australianalex

Weird that Raptor is the highest rated wing coaster - I found it pretty lame and thought it was a bit "bouncy". The only other wing coaster I've been on was Swarm, which I really liked. It felt much more intense and was noticeably smoother. I really don't know what my opinion is on wing coasters at this stage, since I got two totally different experiences from two different ones. I'm unsurprised that they're all bunched near the #100 mark though, from the general opinion of them.

Nah, nice to see this little park getting a good flat ride. Never been on one of Zamperla's Discovery rides but they definitely look fun.

Well Sweden in itself is worth traveling around the world for, so this coaster is just an awesome bonus worth taking the drive from Stockholm for. Look at it that way. I, personally, am planning to be in Europe for quite a while in 2016 and was wondering which countries to prioritize, and this kickass announcement has cemented my decision to visit Sweden first (along with Denmark and Norway, of course).

If this thing is as exciting as Robb is making out it has to be a pretty insane, one of a kind thing - not a clone, and probably not a drop tower as that usually wouldn't cause a huge load of excitement. I'm putting my money on an inverted wooden strata-eurofighter which jumps the track across a burning forest. But that's just me. Whatever it turns out to be, I'm glad that I plan to be in Scandi in 2016/17 anyway!

How does that equal B&M? I would think if anything Intamin would be the quality. B&M has more coasters but Intamin's coasters are more regarded as the elite in the world. I have to disagree. Most of B&Ms coasters are quite consistent in quality - they may not all be amazing, but there are very few that are truly bad. Meanwhile, though Intamin has undoubtedly had some amazing rides, they've also had some really, really crap ones. For that, I have to say B&M have been very successful. Another bonus for B&M is that, out of their 90 coasters, none have been demolished - though Time Machine's fate hangs in the balance. However, from an economic point of view, Vekoma have done extremely well. Over 280 coasters in countless countries all over the world. They've dominated the junior coaster market, and I'd say they're considered a top choice for looping coasters for a park on a smaller budget. They may not have the best reputation with enthusiasts, but they're definitely getting better. They seem to be doing extremely well.

This is from my experience on iSpeed, and I imagine it'd apply for Maverick too: At the quick directional changes, you really have to move with the ride. If you just ragdoll it, chances are you'll get some nasty chops to the head/neck.

That news article seems weird. Remote control? Is that just bad journalism or some weird system that they once had planned for this thing? Also I had to laugh at "terrifying 12 metres per second", considering that's equal to 43kph (27mph).

That Intamin indoor coaster looks great. It's nice to see Intamin make another freefall drop coaster, and this one does look better than Thirteen.

1. Expedition GeForce 2. iSpeed 3. Blue Fire

The only really notable one I can think of was when I was at Thorpe Park, an employee started singing Ellie Goulding songs to us on Vortex while the ride was in motion, for no apparent reason. We were all in hysterics.

The whole park is awkward. Notice how it's one of the only (if not THE only) Six Flags park you can't view with Google StreetView. That doesn't mean anything. They're bound to get round to it sometime, they're just adding the parks at different times. SFOT hasn't been added onto streetview either, and some parks such as SFOG, for example, were only added this year.

I hate most of the Italian companies when it comes to coasters, with the possible exception of Zamperla, who occasionally make decent coasters. The companies are largely quite good when it comes to flat rides, but not coasters. I have a certain bone to pick with Preston and Barbieri, who's family coaster at Mirabilandia was not only forceless but unforgivably brutal. I don't really get the hate either. They had a rough start, but as of late they've been building some really decent coasters. I can understand people hating them in the 90s when they were churning out SLCs, but at the moment I think we should give them credit where credit is due.

I really don't get the hate surrounding Wingriders. They're perfectly fun rides and they look great. I suppose they can be a bit hit and miss - I found Swarm to be really great, but Raptor was pretty average. However, from looking at videos I thought that Raptor would be a great ride, and it disappointed me. The opposite was true for Swarm. I don't think we can fully judge the ride's quality from this video, especially as it's just a testing video.

The Intamin coaster looks awesome. Odd to see Maurer opt for a flat track design for parts of their coaster.

Even the Australian Sea World is having to answer posts from crazed environmentalist nutjobs, despite the fact that the Australian Sea World neither has Orcas in their park, nor are affiliated with American SeaWorld in any way. Now, I definitely advocate animal rights, but the people calling for the parks to release all their animals into the wild is not only unrealistic but ridiculous, and the people directing accusations at the wrong park chain is just laughable.

Nice to see reports of some more obscure parks around the world It's always kind of odd to see an Arrow with that style of track. The transition into the first drop looks interesting, too. Shame it's SBNO.

I'd say some POVs do rides justice, but others just don't get across the intensity of the ride or, in some cases, the roughness.

Cyclone at Dreamworld. It's a crappy Arrow and I hate it, but at the same time I just love the way it rides. Also it was my first looping coaster so nostalgia plays a large role.

First Coaster - Goofy's Barnstormer at Magic Kingdom, Favorite - Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park First Steel - Same as above, Favorite - Same as above First Woodie - Wild Mouse at Aussieworld, Favorite - Wodan Timburcoaster at Europa Park First 100ft coaster - Cyclone at Dreamworld, Favorite - Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park First 200ft coaster - Tower of Terror at Dreamworld, Favorite - Silver Star at Europa Park First looping coaster - Cyclone at Dreamworld, Favorite - iSpeed at Mirabilandia First B&M - Hair Raiser at Ocean Park, Favorite - (tied) Black Mamba at Phantasialand and Nemesis at Alton Towers First Intamin - Motocoaster at Dreamworld, Favorite - Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park First GCI - Wodan Timburcoaster at Europa Park, Favorite - Wodan Timburcoaster at Europa Park (only one I've been on) First B&M Invert - Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park, Favorite - (tied) Black Mamba at Phantasialand and Nemesis at Alton Towers First Launched coaster - Motocoaster at Dreamworld, Favorite - iSpeed at Mirabilandia First Standup - N/A, Favorite - N/A First Flyer - Air at Alton Towers, Favorite - Air at Alton Towers (only one I've been on)

I kind of forgot about this coaster being built and was more focused on Abyss at Adventure World Perth's construction, but I'm really happy that this is finally open and looks much better than I expected! I find Mack watercoasters to be a bit average as rides, but SeaWorld did an awesome effort theming Storm. It's probably one of the most well themed rides in the country.

Warner Bros Movieworld - Australia Dreamworld - Australia Sea World - Australia Holiday Park - Germany Phantasialand - Germany Europa Park - Germany Gardaland - Italy Mirabilandia - Italy Universal Studios - Singapore Not a long list, but loads of new overseas coasters for me at some awesome parks this year, so I'm happy

Good to see the KumbaK trains on display, hopefully more parks will opt for them for their SLCs since they make a HUGE difference. They obviously eliminate headbanging, but they also don't cause any chest discomfort like I've felt on Vekoma's new restraints. The only issue with them is that load-time has become ridiculous due to the ride-ops having to do up everybody's seat belt restraint. This is partly due to the fact that the belt is unreachable by the rider once the lapbar is down, but also supposedly because if the seatbelt is twisted the restraints won't lock properly and the train won't leave the station. If this is true (it may just be an excuse for the incompetence of Movieworld's staff) then I hope it's something KumbaK fixes in the future.

I think everyone was hoping against hope that Walter Bolliger may accidentally let something slip about B&Ms future, but sadly it wasn't so. Love the video and photo updates! IAAPA is seriously more exciting than Christmas for me - all the announcements and looks into manufacturers' futures.

Chinese knockoff, anyone? I doubt it'll actually be Alpina Bahn. Or at least I hope it isn't.

Independent - Europa Park.