chickenbowl

Now that nothing else has been announced, my thoughts on this coaster have improved! If it indeed uses terrain and forest setting well, this little coaster will be a ton of fun! Who wouldv'e thought an 80ft GCI would be the second largest coaster built in the US for 2017, behind a slightly larger GCI

But none of the new "Timbers" will live up to the original! Ehh, I think Mystic Timbers looks better than Shivering Timbers was when I rode it last month.

That's a really good point! I've just read people complaining on here about replacing a wood coaster with another steel coaster. It doesn't have to be steel, in fact wood would make more sense!

I hope that if Mean Streak is re-profiled by RMC, they will use Topper Track instead of IBox. I think it would make a LOT more sense for Cedar Point to complete their collection with a potentially record-breaking wood coaster than add another steel coaster whose stats wouldn't even break park records (I know CP loves their records!). They KNOW they need a great wooden coaster too, it's the only logical solution! I know many people assume that because they haven't done that, they can't- but I think the main reason we haven't seen a Topper on a re-profile is cost/maintenance reasons from the SF chain. There's also a misleading quote from RMC about not doing Topper Track re-tracking anymore, which I am pretty sure is regarding section replacements like on Monstre, old-Rattler, Tremors, and old-Cyclone. The two track styles are essentially compatible, why wouldn't they be able to use Topper Track?

On the topic of the alpine coasters, I rode 3 of them, excluding the Ober Gatlinburg one (I've read multiple places that one is crap). I'd rank them: #1. Gatlinburg Alpine Coaster - Fastest, best scenery, most intense #2. Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster - Very long, but has these fin brakes running along the track that keep it from going too fast #3. Goat Coaster - Also has the fin brakes I recommend riding all 3 of these if you have lots of time to spend and you're an enthusiast! They're very fun!

deleted

Good spot. This is exactly why i run these through forum posts before writing big articles. Somewhere in by spreadsheet things seem to have shifted slightly in that table so I've re-done it with the correct numbers I've also redone the operating coasters per company graph which i somehow missed Vekoma off of. I also added a ton of other smaller companies i missed off to bulk it up a bit. Very nice! Thanks for doing this by the way! I'm a big numbers guys, and I love seeing things visually - I'm sure I'm not the only one either!

I think your data on the wooden coasters built per year is wrong. 2006 had more than one coaster built, El Toro, Voyage, Kentucky Rumbler, and Thunderbird were all built that year. You may have it mixed with 2005 where Hades was the only wooden built.

How do we know SFMM is getting Justice League? Is it merely the site clearing with a logical deduction or do we have any actual evidence? (city plans? insider info?)

Wait. RMC manufactures S&S Sansei's track? Are you sure about that? For the 4D Free Spin track, yes.

Well Six Flags wont be making there annoucnments till 9-1. There could be some RMC, Premier, and S&S Roar at SFDK closed more than a year ago - Do you really think a wooden coaster in the SF chain is getting IBox? Especially considering no other park has CA weather conditions, I think we would absolutely know (or have closing hints) if SF was IBoxing a current coaster. I suppose SF could be building a ground-up RMC... But I personally doubt it. SF hasn't built a large custom coaster (non-IBox) since Goliath in 2014 and Full Throttle in 2013. Both of those coasters were planned/teased far in advance - We all saw land clearing and city proposals. I don't see ANY hint of major land clearing to indicate a large coaster at a SF park. All I've seen is small clearings that could possibly indicate off-the-shelf, relatively easy installations (Justice league, S&S 4D). Those types of additions don't get me excited like an RMC or custom coaster would. 2017 just seems like a dud across the US parks to me.

Is anyone else SUPER underwhelmed by capital expenditures throughout the chain this year? This is the first year since 2011 without a B&M (second since 2007). It doesn't seem like there will be ANY major coasters being built in the United States in 2017 outside of InvadR and Mystic Timbers (Which probably won't crack $15 mill). Are there any other parks that are building something I don't know about??

I'll start off with some easy clones - Flight Deck, CW. This SLC is somehow worse than the rest... It's awful. T3, KK. The new restraints get rid of headbanging and replace it with excruciating leg pain and back bashing. Time Warp, CW. Volares are truly terrible. I dread the day I ride another. Raton Loco, La Feria, Mexico City. This coaster spins at a dangerous level. It goes beyond the point of enjoyment and makes you fear for your safety. The ride ops had me hold my own restraint down. Woodies - Wild Beast, CW. Really bad, waiting for it to end as soon as it started. Grizzly, KD. Same as above Psyclone, SFMM. First coaster that made me question my passion

What a boring thread... Every park is either getting a Free Spin, Justice League, or essentially nothing.

Disney's Hollywood Studios. I know it's not highly rated to begin with, but that's still too high. That park is frankly not enjoyable for more than 2 hours. I can absolutely see why they have both Toy Story and Star Wars planned for this park... There's barely anything to do as it is. I constantly heard "Not as good as other Disney parks, but still amazing"... I disagree completely with that. Here's an sttraction breakdown: ToT= Awesome Rockin'= Pretty good! Star Tours II= Good, but not unique Midway Mania= Good but not unique Backlot tour= Gone (It was terrible) Great Movie Ride= Truly awful Indie Stunt show= Kinda cool except for all the "The audience is directing a movie!" crap Lights Motors Action= ^ Same as above. Didn't bother waiting for fantasmic or whatever nighttime show It's just such a weak park... I felt like I wasted my time even being there only 5 hours.

*1. Dollywood: 2 top 10 woodies, one being probably the best in the US. (*Too bad LR was closed when I went...) 1. Holiday World: 3 coasters in my top 15 wood... 2. Knoebel's: 1 perfect coaster, and 2 other coasters that are both really good too. 3. Six Flags Great America: One top 10 wood, and a lot of other solid woodies, none of which are bad. (American Eagle Red is outstanding!) 4. Silverwood: Both of their CCI's are very good!

I was. I found Batman to be very uncomfortable and not enjoyable.

That's how I feel about Fire Dragon's immelman/helix thing before the loop in the front! One of my favorite inversions ever!

That's a matter of opinion. I think Fury can go toe to toe with any of them. I think it's much better than Skyrush (lol Skyrush sucks, hi Boldikus) and I305. I give El Toro and Maverick the very slight edge over Fury but it's really close. I've only ridden one RMC so I can't comment too much on that but I don't even think Wicked Cyclone (as great as it is) even belongs in the same conversation as Fury 325. Fury blows that ride to hell. Fury is the exception though. That's the only coaster they've built in 15 years that even comes close to being as good as the vast majority of Intamin coasters. And I don't expect everyone to agree with me but it's not like I'm saying anything all that radical. I've seen a ton of people on this board list Fury as their new #1. I'm as critical of B&M as they come (for example, I think Banshee is forceless and overrated as hell... same with Leviathan) but Fury is an elite coaster. I respect that, and I understand why a lot of people say Fury is the best. I guess I should preface my comment with "If you are into super intense coasters with ejector airtime and quick transitions..." Those factors are what I've deduced make the ideal coaster to many coaster enthusiasts. Those three factors are what bring Fury 325 down for me. Keep in mind that I still rank Fury as my #5 steel - It's an excellent coaster and the only B&M to make it into my top 9 steel. I also rank it well over Wicked Cyclone and I agree on Banshee and Leviathan to a degree. Fury has a couple spots of great airtime, and keeps up it's speed very well - But overall it doesn't have the same caliber of intensity, airtime, or quick transitions. EDIT - I also want to point out that too much those three factors bring down rankings for other enthusiasts. I know a lot of people like yourself who dislike I305 and Skyrush cause of intensity, disliking airtime (and blaming restraints), etc.

RMC for sure!

Simply put... no. Not with Intamin building coasters like Maverick, El Toro, Skyrush, and I305. And now with RMC building Outlaw Run, Medusa Steel, and Lightning Rod, there's even less of a chance. B&M's best coaster (Fury 325) doesn't touch any of the 7 coasters I just listed.

Updated! North America: Lagoon Kennywood Waldameer Europe: Liseberg Europa Park Holiday Park Walibi Holland Heide Park Hansa Park Phantasialand Mirabilandia PortAventura Disneyland Paris Alton Towers Thrope Park Kolmarden Djurs Sommerland Asia: Tokyo Disneyland/Sea Fuji-Q Tobu Zoo Lotte World Everland Ocean Park Hong Kong Disneyland Knight Valley Ferrari World Universal Studios Japan Nagashima Spaland Shanghai Disneyland

That must've been it! I typically ride floorless in the front (Just like inverts) and after one ride on Rougarou (HUGE improvement to Mantis btw) in the front row, I said "Hey, that was really enjoyable" but felt no need to ride it again (I had fastlane for Maverick ). I also greatly prefer the straight drops on floorless in the back to the curved drops. Wildfire is especially amazing in the back row!

That's funny, I find those two to be some of the weaker floorless! Krypton Coaster, Kraken, Medusa West, and Wildfire (admit it, it's a floorless ) are the only ones that stood out to me!

Just bringing this nugget of truth over to this page. HAHAHA I don't really understand the point of having the three different sized towers with the same height requirement. Also, the smaller two have the same ride type, just different height? WHY?! I'm so confused