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Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012 - Results

Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

bmac said:
Can't wait to count how many troll ballots there are with only Prowler and Timber Wolf on them. Last time there were like 8.

But that's why these polls are good... Overall, these ballots will count for very little compared to pretty much anyone with more coasters in their ballots, so there's little chance to rig the results.
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

Mike said:
bmac said:
Can't wait to count how many troll ballots there are with only Prowler and Timber Wolf on them. Last time there were like 8.

But that's why these polls are good... Overall, these ballots will count for very little compared to pretty much anyone with more coasters in their ballots, so there's little chance to rig the results.

Yeah I know that. Prowler ended up #9 and I did a ctrl+f through most of the list to check, most people who had it on their list had it somewhere above their top 20 and there were a lot more real ballots than troll ones. It's a great system but there are still people who think they can troll it.
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

Mike said:
But that's why these polls are good... Overall, these ballots will count for very little compared to pretty much anyone with more coasters in their ballots, so there's little chance to rig the results.
That however can be a disadvantage to the polls.

In the 2009 steel coaster poll, Eagle's Fortress ranked in 3rd with 13 riders. Kawasemi and Pyrenees ranked in 9th and 11th respectively with 17 riders each.

steelresults2009.jpg


In 2008, three of the top five steel coasters had under 20 riders each.

steelresults2008.jpg


The polls give greater klout to ballots with more rides, taking voting power away from the average roller coaster rider. While these are good rides receiving the votes, it undermines the entire democratic process to have a small few decide the rankings. A roller coaster can only truly be the world's best if you have a reasonable amount of ridership, let's say over 40. Until then, votes will be received with skepticism and question.

Gratefully Mitch has altered the algorithm slightly over the years to account for this variance. By it's nature, the wooden poll also usually has a smaller variability of riders, as majority of the world's wooden coasters are easily accessible (as opposed to Asian steel coasters).

T-Express will most likely receive enough votes to be in the top five. If there is a wooden coaster that will skew the results, smart money is on the GCI creation Wood Coasters at Knight Valley in Shenzhen, China.

iepqei66a4d7g0013ms3i0.jpg
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

Except that the CGI in knight valley is turd.
Alright not turd...but definitely overated
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

The results are out:

1 El Toro SFGAd NJ 297 167 0 0 1.0000
2 T Express Everland KR 19 164 1 1 0.9910
3 The Voyage Holiday World IN 202 164 3 0 0.9820 57
4 Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT 174 164 3 0 0.9820 52
5 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 242 163 4 0 0.9760
6 Balder Liseberg SE 86 160 5 1 0.9669
7 Dauling Dragon-L Happy Valley CN 11 155 7 3 0.9485 4
8 Ravine Flyer II Waldameer PA 145 158 8 1 0.9491 3
9 Dauling Dragon-R Happy Valley CN 11 154 8 3 0.9424
10 Colossos Heide Park DE 122 156 9 2 0.9401
11 Fireball Happy Valley Song CN 18 155 11 0 0.9337
12 El Toro Freizeitpark Plohn DE 35 153 11 1 0.9303
13 Troy Toverland NL 120 154 12 0 0.9277
14 Wood Coaster Knight Valley CN 11 146 7 10 0.9264
15 Thunderhead Dollywood TN 184 152 14 1 0.9132
16 Twister Grona Lund SE 39 149 15 2 0.9036
17 Prowler Worlds of Fun MO 88 149 16 2 0.8982
18 Thunderbird PowerPark FI 34 147 19 0 0.8855
19 Renegade Valleyfair! MN 78 147 20 0 0.8802
20 Tremors Silverwood ID 39 143 18 5 0.8765

http://www.ushsho.com/woodrollercoaster ... ts2012.htm
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

I don't understand how Thunderhead is never in the top 10 or why Boulder Dash is in the top 5.

I understand why people don't rate other things I love such as Lightning Racer or Beast very high, because they don't confirm to standards by which most people rate good coasters. They are more fun than they are critically amazing. But Thunderhead is genuinely awesome in every aspect. It's both insanely fun, intense in the right ways and situated at a quality park. It's got nothing holding it back! Boulder Dash doesn't do anything and is at a terrible park. I don't get it.
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

Joey said:
I don't understand how Boulder Dash is in the top 5.

Because you seem to be the only person (or, at the most, one of the very few) in the world who doesn't enjoy it?... Or were you asking a rhetorical question? :?

I don't think there's too many surprises this year, and especially the top 20 looks like a very strong list of coasters. A few 'interesting' choices for what's inside the top 50 in my opinion, but really anything below the top 20 is a big ball of 'meh' to me. :p

I've updated the first post to include the results.
 
Besides some personal shifting and the always fun TPR shift.. this looks like a good list I agree with.
 
It'a very fair list all in all. I don't think that Troy should be up that high, but it's still a good ride.
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

Mike said:
Joey said:
I don't understand how Boulder Dash is in the top 5.

Because you seem to be the only person (or, at the most, one of the very few) in the world who doesn't enjoy it?... Or were you asking a rhetorical question? :?

I don't think there's too many surprises this year, and especially the top 20 looks like a very strong list of coasters. A few 'interesting' choices for what's inside the top 50 in my opinion, but really anything below the top 20 is a big ball of 'meh' to me. :p

I've updated the first post to include the results.
There's plenty of people who don't get the big fuss. Let's not misunderstand my opinion of Boulder Dash - it's one of the greats, but it's not one of the exceptional ones. For comparison's sake, let's look at my top 10...

Ravine Flyer II Waldameer
Thunderhead Dollywood
The Voyage Holiday World
El Toro SFGAd
The Beast Kings Island
Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark
Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark
Balder Liseberg
Boulder Dash Lake Compounce
Phoenix Knoebel's

See, I place it high, but like you say anything under 20 ain't really worth talking about, except in its own terms.

I have a theory as to why Boulder Dash is so highly rated. Most enthusiasts visit that park in the evening when the park isn't a ripoff, when the ride is running it's best. Combine that with the same overrating that most of those "quaint" parks get, especially in the USA, or obscure parks in strage locations get, and bam. Phoenix gets the same treatment, and the only reason I'm a little less impressed with Phoenix is I think it's on a dirty margine between uncomfortableness and insanity, has poor flow and the ride varies so massively in quality between rides I can't take it seriously. I like to think I look at those parks and their good, but comparatively meh, coasters objectively. I think most people don't, in all honesty, and get carried away by the idea of the park and it's rides. Kennywood is another park that really shouldn't even be given the light of day, but for some reason it and it's collection of not just meh, but TERRIBLE woodies get no end of praise. I'll take criticism of my placement of Beast, because it's actually poor by critical standards, but the ride is genuinely good fun, terrifying, interesting and deserves placement in with the rest of the exceptional rides above it because it's as enjoyable as the rest of them.

Let's give some context to my Boulder Dash experience. A group of CF members rode it says prior and were mostly kind of unimpressed by it. Jerry said it was running the worst he'd ever experienced it. We had no contact with the rest of CF and had not heard this when we rode, andu unfortunately had to ride it in the day time, but the 4 in our group were all of the same opinion. Confusion... This... Isn't that great? I rode it 3 times to try and find the greatness, but no where was the out of control feeling I was promised. It was slow and the airtime was minimal at best. Even if that was Boulder Dash riding badly, I can't see how it could ever be exceptional. It just doesn't do anything. Even if all the forces and speed was exaggerated, the track doesn't do anything.

I like the out of control woodies that dance about and surprise you, that's why the likes of Phoenix just doesn't excite me that much.
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

Joey said:
Boulder Dash doesn't do anything and is at a terrible park. I don't get it.
What does the park that a coaster sits in have to do with whether it's a great coaster or not? Aren't these rankings supposed to be about the coaster itself & not whether it sits in a terrible park or not?

Of course you are entitled to your opinion, no matter how misguided, but aren't other also entitled to theirs, no matter how misguided? :?
 
I'm not slating anyone's opinion, just discussing to try and find out why people rate Boulder Dash. I explain why I don't and what I don't get, no one ever explains why they do. All you get is people saying "well everyone else likes it but you so you're wrong". The whole point of this forum is to discuss opinions.

So, yeah, can I make it clear that there's nothing wrong with challenging someone else's opinion. There's also nothing wrong with defending, or not defending, your opinion. Do whatever the **** you want, but don't get pissy when someone's else's opinion differs from yours, the majorities, Jesus' or they enjoy to form some kind of reasoning and explanation for their opinion instead of going "my favourite coaster is derpaherpaderpdoo. The end."

And the park has everything to do with it. It's like saying that platform on which a game is played doesn't matter. You can't objectively remove a coaster from it's surroundings, and in a case like Boulder Dash, where it's landscaping is the most prominent point of it's character, it's a bit silly to say the park is irrelevant.
 
I like it because of the wooded setting.. the massive amounts of airtime.. and the fun time I had on the ride. While things do change.. it was an airtime MACHINE when I rode it in 2008? The triple up was sublime. The setting.. especially at night.. was just epic.. and I rode it and had fun numerous times with one of my best friends. Overall, it was a very fun and enjoyable experience.
 
Boulder Dash is my number one coaster because:

- It has elements of surprise. For example, when I rode it I had never seen any POVs of it and it was hardly ever discussed, so I had no idea what was coming. When the ride was about half way through, I thought it was a good ride but I guessed it must be finishing soon... Many elements later, including triple-ups and double-downs, and I was in awe of how incredible t was.

- It has the speed. It's a bit like the Nemesis of the wood coaster world with how it starts of relatively slowly, but just keeps gaining momentum all the way round the track.

- It was smooth. Well, apart from a bit of a knee-jerk at the bottom of the main drop, but the rest of the ride by far made up for that.

- AIRTIME! Every drop, every hill, incredible amounts of airtime.

- The atmosphere when I rode it was fantastic. People may not like other enthusiast groups for what they do during their ERT sessions, but it makes a HUGE difference to how good I perceive a ride to be... But then again, I also rode before the ERT session with just whoever was in my group at that time, and I still thought it was awesome... The ERT just brought the ride home.

- Excellent use of the surrounding scenery.

- Good ripe ops. Yep, these guys definitely make a difference to a ride experience. The ride might be excellent, but if you've got an op acting like a twat then my thoughts of the ride will decrease.

- It's not too forceful. One of the main reasons why I didn't enjoy El Toro as much as I might have done was because the force of it actually made me uncomfortable; as in, my neck started to hurt towards the end and I started to feel a bit nauseous. This is also a reason why I don't rate many B&Ms as much as other people do; sure, they're good, but I now feel a bit dizzy and sick.

Sure, you might easily argue that many other coasters can fit into these categories, but I got the feeling that I had just ridden a fantastic ride after things like Boulder Dash and Phoenix, whereas that feeling might not have been that high in other coasters, such as Joris en de Draak for example.
 
Re: Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012

I like Boulder Dash so much because it's fast, fun, filled with unexpected airtime & you don't see what's coming next. I also like its re-rideability, as I've ridden it about 100 times or more & it never gets old (even when it isn't running at its best). Then there's the fact that you can ride in just about any seat & get a great ride & to some extent a different ride depending on which seat you're sitting in. Finally there's the setting. It might be in a terrible park (your opinion - not mine), but that doesn't detract from the feeling you get flying along so close to the ground, around those massive boulders & through the trees. Hell, I even love the lift hill just because it so nice to be going up the mountain like that.
Still, I think furie explained what's so great about Boulder Dash best (even though Mike just did a great job of it), but I don't remember exactly where he posted his opinion & have done a quick search but can't find it. So I hope he'll have a easier time finding it again & re-post it here.
Maybe he can also explain why we had such a bad experience riding Phoenix when he visited the park, even though I've never had anything but an awesome ride all the other times I've been to Knoebels. I personally think it was because he refused to ride in the front, but that still doesn't explain why there was absolutely no airtime in the back when we rode it together. I've always had pops of airtime in the back, even though it's nowhere near what you get in the front.
Joey said:
I like the out of control woodies that dance about and surprise you, that's why the likes of Phoenix just doesn't excite me that much.
I think this is exactly one of the reasons everyone else likes Phoenix so much. The sheer volume & force of the airtime on it makes the coaster feel out of control & completely takes you by surprise (just ask Ciall :lol: ). I think that the majority, if not everyone, at the Live add-on agrees with me on this.
Joey said:
I don't understand how Thunderhead is never in the top 10... Thunderhead is genuinely awesome in every aspect.
I disagree completely. Thunderhead lacks the airtime that the Top 5 have in abundance. Of course Thunderhead makes up for it in lateral Gs & it's layout is beyond amazing, but airtime seems to rank as the single most important factor to enthusiasts & that's why the Top 5 coasters are in those positions.
 
Thunderhead is a good, solid coaster, but if you're looking for a ride that "doesn't do much", then that's it.

It may well be the fact that I rode Boulder Dash after 5pm, so it had been warming up all day. It might not have been running as well last year as it was in 2010 when I rode it. I didn't ride it last year, so I can't comment on that, but we all know that that can happen.

Yeah, it sucks that it might have been riding crap last year, which is when a lot of CFers got to ride it, but that's not going to alter the fact that myself, and plenty of others, found it to be an amazing coaster. It's kind of annoying to hear all the "you're wrong, it's ****" comments coming from people who rode it last year and basically being dismissive of other people's experiences.

If you look at the people who rate it highly, there are plenty in there who've ridden enough coasters to know what's "good" or "bad". I'm not going to sit here and say that anyone's "wrong" based on their own experiences last year, but when there are so many people - people with enough experience to know what they're talking about - then don't you think maybe it's time to look at the possibility that it wasn't doing the same things last year as it was a few years ago?

It goes the other way as well. This year I got to ride Expedition GeForce, a ride which I've heard mixed reviews on, and Silver Star, which is almost universally panned. I loved both coasters. That's not to say that the people who didn't like them are "wrong", as I know that some of them have ridden enough coasters to know the difference. Instead, I've put it down to a change in the way the coasters are running.
 
It's not that Boulder Dash was running poorly last year, just the days around the Live. It was running great when I was at the park last Spring & again when I went in the Fall. I think it had everything to do with the weather, as it had been raining a lot leading up to the Live & was very dry the other times I visited the park.
The Flying Turns ride engineer at Knoebels explained to us during the walk-through that coasters run best in their accustomed climates, whether it be dry heat in the USA or cooler wet conditions in the UK (generally speaking, of course). This would also explain why Phoenix was running so poorly for furie, as it was & had been raining quite a bit during & prior to his visit.
 
Once again Coaster goes unnoticed at #28, shame that the only coaster I've ridden in the top ten is Voyage which was crap while my favorite is just there.
 
All in all a proper list. As China builds more woodies moving forward, it will be interesting to see how they stack up.

I'm going to do a side-by-side comparison of my Top 10 vs. Where they ended up (in parentheses):

1. Ravine Flyer II (7)
2. Thunderhead (15)
3. Apocalypse the Ride (33)
4. The Beast (47)
5. Lightning Racer (35 and 38)
6. Prowler (17)
7. Colossus (113)
8. Wildcat (83)
9. Blue Streak (65)
10. Timber Wolf (120)

... Well that isn't consistent. :wink:
 
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