My top coasters need an update post-BPB, so let's jump right in with the top 10 (new in bold.):Well, I have to update this list because on 25th March 2018, an unexpected fantastic coaster crept its way into my top 10...
My top ten is currently as follows (the new addition is in bold):
EDIT: How do I do the thing where you cross words out?
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando) - This was my first B&M hyper, and wow! It blew me away! Before I had the opportunity to ride, I had very high expectations of it, but I kept thinking to myself from watching POVs of different B&M hypers; "What do they [coaster enthusiasts] all like so much? It's just a load of hills in a row! Where are the inversions?" But that first ride on Mako, on the 23rd August 2016, in second row, I was wowed! The airtime was immense, with the drop really pulling me over with an immense moment of airtime. The hills all had an immense amount of airtime too. The ending also provided some nice twisty fun. When I read reviews online after riding, I was thinking "Trim? What trim? I couldn't notice any trim!" And it was so, so smooth! One of the smoothest coasters I've ever ridden. As soon as Mako ended, I just knew it was the best thing I'd ever ridden. Is that what you guys felt like when you first stepped off of El Toro, Lightning Rod, Taron and other highly rated coasters? In conclusion: best thing ever for me. Out of 39 coasters, this is my favourite.
- Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa) - It's just like Nemesis but longer. What's not to love?
- SheiKra (Busch Gardens Tampa) - I was not expecting to like SheiKra as much as I did. It's such a great ride! It packs a punch, the drops are great, it's quite smooth for a 12 year old coaster and I just adore this ride! Fun fact for you guys: SheiKra is actually my Dad's number 1 coaster!
- The Swarm (Thorpe Park) - I love this attraction! It packs a punch, it's virtually Mako smooth, the seating position makes for an interesting ride experience, the theming is excellent and it's just a great ride. I don't really get all the hate for wing coasters, as Swarm is fantastic in my opinion. Although in a way, I am slightly worried that I've overrated the Swarm. I last rode in May 2015, so I may have to rejudge in 2018.
- Nemesis (Alton Towers) - Brlliance. Sheer brilliance is what this ride is. John Wardley is a genius. Where do I even start with Nemesis' awesomeness? It's still one of the most forceful and intense roller coasters I've ever ridden. For the first few years I rode, I actually came off Nemesis with a sort of dizzy/light-headed feeling which strangely, no ride other than Montu in 2016 has given me. Also, I love that the ride builds up speed as it goes on and is still going at the same speed it started at when it hits the brake run. It's incredibly smooth for a 23 year old coaster, as well! It does have a very slight rattle to it on some rides, but this is more than acceptable at the ride's age. There are no kinks, jolts or roughness whatsoever in the trackwork itself. In fact, I actually reckon I may have had a Mako smooth ride in July 2017, with no rattle whatsoever. It just glided forcefully along the track! It was great!
- The Smiler (Alton Towers) - This ride is seriously messed up, from the ton of inversions to the theme, and I like it! This coaster is actually quite intense, but in a different sort of way to rides like Nemesis and Montu. Rides like Nemesis and Montu are intense in a forceful way, whereas the Smiler is intense in a crazy/dizzying sort of way, if you get what I mean. Gerstlauer were actually very clever in how they designed the Smiler's layout, because every single inversion adds to the feeling of dizziness and disorientation you get during the ride. I have also not found the Smiler overly rough, just a bit rattly. The rattle is more noticeable than on the park's B&M coasters, but is nothing too unbearable. I did have a pretty rough back row ride, however. And don't forget the cobra roll exit. An exit from one of the dive loops has a pretty hard jolt, as well. If the ride is any rougher when I next ride, I may consider bumping it down a few spots, as I'm not a fan at all of rough coasters. One thing I do find interesting, however, is that I actually think Speed at Oakwood is smoother, and it's 7 years older than Smiler.
- The Incredible Hulk (Islands of Adventure) - The Hulk is a great ride! I like the launch, it packs a good force to it and the onboard audio is a great touch! An interesting note is that the ride was more rattly than I would have expected from a coaster that had literally reopened after retracking earlier in the month (when I rode), but was nothing unbearable.
- Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando) - I was pleasantly surprised with Kraken! It was not as rough as I was expecting and I actually thought that it was pretty fast and packing a good force when I rode!
- Wicker Man (Alton Towers) - Well, well, well... I think Wicker Man might possibly be one of the most surprising attractions I've ridden in a while! During its construction, I was expecting a similar level of thrill to Thirteen from this ride, but I remained cautiously optimistic. And I was right to, as Wicker Man is a fantastic ride! It's pretty wild, and actually quite forceful in portions, even if not quite as forceful as Megafobia! The ride also had 2 pretty good pops of airtime following the not-so-boring corner, even though the airtime is not as strong for me as Megafobia's. The reason I prefer this to Megafobia, though, is because; it's smoother, with more comfortable trains; the transitions are much better and more thrilling than Megafobia's and just because I think I enjoyed the ride just a little bit more than I enjoyed Megafobia. Overall, Wicker Man is absolutely fantastic, and it really makes me want to ride more GCIs in the future.
- Megafobia (Oakwood) - Megafobia
iswas the only wooden roller coaster I'd ridden(that is set to change in 2018!)and it is an awesome ride! It's really quite wild with quite a bit of decent airtime. In terms of airtime alone, it's probably second only to Mako, but Mako is in a different league in terms of airtime. One real detracting point from Megafobia, however, is the turns. They are unbanked, so they provide a horrible jerky sensation when the ride turns, sort of like on a Wild Mouse. It did rattle quite a bit, but less than I would expect from a 21 year old woodie.
EDIT AGAIN: Found it!
1. Balder
2. Helix
3. Taron
4. Shambhala
5. Blue Fire
6. Silver Star
7. Nemesis
8. Black Mamba
9. Dragon Khan
10. The Smiler
Bit of a rejig for a few rides without actually riding some of them in that looking at the list right now, it's ordered in what I'd want to rided if given the chance. Helix jumps above Shambhala, Nemesis jumps above Khan. Think it's basically a case of enjoying Taron and Mamba so much that it's made me want to ride Helix/Nemesis more. Will get around to putting a trip report up at some point.
13. Outlaw Run - The RMC with the greatest night ride, the drop is amazing in the back especially as you go flying, not as airtime heavy as I would like but still one of the best barrel rolls i've been on, and I just love marathoning it. 10/10
I have but it wasn't hauling like it was in the day for some reason, I wonder why?Going to need you to ride Lightning Rod at night good sir.
I have but it wasn't hauling like it was in the day for some reason, I wonder why?
So, Steel Vengeance managed to slither in here.
During the day it's excellent, but at night it's one of a kind. It pips Lighting Rod to the top spot because it's so long and doesn't really let up until the final brakes. It's got the intensity of Lightning Rod, it just lasts longer! I do wish they hadn't done the cut-back-zero-g (or whatever we actually call those things) - that's really, really poo. It doesn't flow and isn't comfortable to ride. They should definitely have done an Iron Rattler style cliff-drop back in the to the double down. Or done a quad-down, because, quad down. Seriously though, apart from that the coaster is magnificent. Especially at night, racing through that structure is just something else.
I decided to drop the Oriental Heritage woodie out, so my Top 20 currently looks like this. Top 10 feels pretty good, not so sure about the rest to be honest. I probably need to push Maverick up a little bit, I really enjoyed that.
1. Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
2. Lightning Rod, Dollywood
3. Taron, Phantasialand
4 . Fury 325, Carowinds
5. Dinoconda, China Dinosaurs Park
6. Boulder Dash, Lake Compounce
7. Skyrush, Hersheypark
8. X2, Six Flags Magic Mountain
9. Voyage, Holiday World
10. Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point
11. Montu, Busch Gardens Africa
12. Storm Chaser, Kentucky Kingdom
13. Formula Rossa, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
14. Soaring with Dragon, Hefei Wanda Theme Park
15. Nemesis, Alton Towers
16. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure
17. Silver Star, Europa Park
18. Incredible Hulk, Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
19. Maverick, Cedar Point
20. Thunderbird, Holiday World
Expect a signature/avatar change in the coming weeks...
I must admit it's nice to see another Mako fan! How many times did you ride, out of interest?1. Lightning Rod
2. Outlaw Run
3. Storm Chaser
4. X2
5. Wonder Woman
6. Maverick
7. Mako
8. Joker (SFDK)
9. Twisted Colossus
10. Voyage
11. Iron Rattler
12. New Texas Giant
14. Kraken
15. Lightning Run
16. Afterburner
17. Superman Krpyton
18. Tatsu
19. Top Thrill Dragster
20. Manta
I'm absolutely shocked about Sea World. Keep in mind, 15-20 are pretty interchangeable as I've never really kept past 10, but these rides were something else. Kraken was amazingly smooth and forceful for something of its age. Manta was just beautiful, and then Mako. Oh Mako. Back row, far left is amazing. Great airtime, solid flojector to ejector on several his, and just great. Surprise of this trip for sure.
Honorable mention to Expedition Everest. It's nothing great, but it's a :emoji_zipper_mouth:ing blast. That said, I'm inching closer and closer to 200, with plans to make it Steel Vengeance next year. One last trip to SFOG planned this year for new creds, and hopefully I'll hit 300 next year too.
We only got one ride as it was basically a cred run day, but compared to Krypton, which I rode a few months back, it was glass smooth, very intense and actually had airtime. Did not expect to love it.^Interesting about Kraken. Seemed to be running quite poorly for me last year and was far from smooth. Didn't want a re ride.
Also, looks like you skipped #13!
Brill! Thanks @tomahawk! I rode it 3 times; once in row 2, once in row 6 and once in row 7!We only got one ride as it was basically a cred run day, but compared to Krypton, which I rode a few months back, it was glass smooth, very intense and actually had airtime. Did not expect to love it.
Matt, we got in it twice, both back row.
I'll fix missing one later.
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