Mitch Hawker 2010 poll

[therooboy]

Does anyone else think it's silly that SBNO coasters are still ranked? How can a coaster that didn't run in 2010 be the 9th or 20th best coaster of 2010?

My guess is the reason why Mitch does that is to at least help promote preservation to show the world "Hey! There is a top 20 wooden coaster sitting there... JUST SITTING THERE!!! GO GET IT AND BRING IT TO YOUR PARK!!!"

 

If anything, he probably does more for awareness than ACE does.

 

Also works the opposite in that based on seeing how a crappy ride like Big Dipper ranks in the polls, it doesn't deserve to be saved. (Although I'm sure Prince Desmond would disagree)

 

--Robb

 

lol

 

Agree with most you say here Rob especially the ACE & Prince Desmond mentions.

Not saying its worth the $$$ to save, but i didnt think it was in the"crap" coasters department.

Have i missed something in all the Save the BIg Dipper threads.

[texcoaster]

Does anyone else think it's silly that SBNO coasters are still ranked? How can a coaster that didn't run in 2010 be the 9th or 20th best coaster of 2010?

Not at all. In addition to bringing awareness to really good SBNO coasters that might be salvaged, it also is fun to compare how today's rides compare to rides that have existed in the (recent) past.

Since Mitch offers several filters to view the results, such as "rankings just looking at votes from people who rode the coaster this year" and such, he could easily filter out the SBNO and past coasters to tabulate "current" rankings.

That said, I'd like to see more SBNO and defunct coasters listed in the poll. It would be interesting to see where MegaZeph, Texas Cyclone, Geauga Big Dipper or Hercules might rank against some current rides.

[texcoaster]

^The Beast was ranked 52.

 

I haven't ridden it yet and I'm really curious about what it will be like. I'm sure it will be nothing like the old reviews, but it seems like there are some aspects that should still be fun, like the tunnels and the woodsy setting.

 

It will be like a train ride through the woods, riding on square wheels and braked to death.

 

Seriously, that ride was never scary but it used to be hella fun. It's still an OK ride after dark, but the brakes just kill it. You spend the entire ride thinking about how much fun you COULD be having instead of how much fun it is.

 

My God, if they could Iron Horse that thing and remove all the trim brakes, you'd see it in the top 10 (steelie list). That helix would be INSANE at full speed on steel rails.

 

Hmmmm... if they JUST replaced the track without changing the profile at all... then Beast could be the only coaster ever to rank in the Top 10 wood AND steel polls.... a decade or so apart, but still.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^If you really wanna see some people sh*t a brick, put Iron Horse track on The Beast.

[RoCo]

^If you really wanna see some people sh*t a brick, put Iron Horse track on The Beast.

 

You got that right. I'm telling you, if The New Texas Giant turns out to be a resounding success, I'm hoping that we're going to see a bunch of these revamps happening very soon.

 

Getting The Beast back into full-speed performance would be a wondrous thing. (And no lights in the freaking tunnels, man!!! )

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I honestly meant sh*t a brick in a bad way. The purists would burn the mofo down before they let it become a steel coaster. As would I. I'll take it trimmed up and rough before it ever turns into a steel coaster traipse through the woods. Then it would be a glorified mine train. But I guess that's all opinion.

[RoCo]

^LOL! Yeah, I guess I'm not that much of a purist. My "perfect world" solution for The Beast would be that the park invested whatever is necessary to bring it back to its former glory, as a woodie.

 

But I'd much rather have a great ride experience, no matter what "technology" is used to create it, over a mediocre one that is kept mediocre for the sake of "original intent." And if "Iron Horsing" The Beast is the more cost-effective, long-term solution for that ride, I'm all for it. Especially if it means a steeper, untrimmed first drop, etc., etc., etc.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^They could use topper track in some places, I'm sure that would help greatly while letting it keep its woodie status. One of the biggest things they could do is slightly reprofile the turn after the first drop and some of the other turns along the course that aren't engineered that well. Beast's problem is that they have it taking these turns and that double helix going WAY too fast, and it just murders the track and structure. At that point, your only options are constant (daily) maintenance, reprofiling, or trim brakes. Guess which one is cheapest? That's the rub.

[RoCo]

^I feel and share your pain, man. It really is a shame that The Beast wants to do more than its structure/roadbed can reliably tolerate. Again, "perfect world" scenario: Let Intamin put the entire course through a thorough CAD workout, get a reprofile designed, and throw down "prefab" track to make The Beast an El Toro-esque bad boy.

 

And while we're at it, I'd like Brooklyn Decker for Christmas, too.

[SharkTums]

I wonder what would be worse for the Ohio Beast Fanboys...TAERING IT DOWN or giving it the Rocky Mountain Treatment?

 

This question could lead to heads exploding!

 

BTW, YAY for the #1's. Mmmmm El Toro and T Express!

[cal1br3tto]

Well then. I guess I better just not think about The Beast again until I actually ride it. It sounds like it's better not to have any kind of preconceived expectations about it.

[jynx242]

^ Laura - after riding coasters like TimberWolf and Outlaw with you, it is my opinion that you would REALLY like the Beast. I know I did. Yes there are trims and yes it slows it down rediculously, but it is still just a fun ride to me. I did have one less than pleasant experience sitting on a wheel seat during night rides. That was pretty brutal, but still fun. I'd love to see it get topper track and a little more banking in the helices - it would be epic.

 

David - not a purist - McCollum

[cfc]

^I also like the Beast, but his Son is a complete bastard. If the new tracking works on Texas Giant, I think it could be a good fit for the Beast.

[dammie16@vt.edu]

Here were my thoughts on the Beast when I first rode it.

 

First drop, semi-speedy, long straights kinda boring, oh geez second lift I'm bored how overrated...OMG HELIX OF DEATH!!!!!! Ride over. 7/`0 7 for the helix none for the rest lol

 

Poll looks good though still sad that I've never ridden any of the top intiman woodies.

[Wolf]

^I feel and share your pain, man. It really is a shame that The Beast wants to do more than its structure/roadbed can reliably tolerate. Again, "perfect world" scenario: Let Intamin put the entire course through a thorough CAD workout, get a reprofile designed, and throw down "prefab" track to make The Beast an El Toro-esque bad boy.

 

And while we're at it, I'd like Brooklyn Decker for Christmas, too.

 

Beast isn't particularly forceful. It's just long and far-flung. And it's trains are... tragic.

[Wolf]

^I don't think any sane individual (read: someone not from Ohio or New Zealand) thinks it's going to ever reopen, or a poll like this would have an influence. Mostly what it is is people remembering the ride fondly and thinking of their best rides on it, when in reality if they were open today it would probably be ranked much lower.

 

Mitch's Within-year is a better method to establish the answer to that question. Voters on the overall poll, though, are free to vote however they please, be it based on what was the best that season, or what gave their best ride ever, across their entire riding experience. Is it reliable performance, peak performance, both? Do you just a ride you visit every month different than a far flung ride you rode once, 15 years ago?

 

I tend to vote based on best ride ever, with some attention paid to how often the ride seems to give that performance. I knocked Clementon's Hellcat down this year because the old coaster that was so amazing has been profiled and trim-braked away. But I still voted it a hell of a lot higher than it merited from the weak-sauce ride I got last year.

[Wolf]

Mitch Hawker's Wood Coaster Poll RESULTS!

 

Here are the results of the 2010 Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll:

 

Top 25

1t. El Toro - SFGAd

1t. T Express - Everland

3. Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce

4. Phoenix - Knoebel's

5. Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer

6. The Voyage - Holiday World

7. Balder - Liseberg

8. Colossos - Heide Park

9. Aska (S) - Nara Dreamland

10. Fireball - Happy Valley Song

11. Troy - Toverland

12. Prowler - Worlds of Fun

13. El Toro - Freizeitpark Plohn

14. Thunderhead - Dollywood

15. Rampage - Alabama Adventure

16. Thunderbird - PowerPark

17. Tremors - Silverwood

18. Renegade - Valleyfair!

19. Hades - Mount Olympus

20. Ozark Wildcat(SBNO) - Celebration City

21. Raven - Holiday World

22. Shivering Timbers - Michigan's Adventure

23. Tonnerre de Zeus - Parc Asterix

24. Evel Knievel - Six Flags St Louis

25. Joris en de Draak W - de Efteling

 

Bottom 10

171. Predator - Darien Lake

172. Antelope - Gulliver's World

173. Mean Streak - Cedar Point

174. Lil' Dipper - Camden Park

175. Magnus Colossus - Terra Mitica

176. The Bandit - Movie Park

177. Coaster-Express - Parque Warner Madrid

178. Son of Beast (SBNO) - Kings Island

179. The Grizzly - Great America

180. Anaconda - Walygator Parc

 

For the full results and completed ballots please visit Mitch Hawker's site:

http://www.ushsho.com/woodrollercoasterpollresults2010.htm

 

Lot of movement in the polls this year. I think the reduced voting turnout had an effect that might result in this being an outlier year in moving average tabulation. Be really interesting to rerun this year's results by including the polls from the people who voted last year, but not this year, and see what moves.

[Wolf]

Mitch Hawker's Wood Coaster Poll RESULTS!

 

Here are the results of the 2010 Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll:

 

Top 25

1t. El Toro - SFGAd

1t. T Express - Everland

3. Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce

4. Phoenix - Knoebel's

5. Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer

6. The Voyage - Holiday World

7. Balder - Liseberg

8. Colossos - Heide Park

9. Aska (S) - Nara Dreamland

10. Fireball - Happy Valley Song

 

179. The Grizzly - Great America

180. Anaconda - Walygator Parc

 

For the full results and completed ballots please visit Mitch Hawker's site:

http://www.ushsho.com/woodrollercoasterpollresults2010.htm

 

I'll never quite get the love for Boulder Dash (it's good, but not great...). Interesting observation is that had I prefered BD to El Toro, T Express would have finished #1. Out of 118 voters, one defector would have changed the #1 entry, and #1 and #2 tied head-to-head. Mitch's poll, as its really obvious this year, is very sensitive to who votes, and tends to be less stable in results for rides with lower rider numbers.

[cal1br3tto]

Okay, I'll keep in mind that it's possible I will enjoy The Beast, but I'll still try not to get too excited about it beforehand.

 

I haven't really heard much about Silver Comet at Martin's Fantasy Island (#45) or Comet at The Great Escape (#33). Are they underrated? Has Comet aged well?

[FeelTheFORCE]

My opinion on the Beast is that it's insanely awesome at night, but during the day it's only a one-and-done for me. Assuming the TG treatment turns out great, I really wouldn't mind if it received it, but if it didn't that'd be alright too. I think if anything, I'd rather see the SOB situation sorted out (whether that means reopening it or removing it), before the Beast gets any extra special attention.

[CPmillenia94]

 

I'll never quite get the love for Boulder Dash (it's good, but not great...). Interesting observation is that had I prefered BD to El Toro, T Express would have finished #1. Out of 118 voters, one defector would have changed the #1 entry, and #1 and #2 tied head-to-head. Mitch's poll, as its really obvious this year, is very sensitive to who votes, and tends to be less stable in results for rides with lower rider numbers.

 

Boulderdash is one of those rides that ride much better at certain times than others. You have to ride it at night, and you should sit near the back. Day or night though, in the front/middle it is very average feeling. I never ride there because it defeats the whole ride. Ive ridden el toro and boulder dash within the same week and my rides on boulderdash were a bit more fun and insane feeling than my ert night rides on el toro in the rain. It really depends on when and were you ride it though.

[Big-M]

After seeing this year's results, I began to wonder which parks had the best collections of wooden coasters. In order to find out, I subtracted each coaster's rank from 181 so coasters with a high rank got the highest numbers (El Toro was worth 180, Anaconda was worth 1). Then, I added the numbers of all of the coasters in a specific park to get a final number. Doing this got a nice balance of quality vs. quantity. Blackpool came out on top, with 493 points. Holiday World was #2, with 475. In order to deal with dueling coasters where each side was ranked separately, I averaged their ranks. The first number is the park's rank, and then the park's name is shown. Finally, for those interested, the total number of points is shown to the right.

 

Enjoy!

 

1. Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 493

2. Holiday World, 475

3. Mt. Olympus, 396

4. Kennywood, 358

5. Six Flags St. Louis, 348

6. Indiana Beach, 346

7. Hersheypark, 329

8. Silverwood, 314

9. Knoebels, 309

10. Six Flags Great America, 234

11. Michigan’s Adventure, 227

12. Worlds of Fun, 226

13. Kings Island, 225

14. Kings Dominion, 220

15. Lake Compounce, 217

16. Waldameer, 211

17. Valleyfair, 208

18. Six Flags America, 207

19. Adventureland, 203

20. Six Flags Magic Mountain, 198

21. Six Flags Great Adventure, 195

22. Everland, 180

23. Liseberg, 174

24. Heide Park, 173

25. Nara Dreamland, 172

26. Happy Valley Songjiang, 171

27. Toverland, 170

28. Freizeitpark Plohn, 168

29. Dollywood, 167

30. Alabama Adventure, 166

31. PowerPark, 165

32. Celebration City, 161

33. Parc Asterix, 158

34. Six Flags Over Georgia, 155

35. Timber Falls, 155

36. Efteling, 154

36. Six Flags Over Texas, 154

38. Beech Bend, 153

39. Oakwood, 151

40. Playland at the PNE, 149

41. Great Escape, 148

42. Carowinds, 146

42. Dreamland, 146

44. Cliff’s, 144

45. Tusenfryd, 143

46. La Feria Chapultepec Magico, 142

47. Boomers, 139

48. LeSourdsville Lake, 137

49. Martin’s Fantasy Island, 136

50. Kemah Boardwalk, 135

51. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 134

52. Coney Island , 133

53. Kentucky Kingdom , 130

54. Walibi Belgium , 128

55. Six Flags New England, 127

56. Funtown USA , 126

57. Farup Sommerland , 125

58. Knott’s Berry Farm , 122

59. Bell’s , 121

59. Dorney Park, 121

61. Tivoli Gardens, 120

62. Six Flags New Orleans, 119

63. Cedar Point, 118

63. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, 118

65. Puyallup Fair, 117

66. Lakeside, 116

67. Bakken, 115

68. Legoland FL/ Cypress Gardens, 114

68. Morey’s Piers, 114

70. Clementon Lake, 113

71. Walibi World, 112

72. Canobie Lake Park, 108

73. Conneaut Lake Park, 107

74. Geauga Lake, 105

75. Arnold’s Park, 102

76. Luna Park-Melbourne, 101

77. Belmont, 99

78. Family Kingdom, 98

79. Tripsdrill, 97

80. Tobu Zoo, 93

81. Upper Clements Park, 90

82. Nagashima Spaland, 88

83. Linnamaki Park, 84

84. Stricker’s Grove, 83

85. Canada’s Wonderland, 80

86. La Ronde, 79

87. Busch Gardens Tampa, 77

87. Wild Adventures, 77

89. Luna Park-Sydney, 75

90. Waterville USA, 74

91. Magic Springs, 71

92. Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, 69

93. PortAventura, 65

93. Rye Playland, 65

95. Six Flags Mexico, 63

96. Joyland, 59

97. Seabreeze, 58

98. Vidámpark, 55

99. Camden Park, 54

99. Idlewild, 54

99. Wiener Prater, 54

102. Hirakata Park, 52

103. Lagoon, 49

104. Little Amerricka , 46

105. Kingdom Coaster, 42

106. Frontier City, 40

107. William’s Grove, 32

108. Wild Waves, 31

109. Jungle Jack’s Landing, 26

110. Yomuriland, 24

111. Kijima Kogen, 20

112. Elitch Gardens, 17

113. Six Flags Fiesta Texas, 13

114. Darien Lake, 10

115. Gulliver’s World, 9

116. Terra Mitica, 6

117. Movie Park Germany, 5

118. Parque Warner Madrid, 4

119. California’s Great America, 2

120. Walygator Park, 1

Best Wood Parks.pdf

Here's a PDF version.

[cal1br3tto]

^Nice! I've been to 6 of the top 10. Then again, plenty of people have been to 9 or 10 of them!

[Big-M]

^ Ouch! I've only been to 1/10 (Knoebels).

 

EDIT: \/ I've been to 3 of the Top 20.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Big-M

[cal1br3tto]

It's okay, I've only been on 1 of the top 10 coasters.

Although I have ridden 15 in the top 50, which is not terrible for a count of 35 woodies.