The Official Mitch Hawker 2012 Steel Coaster Poll Thread!

[Nyteowl]

^Wasn't Leviathan kind of like that too?

Yeah I'd say so. Amazing first drop and some nice sustained floater airtime with a little ejector in some areas. While it did feel short compared to similar rides, I loved the sense of speed on it, especially in the front row.

[coasterbill]

Everyone is already praising Intamin but nobody is mentioning the fact that it appears El Toro just got voted the best coaster in the world.

 

Mitch notes that

'Favorite Wood Coaster' would have finished #1 this year if it were included in the official results, winning all comparisons.

and while I haven't looked too far into this, I think it's reasonable to assume that the majority of people who voted in this poll also voted in the wood coaster poll and Mitch stated that in the wood coaster poll

"El Toro" had no close comparisons among mutual-riders this year, beating #2 "T Express" 11 to 5 and #3 "The Voyage" 88 to 60.

 

...so we can assume that it won pretty handily. If I'm interpreting this correctly, then that's another huge notch in Intamin's belt.

 

---

 

Also, a few comments on the steel coaster poll...

 

I've said this before but Bizarro isn't running as well as it used to, and I wouldn't be surprised if this coaster starts to drop off soon. It's still a good coaster, but I don't think it's worthy of it's #2 position.

 

Please explain how Top Thrill Dragster is at #29 and Kingda Ka is at #72. I understand one has lap bars... but that seems like a ridiculous gap.

 

SooperDooperLooper is at #213? I feel like this coaster should be much higher.

 

The Vekoma flyers seem to be grouped together in the 230's but I always thought these were great coasters, especially when compared to the Superman Ultimate Flight coasters which are some of the most boring coasters ever built but got ranked at 129. To each his own I guess.

[Condor]

I've said this before but Bizarro isn't running as well as it used to, and I wouldn't be surprised if this coaster starts to drop off soon. It's still a good coaster, but I don't think it's worthy of it's #2 position.

 

Please explain how Top Thrill Dragster is at #29 and Kingda Ka is at #72. I understand one has lap bars... but that seems like a ridiculous gap.

 

SooperDooperLooper is at #213? I feel like this coaster should be much higher.

 

The Vekoma flyers seem to be grouped together in the 230's but I always thought these were great coasters, especially when compared to the Superman Ultimate Flight coasters which are some of the most boring coasters ever built but got ranked at 129. To each his own I guess.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out to be right about Bizarro. I never rode it prior to 2012, but it did not feel like the ride I had heard so much about for a decade on the six rides I got last year.

 

The biggest difference between TTD and KIngda Ka for me is the roughness. Ka wants to rattle your brains out behind the first few rows while Dragster is still comparatively smooth. Combine that with Dragster's more scenic setting/visuals and that might explain it.

 

I agree on SooperDooperLooper. Maybe it will climb next season after more riders give it a chance with the new trains? I actually preferred it to Fahrenheit.

 

I also much prefer the Vekoma flyers to S:UF. I think this one might simply be a case of manufacturer bias to the detriment of Vekoma.

[cfc]

I have yet to ride TTD, but Kingda Ka is just lousy--rough, shaky, and unpleasant in the extreme.

[Philrad71]

I see that the 'Roller Coaster' at New York, NY in Las Vegas has fallen towards the bottom of the list from a #110 in 1999. I think that was around the time I rode it and I didn't remember it being that bad. But after reading the reviews and seeing the videos through the past several years, this thing looks to have gotten simply brutal.

 

In looking at the list, the Ninja (Arrow/Vekoma) coasters at SFGA & SFSL have worse rankings (unless you throw in the Chance toboggans/Volare's/Vekoma loopers). Do people on here that have ridden all three feel that way, or is Roller Coaster the absolute worst non cookie-cutter coaster in the US?

 

Of note...I forgot to warn my sister and brother in law about this coaster when they went to Vegas last week...and they rode it. And yep, they agreed that it was probably the worst roller coaster ride that they had ever had!

[SoCalCoasters]

Erm...the B&M Dive Coaster in China rated higher than Griffin? That seems a bit weird to me.

[TyRush]

^Trust me that the New York Coaster is awful. Just rode it a year and a half ago, just awful. Also, sooperdooperlooper should be up further! Its old, but man it still pulls some G's. its also relatively smooth

[PKI Jizzman]

We can also disagree on whether or not coasters are better at night.

I have never said that I don't feel some rides are "better" at night, I just don't think any ride I've been on is "significantly" better at night.

 

The Beast.

 

'nough said

 

I don't get this. The Beast absolutely sucks no matter what time of day you ride it. Maybe if it had like a train full of like 100 naked women it would be okay.

 

I agree that a great ride should be great no matter what. And the top coasters on this list do that. Very happy with the results- go Intamin and RCM!

 

The Beast only exists for night rides in the front seat honestly. So take it what it's worth for, which is little. It's an outdated ride even though they've tried to keep up with the re-tracking and all the brake updates. It's just annoying.

[cfc]

I kind of like the Beast, even though it isn't the most thrilling ride in existence. What makes it interesting for me is the rambling, eccentric layout and the "natural" setting (which is the real reason night rides are more enjoyable to me).

[MINICoupe]

I kind of like the Beast, even though it isn't the most thrilling ride in existence. What makes it interesting for me is the rambling, eccentric layout and the "natural" setting (which is the real reason night rides are more enjoyable to me).

 

In line for NTAG yesterday, someone wondered what The Beast would feel like with an RMC makeover. While I believe that it could be a far more interesting ride as an Iron Horse with some airtime and highly-banked turns, the thing that makes the ride is that it's completely unlike any other coaster. It is more like a big scenic railway than a wood coaster and IMHO it really needs that rattling, shaking, rumbling action in the trains to enhance the out-of-control feeling. If it were smooth, I don't think you'd get the sensation of speed as much, even if the ride were legitimately faster. To that effect, even Topper Track might kill the ride.

 

A friend of mine - not an enthusiast, but someone who does like coasters - rode The Beast for the first time two years ago. Even though we rode far "better" coasters on that trip (including everything at Holiday World), The Beast was his favorite by far. He loved that the ride felt more like a "journey to somewhere and back while trying to escape from some unseen terror" than just a series of drops and turns.

 

We did get one night ride on it and for him it was almost a religious experience. He'd never been on anything like that before and he said that the darkness back there in the woods was "absolutely terrifying" and he could never predict which way the next turn would go. He loved the daytime rides. After the nighttime ride, he was ready to start house shopping in the Cinci area so he could ride it more often.... and he's just a casual coaster person.

 

So in spite of the opinions of the more jaded and well-traveled enthusiasts who require thrills based on airtime, laterals, drops, etc who consider a coaster like The Beast to be "crap" due to its lack of those things, the general public (which make up the vast majority of ticket sales, after all) LOVE this ride for what it is, not what they imagine it should be. As for the "is it significantly better at night" argument, just look at the length of the queue one hour before sundown... and again after it gets dark.

[rollin_n_coastin]

Kinda fun talking about The Beast in a steel poll thread

 

I rode it for the first time on my first visit to the park in 2012 and loved it. The Beast is a journey worth taking and I loved it as much in the day as I did at night, which is the case for all of the favorites. Sure, it won't rank as high as others as it is more like a mine train on steroids, made out of wood, which doesn't exactly compare to El Toro, Voyage or Boulder Dash, but I don't see that as being such a bad thing whatsoever. The music, surroundings, crazy layout, natural terrain--amazing as it is unlike anything out there.

 

Since this is a steel poll thing--can I say Go Intamin again and can I keep saying it? Seeing all of them ranking as they do still makes me happier than kid at Sugar Mountain.

 

Thanks for bringing this back Mitch!

[cfc]

^Yep--it's good to see Intamin getting the recognition it deserves (especially for the Mega Lites).

[Philrad71]

I kind of like the Beast, even though it isn't the most thrilling ride in existence. What makes it interesting for me is the rambling, eccentric layout and the "natural" setting (which is the real reason night rides are more enjoyable to me).

 

 

I agree. I love the layout and night rides in the front seat are definitely quite the adventure. Although I feel the same as a lot of folks in thinking that you shouldn't have to ride a coaster in a specific spot at a specific time of day to get an enjoyable ride, I have to say that Beast really is one of those coasters that is the exception to the rule for me.

 

Day ride in any seat on Beast? Meh...just not very good.

 

Night ride in the front seat of Beast after a couple Christian Moerliens IPA's at the bier garten? Definitely a top ten wooden coaster for me and my Dad, although the rest of my family that rode it in the 2nd and 3rd rows on a different train all agreed that it was horrible.

 

Of note: we also rode Vortex right before that & that coaster just plain sucks no matter when or where you ride...even after a couple of beers to numb any pain that could be encountered during riding.

 

 

On a separate note, I was talking with my sister again about the coaster at New York, NY in Vegas last night and she said that she still had bruises (a week later) on her shoulders from riding it - definitely makes sense why this is ranked so low on the poll!

[Condor]

As one of the most legendary and significant wooden coasters of all time (regardless of how it rides now), I don't feel like The Beast should get an Iron Horse makeover. I think a RMC topper track re-tracking with Gerstlauer trains would be much more suitable..

 

Back to steel coasters. I'm curious, why are coasters like boomerangs and shuttle loops all grouped into single categories while the GIB's and standard model impulses have separate listings for each installation?

[Ultimate]

Back to steel coasters. I'm curious, why are coasters like boomerangs and shuttle loops all grouped into single categories while the GIB's and standard model impulses have separate listings for each installation?

 

Not sure about GIB's, but the Intamin Impulse coasters are not identical. Wicked Twister has two spirals, V2 has the weird angled hill and the rest are AFAIK different heights. I actually disagree with groupings, as one Boomerang can be smooth and the other rattly and awful.

[larrygator]

Back to steel coasters. I'm curious, why are coasters like boomerangs and shuttle loops all grouped into single categories while the GIB's and standard model impulses have separate listings for each installation?

 

Not sure about GIB's, but the Intamin Impulse coasters are not identical. Wicked Twister has two spirals, V2 has the weird angled hill and the rest are AFAIK different heights. I actually disagree with groupings, as one Boomerang can be smooth and the other rattly and awful.

 

Mitch tweaks the coasters listed in the poll over time, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the GIB grouped together someday.

[Condor]

standard model impulses

 

Not sure about GIB's, but the Intamin Impulse coasters are not identical. Wicked Twister has two spirals, V2 has the weird angled hill and the rest are AFAIK different heights. I actually disagree with groupings, as one Boomerang can be smooth and the other rattly and awful.

 

You're not wrong but....

[cfc]

I actually disagree with groupings, as one Boomerang can be smooth and the other rattly and awful.

 

That's why you're supposed to rate your "favorite" Boomerang. To me, they tend to run together, and even my "favorite" Boomerang (the one at Power Park) isn't a particularly good ride.

[larrygator]

I actually disagree with groupings, as one Boomerang can be smooth and the other rattly and awful.

 

That's why you're supposed to rate your "favorite" Boomerang. To me, they tend to run together, and even my "favorite" Boomerang (the one at Power Park) isn't a particularly good ride.

 

And the one at Wiener Prater is far superior to all the other boomerangs.