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Top 10(ish): 2024 Edition - page 124

Satanspropaganda

Mega Poster
Thanks to actually managing a happy 76 new creds this year, I have had a significant reshuffle of my top 10!
  1. Zadra - Energylandia - My night ride in back row on this was hands down the best ride of my life. Sheer joy and intensity rolled into one and a perfect ending to a great day
  2. Taron - Phantasialand - Previously my number one, another ten rides this year and it is still absolutely mind blowing. The second launch never fails to deliver
  3. Hyperion - Energylandia - Once again just so much fun, was storming through it's layout in 28 degree heat and it just felt like the stars had aligned
  4. Untamed - Walibi Holland - Never fails to make me giggle with all the bunny hops and rolls, great fun, but not as intense as my top 3.
  5. Nemesis - Alton Towers - Although I only got one ride in this year, it's still such a nostalgic ride for me (even as a younger enthusiast). I have some really good memories of marathonning it at a TTSP event, sat in front row for the best part of 20 mins without a break!
  6. Lech Coaster - Legendia - My friend was not kidding when he said a gray out machine, marathonning this was so much fun! Great layout, nice and intense with a lovely theme. Really out of place at the park though
  7. Schwur des Kärnan - Hansa Park - Oh my god, I went in blind and this ticked every box for me. Terrifiying, intense and also quite amazing to look at!
  8. The Smiler - Alton Towers - Nostalgic for me, got on on opening day and opened my eyes to intense coasters, which as you can tell... I'm quite a fan of! Had the best ride of my 50+ on it this September on the last day of the season!
  9. Expedition Everest - Animal Kingdom - I love mine trains, this is the perfect example of one, themed by the best in the business and with a nice and long layout
  10. Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park - Fantastic intensity and also a childhood dream to ride! A real highlight of the year, just let down by terrible ops
I am very excited for next year though. As long as the world starts righting itself a bit by summer, I should be getting some of my big bucket list coasters. Including:
  • Kingda Ka
  • Steel Vengeance
  • Fury 325
  • Intimidator 305
  • Helix
Plus the new installations like Pantheon, Iron Gwazi, Velocicoaster, Kondaa, Belgian Extreme Spinner, Monster, Jersey Devil and more. So it may change a hell of a lot again by next December!
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
I didn't post in here last season, which means that my list didn't count towards CF's Favourite Coasters of 2020.
Bad goon. 😕
So here it is.

Disclaimer: this is not definitive. I'm not as nerdy as some of you, no 'credsheets' here, this is off the cuff, so I make no apologies if something I say here doesn't quite match up with something I may have said previously in this or any other ranking thread:

1. Steel Vengeance. Still top dog. No other coaster combines such insane thrill with laugh-out-loud comedy like SteVe.

2. Helix. Classiest, most elegant coaster on the planet.

3. Shambhala. New entry, this one. I totally fell for this thing on the CF Live at the end of 2019. Known for being temperamental at times but ask anyone who was there, it was absolutely flying that weekend. Perfection!

4. X2. 10 years since I rode this thing and the memory is still raw. It's a beast. End of.

5. Nemesis. The old girl. Love her to bits, I do. Always will.

6. Untamed. Like Vengeance, only smaller. Comedy gold!

7. Top Thrill Dragster. Yup.

8. El Toro. Yup.

9. Outlaw Run. Yee haw!

10. Behemoth. Formerly my favourite B&M hyper... til Shammy B shimmied up.

There, fairly happy with that order. But just 10 coasters clearly isn't enough. I've always felt that a Top 10% gives a clearer overall picture. That gives me a total of 39 spots to play with so here are 29 more in a very approximate order:

11 - 20:
Tatsu.
Goliath (WH).
The Voyage.
Wildfire (RMC).
Taron.
Colossos.
Red Force.
Hyperion.
Zadra.
Expedition GeForce.

21 - 30:
Railblazer.
Thunderbird.
Balder.
Leviathan.
Intimidator 305.
Time Traveler.
Banshee.
Revenge of the Mummy (Orlando version).
Kingda Ka.
Dominator.


31 - 39:
Oblivion.
Pulsar.
Montu.
Griffon.
Troy.
Storm Chaser.
The other Wildfire (SDC).
Verbolten.
 
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Tonkso

Hyper Poster
2020 mixed things up somewhat for me, with two new entries to the top 10.

  1. Taron. It's just so good, I'm getting to the point where I know the layout too well however so this may begin to drop a few places.
  2. Nemesis. The classic that should be much lower on my list by now, but she's just so well designed. Bigger rides have come, better layouts on paper have been built, but there's just something special about Nemesis that cannot be replicated.
  3. Shambhala. What I wouldn't do for the UK to have a ride like this. There's not a single bad element on this ride. Even the post-midcourse is still fun.
  4. Oziris. This came so close to beating Nemesis at the invert game, so close... This must be the best coaster in France, easily.
  5. Ghostrider. The perfect woodie. A new entry for 2020, ridden just before the world turned to utter Hero at Flamingoland. Would have loved to have experienced it before the retrack and new trains. The best ride at Knott's by a county mile.
  6. F.L.Y. Another new entry for 2020. With a cracking, long layout and Phanta's legendary standards of theming, this was always going to be a top 10 ride, and will NOT disappoint you.
I... do not track any further than the top 6, it gets too muddy. Honourable mentions like Paris Big Thunder and Wodan at Europa, but too hard to rate.
 

Serena

Miss CoasterForce 2016
Staff member
Social Media Team
Strap yourself in guys, this post is longer than The Ultimate.

We all have those important tasks on the To Do List that we never get round to. Phoning your sister. Cleaning out the boot of your car. Analysing your Top Coasters in a detailed and meaningful way with pie charts, key codes and spreadsheets. Well, thanks to Lockdown 3: Season of the Witch I've finally had time to tick one of those bad boys off.

My attitude towards Top Tens/ Fave Creds has always been slightly frivolous. One exceedingly memorable ride on a 7/10 coaster and I get over excited and put it straight in the top 10. Sometimes I look back at my Top Tens and go 'how the hell did you sneak in there?!' The solution is clear: I need a more structured, strategic approach (or...a life, haha)

So I headed over to Coaster Hyphen Count, scrolled through my list of 648 credits and wrote down every single coaster that meets the following scientific criteria:

- Happy memories
- Euphoric skipping back round the queue to re-ride
- Themeing (music / imagery / station / landscaping / track colours)
- Elements
- Innovation / Originality

Any coaster I deemed too have at least one 9.5/10 ride on made the cut. Out of 648 creds, 63 made my initial Coasters of Note list:

Acrobat, Hakugei, Thunder Dolphin, Fury, The Bat (Kings Island), Pulsar, Piraten, Oz'Iris, Silver Star, Fluch Von Novgorod, Karnan, Krake, EGF, Black Mamba, Taron, Cu Chullain, Katun, Gold Rush, Joris en de Draak, Baron 1898, Dwervelwind, Maximus Bliz Bahn, Fenix, Troy, Goliath, Lost Gravity, Untamed, Hyperion, Zadra, Lech Coaster, Red Force, Shambhala, Twister (GL), Wildfire, Helix, Balder, Galactica, Oblivion, Nemesis, Icon, Vampire, Megafobia, Saw The Ride, Stealth, Swarm, Dragon Mountain, Cheetah Hunt, Gemini, Maverick, White Lightning, Fahrenheit, Lightning Racer, The Voyage, Phantom's Revenge, Storm Chaser, Diamondback, Mako, Bizzaro (GrAdv), Nitro, Rip Ride Rocket, Revenge of the Mummy, Ravine Flyer 2, Expedition Everest

I organised these coasters according to manufacturer and was surprised to see how many of my Coasters of Note are made by Arrow! Here, have a pie chart:

piechart.jpg



When did I become such an Arrow fan?!

Also, RMC is the only manufacturer to hit a 100% success rate with me. I have ridden 5 RMCs and every single one made the Coasters of Note list.

But we can't have a Top 63. Oh no. Just think of how much space that long signature would take up on the forums! This needs to be refined.

Here's where it gets tricky. It would be easy to boil coasters down to a series of elements and rate them purely on how they executed those forces best. But I feel doing this bypasses a crucial emotional element of coaster riding - the emotions. When I think of all my most joyful memories riding coasters - they are mostly all from sharing that ride with fellow enthusiasts. Reciprocal excitement - it really affects how you enjoy a ride. In this sense, I am frequently amazed that Oz'Iris still ranks as one of my favourite coasters ever when I have only ever visited Parc Asterix with moody ex boyfriends. Should Oz'Iris be awarded bonus points for consistently overcoming the Non-Goon Challenges? Is Phantom's Revenge really the best - or is riding it with 4 overexcited goons the best?

Then we have the nostalgia. Nemesis was my first big coaster. The coaster that spawned my fascination. Yet, when I ride it now - the rivers running clear and not red, I feel a slight pang that the overall experience is just not what it used to be.

Another factor is the amount of rides you've managed to squeeze on each coaster. I mean Skyrush and El Toro failed to even make the Top 63 because I only managed one ride on each and to be honest - I just can't remember them that well. Should Saw be awarded more points for being one of my most ridden coasters and never failing to make me smile? Diamondback was excellent for a couple of rides, but would I still love it on the 20th ride?

And then there's where you sit. Do I love Diamondback because I got some excellent rides in the DiamondFront? Would I feel the same in row 5? I digress.

Here is an attempt at a Top 25 which takes all of these things into account.

1. Fluch Von Novgorod

My 300th coaster. Beautifully themed. So many happy memories riding this. That launch! The unpredictable layout! As good in 2020 as it was when I first rode in 2015.

2. Phantom's Revenge

The most re-ridable coaster in the world.

3. Hyperion

Nothing gets my heart racing like this ride. So thrilling.

4. Maverick

Never laughed so much on a coaster. Absolutely ridiculous.

5. Zadra

Easily the best RMC

6. Stealth

I went years without riding this and now I am so in love with it. What a rush.

7. Voyage

How does something so relentlessly fun exist in this world?

8. Mako

The best B+M hyper, had the most beautiful sunset ride on this once.

9. Saw The Ride

I know it's not 'the best' but it's still one of my favourites and most ridden. That indoor drop!

10. Hakugei

Perfect inversions, would be higher if didn't leave me covered in bruises.

11. Oz'Iris

The floatiest invert ever

12. Silver Star

I could ride this all day and never get bored

13. Thunder Dolphin

Best first drop. Those views of Tokyo at night!

14. Shambhala

Happy CF live memories of repeatedly racing round on this!

15. Taron

That second launch. Never a disappointment.

16. Revenge of the Mummy (USF)

Sooo well themed and great fun ride.

17. Joris en de Draak

If everyone rides Joris in de Baak they will get the hype.

18. Icon

I prefer it to Helix. Sorry.

19. Piraten

How is a coaster this small so forceful?!

20. Dragon Mountain

I love a mad / bad Arrow

21. Oblivion

King of the Dive Machines

22. Troy

Inconsistent, but when it's good (like at night at Halloween) it's ridiculous.

23. Karnan

Bonkers and terrifying and that soundtrack!!

24. Wildfire

That. Stall.

25. Acrobat

My favourite flying coaster


Hmm. It's a weird list isn't it! Wonder how much it'll change this year (I'm looking at you, Kondaa...)
 
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Matt N

CF Legend
I’d be intrigued to know @Serena; how come you prefer Icon over Helix? I’m not questioning you, as I’ve never ridden Helix and absolutely adore Icon (my favourite UK coaster and overall #2 behind only Mako, which is coincidentally also in your list at #8!), but I was only wondering, as that seems like a pretty uncommon opinion!
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Love your weirdness, @Serena
I don't even know where to start with that list!
Occasional flourishes of wisdom (Oblivion, King of the Dive Machines 👍) but soooo much... 'Huh?' (a Gerst at number 1, Icon over Helix etc.. 😮 ).

Promise me you'll never change. 😁
 
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Serena

Miss CoasterForce 2016
Staff member
Social Media Team
I’d be intrigued to know @Serena; how come you prefer Icon over Helix? I’m not questioning you, as I’ve never ridden Helix and absolutely adore Icon (my favourite UK coaster and overall #2 behind only Mako, which is coincidentally also in your list at #8!), but I was only wondering, as that seems like a pretty uncommon opinion!

It is rather uncommon isn't it! To be honest, I'm not mad on the inversions on Helix, that's what ruins it for me. Too much hangtime. I find the Norwegian Loop quite headache inducing. Plus, Helix is only really amazing at night.

In comparison, I've never had a bad ride on Icon and could re-ride it all day. I just adore the first launch into the top hat, and the weird airtime you get in the back in the element after the second launch. So good! Yeah with Mako too looks like we have similar coaster taste!

Love your weirdness, @Serena
I don't even know where to start with that list!
Occasional flourishes of wisdom (Oblivion, King of the Dive Machines 👍) but soooo much... 'Huh?' (a Gerst at number 1, Icon over Helix etc.. 😮 ).

Promise me you'll never change. 😁

Hahaha aw Howie! I hereby promise that I will always have the worst opinions on rollercoasters 😅
 

Matt N

CF Legend
It is rather uncommon isn't it! To be honest, I'm not mad on the inversions on Helix, that's what ruins it for me. Too much hangtime. I find the Norwegian Loop quite headache inducing. Plus, Helix is only really amazing at night.

In comparison, I've never had a bad ride on Icon and could re-ride it all day. I just adore the first launch into the top hat, and the weird airtime you get in the back in the element after the second launch. So good! Yeah with Mako too looks like we have similar coaster taste!
Fair enough! I’ve always liked the very twisty airtime moments on Icon; a particular favourite of mine, aside from the ones you’ve already mentioned, is the one just before the second launch where you dive into that misty tunnel; a brilliantly unexpected pop of abrupt ejector! With regard to Helix, I’ll admit I actually quite like hangtime (well, I like elements like Swarm’s first drop and zero-g roll and Mine Blower’s big roll, so I’ll assume I like hangtime), so I look forward to that if I ever get to experience Helix!

Yes, it would appear that we both rank those coasters (Mako and Icon) highly, and in the same order! But I’m not sure we have too similar tastes, as the next coaster below Mako and Icon for me is Wicker Man, which I’m guessing based on your Alton Towers trip reports I’ve read that you’re not a huge fan of, correct me if I’m wrong? You also have a real love of Gerstlauer that I don’t... maybe I need to ride more? Personally, I’ve always found Gerstlauers that little bit too rough. I think they do brilliant layouts, but I struggle to enjoy them when I’m getting my head bashed around like crazy; I don’t think I’ve ever come off Saw without a pounding headache. Each to their own, I suppose; you must have a high roughness tolerance!
 

JoshC.

Strata Poster
Glad to see Pulsar getting some more love, being in Serena's and Howie's lists. It's a basic silly ride, but it is a ton of fun! <3

I didn't get round to posting at the time, but I whole-heartedly agreed with Howie's point about how a Top 10% gives a clearer picture and a great context to your favourite rides (I posted mine last year too)! And I like how Serena's "9.5/10 list" accounts for basically 10% of her count too. All hail the 10% Rule of Thumb*!

(*until those 1000+ cred whores have to struggle to come up with a Top 100)
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
10. Behemoth. Formerly a favourite hyper... til Shammy B shimmied up.
Nice to see a fellow appreciater of Behemoth! I enjoyed that thing so much more than I expected to, and if I'm honest and rank my coasters by sheer fun, it'd have to be high on my list as well.

It's definitely not a majority opinion, though.

P.S. Hoping to get on Shambhala this summer!
 

Matt N

CF Legend
I’ve made a slight rearrangement to my top 10, and while I’m here, I may as well do the top 30:
  1. Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
  2. Icon (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
  3. Wicker Man (Alton Towers)
  4. The Swarm (Thorpe Park)
  5. Stealth (Thorpe Park)
  6. Mine Blower (Fun Spot Kissimmee)
  7. Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa)
  8. SheiKra (Busch Gardens Tampa)
  9. Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando)
  10. Rock’n’Rollercoaster (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
  11. Revenge of the Mummy (Universal Studios Florida)
  12. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (Universal Studios Florida)
  13. Megafobia (Oakwood)
  14. Incredible Hulk (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
  15. Rita (Alton Towers)
  16. Oblivion (Alton Towers)
  17. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Universal Studios Florida)
  18. Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa)
  19. Nemesis Inferno (Thorpe Park)
  20. Cheetah Hunt (Busch Gardens Tampa)
  21. Galactica (Alton Towers)
  22. Avalanche (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
  23. Slinky Dog Dash (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
  24. Thirteen (Alton Towers)
  25. Nemesis (Alton Towers)
  26. Expedition Everest (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
  27. Runaway Mine Train (Alton Towers)
  28. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
  29. Space Mountain Alpha (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
  30. Big Thunder Mountain (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
Well, I today undertook the hefty task of rearranging my entire coaster rankings. You might be wondering why I actually bothered to do this, but there are numerous reasons why I felt like my list needed redesigning.

For starters; one thing I’ve always done to make things a bit simpler for myself is always have “thrill coasters” occupying the 7/10 to 10/10 areas, “family coasters” occupying the 6/10 to 4/10 areas (although I did have the odd thrill coaster in the 6/10 tier) and then “unenjoyable/rough thrill coasters” occupying the 3/10 to 1/10 tier. Now, this did make things easier for me, but in hindsight, it meant that I was being too harsh on certain thrill coasters just because they were a little too rough for my personal tastes, while I was being a little too generous towards some kiddie coasters or more average rides that weren’t rough. Roughness/discomfort is still not an element of coasters I enjoy at all, and it is still enough to really detract from a ride for me, but I’ve had a proper think, and decided to move some stuff around to possibly give a fairer reflection of my coaster preferences.

There’s some really rough stuff that’s still right at the bottom of the list, but there are some other rides that have seen a bit of a boost after some thought. The top sections and far bottom sections have stayed mostly the same, but there has been some definite movement; a few rides that I felt I was being too unfair on have moved up, while a few that I was possibly being too generous on have moved down.

I should emphasise that I do these rankings based off of how much fun I personally have on a ride; how much I want to reride it. Things such as smoothness and the right balance of intensity, comfort and rerideability will make a coaster rank really highly for me, while intensity alone and size/caliber of coaster do not necessarily equal a high ranking. In fact, I often find that too much intensity can detract from a ride.

So, without further ado, here is my updated ranking of all 74 coasters I’ve ridden, in order of personal preference. I’ve split them into ratings out of 10 as well, to give an idea of “groups” of ride, so to speak.
Matt N’s Complete Coaster Ranking February 2021
10/10 (5 star) tier:
1) Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
2) Icon (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
3) Wicker Man (Alton Towers)
9/10 (4.5 star) tier:
4) Stealth (Thorpe Park)
5) Mine Blower (Fun Spot Kissimmee)
6) The Swarm (Thorpe Park)
7) Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa)
8) SheiKra (Busch Gardens Tampa)
9) Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando)
10) Incredible Hulk (Islands of Adventure)
11) Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (Universal Studios Florida)
12) Revenge of the Mummy (Universal Studios Florida)
8/10 (4 star) tier:
13) Rita (Alton Towers)
14) Rock’n’Rollercoaster (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
15) Megafobia (Oakwood)
16) Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Universal Studios Florida)
17) Oblivion (Alton Towers)
18) Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa)
19) Nemesis (Alton Towers)
20) Nemesis Inferno (Thorpe Park)
7/10 (3.5 star) tier:
21) Avalanche (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
22) Thirteen (Alton Towers)
23) Cheetah Hunt (Busch Gardens Tampa)
24) Slinky Dog Dash (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
25) Space Mountain Alpha (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
26) Galactica (Alton Towers)
6/10 (3 star) tier:
27) Expedition Everest (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
28) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
29) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
30) Runaway Mine Train (Alton Towers)
31) Cobra’s Curse (Busch Gardens Tampa)
32) Dragon’s Fury (Chessington World of Adventures)
33) Revolution (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
34) Shockwave (Drayton Manor)
35) Nickelodeon Streak (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
36) Accelerator (Drayton Manor)
37) Treetops Rollercoaster (Oakwood)
5/10 (2.5 star) tier:
38) The Smiler (Alton Towers)
39) Manta (SeaWorld Orlando)
40) Dragon Challenge Hungarian Horntail (Islands of Adventure)
41) Dragon Challenge Chinese Fireball (Islands of Adventure)
42) Troublesome Trucks (Drayton Manor)
43) Dragon (Legoland Windsor)
44) The Walking Dead The Ride (Thorpe Park)
4/10 (2 star) tier:
45) Speed (Oakwood)
46) Spinball Whizzer (Alton Towers)
47) Flight of the Hippogriff (Islands of Adventure)
48) Rhino Coaster (West Midlands Safari Park)
49) Big Dipper (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
50) Big One (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
51) Vampire (Chessington World of Adventures)
52) Journey to Atlantis (SeaWorld Orlando)
53) Blue Flyer (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
54) Flying Fish (Thorpe Park)
55) Scorpion Express (Chessington World of Adventures)
3/10 (1.5 star) tier:
56) Colossus (Thorpe Park)
57) Olympia Looping (Travelling)
58) Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure (Alton Towers)
59) Buffalo Mountain Coaster (Drayton Manor)
60) Euro Coaster (Travelling)
61) Creepy Crawler (Oakwood)
62) Barnstormer (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
2/10 (1 star) tier:
63) Saw: The Ride (Thorpe Park)
64) Grand National (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
65) Wilde Maus XXL (Travelling)
66) Steeplechase Right (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
67-72) Various Reverchon spinning coasters in rough order of quality
73) Rattlesnake (Chessington World of Adventures)
1/10 (0.5 star) tier:
74) Infusion (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

So, that’s my amended coaster ranking! I hope you don’t mind it, as I know some opinions might raise a few eyebrows...

If you have any questions regarding a particular ranking, don’t hesitate to ask me!

Here’s my Captain Coaster account and list so you can see things in a little more context: https://captaincoaster.com/en/users/matt-newman
 
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Matt N

CF Legend
I’d be intrigued to know; what is it that places DC Rivals reasonably low for you? I’ve always heard it get incredible praise, so I’m surprised to see it so low in your list, I’ll admit. Did it just not do it for you like it did for everyone else?
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
That's the first time I've heard anyone refer to Ås as a city and not a loose cluster of buildings in a field.
 

Will

Strata Poster
^
The city column is just what coaster-count gave me, most of the data's been pulled straight from there :)

As for DC Rivals, I'm actually not sure how to answer, but something about it didn't gel with me (and it has a silly name and I object to the paying extra to ride facing backwards thing) - it may be as simple as me having overly high expectations that it couldn't live up to. It's by no means band and has a few nice airtime hills and a fairly good first drop, but it's really nothing world beating in my mind - I'm recently coming to the conclusion that I'm old fashioned and prefer positive forces and inversions.
 
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