Pre-lifts

[JonnyRCT3]

Thunderbolt @ Kennywood

 

 

Jupiter @ Kijima Kogen

[simaticable]

I'm going to have to go with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad since the ride was very fun. Also, it's the only coaster I've been on that has a pre-lift.

[christianscoasters]

Hydra at Dorney or Thunderbolt at Kennywood has my vote

[_koppen]

Supersonic Odyssey - Times Square Mall, Malaysia.

The inventor of the JOJO-roll.

Source

[gerstlaueringvar]

Thunderation! End of the thread

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

Thunder Mountain in Paris. Just flat out great.

[Aceattack52]

Something interesting that I noticed was that there are no pre-ride elements on any of the coasters at SFOG. All have a short straight section or a 90 degree turn and it goes right into the lift. I really like the pre-lift elements!

[rolercstrluvr]

Gold Striker has a nice one, slight turn to the left and then whips around to the right and then left into the lift. It's definitely a great start to an awesome coaster.

[XYZ]

Gold Striker has a nice one, slight turn to the left and then whips around to the right and then left into the lift. It's definitely a great start to an awesome coaster.

 

I do agree about Gold Striker's pre-lift being really nice. It's much more intense than I thought. Heck, most GCIs have a really good pre-start anyways (though Gold Striker's pre-lift is my favorite of all of them).

[dylanreich]

The cool tunnel in Space Mountain (DLR) before the lift would have to be my favorite. It's even more awesome (and creepy) when they do Ghost Galaxy for Halloween.

[azza29]

Superman Escape and Scooby Doo at Movie World both have great dark ride sections before the lift/launch.

 

For coasters without a dark ride component, Hydra's jojo roll is very cool.

[kidcoaster 2]

Jack Rabbit is my favorite!

[Richard]

The Smiler's is brilliant. The drop is pretty huge and you get loads of speed through the prelift corkscrew, and in the dark it's extremely disorientating. Plus it's the smoothest part of the ride.

[Ap0ptosis]

Not much coaster experience but I am excited about Helix at Liseberg with the first drop into a corkscrew and a large turn before the first launch.

[PVA62]

Thunderbolt or Jack Rabbit at Kennywood

[singemfrc]

Without any hesitation Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Giant Dipper.

[djcoastermark]

Although short, I always liked the prelift drops on either side of Gwazi at BGT. Quite a surprise the first time you rode it and when it was new, it made you feel like you were in for a really good ride.

[VinTheAttendant]

I haven't been on many of the great ones people have been listing, but there are a few off the top of my head I enjoyed.

 

- Hydra: The Revenge, for obvious reasons

- Mystery Mine, I'm a sucker for rides that integrate a story

- Great White (Morey's Piers), great start

- All the GCI coasters I've ridden

[gerstlaueringvar]

So surprised that nobody has mentioned Thunderation at Silver Dollar City yet.

 

Wodan's pre lift looks pretty fun too.

[Canobie Coaster]

For me, I have three that stand-out.

 

1) Hydra the Revenge- I personally love the jojo roll. I'm a sucker for hang-time and there may not be a better inversion for it anywhere else.

 

2) Thunderbolt (Kennywood)- The drop out of the station and into the ravine is a classic.

 

3) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (WDW)- I like the tunnel and the quick changes of direction.

[Randomman295]

Even though it's short, Ghostrider's is damn good for what it was: A taste for the rest of the ride. The train gains speed out of nowhere, and wakes you up by reminding you "Oh yeah, you're on a roller coaster" with a quick rattle and some sharp turns. Not to mention it looks great hidden in all of that foliage.

[djboss302]

I really liked Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's (MK) pre lift. And for some reason I really liked the Raven's pre lift.

[A.J.]

I may be in the minority here, but I don't think that Jack Rabbit or Thunderbolt should count here.

[Jon Sabo]

It would have been cool if Hydra would have a small pond with alligators around the jo-jo roll area.

[no_brain_er]

Something interesting that I noticed was that there are no pre-ride elements on any of the coasters at SFOG. All have a short straight section or a 90 degree turn and it goes right into the lift. I really like the pre-lift elements!

The Dahlonega Mine Train kind of has one. It does a 180 to the left and goes through that little warehouse building before the lift. Nothing too exciting, but a lot more than what the rest of them have.

 

The only coaster I've really been on that had any kind of real pre-lift is Magic Kingdom's Big Thunder, so I guess that one wins by default. I think the one that looks the coolest to go on would either be Thunderation at SDC, since that's basically all of the ride, or Jupiter at Kijima Amusement Park in Japan, just because it seems to go on forever and looks like it picks up some serious speed.