The "Pleasant/Unpleasant Surprise" Thread

[IntaminLove]

I heard how great Magnum was. It was the coaster that brought live back into coasters. When every park wanted loopers, they did the opposite and made the tallest and fastest coaster ever. It broke records and sent shivers across america. Well, least thats what i read. I walked into a big ugly station which huge bath tube trains. The lab bars had no padding. I was expecting this ride to be great. I dreamed of its airtime. I was hoping for an amazing ride. Every hill it crested my legs would burn. When I should of been laughing in joy, I was screaming in pain. It was the worst coaster I have ever been on, Very unpleasant ride.

 

When I first rode Magnum I was pretty disappointed. I thought I was going to experience a great ride, but I took a beating instead. I really wanted to like Magnum so I tried out different seats. After a few rides I found the "best" row and I had the great experience many talked about. The "best" row is the 16th, which is the first row in the last car. There may be other good rows or seats, but I swear by this one. In this row Magnum feels a bit clunky, but it's not rough at all. It's just plain fun with lots of airtime. I hope those with bad experiences find the best seat for them because Magnum is a great ride.

[cfc]

I sort of like Magnum, as clunky as it is. Sure, it's not a top-of-the-line coaster, but I did enjoy it.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I used to be a big Magnum hater, but I've noticed in the last few years, it hasn't been as painful in terms of roughness. The ejector air is still insane (and fairly painful), but that's what makes it a top ten coaster for me. It also delivers one of the best night rides I've ever been on. Rushing past the dark beach and seeing the jet black lake is almost ghostly.

[pianojohn]

Pleasant Surprise:

Sledgehammer at Canada's Wonderland

 

It looked intimidating, but it was actually a lot of fun, and I think the only one of its kind in the world.

 

Unpleasant:

Bizarro at SFNE

 

Maybe it was an off day, but I was so underwhelmed by this ride. Millenium Force all the way for this guy!

Yes!

Eh....not a fan

[Canobie Coaster]

I used to be a big Magnum hater, but I've noticed in the last few years, it hasn't been as painful in terms of roughness. The ejector air is still insane (and fairly painful), but that's what makes it a top ten coaster for me. It also delivers one of the best night rides I've ever been on. Rushing past the dark beach and seeing the jet black lake is almost ghostly.

 

Has there ever been plans to add padding to the lap bars? That sounds like it would help the coaster immensely.

 

Two of the biggest pleasant surprises for me were Space Mountain (Disneyland) and Rolling Thunder. I was expecting Space Mountain to be a fun coaster, but the combination of darkness, music, and tight turns really made the train feel like it was flying. Then I rode Rolling Thunder after a massive rainstorm and the train was absolutely flying through the course! The return leg gave some really good floater air. I returned the next day (perfectly clear day) and it was dragging per usual.

 

My unpleasant surprise has to be Riddler's Revenge and Green Lantern. I was told that these two stand-ups were the best of the genre, but both are near the bottom of my roller coaster ranks due to their roughness.

[Bmanscool]

Unpleasant surprise:

 

X -Flight at Six Flags Great America. -I was really excited about riding this coaster. It turned out to be slow/painful/boring, and an uncomfortable ride experience. I was fooled by the futuristic theming, awesome LOOKING wing trains (not really awesome in my opinion), the fog/smoke, and the slick red/black paint scheme.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Bmanscool

[larrygator]

I used to be a big Magnum hater, but I've noticed in the last few years, it hasn't been as painful in terms of roughness. The ejector air is still insane (and fairly painful), but that's what makes it a top ten coaster for me. It also delivers one of the best night rides I've ever been on. Rushing past the dark beach and seeing the jet black lake is almost ghostly.

 

I'm the exact opposite. I defended Magnum for years but that all changed because of my rides in 2012 and 2014.

[GwaziBSRider1]

^ Last year, the airtime seemed to be more painful than I had experienced in the past.

 

Has there ever been plans to add padding to the lap bars? That sounds like it would help the coaster immensely.

 

I don't believe so, but it would be a good idea. I think it would give a nice boost to its ridership.

[Woodie Warrior]

Magnum is an okay ride to me but nothing amazing. I don't say that because of the last airtime hills, which I didn't find too horrible, but because the ride has a pretty lame layout that does nothing for me.

[Capt.Braden]

i never really liked the pendulum rides especial rides like max air or Frisbee during the Florida state fair i rode a pendulum ride called fire ball after that ride i found that pendulum rides are enjoyable and not what i thought they where.

 

Oh my god! Fire Ball at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk?! I love it there! It has such a great atmosphere and a very storied past. I go almost every year, and Fire Ball and The Giant Dipper are definitely must rides. Fire Ball is so much better than any other pendulum ride, I agree. I have no idea why though, maybe it's the beach-side atmosphere with great views. Whatever it is I love it, and can't wait to go back next summer!

[Gnome]

This. Oh muh gowd

[DoinItForTheFame]

Unpleasant surprise?? Millennium Force. I had heard such great things about this coaster from pretty much everyone that when I rode it I was HIGHLY disappointed. It was a very unpleasant surprise for me. I got off of the ride thinking... What was all the hype about??

(That's all for now, but I am sure more will come to me in time)

[Gnome]

^ I wonder if you had rose it a couple more times if your opinion would have changed? Or did you ride it several times

[Password121]

My opinion increased greatly after about 10 MF back seat re-rides this summer. Previously I thought it was very good, but some night rides bumped it up to borderline #1 steel with Maverick.

[Mechanic]

Goldstriker was a very pleasant surprise for me. It's not that I expected it to suck or anything. I just thought that it was being over-hyped by the CGA fanboys and I tempered my expectations accordingly. It then surprised me by being at least as good, and possibly even better, than it had been described. Having ridden it again recently during Haunt, it has only gotten better as it has broken in. I hope they can keep it running like it is for years to come. I was really ready for CGA to just close and go away a few years ago. I'm now glad that didn't happen.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I'm going to throw a vote out here for Skyrush being a pleasant surprise. After all of the complaints about leg pain, I was expecting the worst. It was painful, but all of that amazing ejector air made the pain worth it!

 

To balance out with an unpleasant surprise, I'm going to go with Expedition Everest. I've heard lots of praise for this ride and was very excited to ride it, but it was just...blah. The yeti theme does nothing for me after being bombarded with Bigfoot shows on TV. Actually, the first time I rode it, I didn't even see the damn yeti. The layout does little for me and the final brakes are too strong, leaving me with a nice bruise on my stomach after three rides.

 

Actually, the entirety of Animal Kingdom was an unpleasant surprise for me, but that's another story. I'd much rather visit BGT than Animal Kingdom again.

[Freyja]

Pleasant surprise:

Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld Orlando! I was expecting it to be like Escape from Pompeii - a few indoor effects and then one big drop. In the whole boat only one person had been on it before and he was cackling at all our reactions. The first part is so cheesy but it makes the second half that much better.

 

Manta. I thought "oh it'll be a fun little ride." We rode it 8 times in one day (thanks to Quick Queue and relatively low attendance) and it's now my favorite coaster.

 

 

Unpleasant surprise:

Intimidator 305. I blacked out both times, once before and once after the trim brakes. Can't bring myself to try it with the new turning section.

 

Magnum XL-200. My wife grew up riding it and told me how wonderful it was -- I rode it during Halloween 2013 and genuinely thought the car was going to go rocketing straight off the tracks. Never in my life have I been so honestly terrified.

 

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. The ride itself was fine, but the experience for me was ruined by poor management of the station. They were loading SIX Express Pass cars for every one regular queue. It got to the point where we had been standing on the platform in view of the loading station for over an hour and saw the same people going through Express Pass more than once. I understand the point is that the paid more and get a shorter line, but that was completely absurd.

 

Escape from Gringotts. We were there in the first week of operation -- six to eight hour waits were standard. We went through single rider and it took about an hour and a half with three shut downs. But the ride itself was a huge letdown. Different seats make such a different perspective with the 3D effects, and we couldn't hear half the dialogue. After riding the Mummy and Forbidden Journey, Gringotts was just a major bummer.

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ I wonder if you had rose it a couple more times if your opinion would have changed? Or did you ride it several times

I've been on it about 30 times all together. (Always had friends who wanted to ride it, so I rode it with them) and my opinion still stands.

 

However, a pleasant surprise? Outlaw Run. I went in thinking, oh it should be a good coaster. People have said great things about it. But I was afraid people had sat the bar so high in my mind for it that I was going to get off of the ride, and it would end up like Millennium Force. Boy was I wrong! Outlaw Run was one of the most amazing coasters I have ever been on, and it's still in my top 5!!!

[PCW_Nut]

Pleasant Surprise for me would be, wait for it, Hades 360.

 

I know a lot of the ride is essentially trying to kill you, and although I am not a huge fan of rough rides or rides you need to "learn how to ride", I found Hades 360 to be a coaster that pushed my limits of pain but oddly I would jump at the chance to ride it again.

[azza29]

Pleasant - Gwazi. I don't know if my taste in rollercoasters is going downhill but I definitely had fun with this one. It was rough but still hauled through the track like there was no tomorrow.

 

Unpleasant - Hair Raiser. I know some B&Ms can get the rattles over time but this was a whole new level. The coaster did not stop violently shaking from start to finish. Spectacular location but definitely the least re-rideable B&M I've encountered.

[CPmillenia94]

I think its interesting when people say that Intimidator 305 was an unpleasant suprise because it made them grey out. I've greyed out every time I have ridden it and I have never once had any concern or felt any discomfort from it. I think it adds to the holy crap sensation if anything..

Edited November 27, 2014 by CPmillenia94

[booink]

This summer, Predator at Darien Lake was surprisingly pleasant to me. According to reviews I had read and the fact that it's a Dinn coaster, I found it had a nice out and back layout, quite a lot of airtime, and it wasn't as rough as I expected - it wasn't glass smooth, but very decent. I rode it a few times

[Schrecken]

My most recent pleasant surprise was riding Cheetah Hunt at BGT. I was totally expecting a lame, boring coaster (based on some things I'd heard and just the layout of the ride) that wouldn't even hold a candle to its BGE counterpart Verbolten. But I actually liked it quite a lot - I'd say it was my third fave at that park, after Montu and Sheikra. And in some ways I like it better than Verbolten (though Verbolten wins for theming IMO), though it's hard for me to call a winner between the two. I like Cheetah Hunt because of the length of the ride, the unusual elements and the triple launch, and the fact that there's no head-banging despite it having OTSRs. But either way, it was certainly better than the yawn fest I was expecting.

 

Also on that trip another pleasant and unexpected surprise was that I actually managed to get a couple of small pops of airtime riding in the front of Big Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom. I didn't think there'd be any air time to be had in that particular Disney park.

 

I haven't had any really unpleasant surprises lately, the only thing that might come close was that I found Kumba to be rather unimpressive (despite its fan base), and there are B&M sit down coasters I like better.

[viking86]

^I have to agree with you about Cheetah Hunt, I definately enjoyed that ride more than I expected. A ride doesn't always have to be very intense, sometimes just pure fun is enough.

[djcoastermark]

Cheetah Hunt is just one heck of a fun ride. Pure and simple pleasure and smooth as ever. I laugh like crazy on it and reride it over and over, especially at night. The ravine run is fantastic then.