coasterbear30

Maybe it was just the time we visited but I don't get all the hate for SFMM. We went for the first time in October and really liked it a lot. I thought the operations were really pretty good. The only place there was a lack of urgency was on Apocalypse. Then Riddler's Revenge only had one train operation with a busy queue. Other than that, it was just fine. We even had a not planned ERT session on X2 with NO ONE in the line (and there were 8 of us sitting wherever we wanted.) We just stayed on and rode as much as we wanted to. We hit almost all of the credits in one day and even got both sides of Superman. We went back the next day for rerides and although it was busier, it still wasn't the worst. I think the park is very clean and the patrons were nice. There was absolutely zero line jumping, very unlike our home park SFOG where the patrons are rude and line jump every chance they get.

Damn, makes me wish we wouldn't have gone to Texas in 2011. Gonna want to ride this puppy!

^I COMPLETELY agree with you on Voyage and GA Cyclone. I haven't ridden CI Cyclone yet. It is interesting to me though that people hate Voyage and love Ravine Flyer II. I thought RFII was almost just as rough as Voyage, it just was much shorter. There was a bump after the first crossing of the bridge that was brutal!

The Voyage is one of those rides that hurt me but also dually impressed me. I hate terribly rough coasters (ala GA Cyclone) and don't ride them any more once they have gotten extremely rough. Voyage is a one off for me since I liken it to riding a bull that is doing everything to buck you off it's back. I felt like everytime I rode it, I couldn't catch my breath til the end and there are VERY few coasters that have made me feel that way (El Toro being the other one that readily comes to mind.) Voyage is my #3 woodie based on it being so intense. Yes, it is EXTREMELY rough but also EXTREMELY fun and intense. The one that I don't get is Phoenix. I rode it in 2011 and was just not as impressed as people had claimed. I even rode it in the magic seat and could not seem to get what everyone had always told me about it. Maybe it was the time or day I rode it but I was just not all that impressed. It was fun. I will give it that. Top 10? Yeah, but more towards the lower end of that spectrum for me. I need to ride it again to see but that probably won't happen for a while. Too many other coasters I have yet to ride.

^Agreed! MF after the first drop is probably one of the most boring coaster experiences ever. Especially after hearing so many people rave about how good it is. TTD is light years better, as is Maverick!

WOW! Those pictures are absolutely amazing! Thanks for posting them. I cannot wait to ride OR this year!

^^I agree with Chuck that Jack Rabbit in the back seat was a pretty harrowing experience. Rode it for the first time in 2012 and was shocked at the amount of airtime on the double down with the lack of restraint.

I hope that KI does not build a Chunt clone. Almost "anything" else would be fine. I like a good balance of rides in a park and don't believe that everything has to be "extreme" to be fun. Some of my favorite coasters are not record breaking. I just think that people like CH because it was made by Intamin. I think that most people here would love a coaster that rolled down a straight track just because it was made by Intamin. I like rides that are good, not because they are built by a certain company. I rode CH knowing that most people thought it wasn't very good and even after riding it twice, I still thought it was one of the most boring things I had ever ridden. I personally like the Backlot Stunt Coasters better. In fact, the woodstock express coasters are better.

My swag for 2012: Various gift cards to restaurants Best buy gift card $75 AMEX gift card Bed, bath and beyond gift card Vegetable chopper All the missing coaster expeditions I didn't have (10 of them-gift to myself) Wine(which I don't drink) Cologne IPad4 Car tag that says "I'd rather be on a roller coaster" Magazine subscription

2 major trips this year for me and my friends. Canada/NY: Niagra Falls Canada's Wonderland Seabreeze Marineland Darien Lake Martin's Fantasy Island Missouri: The Arch and City Museum SF St. Louis Silver Dollar City Worlds of Fun Definitely SFOG since it is my home park. Probably: Carowinds, Dollywood and possibly Wild Adventures/Busch Gardens

I thought I had entered my scariest ride in this thread but I guess I didn't. The first thing you should know is that I am scared of heights. When I first started travelling to ride coasters, I went with another enthusiast to Florida to BGT. Before we went I was super excited about riding SheiKra. I had seen lots of pictures of it and thought wow, what an amazing looking coaster. I had ridden Goliath at SFOG(also 200 feet) several times and loved it. Needless to say, when we got to BGT and I stood at the bottom of the first drop looking up at the terror on people's faces as they dropped I was like "no way in hell am I getting on this thing." It also looks ten times bigger in person! My friend was not happy but I just couldn't be convinced. We came home but returned to BGT 2 years later. I kept telling myself ok this time I am going to do it. We got there and I was so nervous but I made myself get on it. When we got to the top, I hated the "carousel" potion of the ride. I don't like being held up high for a long time. When we came to the hang part I was holding on for dear life, just waiting on the drop that I just knew would throw my stomach into my throat. It dropped and I screamed " ohhhh sshhhhhhhhiiiiittttttttt," but before the drop even ended I threw my hands in the air and knew I loved this coaster. I really enjoyed the rest of the ride and ran around to ride it again. I rode it at least 6 times that day and have been back 2 more times and rode it as much as I could. It is now in my top 5 steel coasters! The only other ride since then that has made me nervous and scream like a biotch was Top Thrill Dragster. I rode it this past October and even though I am not as scared of heights as I used to be, I knew that it was much taller than anything I had ridden, even though I had ridden 305 & MF previously. The launch also made me nervous because 80mph was the fastest launch I had been on. Well I was right about the launch, it took my breath. And even though I didn't notice the height, the drop made me scream just as much. Once again, I loved it and it made my top 5 steel. It may be a one trick pony but it is a trick that totally works and I loved it!

I submitted my ballot early last week but am just catching up on this thread. Here is my ballot: LOCATION FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS) ~"Georgia, USA" NAME FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS IN Ballot) ~"coasterbear30" RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,2 Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,1 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,6 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,3 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,5 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,4 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <--Please leave this My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere **,y,n,1 Rampage Alabama Adventure AL,y,n,10 The Grizzly Great America CA,y,n,47 Roar SF Discovery Kingdom CA,y,n,8 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA,y,n,28 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,30 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA,y,y,29 Apocalypse S. F. Magic Mountain CA,y,y,6 Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,42 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,43 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA,y,y,13 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA,y,y,41 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA,y,n,16 Cheetah Wild Adventures GA,y,n,36 The Legend Holiday World IN,y,n,39 Raven Holiday World IN,y,n,5 The Voyage Holiday World IN,y,n,3 Kentucky Rumbler Beech Bend KY,y,n,12 Hurler Carowinds NC,y,n,44 Woodstock Express Carowinds NC,y,n,22 Thunder Road Carowinds NC,y,n,26 El Toro SFGAd NJ,y,n,1 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ,y,n,27 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH,y,y,14 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH,y,y,40 Racer Kings Island OH,y,n,17 Woodstock Express Kings Island OH,y,n,23 The Beast Kings Island OH,y,n,20 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA,y,y,37 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA,y,n,34 Comet Hersheypark PA,y,n,33 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA,y,n,19 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA,y,n,18 Wildcat Hersheypark PA,y,n,9 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA,y,y,15 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA,y,y,32 Racer Kennywood PA,y,y,31 Phoenix Knoebel's PA,y,n,7 Twister Knoebel's PA,y,n,38 Comet Waldameer PA,y,y,25 Ravine Flyer II Waldameer PA,y,y,4 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC,y,n,11 Thunderhead Dollywood TN,y,y,2 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX,y,n,46 Hurler Kings Dominion VA,y,n,45 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA,y,n,21 Ghoster Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,24 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA,y,n,35

The only hang time that really makes me nervous is the lap bar only restraints on Dare Devil Dive. When you go through the barrell roll extremely slow and all your weight is hanging on that little bar. I guess the good thing is that if you fell out it is only like 7 feet to the ground so you probably wouldn't get hurt too bad. LOL

18 out of 20. I was surprised at how much I knew!

I like them both but I prefer the RAW series as I tend to like POV's a lot.

Don't know if I have ever posted mine but it was NINJA at SFOG. (SMDH)

^Leap the Dips at Lakemont

I'm very intrigued with this, too. A Premier launched-coaster/dark-ride combo sounds great! I think Premier + Launch + Coaster/Dark ride w/space theme would be called Flight of Fear.

A couple of years ago at IAAPA there was someone (I think the GG) that did have a model of a wooden shuttle coaster that was similar to the Schwarzkoph shuttle but with hills instead of a loop. I guess no one ever bought one though.

The Beast may have been great in it's hay day but it sure is a boring coaster now. I rode it 2 years ago and it is great that it is an iconic coaster but it really does nothing but roam through the woods. As everyone else has been saying, the trims really kill the ride and the helix is the only fun part of the ride. The first drop was so boring because of the trims. I do like iconic coasters and the Beast was my 100th coaster but that is about all I can say for it.

Nothing this month so far but will probably hit up Dollywood Thanksgiving weekend just so I can get in a few last rides.

I say sianara (or however you spell it.) Rode the Vortex 2 years ago for the first and last time. One ride was absolutely enough. How do you make a vertical loop hurt? That was a new one on me. AWFUL!

I am readjusting mine in order of best to worst: (SheiKra-if you count dive machines) Dominator Hydra Scream! Superman:KK Bizarro Kraken Medusa Have not ridden Dark Knight or any of the overseas ones.

Top Thrill Dragster hands down. It may be a one trick pony but that trick is absolutely amazeballs! The launch is breath taking.

Vortex at Carowinds