What's new
By:
FORUMS - COASTERFORCE

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Last Cred Review

Spent 10 days in Florida mopping up new creds since my last visit.

Some notable ones:

Iron Gwazi
Brilliant. My Florida #1. A rare RMC I truly love. Ops were woeful: one train, no batching, lots of empty seats.

Pipeline
Biggest surprise. Odd but awesome sensations and punchy airtime.

VelociCoaster
Really fun but a touch overrated. First half meh; second half excellent. Final roll over the water is insane. Heavy trims on the top-hat were a letdown. Still my Florida #2 after IG.

Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure
Fun family coaster, met expectations, atrocious waits.

Cosmic Rewind
Surprisingly fun given I can’t stand GotG/Marvel. Music was pumping. Queue and pre-show were a slog.

Tron
Outdoor part great; indoor section unremarkable.


Now for the Epic creds:

Stardust Racers
Overrated. Duelling is cool but both sides were sluggish in parts with okay airtime. Green slightly better than Yellow. Just glad they were open after the incident.

Mine Cart Madness
Same as Japan: too short, needs a third section.

Curse of the Werewolf
Forgettable and the only coaster that made me a bit queasy.

Hiccups Wing Gliders
Unexpectedly fun, with some forceful turns.
 
A few days ago I took the train from Cannes to Monaco just to do some general sightseeing and get a bonus Country Credit....and was pleasantly surprised when I found a funfair going on! They had 2 coasters but I clearly wasn't gonna fit on 'disney', C-C only even had a handful of riders for it..... but then there was 'Cars' an EOS dark ride coaster...thing, so i paid my few euros and got my credit ✔️ odd little 'show scene' stop on one of the laps around, including tilting track and a fog machine 🤷‍♂️

https://twitter.com/x/status/1982131108469735845

Cars! Coaster #1,148
https://twitter.com/x/status/1982131580815417536
[/i]
 
last cred for me was wind chaser formerly storm chaser at Kentucky kingdom. this was my 3rd rmc, and dear lord this was easily the most unhinged for me. sadly while I did enjoy the 90% of the time my large backside was lifted out of my seat with enjector airtime it was hard to really enjoy it overall because of my large frame. prior to my trip I was really close to being at a good weight where nothing would be an issue for me, but thanks to last minute medical stuff I let myself go, and some weight came back making the trip rather hard. so there is a goal for me to get back to this coaster when I get slimmer which as of now on my new diet I've been sheding weight like crazy. so this means when I go for my next rmc in june 2026 Joker I will be ready to fully enjoy it.
 
Finally rode the two creds at Ocean Beach Pleasure Park after several work trips to Newcastle and the timing never aligning with their opening hours.

They were distinctly average, but pleased to finally get the two creds. Clears off the northeast for me now. Edges me ever closer to the 1000 too... coaster #947 and park #225.
 
Last new creds for me were at Emerald Park last month. The Vekoma SFC Na Fianna Force and Junior Boomerang The Quest were new for me, along with the Junior Coaster Dino Dash.

Dino Dash is a +1, and Quest had some great interaction with Na Fianna Force, but the SFC was a great coaster, especially during the after dark event when it was running really fast.

Up to 1623 creds in total now.
 
Last cred rode on our weekend trip to Germany was Schwur des Kärnan at Hansa Park. First time riding but I knew about "the thing that happens" so no surprise there. It was fun riding with a couple of people that didn't though :)

Overall I'd say I was a little disappointed with it - for a ride of that size and reputation, it didn't wow me. It looks great, has bags of speed but was a bit jolty in places and didn't really have much airtime, which is what you come to expect from a hyper coaster. So 9/10 for the spectacle, but just 7/10 for the ride experience. All of our group actually preferred Flucht von Novgorod and favoured a reride on that instead.

Hansa Park was fab though, so hopefully I'll get back and ride Karnan again to form a more rounded view.

Also visited Heide Park for the first time and really enjoyed Colossus, Krake and Flug der Dämonen. The latter two I would say are the amongst the best of their respective models that I've ridden. Especially loved the twisty layout and near misses of Dämonen.
 
Jamesss said:
VelociCoaster
Really fun but a touch overrated. First half meh; second half excellent. Final roll over the water is insane. Heavy trims on the top-hat were a letdown. Still my Florida #2 after IG.
Click to expand...
What heavy trims on the top hat? Rode VC 37 times on my recent trip in Sep/Oct and there are no trims on the top hat?


Recently got many creds on our FL trip, some of the highlights:

Velocicoaster - Fantastic, new number 1 for me. Big fan of Intamin LSMs and this is no different. Fun crowd pleaser enjoyed by the masses.

Stardust Racers - Loved it, managed 10 rides on the second day we visited Epic. Night rides are great. Nothing too intense except for the slam down on the first airtime hill/top hat.

Iron Gwazi - Surprisingly my first RMC. Good coaster but the restraints and setting ruin it a little for me, and the layout feels a bit one-note to me. All the airtime and transitions are aggressive but, for me, it felt like aggression for the sake of it. Didn't have the theatrics I look so (plus BGT operations are beyond terrible)

Hagrid's - Really surprising, actually quite loved it and I wasn't expecting to at all. Night rides were especially good.

Mako - Pretty good, but nothing at all on Shambhala in my opinion. Finale felt a bit sluggish.

Hulk - Rode four times, only enjoyed the third ride for some reason. Rattly, headachy, not crazy about it tbh. Looks the part though!
 
Last edited:
Ethan said:
What heavy trims on the top hat? Rode VC 37 times on my recent trip in Sep/Oct and there are no trims on the top hat?
Click to expand...
There were definitely trims. Perhaps they turn them off sometimes? I didn't even realise Velocicoaster had trims until I felt them kick in on the ride. Rode it 4 times in mid-October, and it was the same each time.

Talking of trims... when I last rode Mako in 2017, it was amazing and I ranked it among my top coasters. This time, the trims really killed the momentum in the second half, something I don't remember happening before. Sad to see it drop in my rankings, it used to be in my top 5.
 
Jamesss said:
There were definitely trims. Perhaps they turn them off sometimes? I didn't even realise Velocicoaster had trims until I felt them kick in on the ride. Rode it 4 times in mid-October, and it was the same each time.

Talking of trims... when I last rode Mako in 2017, it was amazing and I ranked it among my top coasters. This time, the trims really killed the momentum in the second half, something I don't remember happening before. Sad to see it drop in my rankings, it used to be in my top 5.
Click to expand...
I think they only have LSMs at the top of the top hat, but maybe someone else can weigh in! Sad that you felt something though!
 
Had my phone stolen while in Orlando this past week so have been off the grid for several days. Still got to do IAAPA, Epic Universe, a last minute comp return to SeaWorld, and a day and a half of Disney park hopping on the mouse's house.

IAAPA Paul Bunyan's Log Haul was #221. It's coming to Water Safari in a really off route part of Upstate New York, which I was absolutely malding about after that park's announcement this past summer. I'm making good headway on state completion and ut was going to be far too difficult for what it was to ride. Audibly cheered when I found out that's what was on the floor.

Universal Epic Universe is absolutely a park, I may write more on that elsewhere as we got far too much done with our full day. Once we had Minecart Madness (#216) out of the way relatively quickly there was no difficulty in hitting up everything else. Stardust Racers (yellow #219, green #220) was fantastic of course and very easy to lap, but Hiccup's Wing Gliders (#218) is also a lovely and spirited family attraction. We had a couple of complimentary single use Expresses to play with and used one on a back row night ride later on after a front day ride. Curse of the Werewolf (#217) also spins plenty well despite its short running time. Any Epic Day is a Good Day when you can disembark Ministry of Magic at 9:15am without Resort Early Entry.

Spent a day and a half park hopping at Walt Disney World courtesy of the Mouse's liberal handouts of cast member Guest Passes (and good connections at select Lightning Lane lines), really needed more time to explore but walked out with 16 attractions and all operational coasters on Florida Disney property save for Seven Dwarves. Cosmic Rewind (#223) was probably one of my favorites, it's absolute cinema all around and we got Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Experienced Tron: Red Ares The Ride (#225) and am reliably informed that the overlay is better than the usual program. Expedition Everest (#222) is an excellent mine train, Barnstormer (#227) was ridden simply because it was incredibly convenient to do so, not sure why I waited 90 minutes for Slinky Dog Dash (#228), and Rock'n'Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (#229) just feels like Vekoma Flight of Fear. Presentation is really cool and I don't imagine much will change with Muppets. The other star of the show however was Space Mountain (#224 & 226), which is just incredibly chaotic and also a rave through dark space. I could never seem to tell what was coming next, glad we had an excuse to ride twice.
 
Last edited:
Me n Mrs Howie just had a week in Pigeon Forge which, naturally, included several visits to the fabulous Dollywood .
I went there last year of course with my crew, but it was a hot day in June with crowds at 95% and it was only with the help of fast-track tickets that we got all the creds done. Once each, no re-rides and definitely no time to experience any of Dollywood's other rides, shows and attractions. Which is a shame, cos this place is amaaaazing and I'm so very happy to have had the chance to return and experience the place in full.
Crowds were low to non-existent so I've now been on all the coasters, multiple times, front rows, back rows, zen rides and, of course, those all important night rides.
Here are my findings:

Lightning Rod.
Underwhelmed by this last year after one ride but now, after a night time marathon with zero wait time... yeah, it rocks. Pitch black after the lift hill. I can only imagine how good it would have been in it's original version but even now, in it's neutered form, it's still a kick-ass ride. Quad down is awesome.

Wild Eagle.
Loved this. Spectacular to look at, perched on top of the hill there overlooking the entire park the way only massive B&M's can, yeah, a real presence on the skyline. Rides really well too, super smooth, graceful flowing layout and grand views. 2nd favourite wing coaster behind Thunderbird.

Thunderhead.
Completing the trio of headliners we have this fantastic woodie. Top tier GCI, this. Might even be my number 1 GCI. They keep it running amazingly well, very smooth but still action packed, relentless and full of unexpected airtime. Brilliant stuff. We had lots of goes on this.

Big Bear Mountain.
Fab family coaster. Fun launches and plenty of mild airtime pops and sweeping transitions. Very smooth too. Now that the landscaping has matured a bit, it looks less like a building site than it did last year too, but unfortunately that has been negated by the giant building site right next door that will soon be Nightflight Expedition. Excited for that, I can tell you!
I would have previously said that Big Bear Mountain might be the best family coaster outside of Orlando... but then Mecaladon happened and frankly, that's even better.

Firechaser Express.
Didn't leave much of an impression on me last year but after front and back row night rides I now conclude that this coaster is lots of fun, really enjoyed it. Quite a long, creative layout with some nifty tricks, and you know how I love any ride with fire and explosions. Excellent supporting coaster.

Tennessee Tornado.
Classic old school Arrow looper. Despite reasonably impressive height and top speed, this ride has a surprisingly short layout consisting of little more than 3 inversions and an overnanked turn. However, the drop into a tunnel is very cool, the setting is lovely and it rides pretty smoothly overall. As with all the coasters here, pitch black night rides elevate the experience significantly. Enjoyed it lots.

Dragonflier.
Probably the most 'ordinary' coaster here, being a basic clone n'all. Fun ride, but nothing to make it stand out from a number of other similar coasters.

Mystery Mine was closed for scheduled maintenance on this visit so I still only have the one lap from last year to go on. Let's just say that of all the coasters to be closed for maintenance, I'm glad it was this one. Definitely my least favourite of the bunch. Well themed, of course, but janky and uncomfortable.
 
Copied from my trip report...

Stardust Racers:

Stardust Racers is a phenomenal coaster. Got a good few rides in early on our first day, with a plan to marathon it in the evening. Rain was forecasted from 2-10pm, but we didn't account for a thunderstorm which kept Stardust Racers closed for the majority of the afternoon/evening. Fair play to them, they got it open at 8.45pm. You may have heard of the Zadra magic gate, but did you know there is a Stardust Racers magic gate? Spent an hour lapping it in the pouring rain without the long walk and locker/metal detector faff. Even had a front row ride where I was the only person across both trains. Turns out Orlando gets very chilly in the evenings in December but there were a few other like-minded idiots doing the same thing as me.

It was hard to judge the coaster during the Sunday night waterboarding session but the weather was great on our second day and I got several more night rides. One thing is for certain, it's the best night ride in the world and I'm not convinced it will ever be beaten. As well as the obvious relentless airtime and pacing of the ride, you've got the dueling, the music, the lighting, the launches all combining to deliver a truly euphoric experience. I don't know how people can have preferred side as they are both too similar and both elite. I have no idea where to rank it overall but it is definitely a top 10 coaster and possibly top 5. Compared to the other Mack's, I think I'd give it a slight edge over Voltron and it is absolutely miles clear of Hyperia and RTH.
 
410. The Branson Coaster - This was the weaker of the two mountain coasters I rode on Sunday. The ride has a decent length but the ride does feel a bit controlled. This is one of the smoothest mountain coasters I've ridden.

409. Runaway Mountain Coaster - The stronger of the two mountain coasters I've ridden in Branson, the ride down feels a bit unhinged. I rode it completely brakeless and I not only felt some good pops of air and I love when the cart feels like its just barely hanging onto the track when you hit those turns really fast. It reminds me of the Goat Coaster in Pigeon Forge
 
Popped into Winter Wonderland while in London. It gets it's detractors, and yes it's not cheap, but it's an amazing thing to be put up on a temporary basis. There were at least 3 bars with free live music, lots of people having a great time, so against that £8 a pint is not that bad. I ate pigs in blankets with chips, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce, and for £13 it was a bargain. Lots of great rides, though it would certainly break the bank to ride them all. I stuck to the coasters.

Started with Time Machine. A reverchon spinner, with a slightly unusual banked section. Didn't spin much and really very uncomfortable. Nice theming but not enough pleasure to pain ratio.

1000037117.jpg

Ice Mountain is another reverchon spinner, but mainly indoors. Lots of spinning and just less uncomfortable. Even though not all lights were working, shows what a different experience you get by putting an ordinary coaster indoors with effects. A lot of fun. BTW big (20 minute)queue, would have bought fast pass if didn’t already have ticket.

Wilde Maus XXL both of the above were new to me, wheras I had ridden Wilde Maus xxl before but wanted a reride, and it along with Munich Looping were why I'd popped in. Really fun ride, great views then the first 2 big drops are fantastic. Yes it knocks you around a bit, but it's a wild mouse, and there's pleasure alongside the pain. A great traveling ride.

1000037107.jpg

Finally Olympic Looping, I've always loved this but it's taken some stick recently, it had been a few years since my last ride and I wondered if it had deteriorated past enjoyment. Not at all, I thought it was great. Again amazing views and first drop then pretty much nonstop loops. Not too janky given age and travelling, and a lot of joy. It is true that the accordion shoulder restraints tighten throughout turning you into a hunchback, but it's worth it.

1000037113.jpg
1000037110.jpg
If money were no object the three above would have been worth a reride for sure. I was never going to do the kiddy coaster, scenic railway had a crazy queue or I'd have ticked it off, and the others I'd done with no desire to do again so that was me. Fun couple of hours.
 
Two credits obtained while in Santiago, Dominican Republic. They’re both on the same block but operated inconveniently enough to my bus schedule that they were ridden on separate days.

#230 - Galaxy Coaster @ Screamland Space Academy
It’s an FEC in a new mall that opened in July, even though the cred is fresh it runs like a new B&M. The lighting package is cool but runs independently from the ride. Seatbelts are installed but “not necessary” per ride ops. It’s SBF Visa slop ofc. Major positive though is that it’s integrated with a play structure built within the footprint.
IMG_0301.jpeg

#231 - Wacky Worm @ Santiago Xtreme Park
It’s a temporary event, but not with the local credit I’d expected to find. My coveted DR completion continues to elude me, but as compensation they had a Wacky Worm on loan from Puerto Rico, so by technicality of ownership I’ve completed that country. The boss spoke perfect English and had strong ties with the American shows, so thus was willing to offer slot of nerd info on different ride origins and local players.
IMG_0521.jpeg
 
Few recent trips over holidays in Asia:

Universal Studios Japan:

Hollywood Dream: Fun coaster, huge bonus in onboard audio, enjoyed a lot. Would be a great first coaster to introduce a friend. Smooth and fun. I'd absolutely be up for a mini marathon of this. What a shame about awful fast pass system which makes this almost impossible.

Flying Dinosaur: Very, very, VERY good. I don't overly like flying coasters. I absolutely like this, by FAR the best flyer I've done, completely blows FLY out of the water imho outside of theming. Which admittedly was pretty lame lol, but who cares when the ride is this great. Top ten material for certain for me.

Times Square Berjaya, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Supersonic Odyssey: Was expecting a janky mess but I thought this was pretty fun really. Rode 3 times, mostly smoother than expected (longway from butter but certainly not uncomfortable), bit rougher towards the back but nothing awful. More for the novelty than the actual coaster, but better than I thought overall. Worth a visit if you're in KL and not on a budget (I find the park entry fee kinda steep and you can't just do the coaster sadly). Probably not worth travelling for if you're not in KL though, even if you're in Malaysia...

1000003256.jpg


1000003243.jpg
1000003246.jpg
 
E.R.S Babylon Park:
Today marks my 30th birthday, and the one thing I’ve never done before on my birthday is be able to ride a rollercoaster. That changed today when I went to Babylon Park to experience my 68th credit. E.R.S, after having to spend £25, I was able to get five rides on the coaster.
IMG_5080.jpeg
The coaster layout was a simple SBF Visa, hill, downwards helix, little airtime hill, into a sharp mostly unbanked turn back into the station, for this bit alone it felt quite forceful.
IMG_5082.jpeg
All of the cycles I experienced went around the layout 4 times, was it worth £25, definitely not, but seeing as that is the minimum spend, you’re kinda locked into it, would I ride it again, probably not unless I want another coaster fix again on my birthday when all of the other UK parks are closed for the winter season, hopefully this may change with Universal Studios GB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top