jansolee

I don't have my passport, so I'll need to eliminate American parks for now. Right now, if you discount Water parks (Calypso, Canada's biggest waterpark, is only a 25 minute drive from me), the closest parks to me are Six Flags La Ronde (~1.75 hours), Canada's Wonderland (5 hours) and Marineland (6 hours). If you were to include American parks, I think the one at Lake George and Seabreeze in Rochester are technically closer than Marineland (they might be as close as Wonderland too, but the travel isn't as fast).

There is one Eastern Canadian wooden coaster that doesn't appear on your list (mostly because almost no one knows about it). It's "Roller Coaster" at Upper Clements Park in Nova Scotia. My friend tells me that it's the smoothest wooden coaster he's been on (his only point of comparison is Canada's Wonderland, though) and that it's surprisingly fun. From the description and POV videos, it looks like either a "big" Junior coaster or a small "Adult" coaster. Just figured I'd mention it. It's a beautiful area to visit too. As an aside: Has anyone on TPR ever completed (or tried to complete) all of the Canadian credits? Seems pretty attainable compared to most countries (though the travel is challenging). I can only think of a handful of places with multiple legitimate coasters / thrill rides: Wonderland(Toronto), La Ronde (Montreal), Galaxyland (Edmonton), Playland (Vancouver), Marineland (Niagara Falls), Calaway Park (Calgary). Outside of those parks and pure kids' rides, I only know of the Upper Clements coaster I mentioned and a small-ish coaster at Cavendish Park in PEI.

I haven't been on that particular slingshot, but I definitely think it's something you need to try at least once. As for coasters to ride, I would add Cobra to the list. Not because I think it's an amazing ride (it's not), but because it is a relatively unique experience. There aren't many Intamin stand-ups lying around, from what I've gathered, and it's fun to compare it to your home Togo stand-up, Skyrider. Cobra is certainly smoother, but I happen to think that Skyrider is the better ride. And despite all of the flack Le Monstre is getting in this thread, I still love it (especially when I compare it to Canada's Wonderland's wooden coasters).

I've been really reading up on coasters of late and the one thing that surprises me is just how many coasters shut down or relocate. I feel like those of us who frequent Canada's Wonderland are lucky. The park is 30 years old, yet no roller coaster has ever been removed from it. The park just keeps expanding. Some might suggest that the fact that the park was independent for some time might have contributed to that, but it was owned by Paramount as part of their chain for several years. I don't know how I'd react if news that The Vortex was being torn down were to come out... Also, I'm new to these boards and this might have been discussed, but is there a reason that I can barely find any Canada's Wonderland videos on TPR's Youtube channel? I don't mind watching videos from the "bad guys", but sometimes, I need a "weeee!" included in the video for maximum entertainment.

Mine is also the last coaster I've ridden: Le Super Manege at La Ronde in Montreal. That is, unless you consider those Super Loop carnival/midway rides an official coaster.

Le Super Manège at La Ronde http://rcdb.com/188.htm?p=0

For me, I've always been a fan of a ride with a sense of danger. The most obvious way to gain that is to be on a ride that conveys a sense of speed (manufacturers don't need to make me go fast, they just need to make me feel like I'm going fast). Further to the idea of "danger", I never understood the appeal of a smooth ride (except when the smoothness helps maintain speed). I've just always tended to enjoy slightly more rickety rides than smooth ones, because there's an added dimension of fear that comes into play. That's not to say I don't appreciate comfort, in terms of restrains, etc.. I'm a very large man (I've eaten myself out of riding most coasters nowadays, which is why I was drawn to the TPR youtube channel POVs in the first place), but when I was a slightly less large man, I definitely appreciated those rides that could accommodate me. Truthfully, I could have fun on just about any coaster/ride someone would put in front of me, as long as I was with the right people and I didn't feel like the ride was being throttled down in any way (there's no worse feeling than feeling like manufacturers/ride operators aren't pushing a ride to give you all that it's capable of giving).