2013 - In review

[gavin]

I'm just going to focus on new stuff for this year, not things I've ridden before or places I'd already visited before this year.

1. Roller coaster of the year
It's a toss up between Bullet Coaster and Wood Coaster in Shenzhen. I'll go with Bullet Coaster, though I'd need to ride it more than just the once to get a fair picture.

2. Water ride of the year
The log flume at Ocean Park. It's crap, but it's the only new one I think I've been on this year.

3. Flat ride of the year
Rocket at Wonder Island, St Petersburg

4. Park of the year
Possibly Wonder Island again I guess, or perhaps Knight Valley. Wonder Island had a lot more to do, but Knight Valley had a gorgeous location and an amazing woodie, depite what little else they had being crap. Knight Valley then.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Law Lan's Possessed Possessions

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Smiler being shut when I went to Alton. I wasn't all that bothered and still had a great day to be fair, but I can't think of any other disappointments really.

7. Most surprised by
How much I was **** ting myself being dragged up the lift hill, in the back seat, on Cobra in Moscow.

8. Most excited for
Ocean Kingdom. It's apparently opening in April, so I'm going to get over there as soon as I can.

9. Most memorable moment
Walking from Grizzly Gulch into Mystic Point for the first time; it's absolutely gorgeous.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Smiler, just so I'd have an opinion and be able to join in some of the inane conversations on here. Outlaw Run looks like a much, much better coaster though.

 

[Pierre]

1. Roller coaster of the year

The Smiler - as much of a horrendous twat that it was queuing for it, and it breaking down it is a fantastic rollercoaster.
2. Water ride of the year

Congo River Rapids

3. Flat ride of the year

Submission.

4. Park of the year

Alton Towers
5. Scare-maze of the year

Zombies! Scare Zone

6. Biggest disappointment of the year

Its a toss-up between the golf challenge only offering £1,000 prize instead of a car or the Lumberjack burger at Woodcutters bar & grill being dry as Ghandi's flip-flops.

7. Most surprised by

How many people I don't know at CF Lives after going to the Smiler 'opening'.

8. Most excited for

n/a

9. Most memorable moment

The 3 hour queue for the Smiler, yay.
10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on

Outlaw Run

(guess which park I went to in 2013 )

 

[Jordanovichy]

^^Thorpe Park?

 

[CanobieFan]

Uh....
1. Roller coaster of the year
Outlaw Run <3 (and Leviathan not far behind)

2. Water ride of the year
Of the 12 new water rides (flume,shoot,rapids) I rode this year... none were really stand outs.

3. Flat ride of the year
Mind Warp at Martins Fantasy Island (although I've been on a traveling model of the same ride in years past...)

4. Park of the year
I'd wanna say my long overdue return to Silver Dollar City.... but due to cold and rain and downtime I cant.

5. Scare-maze of the year
I only took part in one Halloween event this year, Screamfest at Canobie Lake.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Not making it out to Six Flags Fiesta Texas.... despite trying to plan two different trips there.

7. Most surprised by
Wonderland Texas. Super fun and well worth the semi-annoying effort it takes to visit.

8. Most excited for
Outlaw Run.... and thankfully it didn't let me down.

9. Most memorable moment
This - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtKe42DNUn0&

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

 

[Lucy]

Rollercoaster of the Year

Probably Karacho at Tripsdrill - amazing ride and a lot of fun followed by Wodan @ Europa Park and Rollercoaster at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach

Water ride of the year

Hmm, not sure but probably the log flume at Tripsdrill

Flat Ride of the Year

Whirlwind @ Lightwater Valley - still my favourite topscan and a fantastic ride.

Park of the Year

Europa Park or Tripsdrill

Scare Maze of the Year

Cabin in the Woods

Biggest Disappointment of the Year

Snow White maze @ Europa Park - one of the worst horror mazes I've done.

Most Surprised by

Karacho @ Tripsdrill

Most excited for

Heide Park's wingrider and Helix @ Liseberg

Memorable Moment

Lots of them really but they include getting on Expedition GeForce and Wodan

New for 2013 ride you wished you could have been on

Gatekeeper or Outlaw Run

 

[Casio]

Rollercoaster of the Year

Goliath at Walibi Holland; did the trip in a day just to ride it and it didn't disappoint. Beautiful ride. Honourable mentions go to Tonnerre de Zeus and Megafobia.

Water ride of the year

Valhalla. Finally got to Pleasure Beach after years of poor planning; expected Valhalla to be overhyped but it did deliver; the thing is just so...wet. The drops weren't that amazing, but the effects more than made up for it.

Flat Ride of the Year

Tower of Terror in Paris was excellent, as expected, but Blizzard at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland blew me away last week; it starts off like a regular booster but by the end it's brutally intense. Incredible.

Park of the Year

Parc Asterix; a potentially tacky theme is done beautifully. The food was incredible (cooked-to-order steak in a theme park?) and Zeus and Oz'Iris both exceeded expectations.

Scare Maze of the Year

Didn't actually do one...I am, however, going to see The Drowned Man tomorrow, which is apparently pretty damned close.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year

Tibidabo. Utter rubbish.

Most Surprised by

Oz'Iris. I thought it would be good, but I didn't imagine it would be better than Nemesis. It is.

Most excited for

Helix at Liseberg. I'll probably do another day trip to Sweden just to do it.

Memorable Moment

Going back into Disneyland Park in Paris after my evening meal and eating popcorn and riding Big Thunder Mountain in the darkness. Reliving my childhood.

New for 2013 ride you wished you could have been on

It's gotta be Outlaw Run.

 

[Ian]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Outlaw Run. It's the best coaster in the world (that I've been on).

2. Water ride of the year
Nothing springs to mind. I did enjoy the jungle inside log flume at Bobbleyjaaaaaaaaanland.

3. Flat ride of the year
The Star Flyer at Galveston Pier. It's not the tallest in the world - I rode both of them this year, too - but the way it swung me high above the sea and twisted around in the wind was both equally terrifying and sexual.

4. Park of the year
Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I loved the park. It's well themed, it's not a typical run-of-the-mill Six Flags park, I enjoyed the rides (especially Superman and Iron Rattler) and it had a nice feel to it. It took me by surprise.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Didn't do any, they bore me.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
The Smiler. I knew during construction that, despite the hype, it wouldn't be a world class coaster but a little part inside of me was very excited about riding it. I had a little hope. I rode it and felt immediately disappointed. Of course, the problems that prevented me from riding it more than twice in 2013 add to the disappointment. The Prowler at World of Fun was also pretty meh, which contradicted the positive reviews it receives.

7. Most surprised by
The park I was most surprised by was SF Fiesta Texas for the reason I stated above. The ride that I enjoyed was the Morgan thing at World of Fun, is it called Viper? Venom? Something snakey anyway. My arse never stayed in the seat, I loved the airtime. Jetline at Grona Lund also surprised me. It might be a just another overrated Schwarzkopf but the interaction with the other rides made it rather enjoyable.

8. Most excited for
Sweden. Spain. France. America/Canada trips next year. I don't think there's one particular ride I'm fapping over, possibly Helix at Liseberg if I had to choose.

9. Most memorable moment
Gah, where do I start?

Let's start with Jerry, I really enjoyed the time I spent travelling with him in America, the UK, Belgium and Sweden. I know he's marmite for several people, but I like marmite. I had many laughs, goonery and fun throughout the summer.

The Finland Live was fantastic. I think the organisation was superb Watching a load of CFers mince through Linnanmaki was amazing. Stone Cold rolling down a hill. Our fake praise for Bore-nado. Fun Park, OMG, FUN PARK! The whole trip went well.

I'm glad I went to the Dreamland Margate thing with Vadge. It felt quite historic and I got to meet her parents who are fab.

The M25 viewing platform at Old Macdonald's Farm.

The awesome hospitality bestowed on me by the wonderful ladies at Silver Dollar City. Free food and hotel (well, apartment!), free park entry, walked to the front seat of the coasters plus a massive hug from them all when I met them. That took me by surprise; no other park staff have given me such a warm welcome.

The premier screening of the 4D Cinema at Paultons was brilliant. the park laid out a red carpet and hired kids from a local school to applaud the guests as they walked down the carpet for the premier screening. It was brilliant.

Gosh, there are so many. Of course the Lives and meeting up with CFers is always a highlight for me so that goes without saying. Gay moment; really glad to get to know Darren B and Serena this year.

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

 

[therick311]

7. Most surprised by
The ride that I enjoyed was the Morgan thing at World of Fun, is it called Viper? Venom? Something snakey anyway. My arse never stayed in the seat, I loved the airtime.

Mamba...and I agree. This ride has phenomenal floater air and a good turn around. I just wish the return bunny hills didn't feel like a massive mine train. I feel like less trims at the MCBR could turn that thing into a true airtime machine.

The Prowler at World of Fun was also pretty meh, which contradicted the positive reviews it receives.

Really? As you can tell from my profile, I love Prowler! (sips coffee from Prowler mug) What was it that you didn't like? Or was it just a case of so much hype that it could never live up to it? (Outlaw Run for me)

 

[Ian]

The Prowler at World of Fun was also pretty meh, which contradicted the positive reviews it receives.

Really? As you can tell from my profile, I love Prowler! (sips coffee from Prowler mug) What was it that you didn't like? Or was it just a case of so much hype that it could never live up to it? (Outlaw Run for me)

I've been on nine GCI coasters and Prowler (along with Rengeade at Valleyfair) is my least favourite. What I love about the others, particularly American Thunder at SFSL and Troy at Toverland, is the twisty nature and short but frequent bursts of airtime. I found Prower to be a series of turns with little-to-none airtime...not at all what I was expecting. I do approach each new-to-me coaster with an open mind but it didn't rank highly in my book. I rode it in the afternoon shortly after a sustained rain downpour, so like most woodies in those conditions, I was expecting it run well. It did virtually nothing for me. I tried it several times in different seats but I couldn't feel any excitement for it. It felt flat and too turny. Maybe riding the fab Patriot B&M before took the shine off it. Prowler isn't a bad coaster, just one I found very disappointing.

 

[nadroJ]

1. Roller coaster of the year
I think it would have to be Troy, as I go by which coaster I've just wanted to ride over and over again and Troy I did 10 times in a row without actually getting off the thing! As good as I remember it being, which is always fab when things are still as good as you remember them being.

I also want to mention Oblivion. I've always adored this short but sweet beast but 2013 seemed to have given the coaster a new lease of life and left me feeling breathless on the brake run over and over again this season (due to many revisits trying to get on the stupid Smiler).

2. Water ride of the year
I found a new love for water rides this year. I've always been fairly hesitant of them because they're wet, but this season I've had some really great moments on water rides. Top mentions go to Valhalla at the Blackpool Live in July because the reactions of the Valhalla virgins on the boat were spectacular and Vonkaputous, firstly for having a silly name and secondly for being a silly but highly enjoyable ride and thirdly because it counts as a cred <3

3. Flat ride of the year
So the 'big' new kid of the block in terms of flat rides seemed to be the Zamperla Air Race, one of which I had the pleasure of riding at Tivoli Gardens earlier this year. The thing looks absolutely gorgeous, because why wouldn't it, it's Tivoli but secondly it was surprisingly enjoyable! I don't usually divulge in the spin 'n' spew variety of flat ride but I made the exception for this one and I was not disappointed, top marks!

Mention for the 'rare' flat ride cred that I gained at Wonder Island in St. Petersburg, Russia this year in the form of rocket on a stick that became infamous after one of the wires detached leaving riders crudely dangling in the air. It was probably the second most scared I've been on a ride this year, and rightly so I'm sure you will agree!

But my overall favourite favourite flat ride of the year goes to Mystery Castle at Phantasialand. Such a re-rideable, fun, intense and scary ride is hard for a hardened enthusiast to come across these days and after so long I find that Tower of Terror just doesn't cut it for me any more in the fear factor department, and Mystery Castle definitely fills that void. Loved it this season.

4. Park of the year
Now, my favourite theme park ever is actually, thinking about it, probably Epcot. However, my visit this year involved a disgruntled family, pissing rain and a lovesick me partly wishing the holiday was to get back to see Conor, as mad as that was, so I feel those things factored into my not enjoying the park as much as I usually would. The park I had the most fun at this year, and more importantly for me, felt the most park 'magic' at, actually turned out to be Phantasialand. I'd visited before back in 2011 but the place was stupidly busy and I did not get a chance to explore the park properly. This visit not only stretched out over two days but also involved a stay at the park hotel Hotel Matamba and I have to say my visit rivalled Disney, really enjoyed Phantasialand this year.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Not *exclusively* a scare-maze but more a combo of dark ride and scare attraction, Hobs Pit X-Scream at Pleasurewood Chills absolutely blew me away. I had visited this park a handful of times over the past few years both with CF and on random trips for myself and therefore had a fairly well informed level of expectations for their Halloween event. I couldn't have been proved more wrong, and the park's signature 'new for 2013' attraction was the biggest shocker of all. A perfect blend of dark-ride, modern and sophisticated scare effects and down right gore-factor lead this to be my favourite scare attraction of this year.


6. Biggest disappointment of the year
A few for me unfortunately =[

Firstly, The Smiler not being open on 'opening day'. We'd been geared up for so long and to be let down like that was just.......****.

Secondly, missing the Cheetah Hunt cred for the second bloody time in 2 trips to Florida, but this time due to the dismal weather we got during our visit. I was in the queue and everything =[[

Thirdly, the stupid music not working for Conor's first ride on Rock 'n' Rollercoaster at the Walt Disney Studios in Paris. One of my earliest coaster memories involves my first ride on this coaster and the pure exhilaration I felt which, after many a re-ride, can only be put down to the combination of music and acceleration, as opposed to the acceleration alone. I felt absolutely gutted as we were farted into what, without Steven Tyler screaming in your ears, amounts to a slow meander around a crap shed with lacklustre light effects.

7. Most surprised by
As previously mentioned, Hobs Pit, but also White Lightning at Fun Spot Orlando (I think, might be USA, can't remember). What a wicked little piece of wood. I made my mum ride back row with me which added to the fun, and it really sucked that the thing was $9 a pop!

8. Most excited for
Finally doing the 'rest' of America and finally visiting some top ten destinations including Dollywood and Silver Dollar City <3

9. Most memorable moment
Conor's reaction to riding Hex for the first time, Conor's reaction to Winjas and Richard falling over and covering himself in water balloons at the Finland Live in July.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Has to be Outlaw Run doesn't it, oh well, 7 months to go ;]

Also Mystery Manor because it actually looks like the best thing ever!

 

[Mushroom]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Well it has to be Expedition GeForce. Lots of good rides on it, but best new coaster would be Karacho

2. Water ride of the year
Acme Rapids at Parque Warner. Still as wet as ever =]

3. Flat ride of the year
Alakazam at Pleasure Island. Did 2 of these types this year, but Alakazam was just something else due to it going backwards.

4. Park of the year
Schwaben Park and Duinrell

Schwaben due to it being a bit crazy. Duinrell just being in a nice forestry area, shame I didn't spend that long there.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Has to be the Vampire walk through at Chessie as well as Raptor Attack live

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Getting denied by Psyke Underground. 2nd time this ride has denied me (First time on Halloween 2008)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIogvRo_jw8[/youtube]

Also Huracan at Bellewaerde
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97tEMcYhKP0[/youtube]


7. Most surprised by
How awesome Karacho's dive loop is.

8. Most excited for
Helix at Liseberg

9. Most memorable moment
Getting the grand opening at Plopsaland for their new area. First public rider on Smiler. Crazy shenanigans in Belgium and Holland with 10WaTT (Like adding extra parks while we were out there!)

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
None really. Except of Psyke. But that was mentioned above

 

[Lottie.]

1. Roller coaster of the year

Shambhala. I loved this ride, had high hopes and it delivered everything I was expecting for a B&M Hyper. <3

2. Water ride of the year

River Quest. And how I did not get wet.

3. Flat ride of the year

Talocan. That is all.

4. Park of the year

Phantasialand! <3 First time visiting there and I was blown away by how beautiful the park is.

5. Scare-maze of the year

Vampire Haunting in the Hollows. Always helps when the actors know you as well.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year

Huracan at Bellewaerde.

7. Most surprised by

Troy at Toverland. I heard the raving reviews of the ride but as someone who isn't a fan of woodies, I was adamant that this wouldn't change my opinion. But I was so wrong. It was bloody brilliant!

8. Most excited for

Helix at Liseberg. Roll on the Swedish live!

9. Most memorable moment

I have a lot but probably going to PortAventura this year for the first time. It was my first proper theme park trip abroad with enthusiasts and I absolutely loved it. Have to make a small mention for the Belgium trip too with CFers. Was a fantastic weekend!

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

Karacho. The ride looks awesome despite it being a Gerstlauer.

 

[ECG]

1. Roller Coaster of the Year
Outlaw Run. Simply superb and made even better by those I got to ride it over and over again with (Ian & Snoo).

2. Water Ride of the Year
Valhalla. After several trips to BPB I finally rode this monster of a water ride and was not disappointed. It too was made even better by the company (Sue next to me along with most of the other CFers at the Live).

3. Flat Ride of the Year
Flasher at the Große Kirmes am Rhein (Düsseldorf fair). It's the latest booster ride that has giant turbo fans atop each gondola to help propel the thing and the gondolas rotate as the arm swings around.

4. Park of the Year
Gröna Lund. Fantastic park with a fantastic staff, including the best park rides manager I've ever met.

5. Scare-maze of the Year
Haunted Mansion at Lake Compounce. Over a dozen individual haunts rolled into one that takes nearly an hour to complete!

6. Biggest Disappointment of the Year
Gatekeeper and the Smiler were disappointing, but I kind of expected them to be tbh. So therefore I would say Iron Rattler even though it's a good coaster, just not as good as I had hoped for.

7. Most Surprised By
Tranan at Skara Sommarland. So bad, it's good! Can't recall the last time I had so much fun on a coaster. Ian and I had smiles on our faces the entire day, so the entire park was a surprise for us.
Honorable mention goes to White Lightning at Fun Spot America.

8. Most Excited For
Medusa Steel Coaster at Six Flags Mexico. Really liked it as a woodie and am curious to see if this turns out better than New Texas Giant or Iron Rattler. Plus another trip to Mexico City <3 and a chance to ride Bullet at Selva Mágica (relocated from Flamingo Land).

9. Most Memorable Moment
Riding Insane at Gröna Lund with Ian. They intentionally had the two of us ride on an unbalanced car and we flipped like crazy. Ian actually kept his hands over his eyes and I never laughed so hard in my life!

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Ring°Racer at Nürburgring. It broke down the day before I arrived at the track in 2009 and I wasn't able to talk them into letting me ride it when I was there again in the summer. Hopefully I'll get the chance to ride it next year.

 

[jackandylan123]

1. Roller coaster of the year:

I think I have to say Nemesis, nothing new, but still the/one of the best in the UK

2. Water ride of the year:

Loggers Leap at Thorpe, new experience this year for me, really enjoyed it

3. Flat ride of the year:

I didn't go to much this year, and rode nothing new, so I have to say Vortex at Thorpe, very forceful for me, and my favourite flat at Thorpe

4. Park of the year:

Alton Towers, the only park I have visited repeatedly without getting bored, brilliant staff as well as the amazing landscape, the towers and the rides

5. Scare-maze of the year:

None, hopefully next year…..

6. Biggest disappointment of the year:

The Smiler, I got with the hype and was very let down, just not the ride I imagined

7. Most surprised by:

Drayton Manor as a whole, visited for the first time and was very impressed by the staff, the rides (wasn't expecting anything brilliant beforehand…..) and just a brilliant park-wide atmosphere (even if there were a few chavs…..)

8. Most excited for:

Helix at Liseberg. just looks amazing and I am hoping i will be able to ride

9. Most memorable moment:

Doing Nemesis 17 times at feb half term, no queue and just walk-on on front seat

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

Outlaw Run, without a shadow of a doubt the ride that I wanted to get on most

 

[theRock-steel]

I am going to had "NEW TO ME" to the front of all these sayings because I went to some of my favorite parks and some of the list would read like my top rides which I have had for a while.

1. Roller coaster of the year: Intimidator 305, Xcelerator, Full Throttle, X2

2. Water ride of the year: Timber Mountain Log Ride @ Knott's Berry Farm

3. Flat ride of the year: Lex Luthor's Drop of Doom, Radiator Springs Racers, Indiana Jones Adventure, Monsters Inc.

4. Park of the year: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland Park

5. Scare-maze of the year: sorry I don't do those

6. Biggest disappointment of the year: not getting to ride Green Lantern's First Flight and both sides of Superman's Escape from Krypton, Six Flags America

7. Most surprised by: White Lightning, Verbolten, X2

8. Most excited for: Silver Dollar City, Canobie Lake, La Ronde, Boulder Dash in 2014

9. Most memorable moment: riding with and talking about Intimidator 305 with my son

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on: Outlaw Run, Flying Turns, Iron Rattler, Gold Striker, GateKeeper

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The norm this year was: WDW, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa

The haven't been to for a while was: Six Flags America, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Carowinds

The first time in a very long while was: Disneyland

The first time ever was: Disney's California Adventure, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm

 

[Ian]

7. Most Surprised By
Tranan at Skara Sommarland. So bad, it's good! Can't recall the last time I had so much fun on a coaster. Ian and I had smiles on our faces the entire day, so the entire park was a surprise for us.

I have never been on a ride where my face hurt from grinning so much. I recall looking over at you and we both had a wide smile on our faces. We giggled all the way around. We felt stupid but it was so much fun. When it pointlessly flips around itself, it makes a terrible creaking noise, it's so amazing. Listen to it in the off-ride video.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxuGqekGbbM[/youtube]

A crappy coaster in the middle of Sweden that generated tonnes of enjoyment. Fantastic ride!

 

[theRock-steel]

3. Flat Ride of the Year
Flasher at the Große Kirmes am Rhein (Düsseldorf fair). It's the latest booster ride that has giant turbo fans atop each gondola to help propel the thing and the gondolas rotate as the arm swings around.

7. Most Surprised By
Honorable mention goes to White Lightning at Fun Spot America.

How fast does that flat move? It could give great drops and spins or it could make my head explode.

Fun Spot and White Lightning are hidden gems.

 

[MouseAT]

1. Roller coaster of the year
Thunderbird at PowerLand. I finally found a good GCI, and it was awesome.

2. Water ride of the year
Probably the log flume at Särkänniemi. It was good fun, and fairly unique with its rapid-like sections as well.

3. Flat ride of the year
Probably still the Eagle's Claw at Lightwater Valley. It's an airtime machine.

4. Park of the year
I have no idea. I've been to some interesting parks this year, but none of them stood head and shoulders above the others.

5. Scare-maze of the year
Unless you count the new improved Hocus Pocus Hall, I didn't bother with any of the scare mazes this year. They don't particularly interest me.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year
Probably Tornado at Särkänniemi. It should have been great, but just seemed to die off and get a bit too bumpy towards the end.

7. Most surprised by
Funpark, Finland. First impressions weren't exactly positive. I thought we'd quickly grab the one kiddy cred, ride a few of the lame looking simulators, mess around for an hour or so and then sod off, much like we did with crappy parks like Codonas. How wrong I was. Not only was there enough at Funpark to entertain us all for an entire day, it made for one of the most entertaining park days I've ever had with CF.

8. Most excited for
Probably Project Helix, although I have to say I'm really looking forward to the whole of the Sweden and Madrid trips.

9. Most memorable moment
Probably that "oh crap" moment of going down the blue wave slide at Funpark, only to realise that it was slightly more than just a puddle of water at the bottom. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the year whenever water rides were involved.

10. New for 2013 ride you wish you could have been on
Probably Flying Turns at Knoebels. It looks like at genuinely fun little ride, and we've certainly been waiting a long time for it to open.

 

[GeForce]

1. Roller coaster of the year:
Wodan Timburcoaster, my first GCI and I wasn´t disappointed!

2. Water ride of the year:
Pirates of the Carribean in Disneyland California, one of the best rides in the park.

3. Flat ride of the year:
Abenteuer Atlantis, Europa Park.

4. Park of the year:
Europa Park, always great to visit.

5. Scare-maze of the year:
Tried none.

6. Biggest disappointment of the year:
Disneyland California, expected a great park had a really unlucky day with several broken down rides including California Screamin', a coaster I really wanted to ride.

7. Most surprised by:
Manta in Sea World San Diego, wasn´t expecting anything turned out be such an amazing coaster.

8. Most excited for:
Heide-Parks Wingrider.

9. Most memorable moment:
I did not really have that special theme park moment in 2013, so I´d go with my annual EGF Day

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

 

[Intricks]

1) Coaster of the Year
Hmmmm....Boulder Dash for me. It still ranks behind Voyage (it just isnt as intense in the Back like Voyage is plus it has this odd accordian effect with the speed on them last bunny hills. Front though is def better than Voyage), but it really does show why Wooden Coasters are still a contender.

2) Water Ride
Dont do them. I hate wet clothing.

3) Flat Ride
Hmmm...tie between Knoebles Flyers (I stopped moving the wing and the snapping just randomly started on its own) and the Tea Cups at SFNE (I love spin n spews)

4) Park of the Year
Hersheypark

5) Scare-Maze
Dont really do these either as I see them as a time waster. I tried to do the one at Compounce, but standing in 1 spot for nearly 2 hours and not moving just pissed me off. Sad that I missed it though as ECG spoke nothing but good things towards it.

6) Biggest Disappointment
Ugh....another bit of flack probably, but Bizarro@SFNE. I definitely need to re-ride this as I got stuck in the middle of the train. It was good fun, but it felt like there was something I was missing. Plus those trims hit hard too (which is rare I s'pose?).

7) Most Surprised By
Flying Turns. **** me was that actually a bit terrifying hitting so high up in those corners.

8) Most Excited for
Banshee and El Loco. Dat Batwing <3 and my first ever El Loco!

9) Most Memorable Moment
Fitting everything on my 5 park excursion in October.

10) 2013 Ride I wish I could have nabbed
Gold Striker or Outlaw Run.