The Official Mitch Hawker 2012 Steel Coaster Poll Thread!

[JJLehto]

it seems i305 is going to win

 

Remember we can only see the people that have posted there's in this thread! It'll probably go very high again, (was #3 in 2010) but I don't know if anything will overtake Bizarro.

Curious to see where Skyrush will fall, as well as Leviathan and Shambhala.

based on what ive seen in this thread (i know its not enough) but bizarro seems to be lower than it used to...

about skyrush, shambhala and leviathan i'm pretty sure they will all rank high

 

I mean hey, it's possible. I'd find it pretty funny that so many (or maybe just a vert vocal few) hate the ride with a passion and yadda yadda its the devil...they'd flip a lid if I305 ended up as #1!

[bottom_feeder_13]

It's really interesting to see the wide variance in the top 10 of steel ballots while the wood ones were fairly consistent.

[stashua123]

I Voted!!!!

 

Went on 9 steel coasters this year!

[coasterbill]

Bizarro (SFNE) - It has become an inconsisent ride. Sometimes it just blows me away and makes me say #1, and other times it is just Top 10 material.

 

I totally agree. I've probably ridden this coaster more than any other coaster since we've had Six Flags season passes since 2000 and used to visit that park about 5-10 times a year. Superman used to give an amazing ride every time we rode it but for some reason it's not the same as it used to be. The new lap bars are really uncomfortable but I can look past that, my big issue is that for some reason the coaster just seems to drag through the course. We've had some great rides on Bizarro this year but on some days I actually had more enjoyable rides on Batman (is it just me or does that ride get better with age... still nowhere near my top 10 list but it's a solid ride), Thunderbolt and Goliath.

 

I'm not sure why this coaster feels like it drags sometimes, maybe it's because it actually does, maybe it's because we're spoiled by the fact that El Toro is the same distance away and it makes Bizarro's airtime seem underwhelming or maybe it's a combination of both but this ride doesn't appeal to me the way it used to. Is it still great? Absolutely. But I don't think it should be listed at #1 anymore.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Here's my ballot. Perhaps a few oddities, but hey, I'm a strange person.

 

--Generator: Jordan's Ballot Helper 2012 (steel)--

--Ballot: 9f1a03d083b--

LOCATION IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN BALLOT)

~"Naples, Italy"

NAME IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN THE BALLOT)

~"Patrick Carnahan"

RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE

Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,1

Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,2

Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,3

Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,4

Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,5

Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,6

COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE

Goliath Walibi Holland NL,y,y,1

Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE,y,y,2

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,3

X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,4

XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,5

Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,n,6

Katun Mirabilandia IT,y,y,7

Kraken SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,8

Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,n,9

Black Mamba Phantasialand DE,y,y,10

Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES,y,y,11

Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,12

SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,13

Medusa SF Discovery Kingd CA,y,n,14

Manta SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,15

Blue Fire Megacoaster Europa Park DE,y,y,16

Hollywood Rip Ride Ro Universal Studios FL,y,n,17

iSpeed Mirabilandia IT,y,y,18

Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,19

Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,20

Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,21

Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,22

Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,23

Flight Deck California's Great CA,y,n,24

Monster Walygator FR,y,y,25

Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,n,26

Expedition Everest Disney Animal King FL,y,n,27

Poltergeist Six Flags Fiesta T TX,y,n,28

Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,n,29

Shock Rainbow Magicland IT,y,y,30

Superman:Krypton Cstr Six Flags Fiesta T TX,y,n,31

California Screamin' Disney CA Adventur CA,y,n,32

Xpress Walibi Holland NL,y,y,33

Rock n Roller Coaster Disney's H Studios FL,y,n,34

Rock n Roller Coaster Walt Disney Paris FR,y,y,35

Raptor Gardaland IT,y,y,36

Wicked Twister Cedar Point OH,y,n,37

Aftershock Silverwood ID,y,n,38

V2: Vertical Velocity SF Discovery Kingd CA,y,n,39

Krake Heide Park DE,y,y,40

Mammut Gardaland IT,y,y,41

Steel Eel SeaWorld San Anton TX,y,n,42

Winjas - Force Phantasialand DE,y,y,43

Winjas - Fear Phantasialand DE,y,y,44

Chinese Fireball Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,45

Desert Race Heide Park DE,y,y,46

Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,47

Vertical Velocity Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,48

Senzafiato Miragica IT,y,n,49

Silver Star Europa-Park DE,y,y,50

Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,51

OzIris Parc Asterix FR,y,y,52

Eurofighter Zoosafari Fasanola IT,y,n,53

Van Helsing's Factory Movie Park DE,y,y,54

Euro-Sat Europa-Park DE,y,y,55

Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,56

Hungarian Horntail Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,57

Euro-Mir Europa-Park DE,y,y,58

Fav Schw Shuttle loop Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,59

Superman – Ultimate F Six Flags Parks **,y,n,60

Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,61

Dragon Mountain Marineland Theme P ON,y,n,62

Dizz Bobbejaanland BE,y,y,63

Typhoon Bobbejaanland BE,y,y,64

Silver Bullet Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,65

Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,66

Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios FL,y,n,67

Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios CA,y,n,68

Poseidon Europa-Park DE,y,y,69

Divertical Mirabilandia IT,y,y,70

Fav Motocoaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,71

Fav Half Pipe Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,72

Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,73

Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,74

Fav Mack YoungStar Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,75

Fav Gerstlauer Spinn. Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,76

Furius Baco Port Aventura ES,y,y,77

Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,78

Vortex California's Great CA,y,n,79

Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,80

Crush's Coaster Walt Disney Paris FR,y,y,81

Vliegende Hollander Efteling NL,y,y,82

Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,83

Fav Loop. Star/S.Arr. Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,84

Gemini Cedar Point OH,y,n,85

Demon California's Great CA,y,n,86

Demon Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,87

Schweizer Bobbahn Heide Park DE,y,y,88

Schweizer Bobbahn Europa-Park DE,y,y,89

Olandese Volante Rainbow Magicland IT,y,y,90

Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,91

Matterhorn Blitz Europa-Park DE,y,y,92

Matterhorn Bobsleds Disneyland CA,y,n,93

Sierra Sidewnder Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,94

Cagliostro Rainbow Magicland IT,y,y,95

Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld San Diego CA,y,n,96

Indiana Jones et le t Disneyland Paris FR,y,y,97

Vogel Rok Efteling NL,y,y,98

Fav Mack Supersplash Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,99

Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,100

Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,101

Temple of Nighthawk Phantasialand DE,y,y,102

Trace Du Hourra Parc Asterix FR,y,y,103

Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH,y,n,104

Dream Catcher Bobbejaanland BE,y,y,105

Fav Wildcat Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,106

Fav Windstorm Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,107

Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,108

Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,109

Fav City Jet/Jumbo V Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,110

Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,111

Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,112

Fav Zyklon Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,113

Evolution Bobbejaanland BE,y,y,114

Fav Arrow Mine Train Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,115

Fav Vek Susp Family Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,116

Fav Tivoli Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,117

Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,118

Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,119

Sequoia Adventure Gardaland IT,y,y,120

Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,n,121

Mirage Rosso Zoosafari Fasanola IT,y,n,122

Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,n,123

Space Mountain Disneyland CA,y,n,124

Colorado Adventure Phantasialand DE,y,y,125

Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,126

Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,y,127

Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland CA,y,n,128

Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,y,129

Goudurix Parc Asterix FR,y,y,130

[David H]

You can't spell "No, it's overrated" without Nitro.

 

LOL! My thoughts, exactly. I think that Nitro and Millennium Force are probably the two most overrated steel coasters out there. Apollo is really the only one of the early B&M hypers that I really like a lot. And I'm a B&M fanboy, but only for their powerful loopers. I think that Nitro and Raging Bull are way overrated. One of my friends actually fell asleep on Nitro during an ERT session! I have Nitro at #100, Bull at #131 and MF at #91.

 

Speaking of B&M's, I still don't understand why Montu doesn't rank higher than it does. It's at least as powerful as Katun and Nemesis, and is pretty close with Pyrenees. And it blows away any other looper in the US, except maybe Kumba.

 

As for I305, I almost feel like I shouldn't put it on my ballot, since I rode it at the worst possible time. They'd already added the brakes, but hadn't yet changed the painful over the shoulder harnesses. I usually don't mind some headbanging, but I found it on I305 to be particularly painful, which really hurt my enjoyment of the ride. It's still my #53 steel, out of around 850, which is damn good. But I know that I'd like it a LOT more now. I don't imagine it would be a top 10 for me, but I bet it would make my top 20. But I can only rank it based on what I actually experienced.

Edited February 19, 2013 by David H

[alpengeist04]

The thing with Nitro is that the first half of the coaster is so blah, while the helix and bunny hops at the end are really fun. If they could have matched the fun factor of the ending with the first half of the ride, it would definitely be in my top 5. As it is, I have still have it in the 20-25 range. ...Solid coaster, but not mind blowing.

[thrillerman1]

Whew done. I only had about 10 or so coasters to add, but it was really time consuming redoing my old ballot from 2 years ago since a lot had changed. The time spent is definitely worth it though for what I feel is still the best voting method available. Reminder the cutoff deadline is in 4 more days on the 28th!

[cfc]

^I had quite a few to add since the last steel poll, so it's been a bit tricky for me, too--also rethought some old rankings.

[ginzo]

One of my friends actually fell asleep on Nitro during an ERT session!

 

Falling asleep on pretty much any coaster indicates tiredness more than anything else.

[thrillerman1]

^I had quite a few to add since the last steel poll, so it's been a bit tricky for me, too--also rethought some old rankings.

 

I did a bit of that too, Chuck. I always try to take into consideration the feelings I had at the time I rode it though before jumping too hastily into changes.

[Atadritaata]

One of my friends actually fell asleep on Nitro during an ERT session!

 

Falling asleep on pretty much any coaster indicates tiredness more than anything else.

actually that means its smooth, you wont sleep on an slc even if its boring becouse of the roughness

[smallpox]

you wont sleep on an slc even if its boring becouse of the roughness

 

don't be so sure: drowsiness is a common symptom of a severe concussion!

[cfc]

^I had quite a few to add since the last steel poll, so it's been a bit tricky for me, too--also rethought some old rankings.

 

I did a bit of that too, Chuck. I always try to take into consideration the feelings I had at the time I rode it though before jumping too hastily into changes.

 

What's stumping me are the Chinese B&M Dive Machines. Griffon and Sheikra have been top-ten rides for me for a few years, but I just can't see having four Dive Machines in my top ten, when they're all essentially the same ride (with and without theming). The Intamin Mega-Lites are all the same to me, too (all great rides, though).

 

I'll probably end up elevating the Mega-Lites and moving the Dive Machines down a bit.

[cfc]

OK, I finally worked this out--I hope. Maybe I'll use the "grouping" method for the poll next year. Here's my top 25:

 

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1

Texas Giant Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,2

Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE,y,n,3

Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion VA,y,y,4

Goliath Walibi World NL,y,n,5

Phantom's Revenge Kennywood Park PA,y,n,6

Nemesis Alton Towers UK,y,n,7

Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,8

Shockwave Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,9

Mega-Lite Happy Valley Song CN,y,y,10

Fly Over Mediterranea Happy Valley Chen CN,y,y,11

Piraten Djurs Sommerland DK,y,n,12

Montu Busch Gardens Afri FL,y,n,13

SheiKra Busch Gardens Afri FL,y,n,14

Griffon Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,y,15

Dive Coaster Happy Valley Song CN,y,y,16

Dive Machine Chimelong Paradise CN,y,y,17

Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,18

Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,y,19

Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios FL,y,y,20

Cheetah Hunt Busch Gardens Tamp FL,n,n,21

Big Grizzly Mountain HK Disneyland HK,y,y,22

Powder Keg Silver Dollar City MO,y,n,23

Superman Escape Warner Bros. Movie AU,n,n,24

Hollywood Rip Ride Ro Universal Studios FL,y,y,25

 

And the bottom 10 Hall of Shame:

 

Tulireki Linnanmaki FI,y,n,246

Cobra Tivoli Friheden DK,y,n,247

MegaBlitz Coney Beach UK,y,n,248

Goudurix Parc Asterix FR,y,n,249

G Force Drayton Manor UK,y,n,250

Eejanaika Fujikyu HighLands JP,y,n,251

Great American Scream Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,252

Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,253

Ninja Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,254

Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,n,255

 

The Hall of Shame is the same as last year, but my top 25 saw a few significant changes.

[A.J.]

Seems like you would want some more of the "clones" to be grouped together - like SheiKra/Diving Coaster/Dive Coaster, Kawasemi/Piraten/Mega-Lite/Mediterranean, Colossus/10-Inversion, and others.

 

At the same time, I realize that not all "clones" ride exactly the same, much like how the Rides of Steel are now owned by different companies. Maybe I'm just full of garbage here.

[cfc]

I take theming into account, too. Even though the ride itself is exactly the same, Sheikra is better themed than it's Chinese cousins, and Griffon is a different layout. I did group 10 Inversion Coaster and Colossus together, but I didn't want to put the whole list here. All the Space Mountains are together, as well (with WDW's on top of the bunch).

[thrillerman1]

Glad to see TG and Mindbender in your top 10, Chuck!

[cfc]

^Those two have been constants since I first rode them. I moved the Mega-Lites up a bit, too, now that I've been on more than just Piraten.

[SharkTums]

I guess I better do my ballot soon!

[Atadritaata]

I guess I better do my ballot soon!

2 days left...

btw when do results come up??

[TyRush]

I guess I better do my ballot soon!

2 days left...

btw when do results come up??

Probably within the next few weeks.

[televisedconfession]

This poll stresses me out to no end... But here are my top 25 and bottom 5:

 

COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1

Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE,y,y,2

Blue Fire Megacoaster Europa Park DE,y,y,3

Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,n,4

Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,5

Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,6

Behemoth Canadas Wonderland ON,y,n,7

Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,8

X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,9

Nemesis Alton Towers UK,y,n,10

Winjas - Fear Phantasialand DE,y,y,11

Winjas - Force Phantasialand DE,y,y,12

Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,n,13

Monster Walygator FR,y,y,14

SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,15

Euro-Mir Europa-Park DE,y,y,16

Manta SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,17

Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,n,18

Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,19

Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,20

Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,n,21

Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,22

Krake Heide Park DE,y,y,23

Cheetah Hunt Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,24

Black Mamba Phantasialand DE,y,y,25

Desert Race Heide Park DE,y,y,26

 

 

Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,141

Sequoia Adventure Gardaland IT,y,y,142

Ninja Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,143

Roller Coaster New York New York NV,y,n,144

Goudurix Parc Asterix FR,y,y,145

 

 

A lot has changed, and I'm not even going to say this is my 100% truthful list. It's just the best one I could come up with. I really don't like ranking coasters because once they're layed out, I sit there and wonder why this coaster is over this coaster but not over this one and I get really stressed out when filling this out. So take it for what it is as it might change tomorrow.

[booink]

Voted about 2 weeks ago, can't wait to see the results ! (I hope Goliath at La Ronde will be well ranked like in 2010, it was 14th out of 343 and that's at my home park ! Go Goliath ! )

[David H]

I sent mine in a couple of days ago. I ranked the top 150 or so individually, then grouped the remaining half of the list into 6 other groups.

 

For those who just ranked the top coasters on their list, be sure to still list the others, even if you give them all the same ranking. For instance, if you ranked your top 25, then give everything else a 100, or something like that. Or put the rest into a few large groups (say 100, 200 and 300.) That way, it gives the coasters you did vote for more valid pairings and more data points for the poll. That could actually make a big difference in the poll, especially with the lesser ridden coasters.

 

The individual coasters mainly get ranked on their losses and blemishes as compared to how many valid pairings they have. Mane of the lesser ridden coasters don't have nearly as many valid pairings. So adding more would only help them, by increasing their percentage. Plus, it also helps prevent a few outlier opinions from changing the top rankings around.

 

On the wooden poll, there are a couple of good examples where a coaster got a blemish due to having few valid comparisons. For instance both T-Express and Balder tied Zippen Pippen. While I'm sure Zippen Pippen is a great coaster, it seems unlikely that it's actually as good as either of those two coasters, considering that Zippen Pippen ranked at #26 while T-Express was #2 and Balder was #6. But with a few more valid comparisons, that would have shaken out naturally.