Coasters for which the queue is better than the ride?
- Thread starter MestnyiGeroi
- Start date
FistedColossus
Hyper Poster
Black Mamba at Phannyland. IMO the best themed coaster in the world and wouldn't look out of place at Disney. Granted the ride is very good too, but the queue is phenomenal.
Gringots is up there but there are boring large open spaces in the queue if I remember correctly.
Flight Of Fear is a good shout too!
Gringots is up there but there are boring large open spaces in the queue if I remember correctly.
Flight Of Fear is a good shout too!
Projektion
Mega Poster
As others have said, Xpress @ Walibi is the biggest one that springs to mind. Everyone knows the feeling of putting up with a bad queue just cause the coaster on the other end will be worth it, Xpress feels almost like the complete opposite. The ride iteself is pretty meh and boring, but the queue is just amazing. I'm almost in the camp of removing Xpress and making it a full length walk through in the style of the queue.
If you include preshows, then another one that comes to mind (even though it's not a coaster) is Soaring @ DisneySea. The tech on the Preshow, presentation the whole area and all that is absolutely phenomenal on soaring, it's just the ride is so lacking. Maybe I was just overhyped cause people do always go on about Soaring being amazing, but I ended up finding it the weakest of the 2 flying theaters I've done (the other being the one at Ferrari Land).
If you include preshows, then another one that comes to mind (even though it's not a coaster) is Soaring @ DisneySea. The tech on the Preshow, presentation the whole area and all that is absolutely phenomenal on soaring, it's just the ride is so lacking. Maybe I was just overhyped cause people do always go on about Soaring being amazing, but I ended up finding it the weakest of the 2 flying theaters I've done (the other being the one at Ferrari Land).
Matt N
CF Legend
Sorry for the relatively big thread bump, but I’ve been having a think about this topic a bit today, and I came up with one for me that seemingly hasn’t been mentioned in this thread yet, and that’s Cobra’s Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa. This is an even stronger suggestion for me if “queue” is allowed to extend to include “theming/experience”.
Now, it’s admittedly been nearly 5 years since my last (and only) ride on Cobra’s Curse, but it’s one of the few coasters where its theming is the main thing that sticks in my memory about it. From a theming/immersion point of view, I genuinely think Cobra’s Curse is quite incredible. The queue is absolutely awash with details, and is stunningly themed. There’s an amazing, Wicker Man-style projection mapped pre-show, where the Snake King is introduced to riders in quite spectacular fashion. Even during the ride itself, you have that absolutely spectacular 70ft snake statue, and the Snake King has various audio encounters with riders throughout the ride. I genuinely couldn’t fault Cobra’s Curse from a thematic point of view!
However, the ride itself wasn’t quite as spectacular, from my memory of it. It was perfectly OK for what it was, but it was nothing particularly special or groundbreaking, even in terms of family coasters; I don’t really have any strong memory of it really wowing me as a coaster. As I say, it was a perfectly OK family coaster, but I’m afraid my praise doesn’t really extend much beyond “OK”, from my memory of it, even if viewed through the lens of it being a family coaster; the coaster itself wasn’t my favourite coaster, I’ll admit, and Cobra’s Curse was definitely a perfect example of a ride where the queue/theming stuck in my memory more than the ride itself did.
Now, it’s admittedly been nearly 5 years since my last (and only) ride on Cobra’s Curse, but it’s one of the few coasters where its theming is the main thing that sticks in my memory about it. From a theming/immersion point of view, I genuinely think Cobra’s Curse is quite incredible. The queue is absolutely awash with details, and is stunningly themed. There’s an amazing, Wicker Man-style projection mapped pre-show, where the Snake King is introduced to riders in quite spectacular fashion. Even during the ride itself, you have that absolutely spectacular 70ft snake statue, and the Snake King has various audio encounters with riders throughout the ride. I genuinely couldn’t fault Cobra’s Curse from a thematic point of view!
However, the ride itself wasn’t quite as spectacular, from my memory of it. It was perfectly OK for what it was, but it was nothing particularly special or groundbreaking, even in terms of family coasters; I don’t really have any strong memory of it really wowing me as a coaster. As I say, it was a perfectly OK family coaster, but I’m afraid my praise doesn’t really extend much beyond “OK”, from my memory of it, even if viewed through the lens of it being a family coaster; the coaster itself wasn’t my favourite coaster, I’ll admit, and Cobra’s Curse was definitely a perfect example of a ride where the queue/theming stuck in my memory more than the ride itself did.
Matt N
CF Legend
Sorry for double posting, but another one I’d suggest from my point of view is Saw: The Ride at Thorpe Park.
Now, I’ve got to say that I really love how the theming was done on Saw! Once you get into the warehouse itself, there’s a surprising amount of details strewn around in there, as well as Jigsaw’s occasional voiceovers, and the indoor section of the ride is also excellently done, in my opinion; I love bits like the surprise drop with the axes swinging over you, as well as Jigsaw’s speech (depending on what car you’re batched into) and the roll over the bleeding man as you exit the building. I also like the voiceovers from Jigsaw just before you go up the lift hill, as well as on the brake run. However, in terms of the ride itself; as much as I like Saw’s layout, I’m not a fan of it at all, simply because I find it absolutely brutal. Admittedly, you could argue that a brutal ride experience is very befitting of the theme, but I find the ride very, very rough, and almost excessively intense in sections (I’m thinking the post-MCBR section with the dive loop here); as much as I want to really like Saw, I’ve had 3 rides on it now, and every single one of them has given me a pounding headache. As much as I can see why people love Saw, I don’t personally enjoy rides that leave me in pain; it’s not really my kind of coaster.
Now, I’ve got to say that I really love how the theming was done on Saw! Once you get into the warehouse itself, there’s a surprising amount of details strewn around in there, as well as Jigsaw’s occasional voiceovers, and the indoor section of the ride is also excellently done, in my opinion; I love bits like the surprise drop with the axes swinging over you, as well as Jigsaw’s speech (depending on what car you’re batched into) and the roll over the bleeding man as you exit the building. I also like the voiceovers from Jigsaw just before you go up the lift hill, as well as on the brake run. However, in terms of the ride itself; as much as I like Saw’s layout, I’m not a fan of it at all, simply because I find it absolutely brutal. Admittedly, you could argue that a brutal ride experience is very befitting of the theme, but I find the ride very, very rough, and almost excessively intense in sections (I’m thinking the post-MCBR section with the dive loop here); as much as I want to really like Saw, I’ve had 3 rides on it now, and every single one of them has given me a pounding headache. As much as I can see why people love Saw, I don’t personally enjoy rides that leave me in pain; it’s not really my kind of coaster.
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
I haven't actually ridden it but from what I have seen and heard from other people, I'm going to nominate Sky Scream at Holiday Park. The queue line and ride area look very well done and somewhat immersive, with plenty of special effects thrown in and cool lighting. It's not that the coaster itself is bad, it's just that it's a bog-Standard SRII that we have quite a few of. At least it just has lap bars though. It's almost the polar opposite of EGF, amazing ride but sod-all theming. At least SRIIs are somewhat decent rides in the grand scheme of things.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
The Cobra’s Curse queue is definitely memorable, but I also think the ride is great fun as well — far above the typical spinning coaster.
And CrashCoaster’s pick of Sky Scream is definitely a good one!
ricky coasters
Roller Poster
Roadrunner Express
The queue isn't super that amazing but with the way Roadrunner runs sometimes the queue is a lot more comfortable
EDIT:
There are more known rides around da world that have cool queues but I haven't gotten on em so I'm just basing this of the rides I've ridden
The queue isn't super that amazing but with the way Roadrunner runs sometimes the queue is a lot more comfortable
EDIT:
There are more known rides around da world that have cool queues but I haven't gotten on em so I'm just basing this of the rides I've ridden