cfc Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 ^^oops, searched for a few terms before creating the thread and I didn't found that one, please an admin lock this thread How about we just put them both together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Well - Pleasant would Be Thunderation at SDC - was expecting a standard (but well themed) mine train. Thunderation turned out to be much more exciting and fun. Kumba - Was absolutely blown away the first time I rode it, and have been every time since. Carowinds Flyers - rode them the first time at Coasterstock. The Ride Op was singing "The Love Boat" and having us have a "snapping" competition. Finally learned how to "snap" a flyer. Carowinds Flyers.bmp Unpleasant Suprise: Millennium Force. All I remember is a really great drop, and then....nothing else. It just did not really leave an impression on me - and I feel that a 300 foot Intamin should kind of do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntaminLove Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Biggest Pleasant Surprise - Maverick When Maverick was announced I was really disappointed. I just couldn't believe this little coaster was going to be a thrill machine. I rode it opening year and was completely blown away after my first ride. That ride instantly changed how I view coasters. Maverick is in my top 5 and it's going to be there for a while. I figure I should mention Gatekeeper since I already brought up one Cedar Point coaster. B&M coasters are rather boring and I don't get excited when their new coasters are announced. I was hoping the long wait between coasters at Cedar Point was going to be worth it, but I was disappointed with the announcement of Gatekeeper. I rode X-Flight plenty of times previously so I felt I pretty much knew what to expect. The negative reviews from enthusiasts made my expectations even lower. I actually ended up liking Gatekeeper and I think it's a solid ride. The best part of the ride is the first drop and the immelmann. What surprised me the most is that I got some decent airtime on the hill. I did notice that the vest tightened a little bit, but I was still comfortable. That could be due to the fact that I rode it after the adjustments were made. Biggest Unpleasant Surprises - Shivering Timbers and Psyclone. My first and only visit to Magic Mountain was in 2002 and I was 13. At this point in time the only coasters I ever rode were in Illinois and Wisconsin. I loved Viper at SFGAm and I figured Psyclone was going to give the same experience. I never thought I could hate a coaster until I rode Psyclone. I could have skipped the line and had the park gangsters beat me up instead. I wanted to ride Shivering Timbers ever since it was announced and I had high expectations. My first ride was in 2005 and I was sorely disappointed. I didn't think I would ride a coaster worse than Psyclone, but Shivering Timbers was it. I felt like my back was broken and I was a little scared that I actually hurt myself. I felt better a few hours later and decided to give it another shot in case my experience was a fluke. My second ride was just as bad and I didn't ride Shivering Timbers again until 2010. It still sucked in 2010, but the park must have given it a lot of love because it was awesome in 2011. Now it's one of my favorite wooden coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I never thought I could hate a coaster until I rode Psyclone. I could have skipped the line and had the park gangsters beat me up instead.. That's a great one! Perfectly described Hades360 as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AusCoasterFan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The following roller coasters were much better than I expected: Colossus (Thorpe Park): Smoother and more intense than I expected Thirteen: Great theming, and I loved the freefall and the backwards section Air: Not as good as Tatsu, but not far behind! Lost City of Gold: Has outrageous airtime, especially in the backseat! Space Mountain: Mission 2: Not too rough, and the stars, supernova and wormhole are so trippy and awesome Ninja (SFMM): Much more intense than I expected Apocalypse (SFMM): So much airtime, at the back in particular... Sierra Sidewinder: Much more forceful than I expected, and spins a lot, especially in the rear car. and the following were disappointing: Goliath (SFMM): Great first and second drop, and a good floater airtime hill, but the ride is cut short just as it starts to really get going... Green Lantern: First Flight: Very uncomfortable and overly stressful on the body - especially if you are 6`3` Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril: Potentially awesome, with the excellent theming, but the ride is ruined by horrible transitions and that loop... a real neck-breaker The key to enjoy roller coasters is to expect them to be crap... or at least disappointing... Sure worked for me at Thorpe Park and Alton Towers! Because, if they end up being crap (e.g. X at Thorpe Park), at least you were prepared for it. But if they end up being awesome (e.g. Space Mountain Mission 2), then you end up enjoying it more than you would have ever expected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril: Potentially awesome, with the excellent theming, but the ride is ruined by horrible transitions and that loop... a real neck-breaker I actually love that loop precisely because of the great forces and just how fast you go through it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarheel1231 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Pleasant Surprise: Mindbender at SFOG really suprised me by how awesome it was. Unpleasant Surprise: Can't think of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 ^That Mindbender is "awesome" should come as no surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Ok let's see: Pleasant surprises: Hydra - Dorney: nice little floorless which manges to pack quite a few elements in a short distance. I heard some saying it was forceless and even rough but turned out to be smooth and, while not very intense, it had some forces. Talon: I had heard mixed reviews about this ride. Some still considered it oldschool while others said it was totally forceless so I didn't have high hopes. However, I really enjoyed it as I found the pacing great and had plenty of forces (especially on that last turn after the corkscrew). It also managed to deliver some moments of air which is quite rare for inverts. Storm Runner: I was basically expecting a fun ride but nothing more. Well, it pretty much blew me away with it's short yet powerful launch, nice moments or airtime and funky elements taken at a great speed. I quite enjoyed that weird twist before the brakes. It is now my 2nd favourite ride which just manages to pass skyrush (third) due to the fact that the restraints on the latter are horrible. Fahrenheit: It wasn't exactly awesome but I had been lead to believe that it was just mediocre due to the reviews I had heard but ended up being some good fun with it's beyond vertical drop and that last pop of airtime before the turn into the brakes. Unpleasant surprises: Millennium Force: Don't get me wrong, the ride was great. It was just the fact that it has won so many polls and is so popular that made me expect a brutal ride and while the speed throughout the layout is great (and so is the length) I found the drop slightly disappointing and the airtime was very light. Top Thrill Dragster: Once more, I don't want to get misinterpreted as the coaster is truly very very good (better than MF to me). And again it was just what I had heard about the ride which made me raise my expectations. Everyone says that it is way better than KK due to its smoothness and lapbars but I ended up finding KK a tiny bit better as the launch is more forceful and it just has something that makes the experience more intense to me. Still an awesome ride, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AusCoasterFan Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril: Potentially awesome, with the excellent theming, but the ride is ruined by horrible transitions and that loop... a real neck-breaker I actually love that loop precisely because of the great forces and just how fast you go through it! Don't get me wrong, I also enjoy high forces in a loop. What I don't like about this one, is that the track snaps upwards into the loop very suddenly and gives me a little whiplash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I'll list a few others. Pleasant Surprise: Powder Keg. I started to search for it during it's construction and that's how I know TPR. After 8 years of waiting I finally rode it in 2013! I was expecting some nice floater and light positive G's but it's AMAZING AMAZING and AMAZING! My No.3 steel coaster. Zeus at Mt. Olympus. Hearing the review of the ride being horribly rough, I was planned to do a credit run and that's it. But ended up liking it a lot. Not saying it's smooth but the airtime is so good that I ignored the roughness. Or partly because Hades360 is around. Road Runner Express SFFT. Forceful and smooth with very nice airtime on some hills. Thunderation SDC. Best Arrow Mine Train ever! Beautiful scenery, nice force on the helix and the speed it picks up made it amazing. Gemini. it really is a hidden gem!!!! So is Blue Streak CP Viper SFMM. Very forceful and much smoother than I expected. Revenge of the Mummy USH. Theming, forceful launch and backward section made it stand out. Even though I've watched TPR's backstage and lights on video long before I rode it, I was still surprised. Mega-Lite. I regret thinking it as a family coaster before I rode it nine times a day. Sorry for being like that and please forgive me as I was only 11 back then. Mine Train at Ocean Park: hidden gem with scary airtime. Everyone should go to the park and ride it! Zamperla did an awesome job on it! Unpleasant Surprise: X2: Despite for a nice pop of air in the second hill, the ride did nothing except for beating the cr@p out of me. Goliath SFMM: Boring!!! But I like Titan because of the bonus helix. GateKeeper: Why the hell did CP go with B&M??? They need another Intamin to live up the hype! Cyclops: Hearing the Drop-O-Death gives the most intense airtime, how it actually was was really disappointing. California Screamin': California Sleepin' Again, if you don't want airtime and high positive G's, Why did you buy an Intamin with those things and trim it like a B&M? Raging Bull: Sleeping Bull/Trimming Bull. I wasn't fully awaken that morning and I nearly fell asleep. But the trains rattles a lot and that kept me awake. That's a true story! Millennium Force: While it is still awesome, but I think it must be one of the most overrated coasters. Intamin god only appeared on the bunny hop next to the station. B&M dive machines: I like the height and the drops, but the rest of them are just boring. S:EFK: I felt no airtime at all. Makes me wonder if Falcon's Fury would be the same. Plus my ears hurts every time I look at the name of this coaster. Maverick: Can't believe I said it because it's my No.1 Steel. But it lacks some high positive G's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dropzonefan Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Also, you may find this weird, but I found Shockwave at KD to be not as bad as everyone says it is. Sure, it's not smooth by any stretch of the imagination, but the first time I rode it, I was like...."Okay, a little shaky, but not bad..." You're not alone!.. Also found the only TOGO stand up I've ridden (Skyrider, Canada's Wonderland) to be surprisingly intense and fun. Other than a few shakey/rough sections in the corners, it was pretty damn smooth for a 25 year old coaster. It was also very intense, with at least two sections whee I grey out every time I ride, and a great mix of floater and ejector air on a the hills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Projektion Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Unpleasant: Dragon Khan: while being a great ride, and was my first looping coaster, the way that zero-g roll whips around really makes the train bitchslap you hard. Easily the part of the ride that I dislike the most. Pleasant: Furius Baco: Managed to ride it in the opening season so the vibrations weren't as bad as they've become. It was my first accelerator/launch coaster (unless you count the revolution at PBB asa launch coaster) so the launch quite surprised me, I was expecting a forceful launch but not as much as it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 It's nice to see that I'm not the only one that hates X2. The first drop is cool but after that it's just extremely rough and it makes it impossible to enjoy even though the concept and layout should make the ride awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike541x Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Zeus at Mt. Olympus. Hearing the review of the ride being horribly rough, I was planned to do a credit run and that's it. But ended up liking it a lot. Not saying it's smooth but the airtime is so good that I ignored the roughness. Or partly because Hades360 is around. This! I rode this back in 07' and I still remember the ejector airtime in the back seat. One of my favorite wooden coasters now that I think about it. Cyclopes is another good one, too bad I wasn't old enough to ride in the back seat at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Zeus at Mt. Olympus. Hearing the review of the ride being horribly rough, I was planned to do a credit run and that's it. But ended up liking it a lot. Not saying it's smooth but the airtime is so good that I ignored the roughness. Or partly because Hades360 is around. This! I rode this back in 07' and I still remember the ejector airtime in the back seat. One of my favorite wooden coasters now that I think about it. Cyclopes is another good one, too bad I wasn't old enough to ride in the back seat at the time. Me either, but...I did ride it in the back row for 4 times The ride op allowed me to ride it. Edited January 21, 2014 by gerstlaueringvar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willthegolfer Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Raging Bull: Sleeping Bull/Trimming Bull. I wasn't fully awaken that morning and I nearly fell asleep. But the trains rattles a lot and that kept me awake. That's a true story! I've also found that it's been getting shaky over the past few seasons, especially between the overbank and hammerhead before the brake run. But it does have one of the best first drops in the back seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 For 2013 I call... pleasant surprise: Rock'n'Roller Coaster at WDW Hollywood Studios - heard it is better than you average Vekoma looper before but was suprised to find a really fine and fun ride with no headbanging at all unpleasant surprise: It is complaining on a high level but I call the woody Mammut at Tripsdrill the unpleasamt surprise of 2013 as it was - well bland - nothing much to remember about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 ^I'm not a fan of Mammut, either--it's a mediocre ride, at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronWolfman Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Zeus at Mt. Olympus. Hearing the review of the ride being horribly rough, I was planned to do a credit run and that's it. But ended up liking it a lot. Not saying it's smooth but the airtime is so good that I ignored the roughness. Or partly because Hades360 is around. The park must have done some work, because when I rode Zeus in 2011, it was 20x worse than original Hades I enjoyed Hades back then but I haven't ridden it since it's transformation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Turbo Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 For me Zeus was a pleasant surprise, but it might have been from the devastation that was Hades 360. Other pleasant surprises: Cheetah Hunt- I thought that it would be a good ride, but I was not expecting some of the airtime that it had, especially the top of the first hill into the figure-8 section. Viper (SFGAm) Backwards- I was not expecting much, especially since Batman backwards didn't really add anything. I already enjoy the ride normally, but backwards was great. It gave such a great feeling of being out-of-control as you really don't know what is going to happen next. Combine that with the airtime it already has and you've got a great ride. Unpleasant surprises: Manhattan Express- I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I rode that the first (and only) time. Green Lantern (SFMM)- Both times I have been on the ride it was really painful and not enjoyable in the least. The car was too balanced so we got no rotation which made the ride very unenjoyable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piedude81 Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Pleasant Surprise 1.)Viper @SFGam: Didn't really know what to expect the first time I rode this. It turned out to be quite fun! 2.)Cyclops @Mt. Olympus: After riding the other three "coasters" at the park I was dreading my ride on Cyclops. I picked my spot in the farthest back seat I could go (back seat is 21+ I think), and that final drop was probably some of the craziest air time I had ever felt. Unpleasant Surprise 1.) Hades: I thought this ride was going to be great because I had heard a bunch of good things about it from when it opened. The ride literally put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. 2.) My 2nd Ride on Outlaw Run: Both of my rides were great, but my pubes were pulled out of my crotch the second time. I think I sat too far up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingleRiderCam Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Pleasant: Space Mountain (MK)- I saw on Golden Ticket that the Disneyland version of Space Mountain surpasses the Magic Kingdom version of Space Mountain. I then rode it and got taught not to trust Golden Ticket for the first time. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast- I knew that this ride will be a good ride, but I didn't expect it to be this good, especially getting pulled up the tower with some hangtime and the intense force at the bottom of the tower drop. Viper (SFMM)- I have heard many complaints about this ride being "too rough" and being "the worst coaster in the park" but when I rode Viper, I didn't have much headbanging and it is really fun and forceful with a good pop of airtime. Manta (SWSD)- I expected Manta to be a "normal" family coaster and it would just be a regular credit. It actually cracked into my top 10 favorite roller coasters. Unpleasant: Manhattan Express- What should I say? I expected this ride to be painful, but I didn't expect it to make my neck and shoulders hurt for an entire week. Apocalypse (SFMM)- I remember having smooth rides on Apocalypse and I thought in the past that it wouldn't age as bad as GhostRider. Fast forward to late May 2013 and I felt it to be pretty rough and more fast forwarding to West Coast Bash 2013 and not only did the ride feel rougher, but I felt less airtime on the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperShawn Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 ^ Totally agree on Manta at SWSD. Expected just a meh sort of family ride, but wow was that fun and delivered some surprises! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Yeti Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Pleasant Surprises: -Runaway Mountain SFoT - I had no idea what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. -Revenge of the Mummy - again, I didn't know what to expect, and I was blown away. -Thunderbolt at Celebration City didn't look so great, but just like Runaway Mountain it had a surprise drop that really made the ride. -Maverick - I expected a lot from the first drop, but I had no idea how awesome it would be! -Expedition Everest - Expectations exceeded! -Mr. Freeze - way better than expected...actually every time I ride I am blown away -I was in Florida when Islands of Adventure soft opened and I had never even heard of the park. Seeing the park next door to Universal, we checked to see if it was open and went the next day. That was an incredible surprise! Unpleasant: -Mean Streak - the one time I rode it the ride was really not that rough, but was so boring that I skipped it on my next trip. -Texas Giant - the old version was, especially after the drop, was very, very rough in my opinion -Flashback at SFoT - I only rode it because I knew the ride was going to be removed...I still kind of wish I had not ridden. -Raging Bull - I'll blame it on the trim brakes, but I was fairly unimpressed with my only B&M hyper coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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