Mitch's Coaster Poll

[coaster05]

This is the first year I actually voted, but at least for the past 3 years I have always found this to be the most accurate poll. I guess as a coaster fan I just wonder why would you want to ruin a great poll just so you can see "your" coaster on top. Is your opinion of yourself so weak that you can only feel justified if your coaster matches that of others? If so, grow up and get a life. I spent 30+ minutes on my ballot turned it in and that was it. I haven't really thought about it sense and definately do not care where Phoenix ends up at since it will still be my favaorite, no matter what a bunch of self absorbed coaster geeks with the self confidence of a 12 year old boy at his first dance thinks.

 

I guess the competitor in me does not see what the reward in having your coaster ranked number 1 means if you had to cheat the poll to get it there. Good job tools, maybe next year Mitch can just ask for money to put in a ballot and then it will be more like the golden tickets.

 

Rich "If you put Voyage or El Toro in your bottom 5% you know I am talking to you" Bitner

[niiicolaaah]

...Yeah, Mitch really needs to not release the ballots next year until the voting has closed for good....

 

I SO TOTALLY AGREE. This would solve most of the problem, as no one would be able to see which coasters were on top... of course some silly fanboys would still vote to try and rig it...

[cfc]

Yes, this definitely should be a secret ballot until the results are in--then people can gas off as much as they like.

[Moose]

I think you'd still get some of the tomfoolerly with rankings by some people, but not as a reaction to others' ballots. Peeps will still know what the top tenish coasters would probably be and if they are desperate enough to have "their" coaster high on the list, they'd just rank the others lower.

 

Hopefully the "insert park here" fanboys balance each other out and the results end up somewhat valid, or as valid as any opinion poll can be.

[Meteornotes]

Speaking of this poll, are you supposed to get some sort of email confimation about your ballot being received? If so, I haven't got one.

 

dt

[Moose]

^ Dave, I recieved one after i submitted my poll.

[cfc]

^^It took a few days before I got my confirmation.

[larrygator]

Speaking of this poll, are you supposed to get some sort of email confimation about your ballot being received? If so, I haven't got one.

 

dt

 

Yes, you should get confirmation, but dead people are not allowed to vote.

[Carnage]

For example, I just saw a ballot where someone ranked Voyage dead last behind kiddie woodies, Psyclone, Predator, Mean Streak, and other total crap. C'mon. It's SO OBVIOUS what you're doing. It's one thing to not like a ride as much as someone else and rank it lower, fine...but going out of your way to rank it low as possible just to be an a$$ is really immature, IMO.

 

--Robb "I'm not the Voyage's biggest fan, but I at least ranked it above 125 other woodies!" Alvey

 

I guess that starts coming into a grey area. As unlikely as it is, there's still the chance that someone might dislike the ride that much.

 

For me I do that exact thing with the rides I despise. Rides like Son of Beast, Beast, Predator get put at the bottom of my list behind the kiddy woodies,etc. But that's because I really do dislike them that much.

 

I'm not on some personal agenda to put down SoB, and lift up my top ranked coasters.

 

But what is Mitch going to do, go person to person asking "So why did you rank XX at the bottom?". He has to trust their opinion, and unforunatly that opens him up to get taken advantage of.

 

But I definetly agree that it looks really fishy when you have a ride typically ranked so high being put right at the bottom.

[BeemerBoy]

If you sabotage the poll, you're letting the terrorists win. Do the right thing, kids.

[cfc]

^I did rank Jupiter at the bottom (under, for example, Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster at KD and the Triple Hurricane at CG) because I was so disappointed in it.

 

But Robb's example is well taken--does seem a bit fishy.

[robbalvey]

For example, I just saw a ballot where someone ranked Voyage dead last behind kiddie woodies, Psyclone, Predator, Mean Streak, and other total crap. C'mon. It's SO OBVIOUS what you're doing. It's one thing to not like a ride as much as someone else and rank it lower, fine...but going out of your way to rank it low as possible just to be an a$$ is really immature, IMO.

 

--Robb "I'm not the Voyage's biggest fan, but I at least ranked it above 125 other woodies!" Alvey

 

I guess that starts coming into a grey area. As unlikely as it is, there's still the chance that someone might dislike the ride that much.

 

For me I do that exact thing with the rides I despise. Rides like Son of Beast, Beast, Predator get put at the bottom of my list behind the kiddy woodies,etc. But that's because I really do dislike them that much.

 

I'm not on some personal agenda to put down SoB, and lift up my top ranked coasters.

 

But what is Mitch going to do, go person to person asking "So why did you rank XX at the bottom?". He has to trust their opinion, and unforunatly that opens him up to get taken advantage of.

 

But I definetly agree that it looks really fishy when you have a ride typically ranked so high being put right at the bottom.

My thoughts exactly.

[robbalvey]

LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT YOUR BALLOT!!!!!

It's not yet midnight on 11/30 in some parts of the world, so if you haven't done so already, DO YOUR BALLOT NOW!!!

 

You can get your ballot here:

http://bestrollercoasterpoll.com/

 

Or use Ted's helper:

http://www.coasterfanatics.com/sec_poll/

[ginzo]

As though the Voyage fanboys went "oh, I see El Toro is getting a lot of #1 votes" and then all of a sudden here comes ballots with Voyage as #1, and then a bunch of random coasters and El Toro as #107 in between Triple Hurricane and Williams Grove Cyclone.

 

I'm sorry, but I just REFUSE to beleive, even if you didn't like El Toro, that someone would REALLY rank it lower than "Triple Hurricane" unless there was another "agenda" going on.

 

The person who did that is apparently an ACE Assistant Regional Rep.

 

Represent for the gravy massive!

 

Those guys make it too easy to laugh at them. At least he was clever enough to not put it dead last, but putting El Toro behind a coaster that was bordering on being condemned is a joke.

[robbalvey]

Ok, so now that voting has closed, here's my list. Remember that I do that "grouping" method for a lot of coasters. IMO, once you get past rank #30 it really doesn't seem to matter THAT much and I find it hard to rank coasters individually. Pretty much if it's "mediocre" it's all lumped into the same "blah" category.

 

• 1. El Toro             - SFGAd               
  2. Balder              - Liseberg            
  3. My Favorite Steel   - Anypark Anywhere    
  4. Phoenix             - Knoebel's           
  5. Colossos            - Heide Park          
  6. Hades               - Mount Olympus       
  7. Tonnerre de Zeus    - Parc Asterix        
  8. Raven               - Holiday World       
  9. Grand National      - Blackpool           
  10. Thundercoaster      - Tusenfryd           
  10. Kentucky Rumbler    - Beech Bend          
  10. Cyclops             - Mount Olympus       
  12. Ozark Wildcat       - Celebration City    
  12. Wild One            - SF America          
  13. Jack Rabbit         - Kennywood           
  14. Timber Terror       - Silverwood          
  14. New Mexico Rattler  - Cliff's             
  14. Robin Hood          - Walibi World        
  14. Renegade            - Valleyfair!         
  15. Thunderhead         - Dollywood           
  15. Loup Garou          - Walibi Belgium      
  15. Avalanche           - Timber Falls        
  15. Troy                - Toverland           
  16. Dania Bch Hurricane - Dania Beach         
  16. Cornball Express    - Indiana Beach       
  17. Aska      (S)       - Nara Dreamland      
  18. Rampage             - Visionland          
  18. Viper               - SFGAm               
  19. Silver Comet        - Martin's Fantasy Is.
  19. Wildcat             - Hersheypark         
  19. Falken              - Farup Sommerland    
  19. Wild Mouse          - Blackpool           
  19. Racer               - Kennywood           
  20. Tremors             - Silverwood          
  20. Coaster             - Playland            
  20. Thunderbolt         - Kennywood           
  21. Thunderbird         - PowerPark           
  25. The Voyage          - Holiday World       
  27. Yankee Cannonball   - Canobie Lake Park   
  27. Comet               - Great Escape        
  27. Lightning Racer - L - Hersheypark         
  27. Lightning Racer - T - Hersheypark         
  28. Twister             - Knoebel's           
  28. Texas Giant         - SFoT                
  28. Boardwalk Bullet    - Kemah Boardwalk     
  29. Screechin' Eagle(S) - LeSourdsville Lake  
  29. Regina              - Tobu Zoo            
  29. Megafobia           - Oakwood             
  30. Roar                - Marine World        
  30. Giant Dipper        - Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk 
  30. Thunder Run         - Kentucky Kingdom    
  30. Excalibur           - Funtown USA         
  30. Shivering Timbers   - Michigan's Adventure
  30. Thunderhawk         - Dorney Park         
  30. Rollo Coaster       - Idlewild            
  30. Leap the Dips       - Lakemont            
  30. Skyliner            - Lakemont            
  30. Rutschebanen        - Bakken              
  30. Big Dipper          - Blackpool           
  30. Roller Coaster      - Blackpool           
  30. Lost Coaster of SM  - Indiana Beach       
  30. Roar                - SF America          
  31. Georgia Cyclone     - SFoG                
  32. Boulder Dash        - Lake Compounce      
  32. Great White         - Wild Wheels Pier    
  32. Roller Coaster      - Western Wash. Fair  
  33. The Legend          - Arnolds Park        
  33. Racer               - Kings Island        
  34. Outlaw              - Adventureland       
  35. Cyclone             - Lakeside            
  35. Grt Am Scrm Mach    - SFoG                
  35. Comet               - Hersheypark         
  35. Hurricane           - Myrtle Bch Pavilion 
  35. Judge Roy Scream    - SFoT                
  35. Rutschebanen        - Tivoli Gardens      
  35. Vuoristorata        - Linnamaki Park      
  35. Elf                 - Hirakata Park       
  35. King Solomons Mines - Pleasureland   (S)  
  35. Gwazi-Tiger         - Busch Gardens-Tampa 
  35. Gwazi-Lion          - Busch Gardens-Tampa 
  35. Tornado             - Adventureland       
  35. Underground         - Adventureland       
  35. American Eagle      - SFGAm               
  35. The Legend          - Holiday World       
  35. Hoosier Hurricane   - Indiana Beach       
  35. Blue Streak         - Cedar Point         
  35. The Beast           - Kings Island        
  35. Tornado             - Stricker's Grove    
  35. Meteor              - Little Amerricka    
  35. Zeus                - Mount Olympus       
  35. White Cyclone       - Nagashima Spaland   
  36. Starliner           - Cypress Gardens     
  37. Big Dipper  (SBNO)  - Geauga Lake         
  37. The Grizzly         - Kings Dominion      
  37. Beastie             - Kings Island        
  37. Stampida            - Port Aventura       
  38. Wildcat             - Lake Compounce      
  38. Roller Coaster      - Lagoon              
  38. Hurler              - Kings Dominion      
  38. Rebel Yell          - Kings Dominion      
  38. Mean Streak         - Cedar Point         
  38. Pegasus             - Mount Olympus       
  39. Hurler              - Carowinds           
  39. Thunder Road        - Carowinds           
  39. Scooby Doo          - Kings Dominion      
  39. Roller Coaster      - Great Yarmouth      
  40. Giant Dipper        - Belmont Park        
  40. Cannonball          - Lake Winnepesaukah  
  40. Mega Zeph   (SBNO)  - SF New Orleans      
  40. Thunderbolt         - SF New England      
  40. Cyclone             - SF New England      
  40. Timber Wolf         - Worlds of Fun       
  40. Cyclone             - Astroland           
  40. Blue Streak  (SBNO) - Conneaut Lake Park  
  40. Kingdom Coaster     - Dutch Wonderland    
  40. Cyclone             - Williams Grove      
  40. Swamp Fox           - Family Kingdom      
  40. Rattler             - Fiesta Texas        
  40. Le Monstre          - La Ronde            
  40. Anaconda            - Walygator Parc      
  40. Scenic Railway      - Dreamland           
  40. Triple Hurricane    - Cypress Gardens     
  40. Twisted Twins-Lola  - Kentucky Kingdom    
  40. Twisted Twins-Stell - aKentucky Kingdom    
  40. High Roller         - Valleyfair!         
  40. Teddy Bear          - Stricker's Grove    
  40. Tomahawk            - Port Aventura       
  42. The Villain (SBNO)  - Geauga Lake         
  42. Rolling Thunder     - SFGAd               
  45. Cannonball          - Waterville USA      
  45. Little Dipper       - Kiddieland          
  45. Wolverine Wildcat   - Michigan's Adventure
  45. Zach's Zoomer       - Michigan's Adventure
  45. Screamin' Eagle     - Six Flags St Louis  
  45. Scooby Doo          - Carowinds           
  45. Jack Rabbit (SBNO)  - Clementon Lake      
  45. Jack Rabbit         - Seabreeze           
  45. Wildcat             - Frontier City       
  45. Comet               - Waldameer           
  45. Zippin' Pippin (S)  - Libertyland         
  45. Ghoster Coaster     - Canada's Wonderland 
  45. Pegasus             - de Efteling         
  45. Zipper Dipper       - Blackpool           
  45. Antelope            - Gulliver's World    
  45. GhostRider          - Knott's Berry Farm  
  45. Jupiter             - Kijima Korakuen     
  46. Colossus            - S.F. Magic Mountain 
  47. The Boss            - Six Flags St Louis  
  49. Coaster-Express     - Warner Bros. Movie W
  50. Cheetah             - Wild Adventures     
  50. Predator            - Darien Lake         
  50. Raging Wolf Bobs(S) - Geauga Lake         
  50. Runaway Coaster (S) - Rotunda             
  50. White Canyon        - Yomiuriland         
  51. Twister II          - Elitch Gardens      
  52. Magnus Colossus     - Terra Mitica        
  53. M.Can.Mine Buster   - Canada's Wonderland 
  54. Wilde Beast         - Canada's Wonderland 
  55. Sierra Tonante      - Mirabilandia Park   
  57. The Grizzly         - Great America       
  58. The Bandit          - Movie Park          
  59. Son of Beast        - Kings Island        
  163. Psyclone            - S.F. Magic Mountain 
  

[dr.gumbo]

^ I thought you liked Balder better. Did you change your mind?

[Team Thriller]

^ I thought you liked Balder better. Did you change your mind?

 

No Elissa does. He's always liked El Torro better.

[Shockwave]

Just for the benefit of those not able to go back a couple of pages...

 

I think we addressed this earlier, but I'm sure it will be asked again so I'll post.

 

The two are very very close...so different, but both nearly equal to my favorite coaster ride on Earth.

 

I gave the slight edge to El Toro because I rode it this year, and did not ride Balder.

 

What she said

[texcoaster]

WOW. If this list doesn't prove that different people like different things in a coaster, then nothing does. I think it also shows how finicky wood coasters can be, giving some people GREAT rides one day, then giving other people meh rides the next... and giving still other people crappy rides a year or two later.

 

Case in point:

 

Putting Heide Park's Colossus at #5 is something that I'd not even consider. Reasons have been posted in other threads, but suffice to say that I was disappointed in how it felt more like a steel coaster than a woodie. Thus, it wouldn't ever rank this high for me. Different people like different things.

 

 

MegaZeph got ranked low (grouped with a bunch of 40's). I'd blame this on its roughness, but other rough coasters (Mean Streak, KD Grizzly, etc) ranked higher. I can only attribute this to the possibility that Robb got a meh ride when he was there. I had heard locals say that the coaster was fantastic one week and boring the next, but all of my rides on it were spectacular. It was my #1 wood until this year.

 

 

And as for a coaster that is good for awhile, then gets crappy? Look no further than TxGiant. Apparently, Robb hasn't been on this one in awhile. It's still up there with Knoebel's Twister and Boardwalk Bullet. I'll bet that if Robb had been able to ride the Giant while he was down here filming the Bullet, those two rides would've been at least 50 points apart. Giant was my #1 wood for a loooooooooong time, but it just drops lower and lower on my list every year now. Even during ERT at Lone Star Coasterthon, I get a ride or two and call it quits.

[robbalvey]

Just for the benefit of those not able to go back a couple of pages...

 

I think we addressed this earlier, but I'm sure it will be asked again so I'll post.

 

The two are very very close...so different, but both nearly equal to my favorite coaster ride on Earth.

 

I gave the slight edge to El Toro because I rode it this year, and did not ride Balder.

 

What she said

 

Thank you Tom for babysitting the kids!

 

And yeah, Jim, we do have different tastes, but that's cool! If it wasn't for people wanting different things we'd only have one type of wooden coaster being built...and that would be boring! (Unless of course they were all Intamin woodies!)

 

--Robb

[SharkTums]

Here's my list! 152 Woodies ridden, like Robb I do the grouping method.

 

1 El Toro SFGAd

2 Balder Liseberg

3 My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere

4 Phoenix Knoebel's

5 Colossos Heide Park

6 Grand National Blackpool

7 Hades Mount Olympus

8 Cyclops Mount Olympus

9 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix

10 Kentucky Rumbler Beech Bend

11 Aska (S) Nara Dreamland

12 Wild One SF America

13 Dania Bch Hurricane Dania Beach

14 Thundercoaster Tusenfryd

15 Viper SFGAm

16 New Mexico Rattler Cliff's

17 Jack Rabbit Kennywood

18 Ozark Wildcat Celebration City

19 Raven Holiday World

20 Loup Garou Walibi Belgium

20 Rampage Visionland

20 Regina Tobu Zoo

20 Renegade Valleyfair!

20 Robin Hood Walibi World

20 Rutschebanen Bakken

20 Tremors Silverwood

20 Roller Coaster Blackpool

21 Thunderhead Dollywood

22 Thunderbird PowerPark

23 Falken Farup Sommerland

23 Silver Comet Martin's Fantasy Is.

24 The Villain (SBNO) Geauga Lake

25 The Voyage Holiday World

25 Avalanche Timber Falls

25 Georgia Cyclone SFoG

25 Megafobia Oakwood

25 Wild Mouse Blackpool

29 Roller Coaster Western Wash. Fair

30 American Eagle SFGAm

30 Big Dipper Blackpool

30 Big Dipper (SBNO) Geauga Lake

30 Blue Streak Cedar Point

30 Boulder Dash Lake Compounce

30 Cornball Express Indiana Beach

30 Elf Hirakata Park

30 Great White Wild Wheels Pier

30 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG

30 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach

30 Hurler Carowinds

30 Hurler Kings Dominion

30 Judge Roy Scream SFoT

30 King Solomons Mines Pleasureland (S)

30 Leap the Dips Lakemont

30 Mega Zeph (SBNO) SF New Orleans

30 Outlaw Adventureland

30 Racer Kings Island

30 Racer Kennywood

30 Rattler Fiesta Texas

30 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion

30 Roar Marine World

30 Roar SF America

30 Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens

30 Texas Giant SFoT

30 The Legend Arnolds Park

30 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom

30 Timber Terror Silverwood

30 Troy Toverland

30 Twister Knoebel's

30 Lost Coaster of SM Indiana Beach

31 Boardwalk Bullet Kemah Boardwalk

32 The Legend Holiday World

35 Hurricane Myrtle Bch Pavilion

35 Jupiter Kijima Korakuen

35 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark

35 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark

35 Meteor Little Amerricka

35 Skyliner Lakemont

35 Thunder Road Carowinds

35 Tornado Adventureland

35 Tornado Stricker's Grove

35 Underground Adventureland

37 Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park

40 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth

40 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze

40 Beastie Kings Island

40 Beastie (SBNO) Australia's Wonderl.

40 Blue Streak (SBNO) Conneaut Lake Park

40 Bush Beast (SBNO) Australia's Wonderl.

40 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah

40 Cheetah Wild Adventures

40 Comet Hersheypark

40 Comet Waldameer

40 Cyclone Lakeside

40 Cyclone Astroland

40 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland

40 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm

40 Giant Dipper Belmont Park

40 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk

40 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa

40 Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa

40 Kingdom Coaster Dutch Wonderland

40 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland

40 Magnus Colossus Terra Mitica

40 Pegasus Mount Olympus

40 Pegasus de Efteling

40 Raging Wolf Bobs(S) Geauga Lake

40 Rolling Thunder SFGAd

40 Runaway Coaster (S) Rotunda

40 Scenic Railway Dreamland

40 Scooby Doo Carowinds

40 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion

40 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis

40 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure

40 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom

40 Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove

40 The Beast Kings Island

40 The Grizzly Kings Dominion

40 Thunderbolt SF New England

40 Thunderbolt Kennywood

40 Thunderhawk Dorney Park

40 Timber Wolf Worlds of Fun

40 Tomahawk Port Aventura

40 Twisted Twins-Lola Kentucky Kingdom

40 Twisted Twins-Stella Kentucky Kingdom

40 White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland

40 Wildcat Lake Compounce

40 Wildcat Hersheypark

40 Wilde Beast Canada's Wonderland

40 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure

40 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure

40 Zeus Mount Olympus

40 Zipper Dipper Blackpool

41 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain

41 Cyclone SF New England

41 Triple Hurricane Cypress Gardens

42 High Roller Valleyfair!

45 Cyclone Williams Grove

45 Little Dipper Kiddieland

45 Mean Streak Cedar Point

45 Stampida Port Aventura

45 Starliner Cypress Gardens

45 Wildcat Frontier City

50 The Boss Six Flags St Louis

51 Anaconda Walygator Parc

52 Predator Darien Lake

53 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain

54 The Grizzly Great America

55 Twister II Elitch Gardens

56 Son of Beast Kings Island

57 Sierra Tonante Mirabilandia Park

58 Coaster-Express Warner Bros. Movie W

59 White Canyon Yomiuriland

60 The Bandit Movie Park

[Acero]

I find it hard to believe that Robin Hood from SFH are in both of you guys's top 20. I really think that Robin Hood is just a bleh ride that doesn't compare to anything at all. Just utterly boring and fairly rough in comparison to other non-Intamin woodies. Robin Hood deserves to be ranked with the likes of Mean Streak in my opinion.

[Shockwave]

I find it hard to believe that Robin Hood from SFH are in both of you guys's top 10. I really think that Robin Hood is just a bleh ride that doesn't compare to anything at all. Just utterly boring and fairly rough in comparison to other non-Intamin woodies. Robin Hood deserves to be ranked with the likes of Mean Streak in my opinion.

 

Well hang on just a second.

 

For a start, they're not in the top 10!

 

Secondly, I've got just a sneaking suspicion that they've been on a lot more wooden coasters than you, and I can trust their judgement here. I've also been on Robin Hood, and I can see where they're coming from. I reckon it's a pretty good ride. It's got airtime, good laterals, and it's not too vigorous in my book.

 

If you want to think it's a pile of steaming turd, that's fine. But there's a very good reason why they've rated it where they have, and I have to say I agree with them.

[Acero]

I'm sorry, my mistake, I meant top 20. Not top 10.

You needn't point out their wooden coaster experience either - I too think it's obvious they've been on more wooden coasters, than I have, it probably would be a bit odd if I had been on more than they have.

All times I've ridden

it this year (quite a few), I've come off with a headache, considering the ride itself is quite uncomfortable, and I'm not sure when the last time you rode it was, but I found that in 2007 it was just not so great.

However, I can see in a way how people may enjoy it, and clearly R&E do. That's fine, and I was just voicing how I was a tad bit shocked to see it relatively high in both of their lists when woodies I have ridden that are in the bottom of their lists are much more enjoyable than Robin Hood.

Well, anyways.

[yankees15]

^They also might have just caught the ride on a good day.

 

For example I usually hear people say that Hurler at Kings Dominion is a rough ride and people generally don't rank it to high. Now me on the other hand, I didn't find the ride rough at all and I thought it was a great ride. I probably caught the ride on a "good" day. That is why I ranked it as my 5th favorite woodie.