprised by
Even thought I knew it was going to be good, X2 completely blew me away. Never ridden a coaster anything like that before (and probably won't in a while).

8. Most excited for
Helix does look pretty amazing. Also can't wait for the Heide Park wing-rider, just cos it looks magnificent.

9. Most memorable moment
Got to be La Vibora with the CF guys at the end of the day. We nearly died.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Gatekeeper.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Torn between Shambhala, Rustchebahnan at Tivoli and Juvelen, all for completely different reasons...

2. Water ride of the year
The Rapids at Bagatelle <3

3. Flat ride of the year
Vertigo at Tivoli

4. Park of the year
Djurs Sommerland

5. Scare-maze of the year
Haunting in the Hollows at Chessie was actually fab

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Bon Bon Land, what a turd park

7. Most surprised by
JOYvelen was a completely unexpected experience

8. Most excited for
Helix, and completing my European B&M collection

9. Most memorable moment
Between Disneyland Paris in the snow with watching Dreams or riding ToT in a near blizzard OR seeing Emelie de Forestier at Tivoli after her Eurovision success the night before...

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Orkanen, because it spited me by a week...

 

[Rach]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Maverick. Nothing else has come close to beating riding that this year. I really did enjoy Ravine Flyer 2, TTD, Piraten and Juvelen as well.

2. Water ride of the year
Has got to be the Rapids at Cedar Point. I'm still to this day glad we took our shoes off before getting on that!

3. Flat ride of the year
Haven't really ridden any that have been noteable seeing as I'm not a big fan of them.

4. Park of the year
Cedar Point but a noteable mention needs to go to Djurs Sommerland

5. Scare-maze of the year
Doing the Face it Alone on The Asylum and Cabin in the Woods without a shadow of a doubt. That's one experience I'm never going to forget!
The Crypt at Europa was good too!

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
The one that comes to mind here is how overrated Millennium Force was for us. And also how crap Gatekeeper was! But also on the same trip just how +1 of a park Canada's Wonderland is with Leviathan and Behemoth being ok but nothing amazing!
Vidam Park in Hungary too, that was just **** on a stick! I can quite easily see what that closed down! And not to mention how dire and unimpressed I was with Wiener Prater!

7. Most surprised by
How much we thought that Ravine Flyer II was going to do another Boulder Dash on us and be over hyped to the extreme, but it was incredible! Probably one of the best rides of the year!

8. Most excited for
Nothing really cred wise. But I'm looking forward to seeing was 2014 has in store for us seeing as 2013 took a turn I didn't expect it to with doing 9 trips abroad when back in January this year I had no plans really aside from Finland.

9. Most memorable moment
There's a few!
Going to Madrid with Peep in May and talking about going to Cedar Point as a fly out and back sort of thing, then before we knew it, gained a Peter, had flights booked and added on 2 parks to that trip as well as CP! Then when we were over there, getting our first sight of the park from the car and squealing like over excited goons! That trip for me was out of this world, I would never believe we done it if it wasn't for the memories of such an epic trip and in such a short space of time!

The Go Kart accident in Finland, that hurt a lot! But nevertheless I tried to enjoy the rest of the trip even with bruises all down the left side of my body and whiplash!

Flying to Europa back in October for Horror Nights. Getting to the airport for 6am, only to be delayed until 2:30pm! Me and Peter were knackered and frustrated by the time we eventually got there! We could've drove quicker than flying! We got there only to be upgraded to another room type in Hotel Colosseo and got there just in time for Horror Nights to start! But that trip proved to be a pain as we got spited by 2 creds at Walygator and ended up at Holiday Park that afternoon in the middle of a storm which thankfully didn't stop GeForce working! (Although we did sit on it and then it had an Intamin as soon as we got there!)

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
I'm happy with all of the 2013 creds I rode this year and couldn't have asked for anymore! But obviously if I had to say one it would be Outlaw Run, but I'm riding that next year anyway!

 

[Rachel]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Sheikra

2. Water ride of the year
Splash Mountain

3. Flat ride of the year
Tower Of Terror

4. Park of the year
Busch Gardens Tampa

5. Scare-maze of the year
Cabin In The Woods

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Walt Disney World

7. Most surprised by
White Lightning @ Fun Spot Orlando

8. Most excited for
No plans set in stone for 2014 yet....just have to wait and see what the year brings

9. Most memorable moment
About to join the 160 minute queue for Soarin as all the fast passes have run out. A random woman leaving the park walks up to us and gives us her fast passes. Such good luck.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Even if it hasn't has the best of reviews, kinda disappointed I never got on The Smiler this year.

My year has pretty much been dominated by my Florida trip.

 

[spicy]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Manta

2. Water ride of the year
Bluto's barges

3. Flat ride of the year
Tower Of Terror

4. Park of the year
Islands of Adventure

5. Scare-maze of the year
My Bloody Valentine. Excellent maze really enjoyed it.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Universal Studios Florida Evening Fireworks Show. So poor in comparison to Epcots and Magic Kingdoms.

7. Most surprised by
Space Mountain WDW. Sat at the front and I remembered it being pretty poor from my previous trip and went on with low expectations. However it scared the **** outta me :lol:

8. Most excited for
DLP NYE

9. Most memorable moment
Wishes fireworks over the castle at Magic Kingdom WDW. Incredible show.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
The Smiler. Never made it to Alton this season for the first time in years.

 

[andrus]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Manta

Which one?

 

[spicy]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Manta

Which one?

Sea World Orlando. Forgot there are two!

Loved it though, thought the Pretzel Loop was awesome and the whole layout flowed so nicely in my opinion. It kept the nice B&M smooth floaty flying feel whilst having the more extreme flyer elements which I really liked.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Big Dipper

2. Water ride of the year
River Caves

3. Flat ride of the year
Slammer

4. Park of the year
Blackpool Pleasure Beach

5. Scare-maze of the year
Didn't do any

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Revolution
Getting spited by Family Star and the green Steeple Chase.
Mighty Mini Mega
Grand National

7. Most surprised by
Big Dipper

8. Most excited for
Riding all the Orlando/Florida coasters and Falcon's Fury!

9. Most memorable moment
Getting my 100th cred!

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Outlaw Run

 

[Jordanovichy]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Well, my top 10 would suggest The Smiler but Avalanche was such a novelty.

2. Water ride of the year
River Caves

3. Flat ride of the year
Flying Machines @ BPB

4. Park of the year
Blackpool Pleasure Beach

5. Scare-maze of the year
None

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Not getting the chance to go to Pleasurewood Hills
Getting spited by the green Steeple Chase.
Klondike at Hayling Island

7. Most surprised by
The Smiler

8. Most excited for
Riding all the Orlando/Florida coasters and Falcon's Fury! (Same as ATTACKHAMMER of course )

9. Most memorable moment
Ciall's bag at Winter Wonderland
Losing my hat on Logger's Leap:

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Gatekeeper

 

[Serena]

1. Roller coaster of the year:
Juvelen. It's so fun and re-rideable.

2. Water ride of the year:
Loggers Leap. They managed to make it even better by removing the enclosure for the second drop, splashing down straight into the tunnel now is fab.

3. Flat ride of the year:
The 5D dark ride shooter thing at Tivoli Friheden. I love rubbish simulator rides <3 Apocalypse at Drayton Manor comes a close second though.

4. Park of the year:
Tivoli Friheden. Crap creds, tacky dark rides, weird flat rides, lit up all pretty at night, amazing atmosphere and friendly staff. Such a lovely place.

5. Scare-maze of the year:
Cabin in the Woods. I really enjoyed the free roaming aspect of it, and some of the actors were very in-your-face, which was great.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year:
The omni-shambles that is The Smiler. Honorable mention to Bore-nado at Sarkanneimi.

7. Most surprised by:
The Ultimate. I was crying with laughter and in pain at the same time! Also the half-pipe at Sarkanneimi - I thought it was going to be a horrible barely-a-cred spin fest, but it was actually nice and floaty.

8. Most excited for:
The Gerstlauer hyper at Hansa in 2015. I think Gerst do airtime well, so this has potential to be a great coaster. I'm also really looking forward to Helix and the B+M wingrider at Heide.

9. Most memorable moment:
There's been so many, I can't pick one <3

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on:
Karacho. (It's only going to get rougher from now on!)