Mitch Hawker's Steel Coaster Poll Results Are In

[TheArchfiend]

I don't understand why Nitro does so well. It honestly did nothing for me at all.

 

Nothing at all? That is a sub-ridiculous statement. I'm not saying it is the end-all be-all of coasters. But don't paly if off like it's trash.

 

Just sticking up for my #1.

Nitro doesn't to much for me either. Add me to list of one of those people who just don't "get it."

 

I can easily do a day at Great Adventure, not ride Nitro, and not feel as though I missed out on anything.

 

Well, I like the speed and non-ejector airtime of Nitro. You seem to be an ejector-air-liking kind of guy so I can see why Nitro doesn't tickle your fancy.

 

I guess you should stay on El Toro for your ejector air fix the next time you go to Great Adventure and help make my wait for Nitro shorter .

[itsme102]

While I really like Nitro, I'm another person that doesn't think it's great. It definately is a must do whenever I'm at Great Adventure, but I really don't see it as a top 10 coaster. Oh well, I guess the floater air just doesn't do it for me. I'm more of an ejector air person.

[ginzo]

I like the kind of ejector air that makes you feel like you're going to be thrown out of your seat and fall to your doom, like that last drop on Cyclops.

[Carnage]

Probably because accelerators suck for opperational reliability.

 

I'd guess more due to them being one trick ponies.

 

And for the most part, the one's that aren't one trick ponies are much less intense.

[TheArchfiend]

That ejector air doesn't do it for me. Don't know, I'm just not fond of it at all. The first time I rode El Toro the ejector air hills just felt more awkward then "omg".

 

But I do find El Toro's ejector air much more enjoyable if you cheat the stapling and get at least one molecules width between your lap and the restraint. I know the park doesn't want people flying out but the stapling and seat belting can cause for an awkward ride experiance in my opinion. Nitro on the other hand... no stapling or seat belts and plenty of floater air goodness

[robbalvey]

Probably because accelerators suck for opperational reliability.

 

I'd guess more due to them being one trick ponies.

 

And for the most part, the one's that aren't one trick ponies are much less intense.

I know that TTD and Kinga Ka have had their difficulties, but have any of the other Intamin rockets had any other significant downtime beyond the first month or so of operation?

 

I know Speed Monster had it's problem when we were out there, and Stealth was down for a week or so, but really, I never hear of any problems with XLR8R, Storm Runner, Rita, Superman, Kanonen, or even Stealth or Speed Monster beyond the short down time this summer.

 

I really only think the reliability issue is with the "world record breakers."

 

--Robb

[Real]

Well, too many variables with those speeds and heights. Staying under 250ft or so seems to be the safest route and allows the most reliable uptime. When you arent stressing out a huge motor and worrying about wind and wheel factors, it makes their job alot easier.

[HAJiME]

What amuses me is how Stealth came above KK.

 

No one's going to take the 4 out of the top 5 European coasters seriously for good reason.

 

 

I'm slightly shocked that MF has dropped to 6th this year, but glad. Perhaps out of spite.

[ginzo]

I'm slightly shocked that MF has dropped to 6th this year, but glad. Perhaps out of spite.

 

Or maybe because it's a bunch of straight track where it should have hills!

[robbalvey]

What amuses me is how Stealth came above KK.

 

No one's going to take the 4 out of the top 5 European coasters seriously for good reason.

Why not? I'm not sure I understand the logic behind your statement.

 

Just because Kingda Ka is taller and faster doesn't mean that it's necessarily better than Stealth.

 

Personally, I quite enjoyed Stealth! It wasn't my favorite rocket by any means, but I actually enjoyed it more than TTD and ranked it as such.

 

I prefered Stealth's straight drop over TTD's twisty drop, and I prefered the more powerful launch on Stealth.

 

While I haven't ridden Kingda Ka yet, I can only imagine that I would most likely also prefer Stealth over Ka, just based on the fact two factors I mentioned above.

 

--Robb

[redfoot12]

 

While I haven't ridden Kingda Ka yet...

 

--Robb

 

A roller coaster you haven't ridden? Is this a joke?

[alpengeist04]

^You're not missing much with Kingda Ka, Robb. The launch just doesn't feel right to me and the hill is basically a waste.

 

Heck, I enjoyed HypersonicXL and Storm Runner's launch much better.

[AstroDan]

Probably because accelerators suck for opperational reliability.

 

I'd guess more due to them being one trick ponies.

 

And for the most part, the one's that aren't one trick ponies are much less intense.

I know that TTD and Kinga Ka have had their difficulties, but have any of the other Intamin rockets had any other significant downtime beyond the first month or so of operation?

 

I know Speed Monster had it's problem when we were out there, and Stealth was down for a week or so, but really, I never hear of any problems with XLR8R, Storm Runner, Rita, Superman, Kanonen, or even Stealth or Speed Monster beyond the short down time this summer.

 

I really only think the reliability issue is with the "world record breakers."

 

--Robb

 

Stealth was down for more like 6 weeks last season in one go, not to mention other days where it just failed to run. Rita on the other hand had a few days here and there, but nothing extended. Overall, Rita had an arguably good season. She's still not in the top 100 though.

[Calaway Park]

32 Mindbender Galaxyland Amuseme AB 4 85 10 0 0.8947

 

If only enough people voted for it

[USRoadTripper]

No big surprises except that Santa Monica West Coaster came in at #320! That was a great little ride! Not huge, but packed a great punch for its size. It's head and shoulders better than stuff like Dragon Fire at PCW (#304) and Vortex at PKI (#261) in my opinion.

 

-Julie

[Carnage]

No big surprises except that Santa Monica West Coaster came in at #320! That was a great little ride! Not huge, but packed a great punch for its size. It's head and shoulders better than stuff like Dragon Fire at PCW (#304) and Vortex at PKI (#261) in my opinion.

 

-Julie

 

Maybe not enough attention was paid to alphabetical bias.

[TheArchfiend]

What amuses me is how Stealth came above KK.

 

I can and for a number of reasons:

 

1). Ka is bronken down, being fixed, being checked, etc... alot. I have been to the park atleast 30 times since Ka opened and I cannot recall one single time that Ka had a full day of opperation with atleast 1 or more hours of down time. I've seen near fights break out several times already from hood-rats that got pissed off that the ride shut down for the day after waiting in line for hours.

 

2). As many have stated; it's a one trick pony. The launch is crazy intense but thats about it. Air time at the top of the top hat is minimal to none. The speed is hardly enjoyable as it's total duration of 100 mph+ is about 5 seconds. The view form the top is hardly enjoyable at just a brief glance at the surroundings. The only thing I find enjoyable about the height of this ride is riding it when there are low-lying clouds. That is a crazy-cool experience to burst into the clouds and back out to see pavement. But low-lying cloudy days are few and far between.

 

3). The "air-time" hill on the return to the station. No air time. Complete waste of money adding this feature. They should of just kept the track straight to enjoy some extra speed or put a heart-line there. I think a main reason why Top Thrill Dragster always out ranks Kingda Ka is because TTD doesnt have a speed killer, worthless "air-time" hill going back to the station. You can actually enjoy the speed of Dragster for a few more seconds back to the station unlike with Ka.

 

4). Well, I dont have a four.

 

Honestly, this ride is good for an awe inspiring sight when you enter the park and a unforgetable 5 second rush. Me, I look for more than that out of a great coaster.

 

I'd probably rank Stealth over Kingda Ka as well if I rode both.

[Token Yankee Guy]

I'm happy that my number 1 coaster ranked number 1 in the steel poll. And that it's 20 minutes from my house (beat that James *smirks*)

I do still enjoy Superman to this date, even with the restraint modifications, you still feel the airtime on that coaster.

 

As for me, I ranked EGF above SRoS. They're both great, but Ge Force is a better ride, better setting, better trains (now!).

 

I voted EGF higher than SROS for the same reason, not just the ride, the look of it. The Superman color scheme is old and overused, and its in a crappy park.

 

I did notice that you said in a later post that "if you voted on these two coasters" which I'll assume that you mean that you didn't ride neither of them. Which leads me to say that how can you badmouth SFNE if you haven't been there. (If you have, then I retract my statement). SFNE was ranked the number 1 park in operations in the SFI chain, it's Shaprio's favorite park, and it is well maintained and the landscaping is well kept. That is what the head of operations told me on the preview night of SFNE last season

 

Yeah, we had issues with Catapult, but that was to be expected when we got it.

[cfc]

What? Coney Beach's Megablitz came in at 331? It's an outrage, I tell you!

 

Glad to see that Nemesis did well (that was my favorite coaster in the UK last year).

[easytoremember]

What amuses me is how Stealth came above KK.

 

3). The "air-time" hill on the return to the station. No air time. Complete waste of money adding this feature. They should of just kept the track straight to enjoy some extra speed or put a heart-line there. I think a main reason why Top Thrill Dragster always out ranks Kingda Ka is because TTD doesnt have a speed killer, worthless "air-time" hill going back to the station. You can actually enjoy the speed of Dragster for a few more seconds back to the station unlike with Ka.

 

Do you have any idea how big of a heartline there would have to be to be going 120 mph?

[TheArchfiend]

^

It's not going 120 mph on the way back to the station. I'm talking about the return track not the launch track section. Storm Runner has a nice little heartline near the end of the ride.

[Carnage]

^ Storm Runner is also less then half the size of Ka.

 

It's still gotta be going fast enough to make a heatline roll difficult.

[TheArchfiend]

^

Which is why they should remove that worthless "air-time" hill on Ka. The train is going just fast enough off Ka's "twisty" drop to make a simple heartline. I think.

 

Plus you can have brake fins either just before or during this imaginary heartline on Ka to slow it down if needed.

 

Anyway, enough of my fantasyland thoughts for today.

[jimbobcoaster]

I'm personally really surprised Goliath at SFOG got #10. I was really excited for it but I really felt little airtime on each hill and was just not too impressed. I'm also kind of surprised Expedition GeForce got #2, I mean I LOVE the first drop and first two airtime hills, but after that, its kind of boring. I don't know, maybe I'm just too picky.

[SharkTums]

^I agree with you on SFoG Goliath. To me, it was just barely that B&M Floater Airtime, and wasn't as good as a lot of the other B&M Hypers.