Best and Lamest Coaster "Ending"

[alpengeist04]

Rock: Voyage, Phantoms Revenge, Hang breaks on any impulse

 

 

I have to agree about Phantom's ending being very good. ...Yet another reason for it being my second favorite steel coaster.

[MrSum1_55]

Best:

-Phantom's Revenge (airtime right down to the last second)

-Space Mountain (DLR) One thing I really like about this version is the progression. It seems to get more intense as the ride goes on, with the last few turns being the most intense. I still prefer the WDW version, though.

 

Worst:

-X2: The finale is by far the most brutal part of the ride

-Great Bear: The finale may be the fault of the location, but the ride just seems to slowly meander back to the station, even though the train is actually still moving at a descent speed. What I also don't understand is why they put the photo section on the brake run, as the turn into the brake run is by far the weakest part of the ride.

 

Also, another finale I am not a fan of is that of the Batman clones. The final turn seems to be the weakest turn on the ride. I do love the rest of the ride, but it has always seemed to me that the final turn should be something like an upward helix.

[jzoole]

Some great endings:

-Runaway Mine Train @ SFOT, surprise drop and turn under the lake.

-Boulderdash, insane airtime that just keeps getting better and better until the brakes.

-Greezed Lightnin @ SFAW (soon to be Cliffs!) awesome flying unbreaked through the station and up the back spike, particularly in the back row.

 

Some lame endings:

-Manhattan Express. I actually really liked this ride (I know, I'm weird) but the ending is like a weird wild mouse that just won't end.

-Red Devil/Cliffhanger, slooowly mosies into the brakes and then a lifthill.

-Leviathan, ten mile-long brakerun (just kidding!)

[Mechanic]

I agree with those who have posted in support of DLR's Space Mountain. It does seem to build intensity in the corners leading up that final swoop into the light tunnel. I never get tired of riding it.

 

As for the worst, Ninja's ride up the lift just to be dumped into the station is pretty lame. The rest of the ride is fun, but I just wish it did something after that final lift.

[rcdude]

All of these are in no particular order, and this is based only on coasters I've been on.

 

Best:

 

-Flight Deck (CGA): The helix over the water is the best part of the ride in my opinion

-Flight of Fear (KD): Surprise corkscrew just before the brakes

-Gold Rusher (SFMM): One of the best mine train helixes

-Green Lantern (SFGAdv): Bonus corkscrew and extra dip when the ride seems to be over

-Mystery Mine (DW): Beyond vertical drop into an in-line twist and dive loop with a bit of hangtime

-Riddler's Revenge (SFMM): Just as the ride seems to be winding up, it takes a surprise dive into a corkscrew concealed in a ditch

-River King Mine Train (SFStL): Sudden drop into the tunnel at the end of the ride

 

Worst:

 

-Anaconda (KD): The whole second half is rough, awkward and boring

-Colossus (SFMM): After the initial brakes, the ride has another drop and picks up a bit of speed just to hit the final brakes

-Cyclone (SFNE): Just meanders slowly along the course until it gets back to the station

-Gemini (CP): Long runout into a jerky helix

-Hurler (Both): Just an excessive number of hills that give no airtime at all but succeed in shaking you up

-Millennium Force (CP): Just a long straight section followed by a repetitive overbank turn

-Skull Mountain (SFGAdv): Not so much the end being lame as it just seems to end suddenly and unexpectedly

-Technic Coaster (LC): The ride has a long, slow switchback between the last block and the final brakes

 

I actually don't mind the lift at the end of Ninja too much, probably because there is no buildup. It comes to a complete stop, crawls to the lift, then slowly coasts off it into the station. To me, it feels no different than the return to the station from the final brakes on any other coaster, just much longer.

[dylanreich]

Nina is by far the worst in my opinion; I was completely surprised the first time I rode it when all of a sudden the ride ended with a long lift.

[the ghost]

Best: Matterhorn(especially Tomorrowland side) The splash is such an iconic as well as unique ending for any coaster... very cool and still my favorite of the splash elements just because I like the waters placement around the mountain. I will give Tomorrowland side the edge because there are two small drops that are steep... one of the 2 is right before the water splash and one is a bit before it.

 

Monte(if it counts): Really easily for me the second best ride at the park... and pretty close to Accelerator as best ride in the park. I love how there is amazing airtime in both the front and back and how both the front and back pack a serious punch. That moment of airtime in the back as you fly through the station is pretty easily my choice for the most insane ending I have ever experienced. It is aggressive and at the same time COMPLETELY INSANE! Full of awesome!

 

Riddler, Space Mountain, Silver Bullet for reasons everyone said... also Ghostrider if it were smoother.

 

Worst: Ninja: Need I say more?

Accelerator: Not a bad ending per se, but the tophat is the best part of the ride by far. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the speed and all that, but I like airtime and that's what the tophat does for me.

 

Possibly BTM: I like the front seat for the airtime and both the other lifts provide air and descent drops, the final one does not. HOWEVER this is just a grade based on the ride experience! I LOVE the dinosaur canyon and theming after the lift, it is just the least interesting part of the ride.

[texcoaster]

Worst:

 

Adventure Express. There is no reason to mention any other ride here, as their suckage doesn't even compare to this.

 

Best:

 

Excalibur (Astroworld) - long bit of lameness, then a tiny little dip, then OMFG diving helix at ground level.

Rampage - tasty full-sized drop that happened between the brake run and the station

Thunderbolt (Kennywood) - the granddaddy of "saving the best for last"

[bottom_feeder_13]

Great

 

Magnum - triangular airtime hills = awesome

Maverick - would have been better with the heartline roll but it's still awesome

Ghost Rider in the past - lats and airtime, what more is there to say

Tremors - tunnel, airtime, tunnel, lats then brakes, nothing more to say

Silver Bullet, Raptor, and Afterburn - final cork and helix were awesome and forceful

 

Horrid

 

Goliath - if they had just put in another helix of death instead of a fan curve it would have been amazing, but the didn't so its just crap

Millennium Force - just a completely meh experience

[IronWolfman]

^ I agree with you on Tremors.

 

Also, If we can count this,

 

G.I.B.'s Awesome Reverse through the Loops Ending.

[DBru]

Goliath - if they had just put in another helix of death instead of a fan curve it would have been amazing, but the didn't so its just crap

 

Is this SFMM's Goliath?

[scbt]

Well, I'd say for me the best ending was Big Bad Wolf's dive down to the Rhine river.

 

The worst I would have to go with Steel force, the last little double hill before the brake run kills my neck :/

[bottom_feeder_13]

^^ Yes, also the ending of Apocalypse at SFMM is a bit underwhelming, it is great but then dies after the station fly through, stupid preshow buildings.

[pieeater]

Best: Prowler- the triple down into a turn that slams you into the brakes just never gets old!

Patriot- the ending helix is killer when you sit in the right seat.

Corkscrew (cp) the 2 corkscrews for some reason was so much fun!

Magnum- the airtim hills were crazy!

Worst: Disaster transport- the ride was short and boring anyways. All the sudden your in a pink room lame with a capital L

Ninja (Sfstl) A painful helix isn't exactly my idea of fun

[Dailey Enterprizes]

Wow, talk about bringing back a 7 year old topic!

 

For me the best ending used to belong to Big Bad Wolf at BGE, but now with it gone I say Ravine Flyer II. I know the actual ending for that ride is just a couple of bunny hops, but I think I can count the 90 degree banked turn as part of that coaster's ending.

 

As for the worst ending I haven't really ridden a coaster that had a bad ending. Sure, I've ridden The Great Bear at Hershey's Park before, but it didn't leave me thinking that it had a bad ending. It just depends on the overall coaster really. For instance, the Serial Thriller that used to be at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in Ohio was a pretty rough coaster and the ending left my head throbbing, so I would consider that to be a bad ending.

[The Yeti]

My favorite endings: Space Mountain's WDW's final drop...though that tunnel is a little loud for my tastes.

 

I do love the helix at the ends on Wildfire, (& tunnel) Kumba, and Raptor.

 

Maverick. The ride pretty much changed how I view any coaster, and that second half was just insanity. The Stengel dive into a sweet airtime hill, and breaks. Wow...just wow.

 

ROTM's fake ending/ending was great!

 

Worst ending: The Dragon at Adventureland (Iowa) - those helixes are just stupid and rough.

 

 

Not entirely bad, just disappointing endings: These two are in the same park (SDC) - PowderKeg and ThuNderaTion - They are both good rides that deliver while they deliver, but both plagued (IMO) by the same issue: they both end with a good sized drop, a turn, and breaks. ThuNderaTion is a good, long Mine Train Coaster, and it certainly needed that lift hill to get to the station - but they could have added more to the end. Even a bunny hill on the way back to the station could improve it. PowderKeg may have it even worse...it ends with a 90 foot drop into (in SDC's mind the greatest thing EVER) a "butterfly turn" and then the breaks. They should have cut that 270 degree turn short and sent it back in to the woods before returning to the station - now that would have made the ride amazing.

 

Really though I shouldn't complain, because the ride does end with a drop...I mean, that's pretty exciting - but the drop was not that good and left the ride feeling a bit unfinished.

 

Great-lookng endings I have not yet ridden:

 

X-Flight at SFGAm...it's just kind of funny to me that the whole ride is bigger, taller and faster but it builds up to the massive twist at the end, and it just sort of slowly rolls through these obstacles. Guests will surely go crazy about that, and I've gotta say it is a heck of a way to end a coaster.

 

Tatsu nearly ends with its pretzel loop...I've ridden Matna and S:UF and both had their pretzel loops near the beginning of the ride, and the rest of the ride was much less exciting - especially S:UF. Tatsu's layout just looks great, but ending it with a huge pretzel loop in a valley is just greatness, pure greatness.

[Rai Fox]

Best endings -

 

Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce) - the triple air time hill at the end of the ride, the one they added a few years back...absolutely epic.

 

Flight of Fear (King's Dominion) - The ride's disorienting enough that by time you get to the end, it's hard to even tell which way is up. I always end up feeling like I'm still on my side when the train pulls into the station, and there's this bizarre moment of feeling like gravity is resetting afterwards.

 

Big Bag Wolf was one of the absolute best, with that drop over the Rhine.

 

I loved the ending of Hercules at Dorney, because it meant the ride was over, and I'd never have to ride it again.

 

 

I can't really think of any coasters with particularly disappointing endings, though. Maybe Racer at Kennywood since it's dragging so badly by that point in the ride...but then that entire ride is pretty disappointing, IMO.

Edited May 21, 2012 by Rai Fox

[VinTheAttendant]

Best

I have to agree with all the people talking about Boulder Dash's ending. It's insane how it never seems to run out of steam.

I remember I would ride Big Bad Wolf again and again just for that drop over the Rhine River.

I like how Nitro's bunny hops towards the end are just about the same, but the last one before the brakes actually has a bigger drop, offering one last surprise.

The catch car on Deja Vu at the end of the ride always scares me, that's why I love it.

Batman: The Ride, that ending is relentless!

Montu for the same reasons.

Mind Bender, well...everything about this ride is awesome.

I've never been on it, but I've seen videos of the original Texas Giant, and I just love how it swoops through its finale.

 

Worst

There isn't really a coaster ending that I particularly hated, but there are some that are sub par.

Corkscrew at Cedar Point, what's up with the quarter mile of straight track?

Great Bear. I know, big shock, but I don't think it's horrendously bad.

Dueling Dragons, Ice, or whatever it's called now. Same reasons as Great Bear, not much to it.

SLCs, I love how they look going through their finale, but usually it's just filled with "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

I wasn't disappointed by Ninja's ending because I knew the ride was over, but I can see how people can hold disdain to it.

[johnychen]

Best:

SFOT Runaway Mine Train - the surprise dive out of saloon and under a lake is always fun.

SF Astroworld - Excaliber - that final helix is a great one and it catches you by surprise also

SFoT- Old Texas Giant when it was new, the magic carpet ride at the end

SF Astroworld - Greezed Lightnin - Nothing beats a drop from the back spike from the rear seat and being slammed into the station at full speed.

Knoebels - Phoenix - that air time buffet at the end is amazing.

 

Worst:

Can't think of any.

Fiesta Texas- The Rattler - Not a bad ending but the worst mid course helix ever. So slow you can take a nap.

[alilstronger]

Worst to me:

 

Great Bear (Hershey Park)

Kingka Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure) - That coaster is going so fast it could go to the other side of the park and back adding loops, corkscrews, tight turns... etc.

Horserunner (Hershey Park) - It kinda just ends to me.

Superman (Six Flags America) - The end is so abrupt. I am ALWAYS nervous that is that car isn't going stop and it is going to go RIGHT into the station.

[australianalex]

Kingka Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure) - That coaster is going so fast it could go to the other side of the park and back adding loops, corkscrews, tight turns... etc.

Uh...

[sammmmmy]

Kingka Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure) - That coaster is going so fast it could go to the other side of the park and back adding loops, corkscrews, tight turns... etc.

 

 

1. Inversions aren't something you'd want on a coaster going 128 miles per hour, and a coaster most definitely does not require inversions to make it better.

 

2. At a price of $25,000,000 already, I don't think making it any longer would've been a smart choice.

[attack7]

Best:

Fire Dragon: I love that last minute flip over when you're so close to the ground

X-Flight: (Just cuz it's brand new) - that slow roll with head and foot choppers is quite fun

X2: You have no idea which way is up, and then you're on the brake run facing backwards

 

Worst:

Volcano (PKD): Giant drop into.... brakes? After such a good ride leading up to it, they coulda done better

Ice Dragon: Compared to Fire Dragon, I sometimes wish I'd brought along a book

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

^X2's ending, though entertaining, is really jarring.

[STR8FXXXINEDGE]

I don't know about best ending, but I'd definitely give the lamest ending to Adventure Express at Kings Island. I remember the first time I rode it, I didn't know much of anything about it. When it got to that big, enclosed lift hill, that is so nicely themed, I was so pumped for what was going to come next, then it just rolled back into the station at the top of the lift, haha! What a disappointment that was!