Contrary to reports otherwise...

[texcoaster]

Since the internet allows us to find out a LOT about a coaster before we get to travel and ride it ourselves, it can influence how we might feel about a ride even before our trips are planned. Bad or meh reviews can even change trip plans...

 

but have you ever ridden a coaster that you weren't expecting to like very much based on others' opinions, and were shocked to find yourself rearranging your top-10 list on the exit ramp?

 

I'll start:

 

MegaZeph, Jazzland: I included it on my itinerary only because I was going to be driving right past the park on the way home from my trip. I expected one or two rides would be enough. It just didn't look that great, AND it had Gerstlauer trains. WOW. After nearly four hours and more than 40 rides, it had become my #1 woodie. I finally did tear myself away from it and drove home.

 

 

The Ultimate, Lightwater Valley: Everyone I know who has been on it, hates this ride. I expected to ride it once and join the throngs of haters. OMFG. Yeah, it's weird, it's brutal, the pacing sucks, and the banking on the turns is all wrong. But daaaaaaaaaaamn, I loved that ride! It's just so unique and interesting and the back half of the ride is absolutely insane. I couldn't get enough of it.

 

 

Vortex, Canada's Wonderland: I had been on it's "clone", Top Gun at PKI. Fun, but nothing special. For whatever reason, though, I hit the brakes on this (SHORT!) coaster laughing my ass off. That was the most fun I've had on a suspended coaster, EVER. Repeat rides did not disappoint. It's my fave suspended coaster.

 

 

Big Thunder Mountain, Disney Paris: Why oh why oh why couldn't the US versions of this ride kick the ass that this one does? I expected it to be basically a clone of the ones here. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised!

 

 

La Trace du Hourra, Parc Asterix: Who knew a bobsled coaster could be this much fun? Now I know where Chris Sawyer went to research bobsled coasters for RCT. Hella fun!

[coasterfreak101]

Hypersonic XLC (Kings Dominion) - Everyone hates it because it's rough, but I really enjoyed the ride and I'm gonna miss it when it's gone. That launch makes up for the turnaround, in my opinion.

 

Hurler (Kings Dominion) - NEVER have I heard an even semi-decent review of this ride. But I loved it! Granted, the first ride gave me a spine adjustment going up the first bunny hill, but every ride since has been perfectly fine with some great airtime.

 

And, as for rides that DON'T live up to the hype:

 

Nitro (SFGAdv) - This thing could've put me to sleep, had the wind not been so great at 70 miles per hour. Besides a great first drop and another good one coming off the MCBR, the ride really didn't impress me. Trims scattered about and mediocre floater airtime. Meh.

[texcoaster]

 

And, as for rides that DON'T live up to the hype:

 

Nitro (SFGAdv) - This thing could've put me to sleep, had the wind not been so great at 70 miles per hour. Besides a great first drop and another good one coming off the MCBR, the ride really didn't impress me. Trims scattered about and mediocre floater airtime. Meh.

 

Wow. I thought I was the only one. I wasn't really expecting to adore it, since I had ridden Europa Park's Silver Star the year before and was unimpressed, but seriously... I thought I'd at least want to get back in line for a second or third ride! I didn't. Even though I had a front seat ride, the thing that most impressed me about it was the nice view. Other than that... meh.

[exit english]

Flashback at SFMM, beat the crap out of me but I giggled every second, then got back in line.

 

Iron Wolf at SFGrAM. Same thing, everyone says how rough it is, but it also makes me laugh.

 

GASM/Viper/the former Shockwave - the Six Flags mega-looper bunch. They're so bad they make me laugh, too. I can't get enough of those rides (save for Shockwave, of course..)

 

Viper while it was still standing at SFGradv - it was a giggle fest, too.

 

Of course Drachen Fire. I thought it was sweet, and spent a good chunk of my day riding it with some friends from high school when we went to BGW on a spring trip.

[YoshiFan]

GASM, everyone complains about it being rough. When I was at GADV last April, I sat in the front and it wasn't that rough at all. I rode it 4 times that day.

 

Hydra, to an extent. So many say it's boring and forceless. It's still a fun ride and I like how it's so much different than any other B&M.

[Airtime&Gravity]

T2-My first SLC, it was smooth, a lot of fun, and re-ridable

 

Kinda Ka-While it was shaky, it was fun. The launch is great, and the top hat offers one great view.

 

Nitro-lots of floater airtime

 

Boomerang-Elitch Gardens-Although I can't say the same about the one at Darien Lake, Boomerang was smooth, considering it's a Vekoma, and since it was my first Boomerang, it was a unique ride. That first hill is pretty scary if you don't know what to expect.

[Guest]

Legend - Ended up being my favorite ride of the midwest trip. Most people seem to dislike it, but I loved all the constant strong laterals.

 

Every standup I have ridden (Chang, Mantis, Iron Wolf, and Shockwave PKD) - I have never had a bad ride on one. They didn't hurt me like most reports say they do and they all had cool layouts (with the exception of Shockwave which is pretty basic, but the airtimey first drop + forceful loop + crazy high banked helix combo made up for it).

 

Bobsleds (Avalanche PKD and Disaster Transport) - I actually like these rides a lot. They get called boring often, but I have had fun on both of them. While I do think they could be a lot better (longer/less braking) they're really cool.

 

All boomerangs I have ridden (Zoomerang, Sidewinder, Flahsback, Deja Vu, and Face/Off) - Never had a bad ride on one. I find them to be smooth, forceful, disorienting, and very fun rides unlike most people.

 

I know this topic is about coasters, but I'd just like to add Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom as a whole - All I have ever read about this place is how dumpy it is and how the staff are un-friendly and un-motivated. On my visit during the midwest trip I found the place to be the exact opposite. Everyone I talked to there were genuinely friendly, and the ops were efficient and having fun. The park was very clean, the landscaping was nice, and on top of it they gave us the whole park to ourselves from the time we got there (9:30 if I remember right) to about noon (by that I mean we had ERT on all the major coasters with the exception of Thunderrun as it was down because of the heat). I actually regard SFKK as one of the better parks I have been to rather than dumpy as it's reputation says.

 

My list of rides that didn't live up to the hype is long and would probably make a few people angry so I'll leave that off.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^Kentucky Kingdom is a really nice park, but it isn't in the best of areas.(what other park is has razor wire around it?) The staff is great, crowds are light, there are some nice shaded areas, there is a good selection of flats, and the coasters are pretty good for a "small" regional park.

[CP_RULES]

Disaster Transport and Mantis. Everyone claims that DT sucks, but I thought it was pure fun. Mantis was great too, just ride in the front and leave room for your junk.

[exit english]

I never thought of Louisville or the area around the airport as a bad area whatsoever.

 

If you look at it, most all parks that have a gated admission have a fence with barbed/razor wire, at least in areas that aren't able to be watched by staff. Even in those cases, they have some kind of climbing deterrent.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^Maybe, and maybe if I went in June/July and it wasn't raining, the area might have seemed nicer.

 

More:

 

Whizzer-I've read on the site that it seems like a pointless coaster, but I love this ride. It is a lot of fun, and it is better than almost any other family coaster I've ridden.

 

Zeus-even though it fell considerable on my favorite coaster list on my last ride, this ride has some serious airtime.

 

Boss-sure it's rough, but it is a long coaster, there are lots of turns and hidden drops, and the double up has some nice airtime

[Guest]

I can agree with Zeus. One of the more underrated woodies I have ridden. Pretty smooth, good airtime and laterals, and very fast. I would have liked to have ridden it before it was raped by Hades, though.

 

Another one: Twisted Twins - while it is a weaker CCI, it does have nice forces. Pink (Lola?) has a really good layout with some decent airtime (really good standup air on the first drop) and green (Stella I guess) has a kickass first and second drop, both with standup airtime. Most people seem to dislike Twins but I rode it a total of 7 times and thought it was really fun.

[Shockwave]

I do have a soft spot for the Ultimate.

 

Yes, it was built very badly, half the ride is just going along the ground at 30mph, and it takes forever to get to the fast bit. But that drop into the valley and the insanity of the bends that follow is just hysterical.

 

It's not everyone's cup of tea, and yes it doesn't place highly on coaster polls, and probably rightly so. But I will be a little sad the day that it meets its maker.

[PKI Jizzman]

Son of Beast - In the front seat, or random lucky seat...it's a fun ride! Big first drop with some floater airtime...then just speed throughout the course!

 

Millennium Force - Oh yes, does it have airtime.

 

Mantis - NEVER had a bad ride. Front seat with no trims is an incredible, forcefull ride. Awesome setup, too.

[texcoaster]

I do have a soft spot for the Ultimate.

 

Yes, it was built very badly, half the ride is just going along the ground at 30mph, and it takes forever to get to the fast bit. But that drop into the valley and the insanity of the bends that follow is just hysterical.

 

...and I love how NONE of the insane bits are visible from the park. It looks like a freakin family mine train ride, and for the first half, you think that's all it is.

 

Then it just goes to hell and back on the return to the station. I seriously love that ride.

[steel]

I know this topic is about coasters, but I'd just like to add Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom as a whole - All I have ever read about this place is how dumpy it is and how the staff are un-friendly and un-motivated. On my visit during the midwest trip I found the place to be the exact opposite. Everyone I talked to there were genuinely friendly, and the ops were efficient and having fun. The park was very clean, the landscaping was nice, and on top of it they gave us the whole park to ourselves from the time we got there (9:30 if I remember right) to about noon (by that I mean we had ERT on all the major coasters with the exception of Thunderrun as it was down because of the heat). I actually regard SFKK as one of the better parks I have been to rather than dumpy as it's reputation says.

--$.02--

I really think it must depend on the day there. I had the absolute worst experience at that park that I have ever had. None of the employees were helpful, all of them were lazy, slow, and ineffecient, and they had very cold dispositions. Their excuse was that "it was too hot" that day. I couldn't wait to get out. The staff wasn't the only problem, either. The park seemed to be in a dismal state of disrepair, as though it had been ignored for years. We saw chipped and faded paint on more than a few buildings. Twisted Twins was boring, Chang was fairly mediocre, Greezed Lightnin' was slow, RRE was braked to death, S:ToP chopped off a girl's feet not long after we left, and T2 was the single worst roller coaster ever. The only good thing in that parking lot of a park was Thunder Run (remembering, of course, that I did not get a chance to ride Deluge).

Like I said, though, from the trip reports I've seen, it all depends on the day. Which, IMO, is not the mark of a great park. Staff should be on every day, not just the select few with perfect weather.

--$.02--

 

Back to topic now...

-MF - Why does everyone suddenly hate Millennium Force? It's still my favorite coaster, and it likely will be for quite a while. Those of you who argue that it's forceless: not only have I greyed out at the bottom of the first drop just about every time I've ridden it, I get substantial floater air over every hill. On top of that, it has absolutely awesome speed and a really unbeatable view.

-Patriot - For some reason, the general coaster community decided that this was a clone of Talon, and therefore was going to be awful. That never made sense to me. Patriot is my number five coaster. Talon is one of my least favorites. I feel like I'm flying on Patriot. Every element is perfect, and the ride is silk smooth. The zero-g roll is out-done only by Maverick's first drop. I could ride Patriot for days on end without getting bored.

-Beast - OMG, SHUT UP ALREADY! Yes, I understand that you all think it's slow and rough and stupid and not as good as it used to be. I don't really care. A night ride in the front row of Beast is what I want heaven to be like. That sensation of sheer speed. I can't get enough of it. I don't see how it's slow at all. Yeah, it does lose most of its speed on the big trim, but it gains quite a big chunk of it back before the tunnel, and nearly all of it before the second lift. And the helix makes me feel five years old. It's so much fun. I don't even find it rough at all. To me, bounce does not equal rough. Shake equals rough. Jar equals rough. Bounce equals a rickety old classic roaring through the trees at 10:00 pm. Who doesn't love a rickety old classic? I'm sick of people whining about how rough this ride is and then turning around and calling Voyage "violently intense." That's s pretty huge load of crap. Voyage is WAY rougher than Beast, no matter where you sit. The real reason, though, that I rank Beast higher than Voyage is its infinite re-rideability. A person can stand three, maybe four rides on Voyage in a row without a short break. It exhausts you (which is great for a while). Beast, on the other hand, will give you a great ride time after time without tiring you too much.

 

Well, I think I've ranted enough for tonight. I could go on and on and on, but I think this will do.

[astroworldfan1]

Hey, Hey! Don't be hating on the Mega Zeph! Yes, it was rough, but, was really fun! It was a fun ride while it was open!

[alpengeist04]

I guess one of the coasters which surprised me the most was Italian Job at Kings Dominion. Now I wouldn't put it in my top 20, but I still think it's one of the better coasters in the park.

 

Edit: Oh and a second coaster would be Spider at Lagoon. It was probably my favorite in the park.

[texcoaster]

I'm sick of people whining about how rough this ride is and then turning around and calling Voyage "violently intense." That's s pretty huge load of crap. Voyage is WAY rougher than Beast, no matter where you sit. The real reason, though, that I rank Beast higher than Voyage is its infinite re-rideability. A person can stand three, maybe four rides on Voyage in a row without a short break.

 

I rode Voyage 35 times in a row without getting off the train. No probs.

[JamesMC]

Ninja at SFOG- It really wasn't that bad at all. Not to say there wasn't a moment or two of headboxing, but not nearly as bad as I had heard.

 

T2 at SFKK- I didn't find this ride painful in the least (and I'm not a super big fan of Vekoma) but I actually enjoyed my rides.

 

Flashback at SFMM- was not so good, however, when it was at my home park of SFGA when it was all shiny and new- it was fun and completely re-ridable and bothered no lifeguards with it's sonic squeals there.

 

Psyclone at SFMM- yeah, it was just as bad as everyone said. Still, I hate to see any coaster torn down. Oh well.

[KGA29]

- Raging Bull. I didn't find it as fun as a lot of people

 

- MF. I also don't understand why a lot of people don't like it. It's my #1.

 

- Silver Bullet at KBF. Everybody says "Oh, it's not that intense." but it's still a very fun ride IMO.

[Coasterlvr_nc]

hmmmm,

 

Mean streak: it wasn't great, nut it wasn't spinal adjustment bad

 

DT: just fun, nuff said

 

Mantis: if you know how to ride it properly it isnt a bad ride, I enjoyed my last ride quite a bit.

 

Mindbender @ SFOG: never heard anything bad aboutit, but me and my friend couldn't stay away from this!

[Satchboogie3]

They must have made some improvements to SFKK. I remember going there a few years ago and the place was a dump. The staffing was horrible, the landscaping was running wild, all the rides' paint were warn and fading and bad. On top of that, the people (GP) there were pretty rude and horrible. But worst of all, the park was just boring. I didn't have any bit of charm at all. Not an ounce.

[Guest]

Yeah I do believe a lot of what I saw was the result of improvements done by Jay Thomas. Other midwest trippers, what are your thoughts on the place?

 

Some pics of things around the park that I liked from my August visit.

[coasterfreak101]

Jeez. Reading through this, I've thought of a lot more (because other people listed them!)

 

Millennium Force - Loved it. Rode it at 9:15 in the morning, and it was the greatest wake-up call I've ever had. It's still in my Top 5, and it definately does have airtime. And I rode it before it got the chance to warm up.

 

Mean Streak - I didn't find anything wrong with Mean Streak. There was a bit of airtime throughout the course, and there was no roughness. I guess I rode it on a good day...

 

Disaster Transport - Pure fun. I love riding enclosed rides with my mother, because she hates when moving fast and darkness are combined (going backwards on Expedition Everest was the greatest experience of my life). I don't understand what's so bad about DT.

 

Mantis - Quite the fun ride, in my opinion. Rode it three times in the backseat, and both times it was fully enjoyable by all the family members I rode it with. And there was no jewel-smashing to be heard of.

 

Hydra: The Revenge - I found forces on this thing. I don't know how I did and noone else does, but I did. It pushed me in to and out of my seat, and from side to side on the inversions. The only problem was the rattling at the bottom of the first drop, and that was it's first season.

 

And texcoaster, same thing goes for me. I've never heard anyone else say they were unimpressed with Nitro. It's about time!