TPR 2017 Coaster Poll Results!

[cfc]

^I think the answer, at least for me, is that Gringotts doesn't quite qualify as a coaster--it's more of a dark ride.

[coasterbill]

Oh, I absolutely agree. My question is that if that's the view of the person ranking it, what causes them to finally say "Okay, this is where I'm putting Gringotts since it's not really a coaster... right after Silver Bullet but before the Mine Train at Ocean Park ".

 

I feel like people just pick a completely arbitrary spot and stick it there and if that's the case, why even rank it? I'm not questioning anyone's system since I'm awful at this, I'm just curious how people came up with a place to put this thing.

[Canobie Coaster]

Gringotts was hard to rank because of how unique it is, but I basically asked myself the following for each coaster- if I had an ERT session on Ride X or Ride Y, which would I pick. I did the same thing for other borderline coasters like Journey to Atlantis. I wouldn't intentionally knock a ride down just for not being a traditional coaster, but my preference does tend to lean towards more traditional coasters. That's why I prefer Universal's other coasters like Hulk, Mummy, or Rockit over Gringotts.

 

And Wooden Warrior is awesome. It has more airtime than you'd ever expect for a coaster just 30 feet tall.

[coasterbill]

And Wooden Warrior is awesome. It has more airtime than you'd ever expect for a coaster just 30 feet tall.

 

Oh we rode it and it was a lot of fun but I mean... that vs Gringotts? Come on.

[CoasterAuditor]

Gringott's is definitely weird to compare to something like Montu

 

A debate would between the two would be ridiculous "man I love the part on gringotts where the *spoiler* thing happens" "oh man but Montu's batwing is just ridiculous with the positive Gs" "still not as intense is the harry potter character shooting you with lightning on a screen!"

[Canobie Coaster]

^^ I prefer airtime over projections of Voldemort and the Weasleys.

 

Also looking through the rankings, I'm stunned to see Flash ranked so low. That coaster looked amazing and remember reading a very positive review on one of the few Lewa Adventure reports I've seen.

[michaellynn4]

I've been on 12 of the 25 best coasters (most recently Iron Rattler on Saturday - holy s**t is that a good coaster!). Unfortunately, none of these other parks are on the agenda for the rest of 2018, though I'll hopefully experience Troy on the best wooden coaster list in July for the honeymoon.

[cfc]

Gringott's is definitely weird to compare to something like Montu

 

A debate would between the two would be ridiculous "man I love the part on gringotts where the *spoiler* thing happens" "oh man but Montu's batwing is just ridiculous with the positive Gs" "still not as intense is the harry potter character shooting you with lightning on a screen!"

 

I didn't rank Gringott's because I consider it to be a "dark ride with coaster elements," as opposed to Mummy, which is a "coaster with dark ride elements." I wonder if that makes any sense to anyone but me?

[A.J.]

Escape from Gringotts might not be on next year's poll for this very reason, but as tracked rides become more immersive (such as with Gringotts and the upcoming Mission Ferrari) the line might be blurred. We'll see!

[CoasterAuditor]

Gringott's is definitely weird to compare to something like Montu

 

A debate would between the two would be ridiculous "man I love the part on gringotts where the *spoiler* thing happens" "oh man but Montu's batwing is just ridiculous with the positive Gs" "still not as intense is the harry potter character shooting you with lightning on a screen!"

 

I didn't rank Gringott's because I consider it to be a "dark ride with coaster elements," as opposed to Mummy, which is a "coaster with dark ride elements." I wonder if that makes any sense to anyone but me?

 

Definitely makes sense to me. Gringotts never goes "full coaster" on you like Mummy does. When I first rode Mummy I had forgotten it was essentially a roller coaster with a dark ride beginning so it launched me up a hill into airtime somewhat out of nowhere what a pleasant surprise that was. Gringotts just has a little drop and curve through a tunnel other than that it's basically Spiderman/Transformers on a track.

[cfc]

Escape from Gringotts might not be on next year's poll for this very reason, but as tracked rides become more immersive (such as with Gringotts and the upcoming Mission Ferrari) the line might be blurred. We'll see!

 

The distinction can be a bit tricky.

[robbalvey]

Oh, I absolutely agree. My question is that if that's the view of the person ranking it, what causes them to finally say "Okay, this is where I'm putting Gringotts since it's not really a coaster... right after Silver Bullet but before the Mine Train at Ocean Park "

 

I feel like people just pick a completely arbitrary spot and stick it there and if that's the case, why even rank it?

My thoughts exactly. I think this is why, for me, I will go through the effort of ranking my top 50 and bottom 10 (even if I tie some of those together because I refuse to choose a favorite) but everything else in the middle... is anyone REALLY going to care what the #168th steel coaster in the world is? It just doesn't matter at that point.

 

I think people look at the top ten for sure, probably the top 25, maybe the top 50 and really anyone looking at anything else beyond that is probably just crazy into statistics (not saying that's a bad thing) and is just looking at the details for random fun and not for any reasons that would sway someone's decision to visit a park or ride a coaster or not.

 

So in short, you're right...it actually doesn't matter. And we'll probably just remove this ride anyway next year, but I agree with those who say it's really not a coaster. I'm not even sure if I actually ranked it myself.

[Jason Maier]

What I like about the TRP coaster poll is that more non-US coasters are included in it (as opposed to the Golden Ticket awards).

 

I was surprised that Manhattan Express/Big Apple didn't rank the WORST (but as for Time Warp, I think on one of the videos I've seen, it was mentioned those Zamperla Volares are rough).

[A.J.]

More stats! We received a request from [REDACTED] for this one.

 

How about themed roller coasters? That's a tough one because there are so many different definitions of exactly what a themed roller coaster is. To some it could be as straightforward as having a themed vehicle or station platform. To others, a themed coaster is one that resides in a theme park rather than a traditional amusement park. Let's break it down!

 

First, let's look at the top 15 coasters that have, at the very least, a themed vehicle, station platform, or queue:

 

• #1. El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure
  
• #2. Lightning Rod - Dollywood
  
• #3. Wildfire - Kolmarden
  
• #4. Medusa Steel Coaster - Six Flags Mexico
  
• #5. Outlaw Run - Silver Dollar City
  
• #6. Maverick - Cedar Point
  
• #7. Intimidator 305 - Kings Dominion
  
• #8. Superman The Ride - Six Flags New England
  
• #9. New Texas Giant - Six Flags Over Texas
  
• #10. Taron - Phantasialand
  
• #11. Wicked Cyclone - Six Flags New England
  
• #12. iSpeed - Mirabilandia
  
• #13. Shambhala - PortAventura Park
  
• #14. Iron Rattler - Six Flags Fiesta Texas
  
• #15. Katun - Mirabilandia

 

Not much difference from the regular list, right? Most coasters have at least some sort of theme. Let's take it a step further, and look at the top 15 coasters exclusively located in theme parks:

 

• #1. Lightning Rod - Dollywood
  
• #2. Outlaw Run - Silver Dollar City
  
• #3. Taron - Phantasialand
  
• #4. iSpeed - Mirabilandia
  
• #5. Shambhala - PortAventura Park
  
• #6. Katun - Mirabilandia
  
• #7. Flying Dinosaur - Universal Studios Japan
  
• #8. Nemesis - Alton Towers
  
• #9. Tron Lightcycle Power Run - Shanghai Disneyland
  
• #10. Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa
  
• #11. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars - Hong Kong Disneyland
  
• #12. iSpeed - Mirabilandia
  
• #13. Blue Fire Megacoaster - Europa Park
  
• #14. Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa
  
• #15. Cheetah Hunt - Busch Gardens Tampa

 

Finally, let's check out what I like to call "immersive" roller coasters. These coasters can be indoor, outdoor, or a combination of both, and what makes them "immersive" is that they are story-based and heavily-themed from start to finish, and they may also have their own ambient or coordinated musical scores. This list is based on my own ongoing experience working in the theme park industry, your mileage may vary. Here are the top 15 immersive roller coasters:

 

• #1. Taron - Phantasialand
  
• #2. Nemesis - Alton Towers
  
• #3. Tron Lightcycle Power Run - Shanghai Disneyland
  
• #4. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars - Hong Kong Disneyland
  
• #5. Revenge of the Mummy - Universal Studios Singapore
  
• #6. Schwur des Kärnan - Hansa Park
  
• #7. Black Mamba - Phantasialand
  
• #8. Space Fantasy The Ride - Universal Studios Japan
  
• #9. Star Trek Operation Enterprise - Movie Park Germany
  
• #10. Winjas Fear - Phantasialand
  
• #11. Fluch von Novgorod - Hansa Park
  
• #12. Expedition Everest - Disney's Animal Kingdom
  
• #13. Winjas Force - Phantasialand
  
• #14. Revenge of the Mummy - Universal Studios Florida
  
• #15. Baron 1898 - Efteling

 

Some of the highly-ranked coasters that are pretty well-themed but don't make the "immersive" cut (in my opinion, mind you) are Flying Dinosaur, Lost Gravity, Hollywood Dream The Ride, SeaWorld Orlando's Manta, Alpengeist, California Screamin', Juvelen, and Silver Dollar City's Wildfire. If we extended this list to 25 or 30 entries it would include several Big Thunder Mountains, Joris en de Draak, several Space Mountains, and Escape from Gringotts.

[JRice92]

These results turned out fantastic! Every single coaster on both the wood and steel lists are coasters I would seek out to ride. I hope the rankings on the TPR poll are used by the parks for marketing!

[Purplepills]

Thanks for taking the time to do this! Its great to have a such a good source to see which coasters are considered the best

[A.J.]

We've been spreading this around our socials as well, but big thanks to Intamin Amusement Rides for the shout-out!

 

https://www.intaminworldwide.com/the-tpr-2017-coaster-poll-results/

[anonymouscactus]

Love this poll and the results! Thanks to everyone for all the work that went into it (including the voters!)

[ytterbiumanalyst]

We've been spreading this around our socials as well, but big thanks to Intamin Amusement Rides for the shout-out!

 

https://www.intaminworldwide.com/the-tpr-2017-coaster-poll-results/

Wow, that's great! They should be proud; they made some fantastic roller coasters. El Toro totally deserves its place on top.

[KI Kidd]

Thank you guys for putting in the time and effort to do this! Very interesting to see how things stacked up.

 

Am I completely missing Cornball Express in the results or was it not included for some reason?

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I couldn't see it on the wood results either when I looked quick, but it's 196 overall on the combined results.

[boldikus]

We've been spreading this around our socials as well, but big thanks to Intamin Amusement Rides for the shout-out!

 

https://www.intaminworldwide.com/the-tpr-2017-coaster-poll-results/

 

Totally awesome.

[TheoB]

That's literally answered in the first sentence of the first post on the first page of this thread.

 

i'm impressively blind, thanks.

[Alice Kane]

Wishing "Big Airtime Forever" to the Creators of this Poll of Distinction! It will be the perfect 'go-to' for holiday planning!

 

Alice

[josephcissell]

Really interesting results and I can’t believe just how dominant RMC has become. In a poll of mostly enthusiasts, I would expect as much, but still cool to see it quantified and to see Medusa’s complete dominance. Need to get to Mexico now... Thank you to Chase, AJ, Robb, and everyone else that made this happen!!