Mitch Hawker's Wood & Steel Coaster Poll 2008

[thrillerman1]

^ Sweet.

[robbalvey]

What kept it so low for you guys in the past? While I do think it was at it's best this year (of the years I've ridden it in, 05, 06 and this year), I didn't think it was that drastic of a difference. 05 nightrides were almost comparible to this year's IMO. Did you catch it on a bad day before?

It was simply crap before. Every time I rode it, no airtime. Nothing. Just a flat borning ride through a bunch of trees. I'd been on it during the day, night, rain, etc, all the conditions that people said made for an "Top 10 Coaster" and I never saw anything interesting in it at all....until this year.

 

So I hope the new profile and the re-tracking will keep it running this well for quite a few years to come!

 

--Robb

[SharkTums]

^Same!

 

We were there for a couple of "Oc-Boulder-Fest" events when it was supposedly running "AMAZING!", and I just never found the ride to be good at all!

[Sean Menefee]

I finally just got both of my ballots turned in. My top 4 for each category are:

 

1. El Toro

2. My Favorite Steel (Maverick)

3. The Voyage

4. Kentucky Rumbler

 

(Worst is Mean Streak followed by Grizzly at CGA)

 

1. My Favorite Wood (El Toro)

2. Maverick

3. Xcelerator

4. Storm Runner

 

(Worst is Vortex at CGA Followed by the Hi-Miler)

 

-Sean

[robbalvey]

I completely forgot to list by bottom ten, which sometimes I actually find more interesting than someone's top ten!

 

Here goes - Robb's Bottom Ten Woodies:

50 - White Canyon - Yomiuriland

51 - Jupiter - Kijima Korakuen

52 - Twister II - Elitch Gardens

53 - The Bandit - Movie Park

54 - Magnus Colossus - Terra Mitica

55 - Predator - Darien Lake

56 - Coaster-Express - Parque Warner Madrid

57 - Sierra Tonante - Mirabilandia Park

58 - Anaconda - Walygator Parc

59 - Son of Beast - Kings Island

60 - The Grizzly - Great America

Since Psyclone is now gone, Grizzly is back to being dead last on my list!

 

Here's my Top 20 again for anyone interested:

1. T Express - Everland

2. My Favorite Steel - Anypark Anywhere (Exepdition GeForce)

2. Balder - Liseberg

3. El Toro - SFGAd

4. Phoenix - Knoebel's

5. Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce

6. Colossos - Heide Park

7. Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer

8. Raven - Holiday World

9. Tonnerre de Zeus - Parc Asterix

10. Thundercoaster - Tusenfryd

11. Grand National - Blackpool

12. Silver Comet - Martin's Fantasy Is.

13. Ozark Wildcat - Celebration City

14. Kentucky Rumbler - Beech Bend

15. Hades - Mount Olympus

16. Cyclops - Mount Olympus

17. Jack Rabbit - Kennywood

18. Troy - Toverland

19. Timber Terror - Silverwood

20. Dania Bch Hurricane - Dania Beach

20. Tremors - Silverwood

20. Viper - SFGAm

20. New Mexico Rattler - Cliff's

[coasterer]

Hey Robb, quick question.

 

I was just wondering what your thoughts on the Voyage are? I mean, for it being ranked #1 last year and the year before, and not even being in your top 20, I was just wondering what the disparity is caused by. If this is already an over-stated topic I apologize.

[coasterdude5]

I ranked Thunderhead in my "#25" grouping along with Knoebel's Twister, Kennywood's Racer, Timber Falls Avalance, PNE's Coaster, Rampage, etc.

 

So it's in good company!

 

--Robb

 

WHAT!?!?! Haha, I haven't been on as many wooden coasters as you, but every time I ride Thunderhead I get a kick-ass ride. Maybe I'm just lucky... or maybe I need to ride some more coasters.

[BuschSchoe]

I ranked Fahrenheit as my #1 steel and Lightning Racer as my #1 woodie.

Go Hersheypark!

[robbalvey]

I was just wondering what your thoughts on the Voyage are?

I'm not a fan at all. I just don't "get" Voyage.

 

For a ride that claims to have so much airtime, I feel there is hardly any at all. I'm more of an "extreme airtime" fan, which Voyage has zero of. I also think Voyage is rough as hell and it's not a ride that I care to ride very many times in a row. In fact, my last visit to Holiday World I gave it two "courtesy rides" - once during the day and once at night, and then I could be found at The Raven for the rest of the evening, which is my personal favorite woodie at that park.

 

The Voyage, IMO, "hurts" to ride, and I don't think any ride should "hurt" when you get off of it...at least not a ride that claims to be #1 in the world.

 

I think that Voyage's first 2 or 3 hills are fun, but it just goes on for too long doing not much that excites me and causes me pain.

 

For TGG woodies I far prefered Ravine Flyer II and Hades. Those two rides are more my style.

 

Every time I ride Voyage I get off it going "I just don't understand how this ride was ranked so highly...I just don't...."

 

But hey, that's just one persons opinion. If enough people like it for it to be ranked #1, I'm not going to spend much time worrying or caring. I'll spent that time in line for T-Express, Balder, or El Toro! (Or the 62 woodies that come before it on my list!)

 

I ranked Thunderhead in my "#25" grouping along with Knoebel's Twister, Kennywood's Racer, Timber Falls Avalance, PNE's Coaster, Rampage, etc.

 

So it's in good company!

 

--Robb

 

WHAT!?!?! Haha, I haven't been on as many wooden coasters as you, but every time I ride Thunderhead I get a kick-a$$ ride. Maybe I'm just lucky... or maybe I need to ride some more coasters.

I agree! Thunderhead actually is found quite high on my list. Being in the #25 spot out of 161 is not a bad place to be! Like I said, it's in good company, but I prefer other woodies ahead of it. Again, I'm more of an extreme airtime person and Thunderhead is more of a twister, so even though it's one of my favorite twisters, it doesn't rank as high as other airtime machines.

 

Think about it, Thunderhead is at #25 and The Voyage is at #63. That says a LOT about both coasters!

 

--Robb "There are some drama movies that might be FANTASIC Academy Award Winning films that I prefer not to watch because I'm into Action flicks..." Alvey

[coasterdude5]

^ That's a good way to put it. I definitely see where you're coming from. I'm like that with some steel coasters.

[Jim S.]

My bottom steel coasters are GASM, Arrow corkscrew, and Mantis -- continuous headbangers all. My bottom wood coasters are Mean Streak and Rolling Thunder, both of which are either completely forceless or continuous jackhammers, depending on what kind of mood they're in.

[Scream162]

Here's my Top List for Woodies:

 

1. The Voyage

2. El Toro

3. Boulder Dash

4. Raven

5. Phoenix

 

Pretty standard...

 

I didn't do the steel coasters poll. Too many coasters to rank which makes it rather difficult towards the middle.

[robbalvey]

I didn't do the steel coasters poll. Too many coasters to rank which makes it rather difficult towards the middle.

You know that you don't HAVE to rank them all if you don't want to. For example, if you can produce maybe a "top 20" and a "bottom 10" list that's actually more helpful to the poll that not doing it at all.

 

--Robb

[coolhandluke]

For TGG woodies I far prefered Ravine Flyer II and Hades. Those two rides are more my style.

How much airtime actually is on Hades? The pre-lift double-down looks nice, but the tunnels look like a lot of subtle "bumps" and small turns. I know that small hills at high speed means great airtime, but do the quick pops produce enough air? I'm guessing the complete darkness may help exaggerate the elements.

 

And for anyone who cares, Ohio took my bottom woodies, with Son of Beast and Mean Streak. Massive, but don't have air or "twister"ness. Just jackhammers galore.

 

Luke

[Guest]

I didn't think there was that much airtime on Hades (the prelift sections were the only parts with what I'd call ejector I think) and overall the ride was far rougher than Voyage I thought. But to each his own, I guess.

[texcoaster]

I'm one of the ones who "gets" the Voyage. I can understand your puzzlement, Robb, since there are rides way up on your list that I didn't "get", either.

 

Heide Park's Colossos, for example, did nothing for me. It was OK and fast and smooth, but whatever. I rode it, shrugged, rode it again at the other end of the train, shrugged again and went back to their excellent bobsled. That was my fave coaster in the park!

 

I've always been willing to put up with some roughness if I get rewarded for it. Voyage is beyond rough: it's freaking BRUTAL. That's OK, though, because when I get off it, I'm so high on adrenaline that I just don't care. Would it be better if smooth? Sure. But even as-is, it's by far my fave woodie.

 

Likewise with SFNO's Mega Zeph, my previous fave woodie. I don't know anyone else who was as amazed by that ride as I was, and that's OK. I would go and ride for hours (there was never a line) and not get bored.

 

And, I might as well say it: when Bullet is running well, it's my #2 woodie. When it's not, it's down in the 20s somewhere. However, I rank my coasters by my most recent ride on them, and as of the day I took the poll, my last ride was spectacular. Rides since it re-opened haven't been bad, but haven't been top 10.

[OldJJman]

Just did mine. Took 20 minutes. Aside from the top 20 and bottom 6, I grouped mine in groups of 10. (Don't think I'll do that with the steel poll! )

 

Anyway, here's my top 20 and bottom 6;

 

1. T Express

2. Ozark Wildcat

3. The Voyage

4. Hades

5. Tonnerre de Zeus

6. Boulderdash

7. Tremors

8. Troy

9. Rampage

10. Coaster (Playland, BC)

11.Raven

12. Avalanche

13. Balder

14. Kentucky Rumbler

15. Hell Cat

16. Timber Terror

17. Renegade

18. Grand National

19. My Favorite Steel (EGF)

20. Thunderbird

 

 

141. Predator

142. Mean Streak

143. The Grizzly (CGA)

144. Son of Beast

145. The Bandit

146. Anaconda

 

 

Granted, I haven't ridden "Voyage" or "Hell Cat" in the last 2 years, but I'm going by what my rides were the last time I rode them, not popular opinion.

 

JJ

[coasterer]

Robb, I completely agree with you on that. Well, not on your opinion of Voyage, really, although I certainly respect it, but definitely that different rides do different things for different people.

 

But I think just about everyone has at least one ride on their list that is ranked completely different from the general opinion. Mine is Mantis. I ranked it as my #2 steel, and I know I'm probably the only one. Could have just been the day. Could have been... I don't even know, but I had a blast on it.

 

I find that it actually impresses me more when people break away from traditional rankings, because it shows some integrity in their thought processes... - or they're just completely wrong, haha, but I like to keep a positive attitude.

[OldJJman]

OK. Did the steel poll.

 

Here are my top 10:

 

1. Expedition GeForce

2. S:RoS (SFNE)

3. Eagle Fortress

4. Kawasemi

5. Kumba

6. Dragon Kahn

7. Nemesis

8. Montu

9. Pyrenees

10. Atlantis Adventure

 

And bottom 10:

 

 

779. Spinning Batman

780. Hypersonic

781. Manhattan Express

782. Titan (Space World)

783. G Force (Drayton Manor)

784. Ninja (SFoG)

785. Screamin' Squirrel (Mysterious Island)

786. Dragon (Ocean Park)

787. Eeijanaika

788. Goudurix

 

 

JJ

[XII]

Here's my results from the Wood Poll.

Top 5.

1.Phoinex

2.Comet @ Great Escape

3.Viper @ SFGAm

4.Jackrabbit @ Kennywood

5.Beast

 

Bottom 3.

34.Mean Streak

35.Grizzly @ CGA

36.Wild Beast

 

And here are my Steel Coaster Results.

 

Top 10

1.Maverick

2.X2

3.Dueling Dragons Fire

4.Kumba

5.Dueling Dragons Ice

6.Montu

7.Behemoth

8.Phantoms Revenge

9.Incredible Hulk Coaster

10.Sheikra

 

Bottom 5

107.Journey to Atlantis @ SWSD

108.Revolution @ SFMM

109.Iron Dragon

110.Trailblazer

111.Canyon Blaster @ Great Escape

[robbalvey]

Here's my Steel Poll:

 

Top 25ish:

 

1 - Expedition GeForce    - Holiday Park      

1 - Favorite Wood Coaster - Any Park Anywhere 

2 - Goliath               - Walibi World      

3 - Superman - Ride of St - SF New England    

4 - Kawasemi - Tobu Zoo

5 - Kumba                 - Busch Gardens Afri

6 - Nemesis               - Alton Towers      

7 - Eagle's Fortress      - Everland          

8 - Winjas - Phantasialand

9 - SheiKra               - Busch Gardens Afri

10 - Dragon Khan           - Port Aventura     

11 - Pyrenees              - Parque EspaNa     

12 - Storm Runner          - Hersheypark       

13 - Dueling Dragons-Fire  - Islands of Adventu

13 - Dueling Dragons-Ice   - Islands of Adventu

14 - Euro-Mir              - Europa-Park       

15 - Montu                 - Busch Gardens Afri

16 - Shockwave             - Six Flags Over Tex

17 - Atlantis Adventure    - Lotte World       

18 - Ride of Steel - Darien Lake       

19 - Dive Machine - Chimelong Paradise

20 - Maverick              - Cedar Point       

21 - Behemoth - Canadas Wonderland

22 - Revenge of the Mummy  - Universal Studios 

23 - Millennium Force      - Cedar Point       

24 - Batman The Ride/Clone - SF & Other Parks  

25 - Dragons Fury          - Chessington       

 

 

Bottom 10:

50 - Iron Dragon           - Cedar Point       

51 - Space Mountain        - Disneyland Paris  

52 - G Force               - Drayton Manor     

53 - HyperSonic XLC        - Kings Dominion    

54 - Magic Mountain        - Gardaland         

55 - Dodonpa               - Fujikyu HighLands 

56 - Spinning Batman - Shijingshan Beij.

57 - Iron Wolf             - Six Flags Great Am

58 - Eejanaika             - Fujikyu HighLands 

59 - Manhattan Express     - New York New York 

60 - Goudurix              - Parc Asterix      

[Guest]

Just curious, where did you put Phantom's Revenge?

 

My steel was:

 

1 - Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere (Boulder Dash)

1 - Superman - Ride of St SF New England

2 - Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Euro

3 - Phantom's Revenge Kennywood Park

4 - Raptor Cedar Point

5 - Maverick Cedar Point

10 - Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion

10 - Chang Six Flags Kentucky

10 - Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point

10 - Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks

10 - Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere

10 - Flight Deck Kings Island

10 - Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Euro

 

 

50 - Vertical Velocity Six Flags Great Am

50 - Cedar Creek Mine Ride Cedar Point

50 - Iron Dragon Cedar Point

50 - Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Island

56 - Fav Vek Susp Family Any Park Anywhere

57 - Fav Chance Toboggan Any Park Anywhere

58 - Fav Zyklon Loop Any Park Anywhere

59 - Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere

60 - HyperSonic XLC Kings Dominion

 

Had a lot of '30s'....Too many just so-so steels out there.

[robbalvey]

Just curious, where did you put Phantom's Revenge?

Phantom's Revenge falls in my #31 grouping which includes these coasters:

X2

Riddler's Revenge    

Powder Keg           

Wildfire             

Phantom's Revenge    

Orochi (SBNO)     

Skycar

Goliath (SFOG)

 

Again, it's in very good company!

 

--Robb              

[downunder]

Robb, so how good was Kawasemi, it looks like everyone rates it highly that has ridden it, airtime?

 

Also, how did Eagle's Fortress compare with CW's Vortex at night, I thought Vortex was amazing at night so Fortress must totally rip, seriously forceful?

[robbalvey]

Kawasemi was INSANE. I nearly ranked it above SROS! Imagine a ride that's 1/2 the height, 1/2 the length as SROS and Goliath but with the equal amount of airtime. Maybe even MORE!

 

It's completely ridiculous in every way possible!!!

 

It's only shortcoming is that it's, well...short. And that's about the only thing that kept it just *slightly* behind Goliath and SROS.

 

And FYI - the reason why I ranked Goliath ahead of SROS this year was that we got some *AMAZING* rides on Goliath and just some "ok" rides on SROS this year. Still *really* close, though!

 

--Robb