rcdude Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm surprised the Voyage didn't win again. That ride seems to have a massive following. I haven't been on it, but it just doesn't look like too much more than an oversized out-and-back. Maybe it's following is starting to fall apart as the ride is reportedly getting very rough. I'll judge it for myself when I ride this July. I'll also have to judge El Toro in August. It looks really good. The highest rated ride I've been on is Thunderhead. I'm kind of surprised it is still so high as the ride has gotten somewhat rough, although it isn't too bad. I've kind of expected it to fall closer to where Terminator (my favorite wood coaster) currently is. I find it funny how much my personal list tends to differ from these results every year. I still rank GhostRider and Roar above Giant Dipper (SCBB), Blue Streak below Colossus, and Grizzly (CGA) much higher than last on my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therooboy Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Funny to see a ride with exactly 4 airtime hills get the number one spot. I mean, it's a great coaster, but it's like a very lite version of any of the Intamin steel megas, with a staff that's committed to pushing down the Lapbar as far into your crotch as can be done. I found the bar pushing on El Toro was one of those extra lil bonus features unique to El Toro I saw so many people gladly rasing there arms as high as possible, breathing in with all there might trying to fit Very unique, never seen crowds so enthused like that, trying to REALLY fit in & not caring who was watching etc. A credit to the awesomeness of El Toro & Intamin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansrubens Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Yes finally Anaconda on the last spot. It's so much worse than Grizzly. I even think Grizzly is ranked too low. It isn't that bad. ---Hans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hooray for Phoenix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcoaster Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 The fall of Voyage and El Toro remaining high are easy enough to figure when you consider the type of wood coaster each one is. Voyage got a lot of attention when it opened and a bunch of folks made sure that their travel plans included Holiday World. Those folks got amazing rides on it and continued to rank it #1 through the years, based on the memory of those rides. This year, Timberliners were promised for it, plus Will Koch passed away. Those two events put Holiday World back in people's minds and large attendance figures resulted. Lots of folks who had Voyage as #1 were back at the park for the first time since then and got to re-sample it... and got rides that did not live up to what they remembered from before. Count me among those folks. While I still ranked Voyage #1, it wasn't sitting there by the huge margin that it used to. If I had ever ridden El Toro, those two could've likely switched places on my list. So this year is likely filled with votes from people who had to re-evaluate what they thought of Voyage. El Toro, on the other hand, is a lot more consistent year after year due to the track technology. New riders get the same amazing rides that early riders did and returning fans get rides as good as they remembered. Without the rapid deterioration of the ride experience that other woodies have, El Toro can probably hold onto the #1 spot for many years... unless Intamin builds something more amazing. I was going to back up my theory by comparing Voyage's overall ranking filtering just the votes of people who rode it this year, but the server on Mitch's site isn't responding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastinmiller Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Glad to see Anaconda undertake Grizzly. What the hell is happening to Coaster at Playland, dropped from 23 to 32, while the only person who rode it this year had it as their favorite. The coaster was awesome last year and my #2. Grand Larceny Late to the party as usual, but have to agree with you Larry. Rode it last year as well and it was awesome, not my number one but in my top ten. Just a great fun ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alilstronger Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 LOVE LOVE LOVE El Toro!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm so happy to see El Toro in the #1 spot (though tied). I've never ridden Voyage or T Express but Boulder Dash and Phoenix are both amazing rides and I'm happy to see them up there as well. Where were the fanboys this year? Raven at #21??? lol Also... nice to see Son of Beast near the bottom, one of the worst coasters I've ever ridden. Still has nothing on SFNE's Mind Eraser or SFGADV's old Viper (which was replaced with the #1 wood coaster apparently) but for wood coasters nothing could ever suck like that ride sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montuman99 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm very surprised Boulder was so high this year. It was a little rough but hell, it's my #1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm pretty surprised to see Hades within the top 20, especially after hearing all the negativity towards after the rides in August. Same here. In fact, it surprises me that the coasters at Mt. Olympus rank as highly as they do. Hades is great through the tunnels, but getting to them is absolute torture. Cyclops has that great, insane moment of airtime in the backseat, but nothing else (rather boring otherwise). Hellcat/Avalanche is easily the best coaster in Wisconsin (and in my personal top ten). And I'm glad that more people appreciate El Toro for the great ride it is. But it's all a matter of opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osm Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Well I've been on El Toro, but nothing else in the Top 25! That will be fixed this summer, though. I love El Toro so much. And to the person that said El Toro only has four moments of , that may be true, but each moment is just insane, and it makes up for it with the most kickass turnaround ever, and the ending twister section, OMG it's like being attached to the back of the train and being dragged along at 70 mph, but without any pain. Amazing. Now I can't wait until May to see how Boulder Dash compares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpengeist04 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I have to say I'm definitely pleased with the results, since my top 4 are in the top 5. My top 4: 1. El Toro 2. Phoenix 3. Boulder Dash 4. Ravine Flyer II ...Good job coaster fans. And thanks Mitch for the awesome poll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 These look like honest reliable results to me. This summer I finally made my way to Pennsylvania and rode the Phoenix. I loved every second of it. It is the ultimate classic woody and definitely deserves its spot. The only other coasters in the top 25 I've ridden are Voyage, Thunderhead, and Raven. The Voyage dropping in rank does not surprise me. I rode it this past season in May, and it has gotten rougher. I absolutely loved it in 2006, and I'm really anticipating riding with the timberliners this year. Those trains could make all the difference. Last time I rode Thunderhead was in 2009, which was great. Assuming not much has changed, its placement seems right. I'm happy to see the Raven still in the top 25. That coaster delivers ride after ride after ride. It's one of the best coasters to marathon because its just plain fun. I still have a lot of traveling to do, obviously. This past summer was the first time I broke out of my little circle of parks I visit almost every year (Holiday World, Six Flags Over Georgia, Kings Island, occasionally Cedar Point). I'm excited to visit the other parks on my list of places to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyEisentrout Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Still happy to see my Shivering Timbers in the top 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Wait until someone figures out that I tied El Toro and T Express for #1 on my ballot...the conspiracy wackos will start complaining I'm sure! --Robb "I honestly couldn't decide between the two!" Alvey Edited February 24, 2011 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Is anyone else having major trouble getting Mitch's page to load? I haven't been able to open it since last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
typhoon200 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Yes finally Anaconda on the last spot. It's so much worse than Grizzly. I even think Grizzly is ranked too low. It isn't that bad. ---Hans I still think Coaster Express - Parque Warner is worst! Have ridden the 3 worst coasters in Europe as far as I see it! Lucky to be riding the best woody in the world in september Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I am quite happy with the results of this poll. And take it from an avowed Voyage fanboy - even I didn't rank it number one this year. Boulderdash got that spot for me. I've found that I can still be a huge fan of a coaster, and not rank it number 1. I wouldn't call myself a Boulderdash fanboy, but as of now - it has delivered the most insane and fun ride. I am a HUGE fan of the Voyage, but this year - it was too rough for even my masochistic behind. I really look forward to seeing if the new trains can get it back to where I first rode it, but I voted from my experience last summer which was too rough on the spine to rank at #1. My thoughts will probably change after the NorthEast trip this year - Toro just didn't blow me away last time I rode it - but it could have been just me. I don't remember which day Gread Adventure hit on the East Coast tour - but I do know I was freaking tired that day . David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamoure Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 177. Coaster-Express - Parque Warner Madrid TRUE !!!!!!!!! Son of a B**** coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 My thoughts will probably change after the NorthEast trip this year - Toro just didn't blow me away last time I rode it - but it could have been just me. I don't remember which day Gread Adventure hit on the East Coast tour - but I do know I was freaking tired that day . David El Toro did not deliver the day we were at SFGAd, and if you remember, we also ended up with an almost total rain out which I think also dampered some peoples mood and recollections. Hoping for much better rides and weather this yera! And oh yes, I very much like these results! Intamin woodies are the future and I hope to see more and more of them!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 I've found that I can still be a huge fan of a coaster, and not rank it number 1. I wouldn't call myself a Boulderdash fanboy, but as of now - it has delivered the most insane and fun ride. I am a HUGE fan of the Voyage, but this year - it was too rough for even my masochistic behind. I really look forward to seeing if the new trains can get it back to where I first rode it, but I voted from my experience last summer which was too rough on the spine to rank at #1. I'm the biggest Rampage fanboy you'll find, and I have it ranked #8 on my list. I can be honest, it's not the best I've ridden or the best in the world, but it definitely deserves the ranking it has now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Great to see these results. Looking forward to finally getting on Colossos in April, too! Delighted to see Troy hanging on in there - and Tonnerre de Zeus I felt wasn't running its very best last year when I rode in October, but nevertheless a brilliant woodie that in my eyes should be higher. Does anyone else feel El Toro at Freizeitpark Plohn is a little on the high side? I haven't been on it, but am puzzled as to why it's quite that high... sure it looks like a hell of a lot of fun, but in a Joris en de Draak sort of way - which is down at 25? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ignoring the fear of the wrath I'll receive if I once again criticize a new GCI coaster getting a high ranking I'll reiterate my post from last year. GCI's always seem to rank high their first year then start to dramatically drop off. That being said I totally believe that Plohn's El Toro is unusually high. It was a good solid ride, but very similar to all the normal GCI's. I felt that at least Efteling's dueling racing GCI was a much better experience. Perhaps this could be a case of the German's trying to boost their rides? As we saw happen with Black Mamba that one year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 On the subject of "older" coaster riders and their preferences: I guess I must now include myself as an "older" enthusiast. Still feel pretty young inside, but bruises don't quite heal as fast as they used to. The Voyage is my number 1 woodie, and I rode it last two years ago. Don't know if it's gotten much rougher since then, but it was pretty insane in '09. Love that thing to death. If you don't tense up and go with the flow, it seems to stay on the "fun" side of rough; at least it did for me. Just totally out of control. El Toro is a very, very close second. Could ride that thing all day long, non-stop. Brilliant. For what it's worth. "Old" doesn't necessarily mean "no longer likes a little tough-love with my woodies." And now I've got to go cinch my pants-waist up around my ribcage. And "Wheel of Fortune" is about to start, so keep it down, you crazy kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood Dragon 1988 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) GCI = B&M I love it! I've never thought of it that way, but basically that sums up my thoughts about the two companies. And whoever said hooray for Phoenix, amen to that too! Edited February 24, 2011 by Wood Dragon 1988 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts