Best maker of wooden roller coasters?

[kraken613]

GCI coasters are nice to look at they have more of a shape than other woodies.

[willski]

You make a few generalizations that I don't agree with. Not all CCI coasters were under supported. Shivering Timbers looks pretty over supported to me. And budget cutting has been done on with Gravity Group projects. The best example of this is Hades, which has a short single train, no handicapp access, and cheap cantilever steps to the station that shake every time the train whizzes by.

 

 

Those were park made decisions. It's the same engineering core, but they are doing it a lot differently than they used to under Denise Dinn's management. They can now design and build it to the specs that they see fit, instead of the cheapest possible specs.

 

 

The rides are much different, if you haven't picked up on that yet, it shouldn't take too many more. When was the last time you saw CCI's with those kinds of transitions, shaping, and banking angles? Oh, you haven't? That's what I thought as well. It's a different company with different goals and design style than CCI.

 

 

As far as Intamins requiring less retracking, it's because they don't use traditional wooden construction.

 

You get on Thunderhead at night and it will be your favorite ride ever!

Thunderhead does have better days than others. Sometimes it does nothing special and others well lets just say its alot better on good days!

 

I've ridden it at night, and it is still my number 4 (and I haven't ridden that many great wooden coasters).

 

1. Voyage

2. El Toro

3. Shivering Timbers

4. Thunderhead

 

 

 

My favorite, as you may have guessed, is GG, followed by Intamin, GCI, and Vekoma (current makers only).

[dr.gumbo]

The rides are much different, if you haven't picked up on that yet, it shouldn't take too many more. When was the last time you saw CCI's with those kinds of transitions, shaping, and banking angles? Oh, you haven't? That's what I thought as well. It's a different company with different goals and design style than CCI.

 

LoCoSuMo?

 

Well mayby thats an exception but if you do look at some of CCI's later rides they are very familiar to what GG do now.

 

Take New Mexico Rattler for example!

[Team Thriller]

That would be between the

 

Gravity Group

or Intamin.

[ginzo]

Those were park made decisions. It's the same engineering core, but they are doing it a lot differently than they used to under Denise Dinn's management. They can now design and build it to the specs that they see fit, instead of the cheapest possible specs.

 

Have you seen Hades? It screams "build it as cheaply as possible". Low project cost was listed in the goals for the project, which are posted on GG's website. Though digging that tunnel certainly couldn't have been cheap.

 

As far as Intamins requiring less retracking, it's because they don't use traditional wooden construction.

 

Yeah, and that's why I think Intamins have the lock on woodies at the moment. The ride experience is a hell of a lot more consistent. El Toro gives a great ride in the morning (assuming that SFGAdv actually bothers to get it up in the morning). This isn't necessarily true with Voyage. I've had quite a few really lousy cycles on Voyage, and zero bad ones on ET.

[coasterguy618]

Intamin and Gravity Group.

[magnumxl201]

I must say Intamin. I just rode El Toro recently and it was Fantastic! I rode it like ten times over and over and couldn't get enough. Although I would say that GCI comes pretty close with a lot of their coasters

[timetrial3141592]

Here's how I see it.

 

GCI = New-school B+M*

GG = Schwarzkopf

Intamin Plug-and-Play = Intamin hyper

Intamin (old) = Gerstlauer

S+S = Old-school B+M

Vekoma (wood) = Arrow

RCCA = Vekoma (steel)

 

*i.e. they look like they're totally badass, but they're not really.

 

Yeah, I know, GCI isn't that forceless, but their coasters aren't all that forceful compared to the other 3 good ones.

 

The last one may seem a bit unfair, but both tend to age rather poorly.

 

I like Intamin plug-and-play and Gravity Group the best, then GCI and old Intamin, then S+S and Vekoma, then RCCA.

[Guest]

Kentucky Rumbler is actually pretty badass lol. It has some great laterals and some of the best pops of airtime I have felt.

 

S&S woodies are also aggressive as hell, old B&Ms..... aren't (they're just kinda twisty). So I don't really see where you get that.

[timetrial3141592]

S+S woodies (i.e. Falken)are less aggressive than GG and Intamin PnP, and I had run out of forceful SMOOTH coaster makers.

 

GCI makes coasters that LOOK like they're from the 1920s, GG makes coasters that ACT like they're from the 1920s.

 

Old-school B+Ms aren't "just twisty". Ride Kumba a couple times and see what you think.