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What is your favourite traditional (non-RMC or Intamin prefab) wooden coaster?

Matt N

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. Within the last decade or two, two key inventions happened within the field of wooden roller coasters; the Intamin pre-fab woodie and the RMC Topper Track woodie. These innovative models altered the way in which wooden coasters were built and really pushed the boundaries of what the building material, and it's woodies from these two models that mostly seem to top wooden coaster polls. With that in mind, my question to you today is; what is your favourite traditionally constructed wooden roller coaster? What is your favourite woodie excluding the RMC woodies and Intamin pre-fabs you've ridden?

Personally, I've never ridden an RMC or Intamin woodie, so my favourite traditional wooden coaster is my favourite wooden coaster full stop; Wicker Man at Alton Towers! I love Wicker Man because it's fast, it has fun turns, some really excellent airtime moments in places, and is also relatively smooth & comfortable for a woodie! Whether Wicker Man remains my number 1 woodie after I ride Wodan in 4 days' time remains to be seen, but I think it's a great ride regardless of how Wodan stacks up for me!

But what is your favourite traditionally constructed woodie?
 
Easy answer for me here, Voyage at Holiday World. My favorite coaster since 2018, and in turn, favorite wooden coaster as well. I love it because of its absurdly long duration, relentlessness, amount of airtime, varied masterpiece of a layout and secluded setting. While no single moment on Voyage is top-tier (besides the triple down perhaps), it keeps hauling through one consistently good element after another, from the first drop to the final brake run.
 
I would pretty much say the same. Wicker man is the most fun I have had with a traditional wooden coaster, but I would say that The Voyage looks like the pinnacle of wooden rollercoaster design so far. Its layout is incredible, and I would bet an embarrassing amount that it would comfortably be my #1 wood coaster if I ever had the opportunity to go on it.

Now if only Gravity Group would ever have an excuse to build a ride in the UK!
 
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I have to give it to Boulder Dash. It's certainly not the most progressive layout design, but it hugs the terrain as it hauls throughout the entirety of the ride. Troy comes in second for me.

Changa said:
But I would say that The Voyage looks like the pinnacle of wooden rollercoaster design so far. Its layout is incredible, and I would bet an embarrassing amount that it would comfortably be my #1 wood coaster if I ever had the opportunity to go on it.
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Voyage is so hit or miss, unfortunately. It really depends on the track work and the seat you ride in. The PTCs just aren't well suited for its aggressiveness. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's really bad. The potential is there though. All the pieces are there except a consistently enjoyable ride. If Holiday World ever shells out the money to have it retracked with Gravity Group's new track design, it'd be a game changer.
 
For me, it's The Beast at Kings Island. A lot of it is nostalgia since I rode it a good amount as a kid and even more so over the last three years, but I also love the fact that it goes through a mostly-secluded setting in the woods and uses its terrain to its advantage. The night ride is out of this world, especially during late Haunt nights when the park closes at midnight or after.
 
Boulderdash, in its prime ♡ still my absolute favorite coaster although it makes me sad that in its last few years its not run/been kept at its full potential.
 
I've actually only done Lightning Rod and El Toro when it comes to prefab/RMC woodies. LR is my favorite woodie but I don't find Toro that good.

So Voyage comes in as my favorite traditional woodie, ranked right behind Lightning Rod in my Top 5. It's a popular one for sure, but my first night ride on it was honestly the best coaster ride I've ever had.
 
I mean, it's just The Voyage, isn't it? Can be brutal sometimes, not denying that, but where it gets all that relentless pace is a mystery to me. It defies physics.

Shout out to The Beast too, but only if it's a night ride, and only if you've never even had a daylight ride.
 
Voyage for sure. It is genuinely one of the best roller coasters in the world, and the best night ride in the world.
 
Difficult one, as The Voyage is pretty damn amazing, as is Boulder Dash, and Phoenix. They all rank in my top 25.

But for me, it's Renegade @ Valleyfair. It's no longer in my top 10 but it was up until fairly recently. Cracker of a woodie.
 
Wicker Man for me, though I need to ride more woodies, I'm going to be riding Joris en de Draak in a few weeks so perhaps that will dethrone it.

I had a surprisingly good time on the Grand National in Blackpool last weekend, the problem is I also had rides that shaved an inch of height off me due to spine compression. It's quite an intense ride that I think would be more of a contender if it was less painful.
 
Troy

But in terms of a good, old classic woodie then Cyclone at Coney Island is great fun, and a truly wild woodie
 
GhostRider, i love this thing, its long, forceful, smooth and has some great air. I love how like the Voyage it just keeps on going, you fly through the timbers making it feel so fast. Night rides are great as they have these lights on the walkways that make the coaster look beautiful, its my favourite coaster in the west of the states I've done, it is fantastic and a must do.

Here is how I rank my woodies and RMC for reference:

1: Steel vengeance
2: El Toro SFGA
3: Lightning Rod ( original )
4: GhostRider
5: Voyage
6: Beast
7: Phoenix
8: Ravine Flyer II
9: Twisted Colossus
10: Storm chaser
 
Update; having now done 2 days in Europa, it’s definitely Wodan Timbur Coaster for me. The ride is absolutely relentless, packed with airtime, has some really fun turns, has an awesome first drop, is probably the smoothest and most comfortable wooden coaster I’ve ever ridden (surprisingly, I’d even say it’s a little smoother than Wicker Man)… it just has to be top of the woodie stakes for me now!
 
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