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Most underrated roller coasters you’ve ever ridden

B

Bencarcieri01

Roller Poster
What are some of y’all’s most underrated coasters you’ve ever ridden, I’ll name my top 3

3: Vortex (Canada’s Wonderland)
2: Giant Dipper (Santa Cruz Boardwalk)
1: Thunder Run (Kentucky Kingdom)

Feel free to list as many as you can think of.
 
Just a few to mind (not ordered)

1. Corkscrew (CP)
I like this thing! It is janky, but it has airtime! It’s really not amazing, but not awful. I smiled coming off it.

2. Gemini (CP).
Very fun arrow. Just suffers from being at CP next to monsters like Steel Vengeance

3. Cancan Coaster (EP)
I rode the original Euro-Sat many times, and people seem to claim that EP “ruined it”. I couldn’t disagree more, Eurosat was a dark (charming) janky mess, but Cancan is a refined, light hearted charming coaster. It is surprisingly fast, long for a family coaster. Honestly it’s hard not to come off happy.

4. Galactica
Poor Galactica, everyone seems to forget that most flying coasters are plopped on flat land. Galactica and it’s terrain usage is so good! I rode a superman clone a while back and missed the fairly unique layout of Galactica.
 
Tomahawk in PortAventura. It's a so called kids coaster, but for me it's better than Stampedia and Coaster Express, making it the best woodie in Spain.

White Lightning in Florida, packed with airtime.

Nick Streak BPB, always in the shadows of the Big Dipoer, but for me it's the better of the two.

Spinball Whizzer at Towers, not a headline grabbing ride but more fun than the likes of Smiler and Thirteen for me.
 
Rip Ride Rockit is definitely a coaster that's pretty divisive. Usually you either really like the ride or absolutely hate it. I love the pops of ejector and onboard soundtrack. Layout is pretty fun too, although the trains don't track well at all. I'm shocked the onboard audio still works flawlessly. On a bad day, I can only ride it once because the ride hurts my back. On a good day though? I can ride it 2-3 times back to back.

I really enjoyed Mine Blower and Grizzly before the retrack as well. I've got a pretty good tolerance for roughness on wooden coasters.
 
RevolutionRuleZ said:
Tomahawk in PortAventura. It's a so called kids coaster, but for me it's better than Stampedia and Coaster Express, making it the best woodie in Spain.

White Lightning in Florida, packed with airtime.

Nick Streak BPB, always in the shadows of the Big Dipoer, but for me it's the better of the two.

Spinball Whizzer at Towers, not a headline grabbing ride but more fun than the likes of Smiler and Thirteen for me.
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Dude, White Lightning in the back is one of the best rides for airtime possible, I legit almost got launched out of the train once on that one
 
Dan Nguyen said:
Rip Ride Rockit is definitely a coaster that's pretty divisive. Usually you either really like the ride or absolutely hate it. I love the pops of ejector and onboard soundtrack. Layout is pretty fun too, although the trains don't track well at all. I'm shocked the onboard audio still works flawlessly. On a bad day, I can only ride it once because the ride hurts my back. On a good day though? I can ride it 2-3 times back to back.

I really enjoyed Mine Blower and Grizzly before the retrack as well. I've got a pretty good tolerance for roughness on wooden coasters.
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If you can survive Wildcat at Lake Compounce, you can survive anything lmaoooo, at least Compounce has Boulder Dash


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Thunderhead at Dollywood. Nobody talks about this masterpiece. Front car is insane. Super aggressive and tons of airtime that gets more intense as the ride progresses through its course. The last three airtime pops are very strong. And the loading station fly through is awesome. If this had the same theming and pacing as Mystic Timbers I think It’s get more attention. It’s on par with that coaster in ride experience. Especially when ridden up front.
 
A few come to mind

Euro Mir

Yes the lift hill is too long and the "observation ride" section is just plain weird but the coaster section has some outstanding sustained positives. A massive guilty pleasure coaster.

Colorado Adventure

In the back car this ride feels out of control. Insane laterals that'll have you sliding across the seat and those spaghetti bowls are just demented especially the one on the indoor section.

Calamity Mine

Nobody seems to talk about this coaster yet it still offers great laterals especially when it's been running for a while. Not nearly as good as CA but just another wonderfully janky mine train (yes I do love the model). A great night ride.

Nessie (Hansa Park)

It might only have one loop but this coaster is just great. The positive G's on the vertical loop are intense and you have a couple of really good ejector pops aided by the lap bar only train. Vastly superior to Olympia Looping yet a coaster the no one seems talks about.

Rip Ride Rocket

Absolutely loved this coaster during my 2022 trip to Florida so was really surprised when I became an Enthusiast to see the hate for it. The ride is just superb with a great variety of elements and a comfortable train.
 
SNWest said:
Thunderhead at Dollywood. Nobody talks about this masterpiece.
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Ah, you must either be new to the community or just young. This is my (non) issue with discussions like this and I was surprised it took this many posts to find one like this..... but they always happen eventually.

Thunderhead is far from unrated, it's just been replaced. When it was new, it was in everyone's top, it won the golden ticket award for best wood coaster, twice...even beating out Voyage, it's opening year. So it definitely had it's moment in the sun and was for sure talked about A LOT.

Coasters like Raptor (CP), Expedition GeForce, Balder, and Superman (NE) tend to come up a lot in topics like this too, also being rides that topped the charts at one point or another back in their prime. So maybe not under rated just no longer in the spotlight and I'm sure we'll see it with rides that's have opened in the last few years, eventually. Like when was the mast time people talked about Iron Rattler or New Texas Giant?
 
I'm gonna say:

1. Vortex, Canada's Wonderland. I have no idea how this is only a "High Thrill Ride" on the thrill level scale; it's so forceful that my eyes are almost forced closed.
2. West Coast Racers, Six Flags Magic Mountain. Mom loves it, Dad loves it, and I love it too. Great forces, and the high five is something to behold. I mean, how the hell do you get such force out of a ride not even 70 feet tall???
3. Full Throttle, Six Flags Magic Mountain. Somehow, this ride is almost as intense as Leviathan or Maverick. And I didn't have high expectations getting on it. It blew my socks off like one of those "Big Ass Fans" on full power.
4. Tatsu, Six Flags Magic Mountain. My first B&M flying coaster, I expected a less intense ride, something like Galactica. Boy, was I wrong. Come the pretzel loop, I felt like it was trying to not just kill me, but put me in a grave on the other side of the world.
5. Rougarou, Cedar Point. I didn't expect much, but Rougarou really blew me away. It was rough but not too rough; it was more of a rattle for me. And it was pretty intense, too. It really tested my expectations.
 
the main (and only one) id considered underrate has to be hangtime at knotts

don't get me wrong, hangtime is FAR from a top tier coaster (a long with the other rides at knotts.) . but people seem to hate on this ride for a slight rattle or it being forceless. I think its quite smooth and forceful myself.
 
I’ve posted in threads like these before, but a few newer ones I would nominate are:
  • Uncharted at PortAventura: When talking about this ride, people often fixate on how poor the on-ride theming is (which I admittedly don’t disagree with), but I think the ride hardware itself is excellent and often very overlooked! There are lots of punchy launches, I thought some of the ride’s tricks were interesting and really cool, it’s fast, it has lots of fun twists and turns, and I just thought it was a great coaster in terms of hardware! In all honesty, it was probably my second favourite of the coasters in the main park behind Shambhala.
  • Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando: Most reviews of Ice Breaker seem to be at best indifferent, but I thought it was absolutely phenomenal! For starters, the swing launch packed some absolutely brilliant ejector airtime and the junior scorpion tail in this segment had some lovely floater! The main segment of the ride was also wonderful, in my view, with more surprisingly excellent ejector airtime, a nice sense of speed, intensify without being excessive and an overall great sense of fun! I particularly liked the top hat in the main portion; despite being half the size of that of VelociCoaster, it packs almost the same intensity of airtime as VelociCoaster’s top hat! Overall, I loved Ice Breaker, and definitely thought it was an under-recognised gem!
  • Silver Star at Europa Park: Silver Star always seems to be viewed as the poor relation to the likes of Shambhala, and like Ice Breaker above, reviews of it commonly seem to be indifferent or mildly praising at best, but I still think it really holds its own against Shambhala and is a sublime ride in its own right! The sustained airtime in the first half is wonderful, like the other two B&M Hypers I’ve ridden, but I find it to really come into its own after the MCBR, where you get some absolutely cracking ejector airtime! It probably has the strongest post-MCBR jaunt of any B&M Hyper I’ve ridden, even if its pre-MCBR section doesn’t quite top Shambhala or Mako for me.
 
Let's give this a crack shall we?

Freestyle at Cavallino Matto blew me away 2 years ago and I'm eager to return to this tiny Italian park this year to ride this TOGO Standup. When I heard the two words together my curiosity got the best of me and decided I simply had to go. I expected a rough, painful experience and was absolutely terrified getting onboard but what I ended up getting is one of the most fun coasters I have ever ridden. Freestyle packs in oodles of some of the most fun airtime you can get anywhere, and plenty of fun janky transitions and positive Gs. It's perfectly comfortable and in my eyes stands alongside greats like Zadra, Taron, Hyperia and is elite in its own right.

Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain is an incredibly fun GCI that I've heard mixed things about, so when it landed in my top 3 at the park I was shocked. Saying that, I can't say I was too impressed with Magic Mountain's coaster lineup, but this ride reminded me of a mini Wodan and I thought it was absolutely brilliant.


Hala Madrid at Real Madrid World I don't think is underrated as much as it is unknown. In my opinion, this is one of the better GCIs and if you manage to get a full train on it (which I have) it's an absolutely cracking coaster with oodles of airtime of all different kinds and it really throws you around. More people need to get on this thing! I also noticed that it runs so much better once it cycles a few times. Don't be underwhelmed by your first ride on this thing; you need to warm it up yourself. Barely anyone rides it.

Big One at Pleasure Beach Resort is my favourite coaster in the UK. Nuff said.
 
Underrated..... I would have to say,

Manta @ Busch Gardens Tampa - best flying coaster I've ridden with powerful forces pushing me every which way. The wing tip splash down over the lagoon is fun. Loved the queue line inside the aquarium.

Kraken @ Busch Garden Tampa is on my list of favourites, but not often mentioned lately. Good forces throughout the ride experience, looks great from all around the park and fun to ride. The first drop from the front row is memorable.

Big Thunder Mountain @ Disneyland Paris has to be worthy of consideration, especially as it keeps building up the forces throughout the ride until the wonderfully long 'run' home through the mountain, under the lake and braking just before the station after cresting the final rise. A perfect coaster for the whole family to enjoy. The unexpected descent just out of the station also catches first-timers out really well. Theming is inevitably top notch.
 
One I’ve had on my mind is Timber Wolf at World’s of Fun. I rode it with the original 540 degree helix, and it could have been a glitch in the Matrix, but riding front seat, back car was floater heaven, with great negative g’s and fun laterals. Climbed aboard expecting pure Dinn/CCI meandering, but was so surprised at an actually good ride!
 
Thunderhead @ Dollywood - it's almost a perfect wooden coaster and I think it gets overlooked because of Lightning Rod being in the same park. For me it's better than any coaster we have in the UK and although it might not objectively be 'better' than LR - it's the main ride I look forward to going on when I return

Apocalypse @ Six Flags Magic Mountain - very similar, it might not be as good as Twisted Colossus but it's an incredible wooden coaster and feels absolutely relentless, it could easily be the highlight of a smaller park.

Also I agree with Matt N about Uncharted, I was so surprised at how fun that ride system is.
 
CanobieFan said:
Ah, you must either be new to the community or just young. This is my (non) issue with discussions like this and I was surprised it took this many posts to find one like this..... but they always happen eventually.

Thunderhead is far from unrated, it's just been replaced. When it was new, it was in everyone's top, it won the golden ticket award for best wood coaster, twice...even beating out Voyage, it's opening year. So it definitely had it's moment in the sun and was for sure talked about A LOT.

Coasters like Raptor (CP), Expedition GeForce, Balder, and Superman (NE) tend to come up a lot in topics like this too, also being rides that topped the charts at one point or another back in their prime. So maybe not under rated just no longer in the spotlight and I'm sure we'll see it with rides that's have opened in the last few years, eventually. Like when was the mast time people talked about Iron Rattler or New Texas Giant?
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To @Geeky Pastimes's post, +1ing @CanobieFan's astute observation on the Thunderhead callback. Definitely understand if the "wow" factor can be lost to time, but never forget once upon a time - Thunderhead was basically everyone's first GCI; a definitely departure from Dinn and CCI basic stock. ;)

I continue to have Apocalypse and Thunderhead in my top 10 for woodies - hard to imagine Thunderhead ever losing it's stun factor.
 
Yeah we first went to Dollywood just a few years ago and I had never even heard of Thunderhead, we were there for Lightning Rod (and Dolly). I hadn't seen it in Youtubers' top 50 videos even, even if it's just been forgotten a bit, I still think that means it's underrated right now, because it's a top tier coaster.
 
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