What's your most hated coaster company?

[Projektion]

I found some off-ride footage of the Tower Coaster a long time ago and literally thought about it as soon as I saw the pictures posted. All I had to do was search 'scary roller coaster'. Let's watch . . .

 

They also made the spine-crushingly painful looking Cool and Fresh, A.K.A., the Tower Coaster. You know, from RCT3? I've heard that it's on the fair circuit in Australia right now.

 

This might be it . . .

 

Watch the rider's necks when the car goes down the first drop.

 

 

So yeah . . . SBF gets my vote; I can't imagine how awful the knock-offs must be.

 

When I saw that type of ride in RCT3 for the first time I just thought it was in the game just because they couldn't make a good looking eurofighter style ride. I couldn't believe it was an actual ride when I came across that video for the first time.

[Noporian]

Intamin is over-rated.

Agreed.

 

It seems that some people say Vekoma because of some rides like SLC and Boomerangs, even though so many of their rides are good.

 

Intamin has made so many good coasters but what about:

1st gen free-fall

some multi inversions

some zacspins

Kingdaka

 

to list a few mistakes.

 

Intamin takes risks, and when you take risks you're going to have a few duds. But you're also going to get some amazing rides. And by the way, a lot of people love 1st gen Free Falls and I really have no idea why you would ever put Kingda Ka on this list as it draws hour+ lines all the time even though it's about a decade old.

 

Actually none of the things you mentioned are really duds. I think they're just things that you personally don't like.

 

For me, I haven't had the "pleasure" of riding a Golden Horse coaster so I'll go with Togo because they made Viper and that's by far the worst ride I've ever ridden.

 

A bad ride doesn't mean it's not popular. Most SLCs are popular but bad. Kingdaka is here because i've heard a lot of complaints on the train shaking and hurting their necks. Some zacspins are here because of the newest one in Six Flags due to complaints, and 1st gen freefalls are neck hurting commonly and well, some of the multi inversion coasters have been quite rough.

 

Btw my worst is zamperla because the only good coaster they make is twister.

I actually really like vekoma dispite of some fails.

[gerstlaueringvar]

^ The Zamperla mine train at Ocean Park is actually a great coaster with some sweet airtime. I prefer that over Dive Machine.

 

Despite for all Chinese knock-off companies, I'll go for Vekoma and Gravity Group.

[Woodie Warrior]

I can't say I hate, or even dislike, and coaster company. But the Chinese knock-offs look really bad.

[azza29]

I'm surprised by all the Vekoma hate - the SLCs and Boomerangs can be a little rough but not enough to make me "hate" them.

 

Togo is probably the worst I've experienced, although admittedly I've never ridden any of their Japansese coasters.

 

Zamperla's Volare is clearly designed to punish rather than thrill.

[Woodie Warrior]

Speaking of Volare's, I told my dad that there were amusement parks in North Korea. To prove it to him I brought up RCDB on my laptop and clicked on the first coaster I could find. Turned out to be a Volare. He thought it was funny that "North Korea makes their citizens ride in cages".

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Not that I particularly hate them, but the invoices I used to get from Intamin and B&M were darn near indecipherable.

[KBrylczyk]

Not that I particularly hate them, but the invoices I used to get from Intamin and B&M were darn near indecipherable.

 

They're not special in that regard. I feel most companies make their invoices laughably insane. I think that's the only way the accounting department can get its laughs.

[Kyle Coleman]

Going to have to go with togo on this one. They made the roller coaster at new York new York. I don't think I need to explain myself any further.

[A.J.]

I really dislike Chinese coaster companies that create reverse-engineered rides. I understand that they're perfectly within their legal rights to do so, but it drives me nuts that they can't do anything original.

[Movieguy]

^ Before we continue to crap on China, let us not forget that before the 80's, Japan created a lot of cheap knock-offs of everything, including roller coasters. The Matterhorn knockoff at Nara Dreamland is a testament to this fact. Let us not also forget that Japan later on went on to make some pretty damn good coasters...in Japan anyway.

[JJLehto]

For me...Vekoma

I know I know, how uninspired. I just think they suck. Not saying there's not a few good ones, but ugh...and they have so few claims to fame. Pretty much the boomerang, SLC (which are painful as hell) and the Flying coaster. But yeah I avoid Vekoma's even if it means missing creds!

 

However, there are clearly worse ones, I've just not been on any (or enough) ones like Togo, RCCA and whoever makes all the various Chinese knock offs

[Werner]

i have to go with RCCA! What a terrible line of coasters did they produce...

 

I just don't get the 'hate' for Vekoma, not the most smooth coaster company out there. But you get what you pay for, if you give them 20-25 million to build a coaster you will get a ride just as good as from B&M or intamin. It;s just that they also choose to produce coasters for a way lower price with the feel of a big ride. This meaning the 'stock' of Boomerangs and SLC's, a lot of parks needed this rides to be able to draw in more crowds. And are now able to affort even bigger rides that we now love! Or maybe this is just my view because i'm Dutch...

[australianalex]

I hate most of the Italian companies when it comes to coasters, with the possible exception of Zamperla, who occasionally make decent coasters. The companies are largely quite good when it comes to flat rides, but not coasters. I have a certain bone to pick with Preston and Barbieri, who's family coaster at Mirabilandia was not only forceless but unforgivably brutal.

 

I just don't get the 'hate' for Vekoma, not the most smooth coaster company out there. But you get what you pay for, if you give them 20-25 million to build a coaster you will get a ride just as good as from B&M or intamin. It;s just that they also choose to produce coasters for a way lower price with the feel of a big ride. This meaning the 'stock' of Boomerangs and SLC's, a lot of parks needed this rides to be able to draw in more crowds. And are now able to affort even bigger rides that we now love! Or maybe this is just my view because i'm Dutch...

I don't really get the hate either. They had a rough start, but as of late they've been building some really decent coasters. I can understand people hating them in the 90s when they were churning out SLCs, but at the moment I think we should give them credit where credit is due.

[gerstlaueringvar]

^ Before we continue to crap on China, let us not forget that before the 80's, Japan created a lot of cheap knock-offs of everything, including roller coasters. The Matterhorn knockoff at Nara Dreamland is a testament to this fact. Let us not also forget that Japan later on went on to make some pretty damn good coasters...in Japan anyway.

There's a bit different. Japan never or seldom completely copy a coaster like Chinese companies. But as of now, Chinese companies seems like they love what they are doing because cheap parks can only buy their products to match the budget. Making original things or not, they still have their customers, so they don't think designing original rides are necessary. They can't compete with Intamin anyway.

[Randomman295]

Am I the only damn person on this entire forum who doesn't think that Boomerangs are that bad?

[Woodie Warrior]

Am I the only damn person on this entire forum who doesn't think that Boomerangs are that bad?

I've only been on one (SFSTL), and I actually kind of like it. Guess I'm just weird

[gerstlaueringvar]

^ I'm with you. SFFT's Boomerang is quite fun but Six Flags St. Louis' Boomerang is horrible.

Edited December 27, 2013 by gerstlaueringvar

[Woodie Warrior]

^ I'm with you. SFFT's Boomerang is quite fun but Six a Flags St. Louis' Boomerang is horrible.

How is the one at SFSTL horrible?

[gerstlaueringvar]

^ I'm with you. SFFT's Boomerang is quite fun but Six a Flags St. Louis' Boomerang is horrible.

How is the one at SFSTL horrible?

The head banging on the boomerang element, the stupid second lift hill which nearly opened my head... It's modified but still a bad ride.

 

Plus, Screamin' Eagle's beautiful view is destroyed by it!

[Randomman295]

SFFT's Boomerang is quite fun

I liked it, mediocre but enjoyable. EXCEPT FOR THE LINE.

Holy crap. All of its in the sun from like 10-5, and in Texas anytime between june and september, that's bad news if the line is longer than 20 minutes.

 

Also even though it's not photogenic at all, I like Knott's Boomerang. The new trains are great.

[XII]

I don't hate any roller coaster company, but out of all the ones that I've ridden coasters from (So No Chinese Knock-Offs), my least favorite would definetly be O.D Hopkins (Kind of surprised they haven't been mentioned yet). They haven't created many roller coasters, but the ones they did make are either at the bottom of the barrel (Dragon @ Adventureland) or just poorly designed (Desert Storm).

That loop does not look right. (Photo from TPR)

[Gnome]

It's honestly hard to say what coaster company I hate the most. In recent years even the "sub-par" manufacturers have joined the 21st century in precision designing. Its hard to hold the Vekoma designed SLC's of the 90's against Vekoma's newer and much more improved designs today.

 

If anything, I would say that my current least favorite company is probably B&M. Why? Because their layouts just seem so stale and uninspired. Especially when you look at what other companies are designing, it feels like B&M are only trying to get by with gimmick coaster trains but they never really improve or expand of the layouts of their rides.

[Movieguy]

Remember folks, you can't spell Pinfari without PAIN!

[Woodie Warrior]

In recent years even the "sub-par" manufacturers have joined the 21st century in precision designing. Its hard to hold the Vekoma designed SLC's of the 90's against Vekoma's newer and much more improved designs today.

I completely agree with you on this. They have done some really great work with Disney, such as Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest, and Big Grizzly Mountain.