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Your Least Common Opinion?

Matt N said:
Also, I’d better not forget; I didn’t particularly rate Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. I think I’m the only one to have that opinion based on most I’ve talked to.
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I also don't seem to remember caring much for Dinosaur either, but then again I was only 11 in 2014 when I rode it and barely an enthusiast.

Oblivion is overrated to ****; not worth more than a 15-minute wait imo. I also find it to be the rattliest B&M in the UK.

Other unpopular opinions of mine:-

  • Swarm is absolutely fantastic and forceful, my favourite UK coaster.
  • I would be happy if Wicker Man's pre-show never returned, because of an operational standpoint and because I cba to watch it every time I want to ride WM. Although I wouldn't mind if it was played casually as you walk through the pre-show room to the station. I know @Matt N shares a similar opinion.
  • Portaventura is better than Europa.
  • Disney parks are meh.
  • Nemesis Sub Terra was the best dark ride at Towers, genuinely hope it comes back (haven't ridden GG yet).
  • Kumali is absolutely fantastic.
  • Alpine coasters are awesome (providing I'm not slowed down by Grandma just in front of me).
  • The food at Merlin parks is pretty decent (just a shame they don't seem to know how to wash plates and cutlery in their restaurants).
 
I think my Alton Towers coaster ranking would probably raise the eyebrows of many; the ordering of my list is not what you’d call common:
  1. Wicker Man
  2. Oblivion
  3. Nemesis
  4. Galactica
  5. Rita
  6. Runaway Mine Train
  7. Thirteen
  8. The Smiler
  9. Spinball Whizzer
  10. Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure
 
I think you can spot some unusual opinions in my top ten:

- mamba backseat at WoF is extremely underrated, I can think of very few better airtime experiences over the course of my coasting career (yeah yeah its a tall mine train i've seen the comments). Its probably also the coaster i've ridden the most times in my life, so obviously I'm fond of it anyway. I'm confused what about the sfmexico morgan makes it the best, but I'd love to find out one day...

- parrot coaster at chimelong ocean is amazing, I think maybe my single best airtime moment was on the back wing seat of the first drop here. and the environment adds a lot of course

- regina > kawasemi (lol ok maybe this is just a hot take but I found kawasemi extremely disappointing)

- scooby doo ghoster coaster > superman escape (haven't been back since DC rivals unfrotunately...)

-I've probably posted in this thread before and I can't remember

clearly i'm an environment/theme before coaster elements kinda guy
 
I’ve got a possibly quite uncommon opinion; despite often being decried as formulaic & unoriginal, I think Merlin Entertainments are possibly one of the most innovative, creative, risk-taking companies in the world when it comes to building attractions.

This might seem like quite a blasphemous statement, but I genuinely believe it.

Firstly, some of their attractions have been genuinely quite audacious and cutting-edge in terms of what they brought to the table, and some of them were huge risks at the time of their construction. Take Wicker Man, for instance; despite all of their market research telling them that a wooden coaster wouldn’t wash with the British public because people considered them old-fashioned & dangerous, they built a wooden coaster with built-in fire effects that they quite literally marketed as “fusing wood & fire”, and a wooden coaster with quite possibly some of the most grand-scale theming & immersion ever seen on the ride type. For all of its apparent flaws, I’d also argue that Derren Brown’s Ghost Train was quite possibly one of the gutsiest dark rides ever built; if you think about it, that ride has a mind-boggling amount to it. VR, live action, animatronics, a highly complex ride system, grand-scale illusions; one almost couldn’t believe the amount within that attraction as an overall package! As much as it’s not my cup of tea at all, I must admit I do admire the nerve behind that attraction’s creation; there really isn’t anything else like it in the world! Not to mention Smiler, which despite not being a huge fan of the ride experience itself, I still find to be one of the most mesmerising feats of engineering within any theme park in the world! And that’s to name just a few of Merlin’s greatest innovations!

Secondly, I think their themes are wonderfully original! It must be said that Merlin rarely resort to cliched themes when it comes to theming their major rides, and some of their ride themes are possibly some of the most novel I’ve ever seen; for instance, who else has themed a ride to a giant brainwashing device, or an alien apocalypse with associated wreckage, or a flaming wicker man that you’re being sacrificed to? As much as Merlin are often criticised for only doing dark themes, I certainly admire them for their consistently outside-the-box thinking!
 
Wodan is the worlds best GCI and nobody can change my mind people throw way to much **** at it for being a forceless ride and the only people i here saying this are people who haven't yet ridden Wodan. Its a masterpiece and its in my top 25 overall and its at one of the worlds best theme parks, you gotta love EP!
 
Pxlsar said:
Wodan is the worlds best GCI and nobody can change my mind people throw way to much **** at it for being a forceless ride and the only people i here saying this are people who haven't yet ridden Wodan. Its a masterpiece and its in my top 25 overall and its at one of the worlds best theme parks, you gotta love EP!
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From what I can tell, there’s plenty who have Wodan as their favourite GCI, so you aren’t alone there!

I’m hoping I can get on it for the first time in 2022…
 
Sorry im posting to much i feel like i have way too many controversial opinions worth posting, anyways here is my top 10 personal favorite coasters I've ridden and I know this isn't the right forum either but anyways

1. Zadra - Perfect, absolutely no flaws found on this masterpiece
2. Kondaa - What the hell did I just ride
3. Steel Vengeance- Nothing but ejector, no complaints on this one
4. El Toro - A little rough but you cant go wrong with the airtime
5 . Untamed - Small but powerful tbh the airtime might be stronger than SVs airtime..
6. Expedition Geforce - This might be kinda controversial but i have so many good memories with this coaster it was impossible to rank it outside my top 10 what a ride!!
7. Lightning Rod - Its pretty short but I love the quad down for how intense it truly is and i haven't ridden it as a steel ibox track coaster but i should be in a couple months
8. Intimidator 305 - My last few rides on the worlds most intense roller coaster was hauling like hell the trim also wasn't really noticeable so idk if they removed it or not
9. Skyrush - The restraints aren't the best but the laterals and ejector airtime really make up for it and its still Pennsylvania's best roller coaster!
10. Velocicoaster - Went on it on passholder preview day and was blown away, i expected it to be great but was still amazed by the theming and also i love how Universal found a way to fit in the fact since they were only able to get 3 raptor animaltronics they made it seem as the fourth one escaped and its Intamin's best blitz coaster by far

So that's my top 10 the 5 that missed the cut but were close were
11 Voyage
12 Karnan
13 Hakugei
14 T-Express
15 Jersey Devil
 
Pxlsar said:
Sorry im posting to much i feel like i have way too many controversial opinions worth posting, anyways here is my top 10 personal favorite coasters I've ridden and I know this isn't the right forum either but anyways

1. Zadra - Perfect, absolutely no flaws found on this masterpiece
2. Kondaa - What the hell did I just ride
3. Steel Vengeance- Nothing but ejector, no complaints on this one
4. El Toro - A little rough but you cant go wrong with the airtime
5 . Untamed - Small but powerful tbh the airtime might be stronger than SVs airtime..
6. Expedition Geforce - This might be kinda controversial but i have so many good memories with this coaster it was impossible to rank it outside my top 10 what a ride!!
7. Lightning Rod - Its pretty short but I love the quad down for how intense it truly is and i haven't ridden it as a steel ibox track coaster but i should be in a couple months
8. Intimidator 305 - My last few rides on the worlds most intense roller coaster was hauling like hell the trim also wasn't really noticeable so idk if they removed it or not
9. Skyrush - The restraints aren't the best but the laterals and ejector airtime really make up for it and its still Pennsylvania's best roller coaster!
10. Velocicoaster - Went on it on passholder preview day and was blown away, i expected it to be great but was still amazed by the theming and also i love how Universal found a way to fit in the fact since they were only able to get 3 raptor animaltronics they made it seem as the fourth one escaped and its Intamin's best blitz coaster by far
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That's a tasty 10, nothing massively out of place here.
 
* Taron I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but Chiapas is the best ride at Phantasialand, of all time!

* Based on my rides this year and last year I prefer Infusion to The Big One. Maybe it's because I'm tall (my head is above the restraints) or I am so used to the ride that I subconsciously prepare, it's a smoother experience every year I ride.

* Michael Eisner was the best CEO Disney has ever had (other than Walt and Roy)

* Cedar Fair is held back by it's lack of dark rides.

* I think RMC are great, but not as innovative as enthusiasts make them out to be.

* Thorpe Park is better than people give it credit for.


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* After riding Roller Coaster in Great Yarmouth I have concluded this is the most comfortable wooden coaster in the UK (I still think Wicker Man is a better ride).
* Merlin parks are actually very good when you compare to some of the more 'regional parks', I'm looking at you Pleasurewood Hills. We are too critical of the likes of AT and Thorpe Park as they have money but their theming and upkeep is better than almost all other parks in the UK if you take out what you 'think' they should be up to.
* I might be getting too old for Theme Parks as too many rides knocked me sick in the last week! I am definitely too old for Spin and Spews (especially Waltzers).
 
Thecoasterrus said:
* Taron I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but Chiapas is the best ride at Phantasialand, of all time!

* Based on my rides this year and last year I prefer Infusion to The Big One. Maybe it's because I'm tall (my head is above the restraints) or I am so used to the ride that I subconsciously prepare, it's a smoother experience every year I ride.

* Michael Eisner was the best CEO Disney has ever had (other than Walt and Roy)

* Cedar Fair is held back by it's lack of dark rides.

* I think RMC are great, but not as innovative as enthusiasts make them out to be.

* Thorpe Park is better than people give it credit for.


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Interesting takes. My wife always put River Quest above Taron before we rode FLY. Phantasialand is so much more than its coasters it's no surprise that many don't put a coaster on top. Chiapas is genuinely exeptional.
I rode Infusion a couple of weeks ago, remembering a favourable experience last time I rode it. This was actually my first properly bad experience on an SLC since I rode Mind Eraser at Elitch with sunburned shoulders.
Agreed. I'm also a Pompey Fan so Eisner is definitely in my good books (seriously though, CEO of Disney to Chairman of Portsmouth Football Club is a real career change).
I've only ever done Knott's Berry in their portfolio, which has one of the best classic dark rides out there, so I can't comment here.
Agreed again, I'm in the B&M Hyper for Thorpe camp rather than an RMC, though either would be a great addition to their line up. Much of what RMC do well, other manufacturers do just as good.
Sorry, but I can't agree here. It has a solid line up of rides, but crumbling theming and frequent break downs really let it down. I've not had a genuinely good visit to Thorpe in years now and if I didn't have free tickets for this year, I probably wouldn't visit again until they cleared up their act. The park we knew from the early 2000s is no longer a thing.
 
I haven’t ridden an RMC, so I can’t comment on whether their coasters click for me or not, but I definitely agree that I’d prefer for Thorpe to get a B&M hyper as their next major investment, personally.

As much as RMCs look amazing, I think there are numerous parks in the UK that could pull one off if they thought outside the box a little (for instance, I’d imagine that Alton Towers could pull off an amazing terrain RMC, Blackpool could make a compact one like a Raptor work, and even some of the country’s mid-level parks, like Paultons, Drayton or Flamingoland, could probably pull off an RMC if they wanted to), so I’d personally prefer for another UK park to get the country’s first RMC. Thorpe, on the other hand, is the only park in the country that could really feasibly build a B&M hyper; every other park in the country is limited by at least one of space (BPB), planning restrictions (Alton Towers), & money (everywhere else), whereas Thorpe don’t really have any of these working against them to the same degree. They have a fair amount of space, I believe they can build up to 300ft if they want to and are not on a heritage site or in a densely populated area, and they also have the financial backing of Merlin to help them pull off such an investment.

In terms of some of my own controversial opinions, I can think of the following:
  • Halloween is my least favourite time of year in theme parks, and I would gladly avoid parks during scare season.
  • I prefer GCI to Gravity Group, from having ridden one of each company’s coasters (Wicker Man for GCI, Mine Blower for Gravity Group).
  • The one stand-up coaster I’ve ridden, Shockwave at Drayton Manor, wasn’t a bad ride, and I actually found it kind of enjoyable in spite of the strange riding position. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t my favourite coaster, but I was expecting it to be absolutely dreadful and actually kind of enjoyed it!
  • Overall, Thorpe Park are stronger at ride theming than Alton Towers, in spite of the latter being stronger at themed areas, in my opinion. Thorpe also has some really pleasant and well-done themed environments, in my opinion.
  • Expedition Everest is only my 4th favourite coaster at Walt Disney World, and has never been a ride I’ve been hugely in love with like many are; I never fail to step off it a bit underwhelmed.
  • Leading on from that, I prefer Thirteen to Expedition Everest.
  • Tower of Terror is my favourite Disney ride by a considerable distance.
  • Epcot is a great park, and genuinely rivals Animal Kingdom for my favourite at Disney World, in spite of its lack of rides.
  • Islands of Adventure is my favourite park in Florida and my overall favourite park of all time, and I can only imagine I’d love it even more with the additions since my last 2016 visit. Universal Studios Florida is also in my top 3 parks of all time, as well as being my 2nd favourite in Florida, and I’m never sure whether it or Alton Towers falls into the #2 spot for me.
  • Leading on from that, I absolutely love Universal parks, and comfortably prefer them to Disney parks based on both companies’ Florida resorts.
  • Swarm is easily my favourite UK B&M, and one of my favourite UK coasters overall; I find it feels incredibly fast in spite of looking rather slow off-ride, it hits a nice level of intensity that feels thrilling, but doesn’t inhibit fun factor & rerideability, it’s glossy smooth, the inversions (especially the last inline) provide surprising negative g’s, and overall, I just absolutely love it!
  • Leading on from that, I personally prefer the fun, floaty style of newer B&M coasters to the more raw, intense style of older B&M coasters.
 
La Ronde is really not that bad.

(Although the guests aren't much fun, Goliath is boring, Monstre is operated AWFULLY and the scare attraction is abysmal)

(Also, it was my first experience of a North American park, so maybe I didn't have much to compare it with...)
 
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