Coaster Fights: Gigacoasters

[certifiedcoastergeek]

At five parks (four in the United States, one in Japan), there are five roller coasters which tower over three hundred feet and which reach speeds in excess of ninety miles per hour. Two of these coasters were manufactured by Intamin, two were manufactured by B&M, and one was manufactured by Morgan. However, since the construction of Steel Dragon 2000, there has been an ongoing debate about which of these coasters is best. This debate has only intensified in the past five years with the construction of three new gigacoasters and the introduction of B&M as a new player in this revived and thriving coaster category. This year saw the construction of Fury 325, B&M's second gigacoaster at Carowinds and the world's talllest gigacoaster, eclipsing Steel Dragon by a mere seven feet. Many angry YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook commenters insist that Fury is the world's best, while others still accuse the coaster of being overrated. Since many of these commenters have no clue what they are talking about, I decided to bring the debate to the most knowledgable here at TPR. Personally, I have been on two of these coasters (Intimidator 305 and Fury 325) and prefer Intimidator 305, but I have yet to ride the remaining three (Millennium Force, Steel Dragon 2000, and Leviathan). Which do you prefer, and why?

[DoinItForTheFame]

Having only been on Millennium Force my vote is still going to go to Intimidator 305. Now Millennium Force is by no means a "bad" coaster... I had always heard how amazing Millennium Force is, how Millennium Force was so many people's number one coaster, how it had the best airtime they have ever experienced. . . I guess I was just so hyped up for the coaster that when I rode it... it never lived up to my expectations that was set by the reviews of others. To me Millennium Force has a great first drop, and first over banked turn... but after that I just get . . . Bored??

 

As for Intimidator 305... Just watching POVs of this coaster, and watching videos of this coaster I can tell it would be my favorite Giga coaster. It has an amazing drop, and some awesome low to the ground transisistions. Making my first trip out to ride it next summer and I am beyond excited!

[coasterbill]

Of the 3 I've ridden I'd rank them in this order,

 

1) Millennium Force

2) Fury 325

3) Intimidator 305

 

All 3 are amazing and out of about 250 coasters they're all in my top 10 so it's hard to say anything bad about any of them but I prefer Millennium Force as the speed is relentless, there are no trims anywhere and it has lap bars so you can throw your hands up. Unlike the other two coasters it's not in an open field so flying through tunnels and near buildings and trees only enhance that feeling of speed. Contrary to popular belief the ride does offer a good amount of airtime also and pulls some awesome g forces on the pullout of the drop and into the first turn.

 

Fury blew me away also but it does have one or 2 moments where it gives you a breather (like the helix) which you don't get at all on the other 2. This ride is relentless all the way to the turnaround though and offers more airtime than the other 2 coasters in my opinion.

 

I put Intimidator last because of the restraints. I'm NOT complaining about the restraints and the fact that it feels like a much shorter ride time, there's nothing wrong with them, they're not painful... like I said it's a top 10 ride for me. On a giga coaster I'd rather put my hands up though and enjoy the speed and airtime and the other 2 are much better for that. I LOVE I305 though. I don't want to nitpick but when comparing 3 elite rides you kind of have to in order to pick a favorite.

[Nwstone]

The only giga I've ridden is millennium force, so I don't knnow if I'm the most qualified to speak about this. But I'm one of those people who think MF is just a good ride. Like others I set my expectations way too high, before I rode it I assumed it would be my new #1. There were many great moments on this ride. The 1st drop is amazing, the two large hills also gave some really good airtime. But these were the only WOW moments in the ride. I could only assume that Intimidator 305 would be my favorite giga coaster because of my love for Maverick.

[CpBluestreakCp]

I've only rode Millennium Force and Fury so far. Out of those two, Millennium Force is superior in my book, but it isn't the best I've ever rode. I'm sure I305 would beat it out in a heartbeat.

 

Like others have said, MF is a little overhyped as a coaster. I'm not saying it isn't top 10 material because it is! I love the first drop, the first overbank and the two airtime hills. But other than that, it kinda gets a tad boring.

 

Fury was a great giga for B&M. Once again, not the best giga but B&M is getting better at them. I'm hoping the next B&M Giga gets even better.

 

But my vote goes for MF for now, once I try I305, I'm sure my opinion will be swayed.

[robbalvey]

Sorry, but I'm just not a fan of polls like this. In order for this to be a fair poll, everyone voting in them would have needed to be on ALL of the options, and I doubt that is the case for a lot of people, so then it just becomes a pointless poll with usually the one with the most riders winning. Not good data at all, IMO.

 

Locked.

[robbalvey]

...and to actually add some advice for future polls, try questions like "Which of these Giga's looks most interesting to you?" because that's a question that can be answered without having to ride each one. When you say "Which of these five are the best" the only way to get good data is if everyone responding has ridden all five. Do you understand where I'm coming from?

 

Create polls where the outcome could be REAL information that could be interesting to your reader, not a poll that creates a lopsided outcome.

Edited May 31, 2015 by robbalvey