Let's try and get a handle on this then shall we?
1. Boulder Dash.
2. El Toro.
3. Dragon Khan.
4. Bizarro (SFNE).
5. Megafobia.
6. Alpengeist.
7. Lightning Racer
8. Griffon.
9. Nemesis
10. Oblivion
I'm trying to mix up quality here, with fun, impact and re-rideability.
Boulder Dash is just easily and far and away the best coaster I've been on. It's not by a narrow margin, or a squeak, it's a long, long way in front. Fast, fun, exciting and I could sit and ride it all day and all night. Quality wise, there's not a bad seat on the coaster - a first for me.
El Toro. Not sure about this one. Brilliant first drop and the first few airtime hills are superb. You're ejected properly, and don't hit the seat until the bottom of the drop - and those drops are big! The insane ejector hill as well is a real surprise. The problem is that it's not 100% good. It's 50% utterly fantastic, 50% alright I guess, but a bit Balder. Do the good bits make up for the poor... I think so, but I think it holds a tenuous second place.
Dragon Khan. My old number 1. I love the way the ride gives a different feel every time. There's a random mix of feelings and air time and the ride is just big and "heavy". Again, a ride I could keep on riding again and again (hangover permitting :lol: ).
Bizarro has the best first drop ever I think, and lots of utterly brilliant airtime hills. The high G helix is exceptionally powerful and the ride just keeps on giving and giving. However, it suffers a little from Intamin steel syndrome - you're too pinned for the power of the airtime. I like more movement (as El Toro and woodies give) in my seat. It's a safety issue, as the ejector is so insane, you really can't get away with as much as you could on a wood. It's just that bit too much for me, and makes me feel like my upper body is being removed. Still, a very thrilling coaster.
Megafobia was floating around my top spot for years. It never really dropped below number 2. Last year cemented it at number 1 for a while (until Khan) after some brilliant runs at the Live, and a very, very poor run on Grand National at Blackpool. I love the ejector on the second hill and the pure fun of the ride. One thing I actively hunted for in the US was something as good as Megafobia in terms of airtime and fun. The ride dies off towards the end, but like El Toro, the excellent first section makes up for it.
Alpengeist. Replacing Nemesis as top invert. I do love the inverts, but I have come to expect a claustrophobia in these rides, with lots of close scenery interaction to make the ride seem better. Alpengeist has the great speed, height and also the close interaction. It's not the best layout, Talon is. It's also not the most fun, Great Bear takes that. However, it was the best overall experience for me.
Lightning Racer is possibly the most fun I've had on coaster. It's just excellent. smooth (enough for wood), a little bit of decent ejector here and there, but it's all about pacing and interaction. It steams through the course without ever really losing pace and the multiple fly bys and passing makes it brilliant to interact with the other train. It reminded me of Stampida, but smooth, faster, less painful, longer and with better duelling.
Griffon takes this place to replace Oblivion which sat below Nemesis. I do love these rides and Griffon does that little bit more than Oblivion. There's really not much in it though. Still, it's massive, fast and great to ride and ride again.
Nemesis and Oblivion. Bit of a weak 9 and 10, but I've still found nothing that really pushes them out. Familiarity will definitely have something so to do with this, as I know both rides well and have fond memories of riding them when there was nothing better. Still though, the drop on Oblivion takes my breath away and I still love the feeling of speed on Nemesis (even though I've been on better layouts now). I may change my mind after riding them again, but for the moment - they sat high in my top ten before, and I still can't quite move them out.
The also rans... Great Bear I loved and came in close, as did Nitro or Apollo's Chariot. The B&M Hypers I needed more runs on though (and more room in the restraint on Nitro). They still easily hit top twenty though, pushing Balder down. I think Liseberbanan has also raised up a bit now, I find that I have much fonder memories of riding that than Balder. Just got to see how Jubilee Odyssey treats me in September - it was about fourth or fifth before, but I suspect it will drop well down from this point on. At the moment, it doesn't really register...
