LiftThrill

^^ yeah that's my main buff with it. Seats are ridiculously cramped. ^ I like making fun of myself so continue Anytime people bring up SFOT, bad coasters, or headaches I like to bring it up.

Titan was the only coaster that physically hurt me and left me unable to ride anything for a half hour. That was legit the worst headache I've had at a park, ever. It's less exciting than a mine train and it tries to kill you twice. I do understand why some people like it, but I don't. It's an opinion thing. But as for other coasters I don't like, Firehawk, Boomerangs (not Invertigos), Corkscrew @ CP, and Tennessee Tornado are the only other coasters I don't like. Don't ask about Tennessee Tornado, it's just ridiculously overrated and not fun. I've enjoyed every mine train, kiddie coaster, and pretty much every coaster but those five.

I'm just going to drop a vote (and probably the only one) for Titan at SFOT. I could rant about it and why it sucks so much but some people might get offended because I don't share their opinion.

an uproar by CP fanboys who replaced it with the Millennium Force station music

beer

Hey, Goliath and Titan serve the same purpose - steal lines from the nearby RMC so I can ride it more times. Oh, and being a credit helps too.

Darien Lake

Valravn-

..but Gerstlauer was behind it all and the rides are actually Pandemonium clones...

SFDK

^ when I was at Dollywood I got Dippin Dots and the person working there asked me if LR had run that day. I almost died inside laughing but on the outside I just said no, I hadn't seen it run.

Evil

Yeah I understand. I can get ridiculously picky about stuff at my homepark too, but I noticed stuff like the long walk to Thunderbird and the shady spots on the ground at the waterpark (which are a godsend) way before I noticed any sound coming from The Legend. Then again, I'm used to the lifthills on B&Ms and Arrows being audible from halfway across the park at SFFT so that could have desensitized me to loud rollercoaster sounds (except Outlaw Run's shriek during the airtime hills and overbanks, but that sound is amazing lol).

Not sure about number-wise, but in terms of feeling them, here's my list: Positive: Titan - pretty much all this ride does is high g-force, notably the helices ShockWave (SFOT) - the loops pull a ridiculous number of g's Batman clones - incredibly forceful loops and helix pack a massive punch Maverick - the first turn especially Negative: Iron Rattler - ridiculously powerful airtime, the last drop off the cliff has some of the best sustained ejector ever NTaG - ejector air everywhere ShockWave (SFOT) - sustained ejector air in the back row over every single drop Outlaw Run - more ridiculous ejector air Maverick - the airtime hills are ridiculous Blue Streak (CP) - ok it's probably technically really weak but the ejector air on this thing is hilarious and feels about as strong as Magnum's Magnum XL-200 - triangular airtime hills are great Laterals: The Boss - the ending helix is stupidly forceful The Legend - left, left, left Maverick - beautifully powerful transitions that throw you to the side mercilessly

The only time I noticed any sounds coming from Legend were in the waterpark and on ride. It has a sound that might be considered a squeal by some people? Idk, maybe my terminology is different. It did make sounds that you could hear from a ways away but they weren't really that loud on the ride. I think the term I use for what you're describing is "shredding." When I think squeal, I think a high-pitched squeak like a rampant kitten or something. The sound to me that wooden coasters make is more like the train is grinding the track to bits. Maybe that's what you mean by squeal? idk

I didn't notice it at all at the park. The shredding sound is much more noticeable and drowns out any "squeal" you may be hearing. Then again, maybe I was just too busy enjoying myself instead of finding nitpicky sounds to complain about.

My hearing is actually above average, and I'm pretty sure the sound you're hearing in those videos is the wind hitting the microphone which isn't very high quality. Watch this one. No squeal at all.

That video is from 2014, before the GCI retracking. I didn't hear that sound on any of the coasters while at HW.

I don't remember that at all. The woodies all have the characteristic "shredding" sound, but all the woodies I've been on do that except Outlaw Run (which instead screams, which is way more like the "squeal" you're talking about).

Outlaw Run's length may be its only flaw actually. That's the only thing that puts it behind NTaG for me. As for Boulder Dash, sensation of speed is up there with ejector airtime for my favorite things in coasters, and Boulder Dash's pacing looks flawless. That thing is so high on my bucket list. I need an excuse to go to the northeast, lol

^ I don't remember actually hearing any squealing. Voyage has the "shredding" sound but I don't recall a squeal of any sort.

After breakfast in middleofnowhere, notquitekentucky at a Waffle House, we made the not-quite-3-hour drive to Kings Island. Like SDC and Holiday World, the park was pretty much empty and the people that were there got pumped through well. This park has beautifully fast operations. Love it. As the first day of three at upper-tier CF parks, I was excited to get going, so first we headed to Firehawk. Firehawk was a walk-on, even for the front row. Gotta love getting to the park on time. I'm very glad we didn't have to wait for Firehawk. I'll give my opinion on it later. After Firehawk we skipped Flight of Fear for some reason (not sure why) and went to Backlot Stunt Coaster. This ride is super fun. The first helix is actually really forceful but it stops when it needs to. I'll go a little more in-depth about my opinions of it in a little bit. After BSC we went to Vortex. I was pretty apprehensive about this one because I'd heard awful things. Got on in the fifth car, front row if I remember right. This ride is so wrongfully bashed. Not bad at all. Next we started heading back to the front where Banshee and The Bat are, but noticed Adventure Express and remembered hearing that it was one of the better mine trains. I'd agree with that. Waited for the front. It was fun. Anticlimactic ending was great too. Then we went to The Bat and again, waited for the front. Like Backlot Stunt Coaster, a fantastic family ride and a dying breed. I wish Arrow was still around to make these. After that we went to Banshee. This was my first non-Batman invert, so I was excited. How did it rank up? Well, I'll get to that in a minute After that we went and gave both sides of Racer a shot. I'm a sucker for out-and-back woodies, and this one was no exception. Then we headed to Diamondback and got on that. Fantastic. Not intense at all but just an awesome ride. After that we went to The Beast and rode it just for fun. It's very fun, even during the day. For the rest of the day we basically just ran around riding whatever, including a lap on FoF (after it broke down for an hour) and Invertigo (which is way better than the normal Boomerangs). Finally, the sun was at the point where we could start queuing for the front row of The Beast. After letting a decent amount of people ahead of us, we hopped on to the legendary night ride to end all night rides. Glorious. Great end to a great day. Besides coasters I think we did the bumper cars, got some food, and took a ton of pictures while watching the sun set. The park is beautiful at night, so it's a shame my phone camera is such garbage, but never mind that. It's time for the coaster reviews. Firehawk - This ride is easily the worst coaster we rode on the trip, and my second least favorite overall after Titan (because at least it's unique). The seats are awkward, the restraints are weird and confusing, the layout is dumb, and the entire ride just has you wondering why the heck anyone thought this was a good idea. Backlot Stunt Coaster - Very fun family coaster. Nothing to write home about, but the helix is more intense than I anticipated and the part in the dark is really fun. This ride is easily in the upper tier of family coasters. Vortex - No idea why everyone hates this ride so much. The OTSRs weren't shoulder-crushing, the layout was fun, the transitions weren't bad at all, and the setting is fantastic. Very fun and underrated. Adventure Express - Great little mine train. Good sensation of speed but not quite as good as Thunderation's, decent airtime but definitely not as good as RRE's. Still very fun and the lifthill at the end is a classic anticlimactic ending. It's hilarious. The Bat - Another fantastic family coaster along with Adventure Express and Backlot Stunt Coaster. Really fun layout and I wish there were more of these still standing. Setting of the ride is also great. Banshee - I had pretty high expectations for this ride and it didn't quite meet them. The new B&M vest restraints definitely aren't my favorite and the entire layout feels sort of random. It's still really fun and has some very intense moments of g-force but doesn't really live up to the hype. Better than the Batman clones but not by much. Racer (blue side) - The first half of blue side is a little slow to allow for the red winning. During the second half of the ride the speed is really unleashed and the airtime in the second half is great. The racing aspect is cool, especially because on the blue side you always win. Racer (red side) - The second half of red side is a little slow to allow for the blue winning. During the first half of the ride, however, you just fly through those airtime hills and get some awesome airtime. The racing aspect is cool until you realize you're losing because on the red side you always lose. Diamondback - I love how this ride is so rerideable. Ridiculous amounts of floater airtime over every hill and the restraints are ridiculously comfortable. I love how the ride towers over the park, too. Very fun and absolutely no intensity whatsoever. It's great. The Beast - Even during the day, this ride packs a massive punch. Very awesome terrain usage and setting. Sensation of speed is off the charts even during the day. At night, especially in the front, this ride turns from great to all-out amazing. You plow through everything (except the trims) and it's just heavenly. If the trims weren't so powerful I'd probably have this in my top ten. I also have to mention how dang smooth it is for a wooden coaster. Track interaction is comparable to The Voyage (which I found very smooth for a woodie). Flight of Fear - I prefer this to Poltergeist at SFFT. Being in the dark is really fun, and the pacing getting killed at the MCBR is actually sort of nice because it turns from a super intense ride to a sideways hangtime machine back to a stupidly intense ride all in the same ride. Plus it's super disorienting and I love that. Invertigo - While it's not the best coaster in the park, it's definitely the best Vekoma in the park. Better than the standard Boomerang model in pretty much every way (except the layout which sucks slightly less because you're inverted and that's fun). Scorecard for the day: Firehawk x1 Backlot Stunt Coaster x1 Vortex x1 Adventure Express x1 The Bat x2 Banshee x3 Diamondback x5 Racer (blue) x2 Racer (red) x1 Flight of Fear x1 Invertigo x1 Here's where my top ten was at before visiting Kings Island: 1. New Texas Giant (SFOT) 2. Outlaw Run (SDC) 3. Iron Rattler (SFFT) 4. The Voyage (HW) 5. ShockWave (SFOT) 6. Switchback (ZDT's) 7. Powder Keg (SDC) 8. Mr Freeze Reverse Blast (SFOT/SFStL) 9. Wildfire (SDC) 10. Thunderbird (HW) Here's where my top ten was at after visiting Kings Island: 1. New Texas Giant (SFOT) 2. Outlaw Run (SDC) 3. Iron Rattler (SFFT) 4. The Voyage (HW) 5. Diamondback (KI) 6. ShockWave (SFOT) 7. Switchback (ZDT's) 8. Powder Keg (SDC) 9. The Beast (KI) 10. Mr Freeze Reverse Blast (SFOT/SFStL) Already you can start to see how massive the change was. Half of my top ten already was from the trip. Well trust me when I say that the ratio only gets more ridiculous... and of course, after Kings Island we made the 3.5 hour drive up to Sandusky, where a certain amusement park resides... and then we crashed at 2AM or something ridiculous like that. Now onto some pictures (aka way too many pictures because Kings Island is awesome and really pretty even though my phone makes it look about as nice as a trash can) Good morning Kings Island! Why, hello Banshee! Hey... Vortex.... Morning, Racer here goes nothing.... Here's a ride that's better than Firehawk. This is also a better ride than Firehawk. Another ride that's better than Firehawk. All the rides pictures are probably better than Firehawk. Here's a really fun family coaster. It's better than Firehawk. Approaching Diamondback Diamondback actually managed to crack some flip phones. Now that's impressive. Diamondback looks massive. Diamondback through the trees I swear this looks better in person Going up Amazingly comfortable seats and restraints. Overrated but still a great ride. Firehawk is garbage. Vortex is both underrated and pretty. Great family coaster. This park has three of those. Four if you count Racer, and five if you count both sides of Racer. Great coaster. Never got to try the kiddie woodie. Racer is a good out and back woodie. Plus there are two of it so that makes it even better. Theming Never tried Windseeker. The only flat I remember doing off the top of my head is the bumper cars. Considered Delirium but never ended up doing it. Snooping around in the gift shops Let's ride Diamondback some more, shall we? The Eiffel Tower here is a 1/3 scale model of the real Eiffel Tower. Great seats. This line took about ten minutes. Diamondback is a people eater and the crews were really pumping out trains. Sure, why not? Waited about ten minutes. The Bat is fun. Plus, the queue gives good views of Banshee, which looks great even if it isn't all it's cracked up to be. It may be overrated but it's still a great ride. Stop saying that! Racer! It races! Crappy phone camera leads to an accidentally artsy shot of Diamondback Nothing special, but didn't cause any pain at all. Plus, it has a good setting and looks pretty. Diamondback's pullout looks really weird from this angle Sploosh! Coming down Not as painful or awkward as it looks. The park is starting to light up... you know what that means? It's time to line up for the front row of The Beast!!! This is how dark it was when we rode Beast in the front. Dark enough to make my phone camera go from badtier to worthless garbage.

I think good wooden coasters and good steel coasters are comparable but I do definitely see the point of view of people who rate them separately. I've only been on 15 wooden coasters but my top 5 for those is still pretty competitive whereas steel coasters have a pretty distinct cutoff where things turn amazing.

Awesome! I've been trying to find an excuse to get out to Cali to go to SFMM and now it looks like SFDK is on the map as well. Any park with an RMC is automatically brought up a tier because they have an RMC. Now that Joker is open, SFDK is finally settling into that tier.

To me, I think wooden coasters have this upper tier that is miles above anything else. I'd imagine El Toro, Boulder Dash, Outlaw Run, Phoenix, The Voyage, etc all fall in this tier and pretty much everyone agrees on it even though the rides are completely different from each other. I've always thought that was cool.