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Best and Worst Roller Coaster Manufacturer

_koppen

Hyper Poster
My top is no doubt Intamin, because of that little extra power most of their rides have.

I love B&M as well, but then I always expect a fun ride, and not to be blown away.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Mack yet, their rides are the most reliable in the game, and the new Mega and Launch coasters are unbelievable smooth and comfortable.

I'm not really a fan of the old Vekoma's, but I wouldn't want to call them the worst, because their new rides like Battlestar are very good rides.

I would probably say Zamperla are the worst, simply because they are boring and not very comfortable.
 

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
_koppen said:
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Mack yet, their rides are the most reliable in the game, and the new Mega and Launch coasters are unbelievable smooth and comfortable.

I think it's because their "big rides" aren't really prolific yet. While I think Blue Fire is an excellent coaster, it's quite different to B&M and Intamin. It's very smooth and fantastically reliable and gives some interesting sensations, but it's "fun". It doesn't offer an extreme and wild ride like an Intamin, or a high G ride like a classic B&M. They are utterly, utterly fantastic family thrill rides though.

So yeah, I think that's why they don't get quite so much of a mention, but I suspect that a certain new ride in Sweden may change the balance a bit.
 

Jarrett

Most Obnoxious Member 2016
Best: Intamin, they just keep pushing and pushing the limits with their rides and I think we'll be seeing another marvel of engineering from them very soon.

Worst: Vekoma, everything about Ninja at SFOG is awful. It, boomerangs, and Disney ride layouts are grotesque.
 

ava1enzue1a

Mega Poster
Best: Adding to popular opinion, I also say (a tie between) B&M and Intamin as well, which I'm pretty sure there's no need to explain why at this point.

Worst: Equally interesting question, but I'm not sure. I don't focus too much attention on how crap manufacturers can be. I sorta forget about them and obsess about the good ones.
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
ava1enzue1a said:
Worst: Equally interesting question, but I'm not sure. I don't focus too much attention on how crap manufacturers can be. I sorta forget about them and obsess about the good ones.

Pretty much that.
 

gopats1479

Mega Poster
Best - CCI. No woodies have ever been so amazing at freaking you out psychologically. Their terrain coasters are phenomenal and their work at Indiana Beach is either unique, nostalgic, or downright amazing depending on the ride. Plus, most of my favorite woodies are theirs, including The Boss, Cornball, and Hoosier Hurricane.
Honorable mention - GCI. Strictly for airtime.

Worst - Vekoma. I'm sorry, Ninja, but your restraints hurt the last time I rode you (even though it was probably the ride ops fault). So you get the bottom of the totem pole. I promise to still ride you every time I go to SFStL because of your short lines.
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
Just wondering, why CCI? I know your a big fan of BOSS but from what I've heard the only really good CCI coaster is Boulder Dash.
 

Naemuti

Mega Poster
Sanchezmran said:
Just wondering, why CCI? I know your a big fan of BOSS but from what I've heard the only really good CCI coaster is Boulder Dash.

CCI is really unique in my experience. Boulder Dash is a world class coaster of course and they get a lot of fanfare for their Indiana Beach coasters. I thought Excalibur up in Maine had a fun first half (albeit kind of rough) but a retracked away second half that was boring. GhostRider is cool too in my opinion. They seem to be very good at floating airtime; I always feel like I hover over the top of the drops in the back row for a second or two on CCIs and it's a nice feeling. There's just something fun about a lot of them even if they are rough around the edges and they have the most "old time" feel of a modern wooden coaster company if you ask me. GCI/GG/Intamin all make great coasters but they do feel more engineered and smoother as well.

Speaking of Intamin, I think I'd have to go with them for a favorite company. They make very intense rides and gamble on a lot of things and I feel like most of the Intamins I've been on have been a novel experience. Bizarro is different from Maverick which is different from Storm Runner and so on. I can't say that as much about, say, B&M. Their hypers and inverts for the most part feel very samey.

Arrow really has to be the worst in my eyes. There's a few Arrows like X2 and Loch Ness that stand out to me and then the rest is rubbish. Flash in the pan company with a few one-trick ponies. They put out almost as much crap as Dinn Corp did (although at least Dinn's daughter formed CCI which didn't suck).
 

metalhead7

Mega Poster
Best: Intamin - Just for the fact that B&M's have gotten very repetitive over the years. Otherwise it would be a tie. Intamin screws stuff up, but they build coasters that go 450 ft tall and 150mph, who else does that? They take risks and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I like how much they innovate/

Worst: S & S Power - Actually there are probably worse ones, but alot of them are smaller. While they innovate, S&S haven't had much success other than their free fall rides. For example the Thrust Air coasters, The Screaming Squirrel Rides, The 4th Dimension coasters, were either very painful or ended up losing parks' money.
 

Jack Norman

Roller Poster
Some rides are incredible. Some are less so. This can depend on the age or, more commonly, the company. Sometimes companies just seem to always put out bad rides or great ones. Which do you think is the best and worst manufacturer.

I have to say the best is Intamin followed right behind B&M. I think GCI would be third for me. I also love Arrow. I haven't ridden an RMC coaster yet but I think it might, in the future, be one of, if not, the best company.

The worst is probably Zamperla. They produce more half-assed and dangerous rides. I would say Vekoma is the wort but Disney makes their rides good. I currently have been on one TOGO and thought it was pretty good. When I go to Vegas though, my opinion will probably change.
Best is Intamin worst is Pinfari

Best=B&M-Smooth, comfortable, and and enjoyable rides.
Worst= Vekoma-Headbanging clones, enough said.
Especially the Vekoma boomerangs, absolute toss

As for personal hatred, Pinfari or Gerstlauer, probably more likely to go with Gerst because they've infected the coaster world like a sub par virus, with LOADS of bigger parks purchasing their crap and passing it off as something good. The majority of their rides are :emoji_zipper_mouth: awful and I hate how popular they've become <//3
Gerst brung is euro fighters and infinity coasters but Pinfari are just Terrible
 
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FarleyFlavors

Mega Poster
Interesting revival of a 5+ year old thread. Have to presume that RMC would now easily oust B&M and Intamin in the "best" category.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Well, this thread was dragged out of the depths of oblivion. It's still quite on topic, however, so no need to let it sink again. I think it is even interesting to compare how some manufacturers' reputation has changed over the past six years. At least in my experience.

Intamin has its ups and downs. For some reason, they keep coming up with a new novelty ride concept every few years, it sells like hotcakes at first but then none of them is ever made again. See the Impulse coasters, Plug'n'Play woodies, Halfpipe coasters, ZacSpins, etc. It's been a while since their latest fad, however, it seems like they have settled for making their launched coasters more reliable, both in terms of operations and company sales. Time will tell where their volley launch concepts will go, I could see that track switch causing some headache down the line. When Intamin makes a good ride, it's usually a very good ride.

Mack seems to have taken the step up from being the supplier of small Wild Mouses, Spinners and Watercoasters, to getting a leg in on the big coaster market. Admittedly, it started in 2009 with Blue Fire, but it didn't take off until after the last post in this thread. Helix, DC Rivals, Lost Gravity, Flash, Time Traveler... suddenly, these guys have started to resemble Intamin in the scale of stuff they do, and not just by a similar track style.

Gerstlauer has followed Mack slightly. Granted, they had stuff like Takabisha and Fluch von Novgorod already when this thread was created, but Kärnan was a massive step up, and they've followed through with stuff like Junker, Monster and HangTime. They're offering more spectacular stuff than ever, and I don't think many people see them as the worst manufacturer around anymore.

Vekoma seemingly bought a CAD program, had an epiphany, and changed their ways completely. Instead of clunky creations like Boomerangs and SLCs, they have got a reputation for innovation and smoothness. Their new launch coaster models look fantastic, and the F.L.Y. concept seems promising too. They have also seemingly stopped making traditional Boomerangs and SLCs, but plans to resurrect the latter look really promising.

I'm not really sure what to think of S&S. Their launch coasters in China have become more and more numerous, and they're involved in the rather spectacular Steel Curtain, but most of their recent creations have been Free Spin coasters, and stuff like GaleForce has been plagued with track problems. The El Locos seem to have been a quick fad, with six built within as many years, but the last one being five years ago. And their most spectacular creations, the 4D coasters, have been dormant since 2012 (then again, that one can be chalked up to a lack of potential buyers - who could afford those monsters nowadays?). Their merger with Vekoma seems to promise some stability for the future, at least.

RMC had three coasters in operation when this thread was forgotten, but they were all pretty highly praised. And they really haven't disappointed in the years since. More conversions, some ground-up coasters, and really no disappointments yet. RMC has become a really coveted company for many fans, everyone wants one in their home park. Alan Schilke is like the Santa Claus of the theme park industry.

Reverchon is still around, making their same old crappy mouses (again, the plural of Wild Mouse is Wild Mouses) with no sign of change. Their reputation seems to be the same as it was in early 2013: Meh at best, a pained groan if they are to deliver a coaster at one's home park.

B&M still does as B&M always has done. High-quality, smooth, reliable and not overly forceful coasters. Their Wing Coasters were around to some degree in 2013 (it was the year Gatekeeper opened), and that number has tripled since then, but that concept is still mainly the same as it was five years ago. Thunderbird at Holiday World is a rare exception that proves they can make launch coasters if they want to, but that's rarely the case. B&M still probably have the best reputation around, if a little conservative.

Pinfari is still considered the STD of the coaster industry: even with the original source long gone, their terrible products keep being passed around to pop up in new places. It's been 12 years since they stopped making those coasters, but in the past two years, five of them opened in the US and UK, all of them third-hand. Those things must be incredibly reliable or easy to repair, which is probably the best thing that can be said about them.

Gravity Group seems to have plodded on with their woodies and hybrids. They're following RMC a little with inversions on woodies, and following B&M a little with building lots of stuff in China. Back in the West, their market niche appears to be small coasters that still pack a punch.

GCI of 2019 is mostly like GCI of 2013. Small to medium-big woodies (or big woodies, perhaps - it's been a while since a really big woodie was built, so the scale is shifted somewhat) that fans seem to enjoy but not go raving mad about. As far as woodie manufacturers go, they're up there. However, they seem to have been de-throned by RMC when it comes to white-knuckle woodies.

Maurer is... uhh, still around, I think? We haven't really heard much from them in the past few years. Sure, they've built a couple of spinning coasters, and a Skyloop popped up in China back in '15, but overall they've built fewer coasters since 2013 than they did in 2011 alone. Apparently, their X-Cars were still going strong in China a couple of years ago, including this strange thing, but they haven't built much to change their reputation on these forums, at least. Maurer has mostly faded into the background, I'd say.


I guess there are a few I've missed, but that should be it for now. Either way, the coaster scene seems to have undergone some pretty drastic changes in the past six years, and - dare I say it - mostly for the better. This makes me really optimistic for what the next six years will bring!
 

Y. Kim

Mega Poster
Best: B&M-I grew up with 2 B&Ms nearby, I should like it! Always smooth though it's aging. Comfy seats.
Or I would consider RMC. Smooth ride+interesting layout

Worst:TOGO
Hate that thing. Seen some TOGOS and found them not good looking.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I realize that my long-winded post above didn't actually answer the thread question. Something ought to be done to correct that.

For best, I'm honestly not sure. RMC are good and all, but not very diverse. They have their woodies and hybrids, and are slowly working their way into the steel coaster market, but it's all in a premium segment that few parks can afford. They're up there, definitely, but don't take the crown. Likewise, B&M build big, expensive, fun coasters, but aren't particularly thrilled with pushing boundaries. Every decade or so, they seem to bring a new coaster type to the market, but all subsequent models after the prototype tend to be more of the same. Intamin push boundaries, they tend to bring radically new ideas to the table that sell well for a while, then everybody realizes their big flaw and no coasters of the type is ever built again. Hardly deserving of the top spot, although they have created some amazing machines over the years. No, I think I'll give the top spot to Mack. They have coasters all over the size range, from tiny little Grottenblitz (6 m tall) to DC Rivals (61 m). They have watercoasters, spinning coasters, launch coasters, hypercoasters, kiddie coasters, powered coasters, multi-launchers, and are even dabbling in inverted coasters too (powered, mind you, but still). An amazing product range, and apparently their stuff is reliable too.

As for worst, let's just disqualify every company that's out of business. So no Pinfari, Togo, RCCA, Caripro, Soquet or de L'horbe. Reverchon or Pax would be the cheap shot here, but one is even more obvious: Zamperla. They've got 342 coasters under their belt, and I've never heard a good word about any of them (at best, they're deemed passable). Thunderbolt at Luna Park is a rare example of a post-2010 coaster that was actually considered rough and jolty when brand new. They debuted their Volare a good decade after B&M figured out the principle of inverted coasters, it apparently rode like a concert piano down an escalator, and 17 years later their more modern iterations are still as crap as the prototype was in 2002. They're selling their products like hotcakes (they have 8 of their creations opening this year, down from 11 in 2018!), yet apparently aren't putting much of their income in R&D. They might be leading the small-size coaster market, but their dominance comes from cheapness which also results in underwhelming ride experiences.
 

Chris Coasters

Strata Poster
At first my gut reaction is to say Vekoma is worst solely based on the boomerangs and SLC's but Everest and Rock N' Roller coaster save them from being the worst for me. After looking at my list of manufacturers I have to agree with Zamperla. I don't want to throw another company under the bus if I have only been on like 1 or 2 of there coasters (togo) but over 20 coasters from Zamperla most of everything from them I have been on are +1's at best and yeah Volares are pretty trash.

As far as what's the best that's a little bit harder as most coaster manufacturers that I have been on a lot of coasters from have highs and lows. As far as my favorite goes I probably have to give it to Intamin. Only Intamins I have been on that I can't stand are the bobsleds. A handful of my all time top coasters are Intamins (Toro, Maverick, TTD, MF Cheetah Hunt) so they get my vote.

RMC is pretty okay too.;)
 

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
My general reaction to seeing this thread pop back up:
giphy.gif


Here's my hot takes now 6 years ago:

Best - Intamin. After reflecting on the B&M vs. Intamin topic, while B&M is consistent with manufacturing good quality coasters, Intamin still comes out on top in my rankings. Yes, Intamin has made some not-so-hot roller coasters. But they also have made Maverick.

Worst - RCCA. How can such good looking wooden coasters be so abysmal?

RMC has been the revolution to the industry in the time since I wrote this previous entry. Outlaw Run was just peaking onto the scene this year, a promising notion of RMC's full potential when they could build a coaster from the ground up. BUT, I did not anticipate how they would continue to iterate at ever growing pace with their Iron Horse designs. There is not a doubt in my mind that they have breathed new life into older wooden coaster that would otherwise deteriorate or be replaced by steel coaster designs. They are also simply top of the charts for a vast majority of riders for their coasters; definitely merits a top slot. BUT, to @Pokemaniac's point, Mack is in an interesting place, seeming to finally break into the American market which offers new opportunity for their coaster design. I'm especially excited as Mack has quite the array of coaster offering.

As for worst? Eh, it's easy enough to count those companies out of business. Would agree to companies that are simply being outdone or under-developing on their coasters. Zamperla, Interpark (remnants of Pinfari), or even Mauer (seeming to put all development eggs in their self-powered single rail) are companies lagging behind the times or keeping status quo with their business.
 

Catmaydo

Roller Poster
Looking at some of the original replies, I feel like someone needs to stick up for Vekoma here because not only are they not nearly as bad as people make out, but they're one of the companies that's been bold (or crazy) enough to keep trying new concepts over the years.

They're by no means, the saviours of the industry, but their cloned rides gave a lot of parks the opportunity to build something more thrilling than a Pinfari looper on a reduced budget in the 80's and 90's. It sounds ridiculous now, but when I was a kid, the opening of The Missile at the American Adventure theme park (a bog standard boomerang) was a big deal compared to what their local competitors, Drayton Manor, and Alton Towers had at the time.

I think it's easy to dismiss Vekoma's early efforts as the worst of the worst, but they had the same issues with track profiling and comfort as Arrow and others at the time. That's not to say they haven't had failures beyond the CAD renaissance - SLCs will never be able to escape their reputation (although I've still not had a bad experience on one), and they've yet to create a truly exceptional flying coaster (fingers crossed for F.L.Y).
 

HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
My general reaction to seeing this thread pop back up:
I fell for this too. Reading something at the top of the page about none of Mack's big rides being prolific yet was... unnerving.

I'm a Gravity man right now. They consistently knock out my overall favourite type of ride at the moment and haven't really done anything wrong for me over a decent sample size.
RMC are similarly blessed, just done less of them so far.
Both of these however have a narrow band of what they offer, so I also agree with Mack being the best at their huge and exciting range of products and they seem to rarely get anything wrong these days either. Can't think of a bad one off the top of my head.

Both B&M and GCI used to be up there with the consistency, but I've had a few creep in over the years that are pretty meh and they haven't excited me for a while.
Intamin make a few of the best and a few of the worst as well, so no consistency there at all.

Nothing comes to mind for an absolute worst. Plenty of the other bigger names have their shockers, but usually at least something redeeming as well.
On paper it would probably be one of my obscure Chinese companies that 'had a go' at something big and it wasn't very good, but either won't try again or won't have much reason to improve in the future.
Who made Nash? That guy.
 
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