Most. OverRated. Ride. of 2012.

[cal1br3tto]

Skyrush: not my particular brand of intensity in the slightest. I would rather ride any other hyper or major Intamin.

 

As for my personal opinions on other new-for-2012 rides I've experienced (not how well they seem to fit their intended audiences, which I would assume was appropriate in each case)...

 

Verbolten: I agree with most reports that it is essentially a family ride with slight thrills. The theming was a bit overhyped, but still fairly impressive.

 

Wild Eagle: Not quite as tame as many reported it to be, but definitely not as intense as a few people claimed, either. An acceptable but slightly underwhelming middle ground.

 

Apocalypse: Definitely not any better than it was as Iron Wolf. I appreciate the attempts at theming, which were admirable for a Six Flags park, but did nothing to improve my opinion of this lowly ride.

 

Iron Shark: Oh yeah, this one delivered. While not a top-tier ride, it was everything I might've expected and maybe even a little more. Surprisingly intense even for its type, and the setting did not disappoint (in fact, it surprised me with just how much it added to an already thrilling experience).

[MrSum1_55]

I am a bit surprised with how many overrated lists Verbolten is getting. Honestly, Verbolten was actually my favorite new ride of 2012 (although I haven't ridden Skyrush yet). It is not the most thrilling ride, but it has plenty of unique and thrilling elements, a nice theming package, and some great views from the outside area. And, since all those things are all it ever wanted to do, I don't see why so many people think it is overrated. If you ride it expecting the next supercoaster, you will be disappointed. However, if you expect an all-around great family ride, you will have a good time.

[mwoods244]

I'd say Wild Eagle. It's pretty, but the ride is too tame. I tried most of the seats on the train and could not find a decent ride. I am very worried for Gate Keeper - I fear that the only thing that will save the ride is it's location. Mind you, this summer was my first visit to Dollywood and I was completely blown away. I loved every single aspect of the park and while I did not care for Wild Eagle, I think that it is a wonderful addition to the park.

 

If we're really getting into things, I'd also say Little Mermaid is the most overrated ride. There is no story structure and the ride just ends. There was so much that could have been done on this ride, like the use of real water and I don't know bubbles blowing in the air or something...

 

I don't understand the hatred for SkyRush. I admit the ride looked boring and the layout is a little bland, but this thing, like Maverick, just blew me away. Coasters like that transport me back a few years and make me laugh the entire duration of the ride. I was shocked that it did not get the Golden Ticket Award for best new coaster.

[XII]

Of the new 2012 additions, I've done Carsland, Lex Luthor, Manta, OzIris, Divertical, and Wodan. The only one of these that disappointed me was OzIris. I was hoping it was going to be a good old school B&M like people were claiming it was going to be. But nope. It was just Silver Bullet with Montu's theming. The rest of them, I enjoyed and met my expectations. A few of them (Manta and Divertical) even exceeded my expectations.

[Condor]

I did Skyrush, S:UF, and Cars Land. Planning to ride Lex before year's end. I set my expectations low for Superman (never cared much for gimmicky shuttles) and it met them soundly. It's my most overrated considering that a handful of people seem to think it's now the best coaster in NorCal.

 

Had a similar level of met-expectations for Carsland. No restraint problems on Skyrush (*flexes*).

[caffeine_demon]

in the order I rode them

 

Swarm - Thorpe - A decent start to the year of coastering - not super intense, and varied a great deal depending on seat. broadly delivered what I was expecting, but with thorpe being "the ultimate thrill capital", a bit tame.

 

Goliath - SFNE - great intense ride - hanging at the top of the lift hills is pretty scary - Have been on stunt fall at parque warner, but this felt better

 

Apocalypse - SFA - Probably the best of the b and m stand ups i did - mainly because it was quite short

 

Skyrush - hesrhey - wow wow wow wow wow! buckloads of airtime, and I didn't have much problems with those restraints!

 

Verbolten - BGW - a great, enjoyable family ride, with a bit of a twist - does exactly what it promised

 

Oziris - PA - compared to the hype it got after opening, it wasn't as intense as promised - but I did really enjoy it

 

wodan - europa - after the original negative reviews, I was pretty impressed with the sense of speed and qdc's thoughout the ride

 

so - I think most overrated is either oziris or swarm - even though I liked em both!

[aroberts]

I gotta admit that most of the coaster's are open now time to go to 2013 it's Full throttle at six flags! Oh yeah were at the edge.

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

If you can guess which ride is on the top of my list, I *might* send you a bag-o-crap!

 

 

Apocalypse at SFA. Please send the bag-o-crap via mail

[canobie#1]

I would say Sky Rush.

[Angle O. Descent]

I would say Leviathan. B&M Giga sounds amazing on paper, but the ride and layout are tame compared to Millenium and I305. Over rated, but still a good ride.

[I305KD]

Sorry B&M, but it's gotta be Swarm. No forces toward the end. What a surprise there.

 

I love B&M one of my favorite companies (behind Rocky Mountain, Intamin, Gravity Group, GCI, and CCI), but there work has been just horrible. They don't build rides like Raptor, Talon, Alpengeist, Incredible Hulk, Nemesis, Kumba, Montu, Green Lantern (yes the one at SFGAdv), or Kraken anymore. Those rides are full of intense forces and great pacing. Have you seen Black Mamba doing that lately. Didn't think so.

 

Sorry, but the people at Rocky Mountain Coasters are coming up with new stuff. Successful woodie with inversions, 170 foot airtime filled hybrid coasters, etc. B&M has the same elements that they used on coasters from the 1990s. That is all.

 

-Darren "I love RMC!!!" Katz-

[EquusStorm]

Well let's see... my coaster count is somewhere around 15, and I have been on exactly one coaster that opened this year: Wild Eagle.

 

I gotta say, Mystery Mine was my favorite ride of the day - Wild Eagle was AWESOME but after about 20 minutes I had pretty much forgotten its layout. Smooth and awesome, but without the character that many of the other rides have, thus I wasn't as impressed by it as I thought I would be. But it's still in my top 4 or so.

[kidcoaster 2]

I was really looking forward to Wodan but was let down... same with Oz Iris

[Xcoaster]

Of my major "new for 2012" coasters, Skyrush, Manta, and Verbolten all exceeded my expectations, with Skyrush now in my top 10. Wodan was good, though it didn't reach my unrealistically high initial expectations. Divertical was about what I expected. Swarm was pretty lame, especially after riding X-Raptor, which I loved. OzIris was also pretty disappointing, considering it looked unique and was getting great reviews. So I guess Swarm or OzIris would be my winner (I was personally more disappointed with Swarm, but OzIris is probably more overrated). Though I suspect Leviathan and X-Flight would give them a run for their money. Sorry B&M.

 

Hopefully I'll be adding Veil of Dark to my list before the year is out, but I don't think that one has really been rated either way yet.

[PKI Jizzman]

I'd say Wild Eagle for a few reasons. But it is a good, fun, different ride though. The Zero G was incredible! And I did think it was a bit more intense than I expected. It's a great new concept, but I don't think this type of ride needs a loop. It should use the terrain, I had most fun on the ride towards the end.

 

And yes as mentioned before, it squeezes the life out of you. Or at least it did for me. Very frustrating, ver uncomfortable, and almost un-re-rideable.

[SNJ]

I would have to say for what I have ridden, Drop of Doom wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be. It doesn't thrust you down like an S&S drop tower, and yeah the height is thrilling but that's about it. I also am not a huge fan of the restraints. They're comfortable but weird. So that's my over-rated ride of 2012!

[Fahrenheit1221]

This thread and in particular Robb's attitude is just disappointing as hell.

 

I feel like I'm on Last.fm watching a bunch of music elitists cannibalize each other.

 

[ViperLover]

Wild Eagle. It is really just a wing coaster and is talked about so much because it was at Dollywood. If it was new at a smaller park, it would have been forgotten about already. Wing coasters are starting to pop up everywhere.

 

I know that this thread is for 2012, but since parks are announcing new rides for 2013, I will say my three top overrated rides for 2013.

 

1. Outlaw Run- It is talked about too much. Yes, I think that it is cool, but it is only a wooden coaster with some barrel rolls.

 

2. Gatekeeper- Another wing coaster that is talked about so much because it is going in at Cedar Point.

 

3. Blast Off- A lauched drop tower going into Darien Lake. It is only a single 12 seater tower that will have major capacity issues.

[sammmmmy]

^ None of these things have opened nor have been built yet, so you can't say they're 'overrated.' Also... they're brand new pushing-the-limit rides, what are coaster enthusiasts supposed to talk about?

[ViperLover]

^ The word that I was probably looking for was overtalked about (I hope that's a word). I don't think that they are pushing the limits. Now a lot of wooden coasters are getting RMC track work and barrel rolls. Also, the Gatekeeper is just a wing coaster. Those are starting to pop up everywhere too.

[simaticable]

I think he's just scared to think that wooden coasters can have inversions

[MrSum1_55]

I disagree about the Outlaw Run opinion, but it should be pointed out that this thread was started before most of the 2012 coasters were even open.

[ViperLover]

^What do you mean afraid. Son of Beast used to have a loop. So that went to show that wooden cooasters could have inversions.

[JonnyRCT3]

^What do you mean afraid. Son of Beast used to have a loop. So that went to show that wooden coasters could have inversions.

That was just a single standard steel V-loop placed in the middle of a wood coaster.

 

Outlaw run has insane banked turns, a half-zero-g roll type maneuver, and two consecutive barrel rolls made of wood! Not to mention the steepest drop ever on a wood coaster, second fastest and the second longest drop on a wood coaster. It hugs the hilly terrain and has some sexy trains............what's not to like?

[Voxelmatic]

^But, my friend, the real challenge here is to make one that doesn't suck.