David H Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Here's my top 50. While I usually have all of the clones pretty close together, the mega-lites were really different for me, and not just in theming. The span on my list is of 21 notches (between #15 and #36) between them. Some of that may very well be just from factors like how full the rides were or how broken in they were each day. Or some of it may have been maintenance or building differences. I don't know, but they definitely rode differently for me, with some of them being absolutely amazingly intense, and others being really good, but not quite on that level. But it does go to show much much some little factors can affect a coaster's ranking on our individual lists. Two coasters on my list probably don't get a fair shake. I rode I-305 (#53) at the worst time, after the brakes were added, but before the harnesses were changed. I really hated the old ones, which hurt my neck and shoulders and made the ride much less enjoyable for me. And I was just watching Robb's video of Atlantis Adventure (#49). Not only was the water much lower on my post-summer visit, but they didn't have the water spreaying on the tracks of the hills, which probably reduced the speed somewhat. But I can only rank them as how I actually rode them. Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,.5 Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,1 Pyrenees Parque EspaNa JP,y,y,2 Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,3 Texas Giant Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,4 Sky Scrapper World Joyland CN.y,y,5 Katun Mirabilandia IT,y,n,6 Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,7 Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES,y,n,8 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,9 Nemesis Alton Towers UK,y,n,10 Eejanaika Fujikyu HighLands JP,y.y,11 X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,12 Superman la Atraccion Parque Warner Madr ES,y,n,13 Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,n,14 Fly Over Mediterranea Happy Valley Chen CN.y,y,15 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,16 Crystal Wings Happy Valley Beij CN.y,y,17 Superman – Ultimate F Six Flags Parks **,y,n,18 Air Alton Towers UK,y,n,19 Kawasemi Tobu Zoo JP,y.y,20 iSpeed Mirabilandia IT,y,n,21 Manta SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,22 Chinese Fireball Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,23 Hungarian Horntail Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,24 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,25 Mountain Peak Jin Jiang CN,y,y,26 Goliath SF New England MA,y,n,27 Stunt Fall Parque Warner Madr ES,y,n,28 Mega-Lite Happy Valley Song CN.y,y,29 Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,30 Superman - Ride of St Six Flags America MD,y,n,31 Ride of Steel Darien Lake NY,y,n,32 Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE,y,n,33 Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,34 Kraken SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,35 Piraten Djurs Sommerland DK,y,n,36 Superman:Krypton Cstr Six Flags Fiesta T TX,y,n,37 Maverick Cedar Point OH,n,n,38 Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,39 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,40 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,n,41 Dinoconda China Dinosaur Par CN.y,y,42 Flight Deck California's Great CA,y,n,43 Talon Dorney Park PA,y,n,44 Green Lantern Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,45 Afterburn Carowinds NC,y,n,46 Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,n,47 Shockwave Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,48 Atlantis Adventure Lotte World KR,y.y,49 Nighthawk Carowinds NC,y,n,50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrzyjames Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 This was really hard to get everything ranked, there's so many options, and being crazy indecisive does not help! I had to group everything and then organize them within the groups to even get my rank positions, but the middle section doesn't matter as much right, so therefore I didn't stress over that section too badly. So here's the top of my poll: 1. Skyrush 2. Maverick 3. New Texas Giant 4. I-305 5. Bizzaro 6. Top Thrill Dragster 7. Xcelerator 8. Behemoth 9. Ride of Steel- Darien 10. Goliath- SFOG 11. Phantom's Revenge 12. Nitro 13. X2 14. Kumba 15. Magnum XL 200 16. Leviathan 17. Griffon/Sheikra 18. Storm Runner 19. Tenessee Tornado 20. Millennium Force 21. Mindbender- SFOG 22. Shockwave- SFOT 23. PowderKeg 24. Mr. Freeze- SFOT 25. Montu Bottom of the poll: Vortex- Great America Ninja- SFStL Zamperla Volare Ninja- SFOG Chance Toboggan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Don't forget: Ballots are due tomorrow! (Rent, too!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I guess I better do my ballot soon! 2 days left... btw when do results come up?? The results for the wooden one came after just a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomman295 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I feel the need to be creepy and ask where any of you placed the Manta at SWSD. I'm dying to know if any of you agree with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallpox Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Two coasters on my list probably don't get a fair shake. I rode I-305 (#53) at the worst time, after the brakes were added, but before the harnesses were changed. I really hated the old ones, which hurt my neck and shoulders and made the ride much less enjoyable for me. And I was just watching Robb's video of Atlantis Adventure (#49). Not only was the water much lower on my post-summer visit, but they didn't have the water spreaying on the tracks of the hills, which probably reduced the speed somewhat. But I can only rank them as how I actually rode them. why include them when you know full well that your experience is not representative of the current ride? isn't the poll made less accurate by your submission? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 ^Your mileage may vary. Personally, I305 has always been in my top five based on my experience with it. That's the only way you can rate a coaster--personal experience. This is all David did, and that's OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Two coasters on my list probably don't get a fair shake. I rode I-305 (#53) at the worst time, after the brakes were added, but before the harnesses were changed. I really hated the old ones, which hurt my neck and shoulders and made the ride much less enjoyable for me. And I was just watching Robb's video of Atlantis Adventure (#49). Not only was the water much lower on my post-summer visit, but they didn't have the water spreaying on the tracks of the hills, which probably reduced the speed somewhat. But I can only rank them as how I actually rode them. why include them when you know full well that your experience is not representative of the current ride? isn't the poll made less accurate by your submission? No, it's not actually. Because one persons ridership doesn't have as much impact on the rankings of the ride as the overall ridership does. Your response makes the assumption that David is the ONLY person out there with this opinion, and you don't know if that is the case or not. And that is why MItch's poll is the best out there and why I think EVERYONE, regardless of how many coasters you've ridden, should take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Ballot sent. I'm sure I'll soon be required to turn in my opinion badge. Here's my top 50 (plus two FREE bonus coasters). 01. X2 02. Maverick 03. NTAG 04. Goliath (SFMM) 05. Phantom's Revenge 06. Top Thrill Dragster 07. Aftershock 08. Medusa 09. Tatsu 10. Flight of Fear (KD) 11. Flight of Fear (KI) 12. Apollo's Chariot 13. Goliath (SFOG) 14. Intimidator 15. Raging Bull 16. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast (SFOT) 17. California Screamin' 18. Powder Keg 19. Favorite Batman 20. Mr. Freeze (SFStL) 21. Storm Runner 22. Montu 23. Volcano: The Blast Coaster 24. SheiKra 25. Griffon 26. Steel Hawg 27. Mamba 28. Steel Force 29. Flight Deck (CGA) 30. Poltergeist 31. Joker's Jinx 32. Millennium Force 33. Intimidator 305 34. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit 35. Cheetah Hunt 36. Superman Ultimate Flight (SFDK) 37. Titan 38. Nitro 39. Alpengeist 40. Talon 41. Superman: Ride of Steel 42. Kraken 43. Dominator 44. Kingda Ka 45. Diamondback 46. Steel Eel 47. Hydra 48. Kumba 49. Manta (SWO) 50. Raptor 51. Wildfire 52. Shock Wave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 You're going to have to pay for those bonus coasters, Laura! I agree with Robb and Chuck that we can only vote on what we've actually experienced. All coasters have variances that will factor into each of our rankings. Did you ride only early in the day when it hadn't broken in? Was the train nearly empty, slowing it down -- or giving it more of a rattle or shuffle, like in the case of some B&M's? Did you get an awesome nighttime ERT session? Were the staff particularly slow and annoying? Had the ride just gotten some much needed maintenance? Was some of the theming not working? Had the coaster just been greased that morning? Were the trim brakes on extra hard? Was it running badly due to weather? Had you not slept enough or weren't feeling well, which made you more sensitive to roughness that usual? Was the crowd particularly annoying? Or was it all TPR people having a great time? Or were you just in a great mood? All of these factors can alter how we enjoy coasters. But should we start handicapping our rankings to account for them? We can only rank the coasters based on how we actually experienced them, not how we should have theoretically experienced them. Look at my own rankings for the mega-lites. There are 21 notches between them. When you're down in the 100's or higher, that's not much. But in my top 40, that's quite a difference. But that was how I experienced them. In the case of !305, I do feel somewhat bad, since they've changed the ride. But that IS what I experienced. And if I shouldn't be able to vote on it, then neither should all of the people who only rode it when it first opened, before they added the brakes, since it may have run better back then. And people who rode a ride before it got maintenance shouldn't be able to rank it either. That becomes a slippery slope, since most of us wouldn't be able to vote on coasters any time they change anything. And if I305 is as good as everyone says, then all of the ballots that place it higher should effectively nullify my vote, especially since so many people have now ridden it. I also feel somewhat bad about Atlantis Adventure, since many fewer people will have ridden it, which will give my lower ranking of it more weight. But honestly, if they shut the water off for part of the year, and that slows down the ride, then shouldn't that be reflected in the ranking, at least somewhat? And remember that I have no idea if having the water off DOES slow it down; I was just speculating based on the fact that I ranked it lower than others have in the past. But let's say that it does impact on the ride, and they decide at some point to shut the water off all the time. Does that mean that all the people who only rode it during the TPR trips shouldn't vote on it any more? I don't think so. As Robb says, the best way to make the poll MORE accurate is to vote yourself. If everyone does, then this will all come out in the wash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azza29 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^Completely agree with this. For example, I imagine the 'favourite Vekoma SLC' is probably going to rank quite low on many lists. I've been lucky enough to ride one with new trains that make for a less traumatic ride, which changes my ranking. I can only rank coasters based on my experience, not on the "ideal" or "average" ride - whatever that might be. The best part of this poll is that it has so many data points and comparisons that one person's bad ride is unlikely to affect the final ranking of a coaster which most people ranked highly, and vice versa. Can't wait to see the results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonsaiisuperstar Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Mr Mitch Hawker needs someone with computer skills to make a better ballot. It's like a 9 yr old came up with it. Ease of use....zero. If he wants to be on top, he needs a top notch product, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyyyper Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Mr Mitch Hawker needs someone with computer skills to make a better ballot. It's like a 9 yr old came up with it. Ease of use....zero. If he wants to be on top, he needs a top notch product, sorry. Well, it has be readable by the language the poll algorithm is written in. Also, it should be a format everybody can open and edit, such as the txt and excel format. Besides, there already is a simple drag&drop helper available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wados Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 voted for the first time and cant wait to see the results. Will be able to add more to my list by next year as only 2 more months and im back to the states for some more coasters.....and holiday of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^^Why don't you come up with one then? Don't be obnoxious. The guy puts in a lot of hard work and time to do something for no return and has to deal with bitchy coaster enthusiasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Mr Mitch Hawker needs someone with computer skills to make a better ballot. It's like a 9 yr old came up with it. Ease of use....zero. If he wants to be on top, he needs a top notch product, sorry. I agree with Elissa--create your own "top notch product," then. Mitch, thanks for all the hard work you do on this poll--it is appreciated by the vast majority of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivtim Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 David, I'm in the same boat (ha!) as you with Atlantis Adventure. It was a good coaster, but wasn't a great coaster. I also rode it in November when the water was off, so maybe your theory is right. And same for I-305. It was OK, but pretty rough and with no airtime. That was just my experience, and I completely respect the people who love it. That's what's so great about Mitch's poll. You get to see the average ranking of a ride, with everyone's opinions taken into account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^Yep. I respect people who love Voyage, too, even though I'm not a fan after having ridden it at its best and its worst. It all boils down to personal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Mr Mitch Hawker needs someone with computer skills to make a better ballot. It's like a 9 yr old came up with it. Ease of use....zero. If he wants to be on top, he needs a top notch product, sorry. Why don't you come up with one then? Don't be obnoxious. The guy puts in a lot of hard work and time to do something for no return and has to deal with bitchy coaster enthusiasts. Couldn't have said it better. Not to mention that there IS an online version and for most people, the text ballot takes about 15-20 minutes to fill out. I personally think the ballot is not hard at all, I think some people are too dumb or lazy to comprehend it or fill it out. Not sure what it is lately, but theme park and coaster enthusiasts seem to have gotten WORSE with their constant bitching and it's terrible. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 And personal opinions, too. Some people can ride a top ranked coaster on its best day ever, and still won't love it. Hopefully, the poll can get a good average of everyone's feelings and experiences. That's admittedly harder with some of the lesser ridden coasters. But everyone's opinions are valid. As long as they agree with mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyRush Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^Exactly! The guy busts his nuts to get this done and people complain about it?! I do the online helper every year cause it is so easy. If you think its hard, or you cant complete it, then just dont do it. I think it is as simple enough and it shouldnt change. Love how this guy does it, GTA's are popularity and only certain people, this is plainly opinions of riders which is how it should be to get the most accurate rankings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
televisedconfession Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Every party has a pooper... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Ugh, I shouldn't have waited till the last minute...too many coasters!!! I seriously don't even remember some of these!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivtim Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^ Neil, you and your weird sex parties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Alright, I think I'm pretty much done... Top Coasters: Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere ** Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion VA Piraten Djurs Sommerland DK Fly Over Mediterranea Happy Valley Chen CN Mega-Lite Happy Valley Song CN Kawasemi Tobu Zoo JP Texas Giant Six Flags Over Tex TX Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL Bizarro SF New England MA SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL Winjas - Fear Phantasialand DE Winjas - Force Phantasialand DE Insane Grona Lund SE Chinese Fireball Islands of Adventu FL Hungarian Horntail Islands of Adventu FL Mindbender Galaxyland Amuseme AB Tornado Sarkanniemi FI Goliath Walibi Holland NL Atlantis Adventure Lotte World KR Ride of Steel Darien Lake NY Skyrush Hersheypark PA Storm Runner Hersheypark PA iSpeed Mirabilandia IT Superman Escape Warner Bros. Movie AU Supersonic Odyssey Cosmo's World MY Nemesis Alton Towers UK Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL Steeplechase Blackpool P.B. UK Bottom Coasters: Vortex Kings Island OH Hi-Miler Traveling US Huracan Belantis DE Ultimate Lightwater Valley UK Eejanaika Fujikyu HighLands JP Dragon Ocean Park HK Stunt Fall Parque Warner Madr ES Fav Zamperla Volare Any Park Anywhere ** Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA Vonkaputous Linnanmaki FI Mirage Rosso Zoosafari Fasanola IT Cobra Tivoli Friheden DK Dragon in Clouds Happy Valley Chen CN Sequoia Adventure Gardaland IT Screamin Squirrel Mysterious Island CN Dragon Adventureland IA Spinning Batman Shijingshan Beij. CN Goudurix Parc Asterix FR Shenzhou Coaster Shijingshan Beij. CN Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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