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Rides That Really Surprised You

Lofty

Lofty

CF Legend
So, I know I posted this on the CF Chat Facebook page, but I thought I'd put it here as well... What rides or coasters really surprised you in a good/bad way?

One that definitely springs to mind for me is Talocan at Phantasialand. It's ridiculously forceful and my feet were killing me when I got off due to the blood flowing to them during the cycle.

What's yours?
 
Ragin' Cajun at Six Flags Great America. (Rode it before it was removed) Everyone seemed to make it sound like an unpleasant and boring ride but I thought it was pretty fun. If it was still here it'd be my number 9 or so in the park
 
Taron and how much different it is after some hours of warming up and Lost Gravity. That cred is not supposed to work but it just does? I love it.
 
Lightning Rod, I was expecting a great coaster, but I had no idea it would be THAT great.
Kumba, was very surprised at just how well done everything about this was
Space Mt WDW, wasn't expecting much and it's now one of my favorite coasters
Furious Baco, didn't find it rough and loved the launch
Boss SFStL, was rough sure, but I enjoyed it a whole lot
Ninja SFOG, thought this was pretty good, one of the better Vekoma/Arrow era loopers I think
T2, hated it, sure, but not as much as I thought I would
Colossus Thorpe, had wanted to ride this a lot as a kid for the ten inversions, but I hated it. Rough and then slightly nauseating.
Dahlonega Mine Train, beat me up way more than it had a right to
 
Biggest surprise of my travels so far is Sky Scream at Holiday Park, Germany. Given this is at the same park as Expedition GeForce, I was expecting a short filler, but got a concentrated mix of all my favourite ride sensations (and a horror-walkthrough queue to boot). Top 10 material for me.

After being completely underwhelmed by Kraken a couple of days before, I wasn't expecting much, but was blown away by Kumba. Forceful, intense, plays well with the scenery and its own track. It held onto my number one for a good 8 years before I started exploring Europe.

Oziris is my favourite B&M invert. It looks fairly pedestrian, so I didn't expect much, but it's a bizarrely subtle coaster. Little pops of airtime where you wouldn't expect them, and the lovely floaty drop into the tunnel.
 
You know that thing when you're on a coaster, and you suddenly get a mid-course launch that you didn't even know about?
Yeah. That!
So far that's happened to me 3 times - Volcano at KD, Verbolten at BGW and Fluch Von Whatsisname at Hansa.
Love it! An unexpected launch is one of the most surprising things that can happen to a person.
 
Imo, when it comes to coaster, the word "surprised" has two meanings. It could mean a ride exceeded my expectations or it fell far below my expectations.

Two coasters that fell below my expectations were:
X-Flight. I was so gee'd up for riding this. I loved the look of the keyhole element and was keen to ride a B&M wing coaster outside of Europe. However, I found it meh. Tame, dull and uneventful. Swarm and Raptor are miles better.

The second was Taron. Shock, horror. I was really surprised how lacklustre it felt when I first rode it. I was expecting so much more. However, my surprise detector swung the other way when I rode it later in the day at night time!

The one ride that really surprised me and, to this day, has given me sexy sensations I've never experienced again, is Top Thrill Dragster. I rode it just before my goon genes were starting to fully develop. **** me, I had never, ever ridden a coaster so fast and so tall before and that combination spurned me on to loving coasters like no other ride has done. After my first ride, my legs were shaking, my heart was racing and I felt like I had an invincible bubble around me. Only things in my immediate vicinity were clear, everything further away was blurred and moving in slow motion. Nothing could have prepared me for the first time thrill I got from TTD. It surprised me that a coaster could have such an incredible effect on me.

Nice topic, Lofty. I guess a similar one could be done for parks (and give you an opportunity to describe how surprised you were at Efteling's beigeness!).
 
The one that springs to mind for me is Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom. Great layout forceful fun and all in a small compact footprint. I'm actually surprised there's not more of the Hyperlites around if they would be anything like Lightning Run.
 
Steel Eel- I had heard pretty negative reviews about it so I wasn't expecting anything great. I rode it and I was very surprised, I actually really liked it. I thought it gave some great ejector air, even though it was a little rough.

Batman the Ride SFFT- Wasn't expecting much and thought these rides looked stupid, but I really enjoyed this one. I was laughing like a little kid the whole time, thought it was a very fun ride.

Gatekeeper- Seems like people on here don't like wing coasters that much but I love them. This was especially a surprise, thought it was a very fun and graceful ride. Second favorite wing I've been on, behind Thunderbird. Only B&M wing in the US left for me is Wild Eagle which I will get this summer.

Outlaw Run- **** me silly this ride was so much better than I expected and that's saying something because I was beyond pumped for it.
 
Skyrush: This ride is so insane. I actually felt like I was going to fall off the first time I rode it, and I never really feel that way on any other coasters.

Volcano: I was amazed at how much of a sensory experience the first half of the ride is. The first launch is very forceful and I absolutely love the noise that it makes, and diving in and out of the mountain definitely adds to the experience.

Grizzly (KD): Grizzly in the back seat at night (if you act fat so they don't put the restraint down as much) has some pretty terrifying ejector. The first time I tried that I was so amazed by how different it was under those conditions. I don't really recommend the lap bar thing for everyone though, it's actually possible to slip out of the seat that way if you tried.

Afterburn: That boomerang element in the back seat at night terrified me. It just whipped me into the blackness of the tunnel.

Blue Streak: I did not expect to get ejector on this. It is intense for such a small thing.

Green Lantern (Sfgadv): KILL IT WITH FIRE! Ugh it felt like the bones in my legs were splitting open... It was the worst surprise I've ever had involving coasters.

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I was really taken back in surprise with Houdini's Great Escape at Six Flags Great Adventure. I have been to Gadv over 20 times throughout the course of my lifetime, and never rode it. Finally, this past year between Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park, I rode it. Fantastic. Nothing short. For Six Flags, I was incredibly impressed. The theming was far more detailed then I expected, and the ride it'self was really neat. I had never ridden a Mad House before, so this was new to me. Why can't Six Flags theme all their rides like this?
 
I agree with jayjay about Sky Scream, it looked like something I was going to hate but once I was on it I actually really enjoyed it. Odd but in a fab kind of way.
Shock at Rainbow Magicland, perhaps because I hadn't really heard much about it and everything else at the park was so mediocre, but it was so good,lovely airtime and speeding round the corners. Also Darkmare at Cinecitta World, lots of wonderful surprises in Italy actually.
The biggest surprise disappointment is probably Goliath at Walibi Holland. It ticks all the right boxes on paper and does have some nice bunny hops but overall it just felt bland and underwhelming, when I thought I was going to love it.
 
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