Favorite Defunct Roller Coaster

[Zek_Teh_Kek]

As much as I liked Vortex and Firehawk, Disaster Transport will always have a place in my heart. It was one of the first roller coasters I ever rode, and it just had this...certain feel and charm to it. It was a ride that I wish I could've ridden as an enthusiast, but I guess I'll only have the memories from 7/8/9 year old me.

 

[Tomatron]

Eagle Fortress by **** ing miles.

My choice also.

Shame it had to go, but it was tearing itself apart.

 

[Coaster Cinema]

Lol this topic was dead for six and a half years, how do you dig up these old topics!?

Anyway, it's overwhelmingly the Wild Mouse for me. Southport Cyclone was a sad loss too.

Use the search bar. That's all there is to it.

 

[Samiam]

This is a very old thread, so who knows if anyone will see this. I'm coming at "favorite" from the perspective of an operator and maintenance guy, not a patron, so YMMV. I was on a crew that erected what we were told at the time was the first Zierer Flitzer in the US. This was on Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City NJ in April, 1972. I was unskilled pier labor at the time, the skilled crew was supplied by a contractor named Continental Amusements, and was an eclectic mix of Germans, Americans, and at least one South African. I stayed with the ride as chief operator for that season and most of the next, and also joined the pier maintenance crew for the off-season. Many of the other seasonal pier employees, which included the legendary Charlie Halliday, went on the carney circuit the rest of the year. I was invited to go along, but decided I wasn't ready for that much adventure at the time. Missed opportunity? Maybe, who knows? Naturally, the Flitzer is my favorite defunct ride that was literally a coaster. There was another ride at MDP named the Apollo. It was obviously renamed and redecorated to capitalize on the Apollo space program, and I do not know what the original ride type was named. It had a circular track which rose and fell several times in one circuit, similar to a Caterpillar, but it had individual cars that held up to 4, with facing dual seats. Those cars were attached with a pivot so that they could swing sideways as thay circled and moved up and down the "humps". The ride had a step controller with 5 forward and 5 reverse speeds, and the motors were capable of reversing at any speed. So the operator could get pretty creative in "accentuating" the bounce of the cars at any given point on the ride. That and the fact that it was located right next to the Greek souvlaki, fried chicken, and cotton candy vendors made it a very good thing that we had full height transparent plastic covering the control booth windows and that we kept two hoses on the ride

 

[Matt N]

To be honest, it’s now Megafobia at Oakwood for me.

As much as it was a bit rough at the back, I had great fun riding it on my last visit to Oakwood, and it did have some really good airtime! It’s definitely one I miss, and definitely one I regret not doing after it got retracked…

I can sense that a number of people would now vote Kingda Ka… that ride is definitely the defunct coaster I most regret that I was unable to ride, for sure!

 

[rideguy70]

Since it's basically "officially" dead, I'll add Desperado at Las Vegas Stateline/Buffalow Bill's.

I know it got a lot of hate as the years dragged on (mostly deservedly so), but when it first opened, it was as great and intense and fun as Millennium Force.

 

[Boodangy]

Oh, Jetline at Gröna Lund no question. I've been on a bunch of defunct coasters but Jetline was my absolute favourite ride at Gröna Lund and one of my favourite coasters until it's demise. If I recall the issue that caused the derailment, I'm pissed that the park neglected to maintain it properly with proper parts or else we could still have that ride around and nobody would have died.

 

[Will]

It's good that this topic was resurrected - both Wild Mouse and The Ultimate were still operating when it was first opened

 

[Flash Shift]

To be honest, it’s now Megafobia at Oakwood for me.

As much as it was a bit rough at the back, I had great fun riding it on my last visit to Oakwood, and it did have some really good airtime! It’s definitely one I miss, and definitely one I regret not doing after it got retracked…

I can sense that a number of people would now vote Kingda Ka… that ride is definitely the defunct coaster I most regret that I was unable to ride, for sure!

Also Megafobia for me. Never did get to do the retrack.

Wild Mouse at Blackpool as well, RIP.

 

[Peet]

There are some huge names on my defunct coasters list after recent closures. Here's my ranking of the ones I am still mourning (albeit some of them had had their time):

1. Wild Mouse Blackpool Pleasure Beach
2. The Ultimate Lightwater Valley
3. Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Adventure
4. Megafobia Oakwood (SBNO)
5. Jetline Grona Lund
6. Knightmare Camelot
7. Nighthawk Carowinds
8. Cyclone Pleasureland Southport
9. Bob Efteling
10. King Solomon's Mines Pleasureland Southport
11. Corkskrew Alton Towers

Others that were okay:
Alpine Coaster Stoke Ski Centre
Odin Express Tivoli
Dragon Flyer Camelot
Runaway Train Chessington
Alpenexpress Europa Park
Robin HoodWalibi Holland
Green Lantern Six Flags Great Adventure
Sand Serpent Busch Gardens Tampa
Scorpion Busch Gardens Tampa

And good riddance to:
G-Force Drayton Manor
Tsunami M & D's
Vonkaputous Linnanmaki