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Rank the Intamin Launch Coasters

Best I've been on is Maverick, and I believe that it probably is the best Intamin launch out there. Storm Runner is definitely my second favorite Intamin launch that I've been on, but iSpeed, Red Fire, Superman Escape, and Taron seem a fair bit better.
 
Gonna have to give this one to Cheetah Hunt. Nice smooth ride that flows beautifully, has some lovely terrain, and goes on forever. Nice pops of airtime in there as well.

Volcano, Runner, and TTD are all fab too. Don't think I've even ridden one I dislike except for Ka.
 
I'd probably rate them in this order:

1. Maverick
2. Cheetah Hunt
3. Dragster
4. Storm Runner
5. Volcano (This was such a surprise, as I'd never heard anything positive really being said about this ride!)
6. Stealth
7. Kingda Ka
8. Rita
9. Wicked Twister
10. V2 (SFDK)
11. Possessed

I'd say they are all good until you get down to Ka where they start to become mediocre (but not terrible).

Basically layout (bar TTD) following the launch seems to be the thing that differentiates the good from the bad here.
 
I've ridden:
Volcano
Storm Runner
Maverick
Dragster
Ka
Wicked Twister

I'd say Storm Runner followed by Dragster. I wanted to love Maverick, but some of the lateral Gs and rotational motion were excessive and unpleasant. (This is a gripe that I have with a number of Intamin coasters.)
 
Out of the ones I've ridden, I'd probably rank them like:
  1. Stealth (Thorpe Park)
  2. Cheetah Hunt (Busch Gardens Tampa)
  3. Rita (Alton Towers)
So for that reason, I voted Stealth in the poll. It's probably not the best overall, though; if you ask me, anyway!
 
I have a weakness for a good launch, which is why most of these lie high on my favourites (yes, even Rita)

1. Taron - Intense, forceful, fast, lengthy, beautiful theming. Phenomenal coaster
2. iSpeed - Just that little bit more intense, but let down by the restraints
3. Red Force - Sometimes big, tall and fast is all you need
4. Stealth - Punchy
5. Rita - I'll always stand up for Rita. Lots of good airtime and a great launch
6. Desert Race - Of the two clones, the worse. Still love it though
7. Furius Baco - I had the benefit of riding in the "Good seat" yet it still kinda does nothing
8. Kanonen - The only one I was ever 'meh' on. Just a bit uncomfortable and had a weak launch
 
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1. Red Force
2. Formula Rossa (incredible launch, the rest of the ride is just something to endure)
3. Stealth
4. Furius Baco
5. Speed Monster (love that "Norwegian loop")
6. Rita
7. Desert Race
8. Superman Escape from Krypton (so gentle)
9. Turbo Track (good use of space but ridiculously short)

Helix is better than any of these. I got spited by Kanonen :-(.
 
1. Top Thrill Dragster. Because 120mph + 420ft + lapbars = Awesome! The ultimate 1-trick pony.
2. Taron. Night time ERT on this bad boy is an experience to cherish.
3. Kingda Ka. It might be rough, green and theme-less, but my God - it's still terrifyingly tall and fast.
4. Volcano: The Blast Coaster. Very underrated coaster this, but I think it's an absolute blast.
5. Maverick. Slightly overrated by most I feel, it's a bit of a mish-mash of concepts, but it does have a couple of outstanding moments.
6 & 7. The Impulse Coasters - Wicked Twister and V2: Vertical Velocity. I really liked these - 5 launches per ride? What's not to love??
8. Stealth. Another 1-trick pony but, like TTD, it just does it so well.
9. Furious Baco. Hmm. Potentially great ride ruined by awkward seating position and a couple of horrendous transitions.
10. Xcelerator. Technically this should rank higher than Stealth due to its extra track length, but somehow it just doesn't work as well. Doesn't have the right 'vibe', but still not bad.
11 & 12. Desert Rita. Can't decide between the 2 clones. Good launches, but both a bit 'meh' thereafter.
13. Kanonen. Meh.
14. Superman: Esacape from Krypton. (Spite).
 
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  1. Maverick - Yaaaaas
  2. Top Thrill Dragster - Best launch in the US
  3. Storm Runner - Flying Snake Dives should have become a thing
  4. Kingda Ka - Not a great launch but it sure is big
  5. Xcelerator - Lap Bars yay!
  6. Furius Baco - Wing setup, why? Still great launch tho
  7. California Screamin' - I wouldn't call this incredible, but it's better than that other thing
  8. Volcano Blast Coaster - Man, that's a lot of wasted potential
  9. Stealth - No lap bars? Meh
  10. Cheetah Hunt - Boring but that part on the water was fun
  11. Wicked Twister - I got a lil nauseous on it last time, so it's down here
  12. Superman Krypton - Forceless, horrid launch, just kind of a waste really
 
1. Maverick - Fantastic mix of elements. Excellent airtime, awesome launch, snappy transitions.
2. Top Thrill Dragster - Everything here works. Great setting, smooth and comfortable, and the best launch ever.
3. Storm Runner - Great accelerator that actually does stuff after the top hat. Inversions are great although the final s-bend isn't.
4. Stealth - Mini strata coaster and it's awesome. Launch itself is my second favorite, airtime hill is sweet, and OTSRs weren't a problem.
5. Wicked Twister - Honestly more fun than it probably should've been. There's some good floater up in the vertical spikes.
6. Cheetah Hunt - Solid ride but poor pacing. The launches are fun as are the middle portion with the s bends, but has too many large and gentle hills.
7. Rita - Fun launch of course and there's some okay airtime but the forces are bad and the OTSRs can be nasty.
8. Kingda Ka - Revolting
 
1) Maverick: Great all around ride. Intense, fast, it's got nice airtime, and is quite long. Will admit my last ride wasn't the best, and wasn't a fan of the restraints.
2) TTD: Took my breath away. It's short, but does what it does the absolute best it could.
3) Storm Runner: Meh. Didn't appeal to my very much. Kinda bumpy and could've been a tad longer. I rode these with the old restraints, so maybe the new ones make it that much better.
4) Impulses: Good fun. The initial launch is good, and the back spike can have some nice floater. Other than that it gets a bit repetitive.
5) Avatar Airbender: Kinda forgot about this one. Did it and forgot about it. Wasn't really sure to include this one or not.
 
  1. Maverick - Blitz
  2. Top Thrill Dragster - Hydraulic
  3. Storm Runner - Hydraulic
  4. Volcano The Blast Coaster - LSM
  5. Kingda Ka - Hydraulic
  6. Impulse Coasters - LSM
  7. Superman Escape From Krypton - LSM

Mavvy is still my favorite of the bunch that I've been on. TTD still holds a place in my heart even though I've ridden it for 15 years. Storm Runner is still as sexy as can be even though it has fallen out of favor due to my love for airtime. Same with Volcano due to how unique it is.
 
I think this poll is very different depending on whether you've experienced the US launched Intamins or the European ones.
It doesn't seem like Maverick has much to compete with in the USA in terms of layout...
 
1) Taron - duh.
2) Rita - I actually have a really soft spot for this. It is like a mini Taron on some ways, albeit nowhere near as good. Shame about the restraints.
3) Stealth - launch is decent, but the layout does nothing for me.
 
vaugc002 said:
I think this poll is very different depending on whether you've experienced the US launched Intamins or the European ones.
It doesn't seem like Maverick has much to compete with in the USA in terms of layout...
Click to expand...

You're right. Many of those stateside haven't been across the pond on most of those launchers and, while the ratio is certainly higher for europeans visiting CP, the numbers are fairly comparable. That being said, Maverick is still a great ride even compared to those in the European theater from those who've been.
 
Snoo said:
You're right. Many of those stateside haven't been across the pond on most of those launchers and, while the ratio is certainly higher for europeans visiting CP, the numbers are fairly comparable. That being said, Maverick is still a great ride even compared to those in the European theater from those who've been.
Click to expand...
I was trying to see lists from users that have been on both European and US launched coasters but there aren't many in this thread (yet).
Agreed though that Maverick looks great - I'd just love to see how it stacks up vs Europe's best.
 
vaugc002 said:
I was trying to see lists from users that have been on both European and US launched coasters but there aren't many in this thread (yet).
Agreed though that Maverick looks great - I'd just love to see how it stacks up vs Europe's best.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to bet most will love Taron will win from those who've been on both tbh. It does what Maverick does but is bigger, longer, and newer with MUCH better theming. I'm willing to bet I'd be in that boat as well if I rode it. My boy @pkiknex25 is one of my few close friends who has been on both and he easily picked Taron.
 
Erm... helloooo! Member who's been on both, right here! :)
Yeah, overall the US wins (as it does with most coaster-related comparisons), I definitely prefer the selection of Intamin launchers Stateside, but Taron is kinda like Europe's trump card. It literally destroys Maverick, that's for sure.
 
Howie said:
Erm... helloooo! Member who's been on both, right here! :)
Yeah, overall the US wins (as it does with most coaster-related comparisons), I definitely prefer the selection of Intamin launchers Stateside, but Taron is kinda like Europe's trump card. It literally destroys Maverick, that's for sure.
Click to expand...
Thank god for Taron here then haha. Europe seems to have more complex layouts, but I guess the USA launched Intaimns are bigger (and in this case better).
@Snoo I'll ride Maverick one day and let you know if I prefer it over Taron and you can do the same for Taron :emoji_eyes:
 
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