Best Coaster One-Two Punch?

[Eyebrows]

(This is the first topic I’ve made, so let me know if I did anything wrong)

Recently I started thinking about how different rides work together in a park’s lineup, and it got me thinking: what is the worlds greatest one-two punch? Some examples that I thought of were Kumba and Montu at BGT (soon to be Kumba and Gwazi), Kingda Ka and El Toro at GAdv, and Formula Rossa and Flying Aces at Ferrari World.

However, my absolute favorite has to be my home park’s, i305 and Twisted Timbers. Bone-crushing positives and blinding speed followed by a smooth, snappy ride with the best airtime on any RMC makes the absolute best combination of any two roller coasters at one park that I’ve been to.

So that brings the question: What are your favorite one-two punches? I’m curious to see what parks that I’ve not visited yet have in terms of this, as this is one of those things that you have to have visited a park to know.

 

[Hyde]

Steel Vengeance and Maverick - especially being next door neighbors!

 

[Will]

Out of parks I've been to, ones that spring to mind...
Behemoth & Leviathan
Shambhala & Dragon Khan
Nemesis & Oblivion
Blue Fire & Silver Star
Helix & Valravn
Troy & Fenix

 

[JJLehto]

Lots of good ones already mentioned, prob the best ones, but I'll offer a couple that took me by surprise.

Kentucky Kingdom: Storm Chaser and Lightning Run. Both packed with air, intensity, viciousness. Both are kinda violent... and I didn't expect it from LR. Helluva 1-2
SFoG: Twisted Cyclone and Goliath. Both superb rides. Different. TC is more intense, shorter Goliath longer more air in total. Both spectacular.

 

[Youngster Joey]

Kentucky Kingdom: Storm Chaser and Lightning Run. Both packed with air, intensity, viciousness.

Came here to say this and also bring up Holiday World with Voyage and Thunderbird

 

[oriolat2]

Helix & Valravn

You mean Helix and Valkyria?

Anyway, for me:
- Hersheypark: Skyrush and Lightning Racer (tbf any Intamin could be in LR's spot)
- PortAventura: Khan and Shambhala
- FujiQ: Eejanaika and DoDodonpa
- Nagashima Spaland: SD2K and Hakugei (the later I cannot vouch since it was under construction when I went to the park but it looks like a killer RMC).
- Walibi Holland: Goliath and Untamed

 

[Will]

You mean Helix and Valkyria?

Thanks for pointing that out
*hangs head in embarassment*

 

[Howie]

Surely Cedar Point has to win this, as it's the only park with a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 punch combo? Like... you've got Vengeance, obvs, that's your first punch, but then you've legit got a choice of Dragster, Millie, Maverick, Gatekeeper, Raptor and Valravn as viable options for your second punch. Some would make an argument for Magnum too.

Magic Mountain? X2 and Tatsu is one helluva combo, but you could also replace Tatsu with Twisted Colossus, Throttle, Supes' etc..

Helix and Balder/Valkyria (not Valravn, @Will )
Shambhala and Khan/Red Force.
El Toro and Kingda Ka/Nitro.
Behemoth and Leviathan/Yukon.
Untamed and Goliath.
Outlaw Run and Time Traveler.
The Voyage and Thunderbird.
Stealth and The Swarm.
Nemesis and Oblivion.
Taron and FLY.
Zadra and Hyperion.

Coming soon:
Kondaa and Pulsar.
Hagrid's and Velocicoaster.
Montu and Iron Gwazi.
Pantheon and Griffon/Alpengeist/Verbolten.

 

[DelPiero]

Zadra and Hyperion.

Ouch, you've actually nailed it. As much as I harp on about the Hyper-Shuffle, it's an utterly good coaster.

These parks have 2 rides in my top 25 each;
CP - Steel Vengeance and Maverick
Hersheypark - Skyrush and Storm Runner (I haven't been on Candymonium)
SFGadv - El Toro and Nitro
Dollywood - Lightning Rod and Thunderhead
Holiday World - The Voyage and Thunderbird

Silver Dollar City too - Outlaw Run and pick your fave from Wildfire and Time Traveller, which are really good, just don't squeeze into my top 25.

 

[Hyde]

To take this another step, I ran a quick script on my personal rankings, and pulled the top two ranked roller coasters for each respective park, and ran a simple average of the two. I took the liberty to jettison parks with large discrepancy in ranking (e.g. Waldameer) or had otherwise not-obvious two-coaster combos. Cedar Point still has a nice top hitter, but this reminded me of another hidden-gem-of-a-combo: Kings Dominion. Between I305 and Twisted Timbers; you have a great rideset!

Overall Ranking	Roller Coaster	Park	Average Ranking
1	Steel Vengeance	Cedar Point	2.5
4	Maverick	Cedar Point	2.5
9	Intimidator 305	Kings Dominion	11
13	Twisted Timbers	Kings Dominion	11
5	X2	Six Flags Magic Mountain	11.5
18	Tatsu	Six Flags Magic Mountain	11.5
7	Skyrush	Hersheypark	12
17	Storm Runner	Hersheypark	12
3	Storm Chaser	Kentucky Kingdom	16.5
30	Lightning Run	Kentucky Kingdom	16.5
8	Fury 325	Carowinds	17
26	Afterburn	Carowinds	17
2	Voyage	Holiday World	18
34	Thunderbird	Holiday World	18
21	Banshee	Kings Island	22.5
24	Mystic Timbers	Kings Island	22.5
19	Alpengeist	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	27
35	Apollo's Chariot	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	27
20	Steel Curtain	Kennywood	28.5
37	Phantom’s Revenge	Kennywood	28.5
6	Outlaw Run	Silver Dollar City	28.5
51	Powder Keg: A Blast in the Wilderness	Silver Dollar City	28.5
22	Incredible Hulk	Islands of Adventure	32
42	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure	Islands of Adventure	32
14	Iron Rattler	Six Flags Fiesta Texas	33.5
53	Superman Krypton Coaster	Six Flags Fiesta Texas	33.5
16	Goliath	Six Flags Over Georgia	39.5
63	Mind Bender	Six Flags Over Georgia	39.5
15	New Texas Giant	Six Flags Over Texas	43.5
72	Batman the Ride	Six Flags Over Texas	43.5
33	Patriot	Worlds of Fun	46
59	Prowler	Worlds of Fun	46
28	American Thunder	Six Flags St. Louis	48.5
69	Batman the Ride	Six Flags St. Louis	48.5
54	Ghostrider	Knott’s Berry Farm	56
58	Xcelerator	Knott’s Berry Farm	56

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

Feel like I've 'calculated' this before but I couldn't find where, so here's another lot based on my average rankings.

#1 Zadra & Hyperion - Energylandia
#2 Python in Bamboo Forest & Coaster through the Clouds - Sunac/Wanda Nanchang
#3 Helix & Balder - Liseberg
#4 OCT Thrust SSC1000 & Dauling Dragon - Happy Valley Wuhan
#5 Skyrush & Storm Runner - Hersheypark
#6 Untamed & Lost Gravity - Walibi Holland
#7 El Toro & Nitro - Six Flags Great Adventure
#8 Copperhead Strike & Fury 325 - Carowinds
#9 Flying Dinosaur & Hollywood Dream - Universal Studios Japan
#10 Twisted Colossus & Full Throttle - Six Flags Magic Mountain

 

[Matt N]

Out of the parks I’ve visited; I’d actually go with Thorpe Park; Swarm is my #4 and Stealth is my #5, so they have 2 roller coasters in my top 5.

I’d closely follow that with Busch Gardens Tampa (Montu at #7 and SheiKra at #8) and SeaWorld Orlando (Mako at #1 and Kraken at #9).

 

[JoshC.]

The obvious ones which spring to mind:

Walibi Holland: Untamed and Goliath/Lost Gravity (depending on your taste)
Liseberg: Helix and Balder

For a more out-there suggestion, Linnanmaki with Taiga and Vuoristorata (the woodie). The woodie is nothing groundbreaking, but it's a really fun, classic ride, which is a great compliment with the wondrous, modern beast that is Taiga.

 

[Torpaalle]

Hansapark: Kärnan and Fluch von Novgorod. This is the best 1,2 punch I have ridden. This punch beats the other 1,2 punch I have been on: Ferrari World: Flying Aces, Formula Rossa. Liseberg: Helix,Valkyria. Phantasialand: Taron,FLY and Walibi Holland: Untamed, Goliat.

 

[emoo]

Fuji Q - If you get to ride just any 2 of the main coasters you will likely be impressed, and ops are potentially getting better so not as much resentment other than historical. I'd go for Fujiyama & Eejanaika

I'd go with @Howies pick for magic mountain but again there is so many combinations.

Silver Dollar City with Time Traveller & Outlaw Run is also correct.

Is F.L.Y. good enough beyond aesthetics to put Phantasialand in here with Taron?

 

[Howie]

Is F.L.Y. good enough beyond aesthetics to put Phantasialand in here with Taron?

Good point... personally I don't know as I haven't ridden it, but let's face it the (admittedly limited) reaction to F.L.Y so far has been less than stellar. I only chose it because it's literally been the most talked about coaster on these forums for the last 4 years. That could be a topic in it's own right to be fair - 'Has F.L.Y Flopped?' but to get back on track, Phantasialand does of course have a back-up coaster - Black Mamba which, despite being named after a dildo, still makes an impressive 1-2 punch with Taron.

 

[emoo]

Anything would struggle to live up to a 4 year epic with and I expect the whole package works. Travel restrictions have prevented more feedback but I will ride both for the fist time as soon as it makes sense to find out. I just wonder if its the whopper of a ride needed to mirror the universal love for Taron.

Another quibble though - which came first, the sexy toy brand or well themed invert

 

[Howie]

Another quibble though - which came first, the sexy toy brand or well themed invert

Well, I seem to recall seeing adverts for the former in my stash of rhythm mags back when I was a teenager and trust me, that was waaay before the well themed invert!
Still waiting for some park somewhere to build the Rampant Rabbit.

 

[Hutch]

I'm looking at my Top 30 and the best ones I have are Steel Vengeance and Maverick (the only pairs in my Top 10 in fact, at #1 and #6).

Other good entries:

Skyrush and Storm Runner (2, 20)
Storm Chaser and Lightning Run (7, 22)
Voyage and Thunderbird (4, 30)
Twisted Cyclone and Goliath (16, 18)
Wicked Cyclone and Superman (12, 25)
Mako and Manta (10, 28)
Mystic Timbers and Diamondback (14, 24)
Montu and Kumba (19, 29)
Fury and Intimidator (21, 27)

Hell, even without Vengeance and Maverick, Millennium Force and Dragster also fair pretty well (15, 17). That would put it right behind Kentucky Kingdom.

Of course, there are plenty of other parks I've not done that seem to have great choices (Magic Mountain, Fiesta Texas, Energylandia, Europa Park). Both BGW and BGT should also rise up with their new additions.

 

[Eyebrows]

Both BGW and BGT should also rise up with their new additions.

For BGW, which coaster would you consider to be Pantheon’s partner? I’m curious because BGW always seems to have a different top 3 for everyone, with many solid rides but no real standouts. For me it would probably be Alpengeist, but Griffon and Apollo’s Chariot are solid rides as well.