Geauga Dog Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I don't think Vekoma, as a whole, makes bad rides. The SLC isn't all that bad except for Mind Eraser at Darien Lake and T2 at Kentucky Kingdom (let's see how T3 works out next year). Despite their reliability issuues the giant inverted boomerangs are awesome rides and I would love to see more of them. Both Ninjas (SFOG, SFStL) didnt' feel any different than on old Arrow. I really like SFOG's Ninja. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailisun98 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I actually like the GIB's. When I was studying chinese in Shanghai, I frequently visited the one in Jinjiang Action Park. Its an amazing ride in the first and last rows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 ^I haven't ridden one since 2007 but I did quite enjoy it back then. Last year I rode Stinger at Dorney and, although not as much, I also liked it. It was quite smooth and pretty forceful (not to mention the extra fun of the seating arrangement) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 The Giant Inverted Boomerangs are insane rides. The one at SFNE sucks now thanks to it's new train but when it had the old trains it was very smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasternate Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I guess Vekoma isn't as bad as I thought... I hadn't fully realized that Thunder Mountain was Vekoma, that's probably the best I've ridden. The worst was probably Kong at SFDK, although it really isn't that bad. It's just the only SLC I've been on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six Flags Enthuseast Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I agree with KarlaKoaster, my worst ones are El Condor at Walibi Holland and Goudurix at Parc Astérix, both because they are quite rough and painful. My favorites are Aftershock at Silverwood, Mammut at Gardaland, Expedition Everest, and Booster Bike at Toverland, the first three because they're intense, relatively smooth, and exciting, and the last one because it's just really fun to ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XII Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Worst is without a doubt Gouderix. Best Vekomas I've been on would be Dejavu and all the Disney Vekomas. Give Vekoma some credit, they have made many decent rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardyloo! Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 In my experience pretty much everything they do OTHER than SLCs and boomerangs are great. There's just so many of those that they get a reputation. GravityMax is a great Vekoma, the Flying Dutchman models like Sting Ray I hear are pretty great if also a little weird, and they also do some custom work for Disney like Expedition Everest which pretty much everyone loves. Everest I think is the best without much argument. The worst would probably be any one of a number of SLCs. Totally agree! Their woodies are good aswell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6flagsbrad Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Kong at Discovery Kingdom is terrible, along with your friendly neighborhood Boomerang. To be honest I loved Deja Vu at Magic Mountain, that ride was so intense and thrilling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heth Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 It's probably as a result of predominantly going on the Disney park Vekoma coasters (Expedition Everest, Rock n' Rollercoaster etc.) which means I've not been on many rough Vekoma rides. My favourite is Space Mountain Mission 2 (I'm in a minority who love this ride, even though it's rough!), but the smoothest track is probably Rock n' Rollercoaster. Worst I've been on is probably Temple of the Nighthawk at Phantasialand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilNotPhil Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) (shrug) I went to SFOT about a month before Flashback closed, and my friends enjoyed it about as much as any coaster we went on that day. Multiple re-rides because it was dead-ass slow by then. Boomerangs aren't the best coasters in the world, or even at any given park they're at, but I never found them to be horrible torture machines. I live in some sort of sweet spot where I'm 700 miles away from any SLC--I think Elitch Gardens is the closest one, and I haven't bothered going there or anywhere near 700 miles for a park in years, unfortunately--but I do remember riding Serial Thriller at Astroworld the year before it closed, and not hating it. That was before I knew I was supposed to hate it, maybe. Heck, if they put an SLC in Frontier City here in OKC, it would instantly become the baddest dude on the block. Edited July 27, 2014 by PhilNotPhil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreaminNewEngland Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 You can bag vekoma all you want, they made one of the most successful (if not the most successful) coasters ever. Look around, Boomerangs are everywhere, the fact that they could fit such a big thrill into a small space is awesome. They should get more credit, although some can be rough, they still draw lines and parks are still buying them. The same goes for SLC's! Laugh all you want haters, Vekomas making stacks- on stacks- on stacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasternate Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Everyone's right- Vekoma does make some great rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singemfrc Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 You can bag vekoma all you want, they made one of the most successful (if not the most successful) coasters ever. Look around, Boomerangs are everywhere, the fact that they could fit such a big thrill into a small space is awesome. They should get more credit, although some can be rough, they still draw lines and parks are still buying them. The same goes for SLC's! Laugh all you want haters, Vekomas making stacks- on stacks- on stacks. No one said they werent successful, and the "bad rap" really is only among coaster enthusiasts. I'd bet they actually have a very good reputation among park owners. Before RMC and Premier and a couple others popped up recently they were on a very short list with B&M and Intamin as one of the most reputable coaster designers. Personally I love the SLC at my home park even if I'm the only one that does. The layout is awesome, so if you can learn to ride comfortably (which is possible contrary to popular belief) it's actually a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 For the ones I've ridden, the SLC's are the worst and Expedition Everest was a ton of fun, by far the best! EE was in fact my favorite coaster for quite a bit of time after I rode it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM64 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I don't mind some SLCs. T2 is AWFUL. GIBs are fantastic, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) It seems that few Vekomas are being built now. This is a shame, because they have a history of building bad rides that every park bought like crazy in the 90's, and now they actually make good rides that no park seems to want. Edited July 27, 2014 by MrSum1_55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy2000 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Well the only good rides they build are there junior coasters, Family coasters and their mine trains. None of those are very popular these days in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreaminNewEngland Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Well the only good rides they build are there junior coasters, Family coasters and their mine trains. None of those are very popular these days in the US. What do you mean by good? Vekoma makes plenty of good coasters, some just bitch more about the restraints than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterguy21 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Thunderhawk at Michigan's Adventure is fairly smooth. Honestly, it's probably the best SLC out there. I could ride it over and over again (which many can't say about most SLCs). It is maintained very well. Their junior coasters aren't half bad either (riding them as a kid and as an adult). Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster & Woodstock Express. Not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJLehto Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I've not done many, thankfully, but the best I've personally been on was X Flight at Geauga Lake. Wasn't rough and it was a really fun ride! The loop in the flying position was one of the nuttiest things I've felt! The worst? I guess the SLC's, that was just dreadful. The boomerangs kind of suck but they are short at least. The Giant Inverted Boomerang was pretty fun, and not really that rough. I'd say that may have been the best if it wasn't so prone to breaking down and poor ops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AusCoasterFan Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 It's probably as a result of predominantly going on the Disney park Vekoma coasters (Expedition Everest, Rock n' Rollercoaster etc.) which means I've not been on many rough Vekoma rides. My favourite is Space Mountain Mission 2 (I'm in a minority who love this ride, even though it's rough!), but the smoothest track is probably Rock n' Rollercoaster. Worst I've been on is probably Temple of the Nighthawk at Phantasialand. I agree with Space Mountain: Mission 2. I was astonished by how good it was. I was expecting something terrible. I also really liked Rock n Roller Coaster. I thought however, that neither was that smooth, but I don't mind a little roughness in a coaster. That's probably why I honestly enjoyed the only SLC (with bonus helix) I have ever ridden. I actually like Vekoma. I think they have done some good rides. I did however hate X at Thorpe Park and found Boomerang at KBF pretty terrible, but I reckon that was more due to the trains. I'd like to ride the Boomerang in Finland with the new trains and work out if it was the trains (and those horrid restraints) or the roller coaster itself that is bad at KBF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Best Almost any Roller Skater coaster Worst Ednor at La Ronde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastKoaster Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Best: Goliath SFNE 2013 Worst: Goliath SFNE 2014 Finally decided to give the new train a try for the first time yesterday after refusing to do so all season, and of course I chose my favorite seat from the previous train (last seat) and I felt like my head was going to implode due to the forces when entering the station after the first spike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I think Colorado Adventure is my favourite, only slightly ahead of Everest. Gravity Max would easily jump to 1st if I ever have the chance to ride it. After trying Gouderix twice...to give it a fair shot and all, it was honestly pretty horrible and can safely stay down at the bottom. Apparently it was even re-tracked? Yikes. Even though there's only one left, I really like Vekoma's Illusion coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now