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Roughest/Worst coaster you've ridden?

Zek_Teh_Kek

Hyper Poster
What's the matter with Kiddy Hawk, out of interest? I often find that family rides can be good fun, despite not being the most thrilling of attractions!
I know that family attractions aren't always the best, and this one has a good layout for one. It's just the execution. The restraints are hard, there's a constant rattle and shuffle, and worst of all, is this one turn that slams your head (at least for me) into the pointiest part of the restraint. It's so painful.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
I know that family attractions aren't always the best, and this one has a good layout for one. It's just the execution. The restraints are hard, there's a constant rattle and shuffle, and worst of all, is this one turn that slams your head (at least for me) into the pointiest part of the restraint. It's so painful.
Ah right, so it's kind of like how I didn't enjoy Steeplechase at Blackpool due to the joltiness. Thanks for the clarification @Zek_Teh_Kek!
 

Samekuuu

Roller Poster
I actually have 4 coasters that belong here.

Flight deck (Canada's Wonderland
El Condor (Walibi Holland)
Anaconda (Walygator parc)
Wild Beast (Canada's Wonderland)

I got serious back complains from both the SLC's, and i had sore knees because of Wild Beast. Wild Beasts layout is pretty okay but the roughness just makes it unbearable. Even in the middle of the train on all 4 the coasters its not bearable.
 

Y. Kim

Mega Poster
Rolling X Train(Everland) Before Vekoma retracking&new train
The worst coaster before retracking not only headbanging but also bad restraint and train by Arrow

Another Arrow in the park(Eagle Fortress) was the best
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Right, I've now had a proper think about this topic after visiting some new parks and rearranging my list a little. I'm very indecisive, so I quite often reshuffle my list. I have actually ranked all 65 coasters I've been on, but I never really tend to touch the bottom of my list that often, so after having a proper think, I decided to have a little reshuffle of my bottom couple of coasters. So, without further ado, here are all of the coasters I have rated as a 3/10 or under (I'd say this is when I start to not really be a fan of the ride), which spans from #50 in my rankings right through to #65:
Matt N's Least Favourite Coasters (rated 3/10 or lower):
50. Speed: No Limits (Oakwood) - I did actually really like this coaster when I first went to Oakwood in 2016, but when I rerode it in 2019, I found it quite a lot rougher and really not very enjoyable. 3/10 (1.5 stars)
51. Dragon Challenge - Hungarian Horntail (Universal's Islands of Adventure) - Out of the 14 B&Ms I've ridden, the Dragon Challenge duo were my least favourite by a considerable distance, unfortunately. I didn't get to experience them dueling, but I found both layouts quite weak and I thought they were both oddly rough and uncomfortable. I can appreciate why many miss this coaster, but I was the side of the community that wasn't particularly sad to see Dragon Challenge demolished; Hagrid's looks far better, in my opinion! 3/10 (1.5 stars)
52. Dragon Challenge - Chinese Fireball (Universal's Islands of Adventure) - As above, but I found the Chinese Fireball side rougher; those Immelmanns in particular were pretty jolty, in my opinion! 3/10 (1.5 stars)
53. Saw: The Ride (Thorpe Park) - Saw is admittedly intense and has quite a dynamic layout, but I think that almost functions as the ride's downfall. I found it to be very rough, and I think I may also have found it a bit too intense for my tastes in portions; that post-MCBR section without any braking is a particularly uncomfortable sequence of elements if you're not expecting it! 3/10 (1.5 stars)
54. Rita (Alton Towers) - Now, I find my relationship with Rita quite sad, as I used to hold it in very high regard when I first became an enthusiast; it even had a brief stint as my #1 coaster! However, I'm not a fan of the restraints and I found it very rough when I last rode, although that launch is still pretty good! 3/10 (1.5 stars)
55. Vampire (Chessington World of Adventures) - Unfortunately, I'd say Vampire is one of the most underwhelming coasters I've been on. Before riding, I'd heard that it was a brilliant family coaster, and that it was one of the best coasters in the UK, but when I rode it in 2014, I found it to have quite a few dead spots, and I thought it was quite rough. Admittedly, I last rode Vampire 5 years ago in 2014, so a reride may be needed. On the positive side, there are some intense sections and the way it swoops over Transylvania is nice! 3/10 (1.5 stars)
56. Colossus (Thorpe Park) - For years, I said that this was my least favourite coaster. But when I actually think about it, I don't actually think I disliked Colossus as much as some of the rides above it, so I've moved it up slightly. Despite that, I wasn't a fan of Colossus at all when I rode. I found it extremely rough, and as with Rita above, I'm not a fan of those restraints. On the positive side, however, the landscaping is lovely, and the layout itself isn't bad; I wonder how Flamingo Land's upcoming equivalent with lap bars will be rated? Also, as with Vampire, I haven't ridden Colossus since around 2014, so it may need a reride, especially as they've allegedly changed the wheels and made it smoother. 3/10 (1.5 stars)
57. Grand National (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - I can understand the appeal of Grand National, as it's actually got a lot going for it layout-wise. But I personally found it excruciatingly rough when I rode last year, which is why it's presently my least favourite wooden coaster. On the positive side, the layout itself is good, so if Blackpool ever retracks it or gives it new trains to make it less rough, I imagine I'd enjoy it far more! Also, I must admit I'm probably being too harsh on it, as it's 84 years old and a real icon for the British industry. 3/10 (1.5 stars)
58. Big One (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - I get that the Big One is tall, fast and iconic, but I wasn't a fan of it, unfortunately. I thought it was surprisingly rough; very, very rough, in fact. I also don't think the layout is quite as interesting as that of Grand National, so that's why it's ranked slightly lower. On the positive side, however, I still admire the Big One for what it did for the British industry, and that first drop is quite something. I'm also probably being too harsh on it, as it was one of the first hypers. 3/10 (1.5 stars)
59. Scorpion Express (Chessington World of Adventures) - I didn't dislike Scorpion Express because it was rough, more because I remember it being extremely slow for some reason. Having said that, I last went to Chessington in 2014, so it may warrant a reride, especially considering that I liked its apparent clone at Thorpe far more. 2/10 (1 star)
60. Steeplechase - Right (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - I appreciate Steeplechase for its uniqueness, and I'm very glad it still exists, but I must admit I wasn't a fan of its ride experience. I found it very jerky, and I found the riding position somewhat uncomfortable. Still, I'm glad it's still kicking around. 2/10 (1 star)
61. Creepy Crawler (Oakwood Theme Park) - Now, Creepy Crawler was my first ever Pinfari coaster, and I can't say my expectations of it were high. However, I unfortunately can't say that it exceeded my expectations either; while it was initially smoother than expected, it became extremely rough by the end, and it was one of those coasters where you could feel every join in the track as you went over it. I also thought that it was somewhat slow (although that's probably me being nitpicky, as it is for families) and that the cars lacked legroom; I bashed my knees very hard on the front of the car hitting the brake run! On the positive side, however, the queue is really nice! 2/10 (1 star)
62 & 63. Primeval Whirl (both sides) (Disney's Animal Kingdom) - These two coasters are the only two Reverchon spinners I've done, and I can't say they exactly left me with a positive impression of the ride type. I must admit I'm not really a fan of wild mouse coasters in general, and these ones seemed extremely rough. Although having said that, they were marginally smoother than another wild mouse that I'll come onto in a second, on the positive side... 2/10 (1 star)
64. Rattlesnake (Chessington World of Adventures) - Now, my memories of Rattlesnake are a little more vivid than those of Chessington's other coasters, but for the wrong reasons. I found this coaster absolutely agonising; the brakes were very sharp, and the laterals were extremely painful; let's just say that my arm was bright red when I came off. On the positive side, however, the setting and queue are nice! 1/10 (0.5 stars)
65. Infusion (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - Oh dear. It would seem we've finally reached the very bottom of my coaster rankings. Infusion is currently the only Vekoma SLC I've ridden, and let's just say it did not exceed my expectations! I sat on row 2 to ride this coaster in the hope that it might not be too rough, but the head banging was the most relentless and painful head banging I've ever had on a coaster; my ears were bright red when I came off. On the positive side, however, the SLC layout isn't bad, and the ride looks nice with all the fountains under it! But if you're ever in a rush to get the credits at Blackpool, I'm afraid this is the one to skip unless you have an extremely high roughness tolerance. 1/10 (0.5 stars)

Do bear in mind that this is entirely relative; I try to enjoy each and every coaster for what it is, and one of these is certainly preferable to not riding a coaster at all! I just didn't enjoy any of them as much as the rest of my count, and they're not the ones I'd rush to in a park.
 

witchfinder

Hyper Poster
Holy **** @Matt N! Have you not got anything better to do than give detailed write-ups of your bottom 15 creds? Get outside and enjoy life, dude! :D
I agree with your worst one though - Infusion is complete turd. Very harsh ratings on some of the others though.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Holy **** @Matt N! Have you not got anything better to do than give detailed write-ups of your bottom 15 creds? Get outside and enjoy life, dude! :D
I agree with your worst one though - Infusion is complete turd. Very harsh ratings on some of the others though.
It was actually quite chilly and I'd just come back from a long walk, so it's not like I hadn't been outside that day! ;)

As you probably know by now from my general manner in posting, I like to think I'm a positive person, so I often talk about my favourite coasters, whereas I don't touch upon my least favourite coasters in great detail very often, so I thought it might give an interesting insight for some of you into the bottom end of my rankings that rarely gets talked about!

I'd also be intrigued to know which ones in particular you find harsh. I try to be fair on these rides and look upon their positive features as well as their negative ones; maybe I'm not doing well enough at that! Also, as I said above; even though I'm not a fan of these coasters, the rankings are entirely relative and any of these is of course better than no cred at all, after all!
 

vaugc002

Mega Poster
I've just got back from Wiener Prater and rode the original Volare.... trust me that's a bad ride. Rattlesnake at Chessington is middle of the road at worst.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
I've just got back from Wiener Prater and rode the original Volare.... trust me that's a bad ride. Rattlesnake at Chessington is middle of the road at worst.
I last rode it 5 years ago, so I may well think differently if I ever go back to Chessington and reride it!
 

witchfinder

Hyper Poster
I'd also be intrigued to know which ones in particular you find harsh. I try to be fair on these rides and look upon their positive features as well as their negative ones; maybe I'm not doing well enough at that! Also, as I said above; even though I'm not a fan of these coasters, the rankings are entirely relative and any of these is of course better than no cred at all, after all!
Well I'd rather ride no coaster than Infusion :)

I think rating any B&M below the likes of Speed is harsh, though I never rode Dragon Challenge. I also personally don't find Rita or Colossus to be that rough, though I know many do. Rita is comfortably the second best ride at Alton for me and I'd say The Smiler is a much worse ride.

Stuff like Vampire and Scorpion Express are a bit meh but they're not rough or in any way bad enough to warrant a score under 5/10.
 

exodus

Roller Poster
Easily Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott’s. Rode it when I was about 13 and it put me off coasters almost completely for about 20 years.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Well I'd rather ride no coaster than Infusion :)

I think rating any B&M below the likes of Speed is harsh, though I never rode Dragon Challenge. I also personally don't find Rita or Colossus to be that rough, though I know many do. Rita is comfortably the second best ride at Alton for me and I'd say The Smiler is a much worse ride.

Stuff like Vampire and Scorpion Express are a bit meh but they're not rough or in any way bad enough to warrant a score under 5/10.
Yeah, agreed. They're perfectly fine family coasters? Scorpion Express has lovely themeing in parts too.
To be fair, I may well think differently if I revisit. I must admit that my memories of Scorpion Express especially are rather flabbergasting to me, as I liked its apparent clone Flying Fish at Thorpe Park considerably more! As @zazobo says, I do also remember Scorpion Express' theming being nice!

If this has proven anything, it's that a revisit to Chessington is needed!
 

Expedition Coaster

Roller Poster
I'm still rapping my head around some people's opinions on Infusion - When I rode it a few days ago I actually found it to be the smoothest SLC in the UK (I don't find any of them to be too rough) and had the best ride experience of any UK SLC. I had one ride on it where I didn't bang my head once!

Now I will say that the polyurethane on the wheels looked much thicker than those on other SLCs.

Can someone please explain why they find Infusion so rough?
 

WillsThrills

Roller Poster
I'm still rapping my head around some people's opinions on Infusion - When I rode it a few days ago I actually found it to be the smoothest SLC in the UK (I don't find any of them to be too rough) and had the best ride experience of any UK SLC. I had one ride on it where I didn't bang my head once!

Now I will say that the polyurethane on the wheels looked much thicker than those on other SLCs.

Can someone please explain why they find Infusion so rough?

I'm so glad it's not just me who thinks that! I had my first ride on it this week and was shocked by how smooth it was, especially given all of the bad things I've heard about it. There are several rides at that park which are so much rougher. It's not the best coaster ever but I really did enjoy it.

The roughest/worst coaster I've ever been on is the Big Apple Coaster at New York New York in Vegas. I rode it 8 years ago and I still vividly remember how hellish that thing was, I had a headache for hours after.
 

hendrixmarshall

Roller Poster
I'd have to say Manhattan Express, Twister II, The Legend, Desperado, Mean Streak, Mantirou, Green Lantern, and Vortex are the roughest ones I've rode. But, Desperado was my first Hyper...So it has a special place near the bottom.
 

Rupert

Mega Poster
Really? Rougarou has been my favorite floorless, albeit on a somewhat limited sample.
It's definitely not worse than Corkscrew but the entrance to Rougarou's corkscrew has a terrible jolt on top of some general shakiness throughout.

I'd throw Kingda Ka in this list, what an awful coaster. Still haven't worked out how the train didn't shake itself apart on the launch.
 
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