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Rank the Mack Launch coasters

^Conversely - imagine a back row ride, late at night, light rain, with good spinage, maybe a few fireworks going off somewhere... could be a proper Wow moment. Potential for a top 10 place there I reckon.
 
Howie said:
^Conversely - imagine a back row ride, late at night, light rain, with good spinage, maybe a few fireworks going off somewhere... could be a proper Wow moment. Potential for a top 10 place there I reckon.
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Nom nom nom. Still wouldn't be as good as Helix though ;)
 
Matt N said:
I've only ridden the one unfortunately:
  1. Icon (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - What a breathtaking ride! The whole experience just comes together to make something truly amazing, in my opinion; there's decent airtime, the launches, while not quite having the punch of a hydraulic launch, were better than I was expecting, the ride is so smooth and it even has some surprising moments of intensity, in my opinion, especially during the second half! Currently my UK number 1 and my overall number 2! A simply outstanding coaster, if you ask me; BPB and Mack knocked it out of the park with this one!
I'll hopefully be experiencing Slinky Dog Dash in April, though! It looks like an excellent family coaster, and I look forward to experiencing it! Icon and Cobra's Curse have given me high hopes that Slinky Dog will be a cracking family coaster that I'll enjoy! I have two questions, though;
  • Am I allowed to put it in this list when I ride it?
  • Will I look out of place riding it without a child?
All in all, though, Icon gives me high hopes for the rest of the Mack launchers!
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Right, I've now ridden the coaster I mentioned in the above post! My ranking now goes like this (new in bold):
  1. Icon (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - What a breathtaking ride! The whole experience just comes together to make something truly amazing, in my opinion; there's decent airtime, the launches, while not quite having the punch of a hydraulic launch, were better than I was expecting, the ride is so smooth and it even has some surprising moments of intensity, in my opinion, especially during the second half! Currently my UK number 1 and my overall number 2! A simply outstanding coaster, if you ask me; BPB and Mack knocked it out of the park with this one!
  2. Slinky Dog Dash (Disney's Hollywood Studios) - Much more fun than expected, actually! Even though there were a few spots where it could have gone faster, I thought it was well paced for the most part, had some nice gentle pops of airtime and was just immensely fun to ride, with some adorable theming! I did find it to rattle more than Icon, but the rattle certainly didn't affect the ride for me! Overall, I think Mack and Disney have done a fantastic job!
 
1. Copperhead Strike - It's definitely a much-needed addition to Carowinds' thrill ride lineup with awesome hangtime and two good pops of ejector airtime, however, I expected it to at least throw me around somewhat. Those "Maverick-style" transitions in the second half might look like they whip you from side-to-side, but I wasn't feeling it whatsoever. Not to bash this coaster though, daring families will absolutely love Copperhead Strike as will enthusiasts that don't tend to love intense rides like I do. I was told beforehand that MACK Rides' launches are not very forceful, and Copperhead Strike had a bit more bite (pun intended) than what I was expecting. Based on my experience with Copperhead Strike, I look forward to trying Helix and Time Traveler for sure - but I can't forget about Blue Fire, Star Trek: Operation Enterprise, and Capitol Bullet Train either, can I? Those look pretty exciting too! ;)
 
Love these coasters, always emphasise the fun factor. One is clearly top dog though...

1. Helix - The standout. The best in pretty much every way I’d say.
2. Blue Fire - A fun, floaty and beautifully flowing layout.
3. Velociraptor - Perhaps a smidge more intense than BF, but without the theming and soundtrack.
4. Icon - Very substantial and better forces than expected.
5. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise - The spike is rather fun and the layout is pretty decent.
6. Capitol Bullet Train - The layout is simply less interesting than those above. Still a very enjoyable coaster.
7. Manta - Clearly caters to a lower-thrill market than the rest, but it’s a top family coaster!
 
1. Helix - Obviously
2. Copperhead Strike - very tough call, but going with this for now. Has a couple more standout moments than Icon, even if paced slightly worse.
3. Icon
4. Blue Fire - On-board music over the below
5. Velociraptor - Theming over the below
6. Battle of Blue Fire
7. Capitol Bullet Train
8. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise
9. Manta
 
For me:

Helix - Liseberg - Such a great fun ride. I'd prefer it with a couple less inversions but I really do like it and the soundtrack is epic.
Icon - Blackpool Pleasure Beach - Really love this ride. It was close to topping Helix for me.
Blue Fire - Europa Park - Great ride and only above the below because of the onboard soundtrack and theming
Velociraptor - IMG Worlds of Adventure - Great ride but just less theming.
Capitol Bullet Train - Motiongate Dubai - The backwards launch and vertical spike were brilliant but other than that there's not much to say about it. It's a bit short.
 
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1 - Helix - Obviously, a cut above the rest
2 - Time Traveller - A good debut spinning launch coaster, unfortunately the ride you get depends on where you sit and who is behind you, every ride is different, from Bleh, to WOW!
3 - Icon - Clearly it's a good coaster. Comfortable, re-rideable, themed, well operated, has effects, ride interaction, bit of airtime. It's not fast enough though, and while it's good, it's not great and it doesn't beat Nemesis to the title of best ride in the country, but it could have with a little more bravery.
4 - Blue Fire - Loved it the first few times I rode it but with experience it drops down a lot. I do have a lot of respect for the Heartline roll though, but 1 element never makes a great coaster.
 
Slight update:

1. Helix - Liseberg (obviously)
2. Icon - BPB
3. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise - Movie Park.
I thought this was a really solid coaster actually, a fun twisted spike and some other interesting elements. The theming of it as a shuttle fits incredibly well with the sliding transfer track before "take off". I think I like it slightly more than the BF clones below, but that may be because I've done 3 different BFs and this was something new.
4. Blue Fire - Europa Park
5. Velociraptor - IMG WOA (BF clone)
6. Velikolukskiy Myasokombinat - Wonder Island (BF clone)
7. Capitol Bullet Train - Motiongate
 
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Peet said:
Slight update:

1. Helix - Liseberg (obviously)
2. Icon - BPB
3. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise - Movie Park.
I thought this was a really solid coaster actually, a fun twisted spike and some other interesting elements. The theming of it as a shuttle fits incredibly well with the sliding transfer track before "take off". I think I like it slightly more than the BF clones below, but that may be because I've done 3 different BFs and this was something new.
4. Blue Fire - Europa Park
5. Velociraptor - IMG WOA (BF clone)
6. Velikolukskiy Myasokombinat - Wonder Island (BF clone)
7. Capitol Bullet Train - Motiongate
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I rode Star Trek today, really good fun. Spike is excellent on the back, hangtime is insane on the front. Some good pops of air both ends of the train. Shame they had a transfer track put in for 2 trains then run it on one though, as the transfer track then slows it down massively. Nice of them to subtitle the preshow too :) I’d put it in the same spot as you.
 
Peet said:
Aah no another CF meetup opportunity missed! Ah well I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did.
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Yes, really did, nice little park with a good atmosphere. The woodie is not as bad as I was expecting it to be, actually good fun. The SLC seemed ok having ridden Condor earlier this week, and Van Helsings factory was brilliant.

Got a great deal too, got entry, unlimited food and drink and unlimited fast track as a package (not that the fast track was really needed) the included food was really nice and seemingly genuinely unlimited.

Shame we didn’t know each other’s faces to say hello. Were you wearing any merch? I usually try and talk to anyone I see in ride merch as they’re more often than not fellow enthusiasts.
 
1. Helix - The standout. The best in pretty much every way I’d say.
2. Blue Fire - A fun, floaty and beautifully flowing layout.
3. Velociraptor - Perhaps a smidge more intense than BF, but without the theming and soundtrack.
4. Icon - Very substantial and better forces than expected.
5. Time Traveller - Part of me doubted that this ride would work effectively with the spinning, but it does. It’s such a refreshing experience every time and keeps you on your toes.
6. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise - The spike is rather fun and the layout is pretty decent.
7. Capitol Bullet Train - The layout is simply less interesting than those above. Still a very enjoyable coaster.
8. Manta - Clearly caters to a lower-thrill market than the rest, but it’s a top family coaster!
 
Time to add another one!

1. Helix
2. Copperhead Strike
3. Manta - Fantastic family coaster with a great mix of forces and one of my favorite layouts ever. It has some good airtime moments and interaction with paths and theming. Very underrated ride in my opinion!
4. Blue Fire
5. Star Trek
 
Time for an update, given the discussion in the Movie Park thread...

1) Helix
2) Blue fire
3) Icon
4) STOE

But honestly the last 2 are so close it’s hard to call, and even Blue Fire is not a million miles ahead of Icon...
 
This feels like an unpopular opinion but I'd say:

1. Helix (By a mile)
2. Blue Fire
3. Slinky Dog Dash
4. Star Trek
5. Icon

I've only been on Icon once but I really didn't care for it at all. I enjoyed STOE a lot. Probably had quite low expectations for it, but I enjoyed it and went for plenty of re-rides.

Slinky is obviously incredibly tame but the theming is great and there's plenty of cool moments on it (even the queue)
 
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