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Biggest Disappointment...

As awesome as it is and don’t take this the wrong way i was let down by steel vengeance it’s still top 3 but el toro is better in my opinion and I was expecting to be astonished with insane pops of ejector which it delivered but not as amazing as people hype it up to be the drop I’d say is the only fairly rated part.However I still loved this ride so much and think it was an amazing RMC but I prefer quality to quantity so I’m going with toro for the rolling thunder hill and the insane drop.
 
My biggest disappointment is this new forum style. I don't know about the desktop site but the mobile version feels both minimalist yet too cluttered at the same time. While writing a post there's 26 pressable buttons visible. Looks like a B&M-built pinfari: Looks cool at first but the more you look at it the more painfull it seems.
 
I unfortunately have a new entry for this thread: Olympia Looping.

Now, I admit that I may have raised my expectations a bit too high given that it's a 30 year old travelling Schwarzkopf, but going in, I'd heard people singing this ride's praises; people were saying about how glass smooth it was and how outstanding the ride was, and the reviews were certainly very superlative-filled. Things I heard said included:
  • "Words cannot describe that ride. It's an absolute masterpiece."
  • "When it's at Winter Wonderland, it's the best coaster in the UK, and one of the best coasters in the world."
  • "That has to be a top 10 ride for me, and I've done over 600 coasters. It is just outstanding."
Now, this naturally raised my expectations quite a bit. Going into Winter Wonderland yesterday, I was immensely excited to ride. I was expecting a potential entry into my top 10 or maybe even my top 5. But where did it end up ranking out of the 72 coasters I've done? 38th. Now don't get me wrong, it's a good ride, it's an absolute marvel of engineering as far as travelling coasters go, it looks wonderful and I'm honoured to have been able to ride it, but it wasn't as phenomenally fantastic as I was expecting it to be.

I think that there are two principal reasons why Olympia Looping disappointed me, and to be fair to it, the first is probably more down to my own personal taste. The first reason why I'd say that Olympia Looping underwhelmed me somewhat is because I almost think it was too intense for me. I've got to say, Olympia provides a very different sort of intensity to anything I've ever ridden before, and it made me feel a bit nauseous getting off the ride. I didn't grey out or black out, but the loops provided a somewhat odd sensation that I can't quite describe; you might know what I mean if you've ridden. I'm not sure what it was, as I can handle a ride on Nemesis with no problem, but I found Olympia a bit too much to handle. The other reason was the restraints. Now, I knew that Olympia had shoulder harnesses before I rode it, however my problem with the restraints was that they tightened a lot during the ride, to the extent where my shoulders were crushed a lot and were really hurting by the end of the ride. People say that The Swarm's restraints tighten, but I found these to be far more noticeable. Admittedly, there's probably a reason why they're there, but they did definitely impact the ride somewhat for me. I must also admit; while the ride was far from rough, I also didn't think it was as smooth as the reviews implied. I actually thought the loops in particular were a little bit bumpy, although that's probably to be expected given the ride's age.

I don't mean to sound so bitter, because Olympia Looping is a good ride, in my opinion, and most of the flaws I identified are probably just me being picky. It just didn't really live up to the hype for me.
 
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Matt N said:
I unfortunately have a new entry for this thread: Olympia Looping.

Now, I admit that I may have raised my expectations a bit too high given that it's a 30 year old travelling Schwarzkopf, but going in, I'd heard people singing this ride's praises; people were saying about how glass smooth it was and how outstanding the ride was, and the reviews were certainly very superlative-filled. Things I heard said included:
  • "Words cannot describe that ride. It's an absolute masterpiece."
  • "When it's at Winter Wonderland, it's the best coaster in the UK, and one of the best coasters in the world."
  • "That has to be a top 10 ride for me, and I've done over 600 coasters. It is just outstanding."
Now, this naturally raised my expectations quite a bit. Going into Winter Wonderland yesterday, I was immensely excited to ride. I was expecting a potential entry into my top 10 or maybe even my top 5. But where did it end up ranking out of the 72 coasters I've done? 38th. Now don't get me wrong, it's a good ride, it's an absolute marvel of engineering as far as travelling coasters go, it looks wonderful and I'm honoured to have been able to ride it, but it wasn't as phenomenally fantastic as I was expecting it to be.

I think that there are two principal reasons why Olympia Looping disappointed me, and to be fair to it, the first is probably more down to my own personal taste. The first reason why I'd say that Olympia Looping underwhelmed me somewhat is because I almost think it was too intense for me. I've got to say, Olympia provides a very different sort of intensity to anything I've ever ridden before, and it made me feel a bit nauseous getting off the ride. I didn't grey out or black out, but the loops provided a somewhat odd sensation that I can't quite describe; you might know what I mean if you've ridden. I'm not sure what it was, as I can handle a ride on Nemesis with no problem, but I found Olympia a bit too much to handle. The other reason was the restraints. Now, I knew that Olympia had shoulder harnesses before I rode it, however my problem with the restraints was that they tightened a lot during the ride, to the extent where my shoulders were crushed a lot and were really hurting by the end of the ride. People say that The Swarm's restraints tighten, but I found these to be far more noticeable. Admittedly, there's probably a reason why they're there, but they did definitely impact the ride somewhat for me. I must also admit; while the ride was far from rough, I also didn't think it was as smooth as the reviews implied. I actually thought the loops in particular were a little bit bumpy, although that's probably to be expected given the ride's age.

I don't mean to sound so bitter, because Olympia Looping is a good ride, in my opinion, and most of the flaws I identified are probably just me being picky. It just didn't really live up to the hype for me.
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It's a pretty crap coaster tbh. The restraint tightening seems to be a fairly recent thing, I'm sure it was never an issue 5+ years ago.

Also Olympia Looping = £10 a ride, Phoenix at Knoebels = £2.29
 
FistedColossus said:
Also Olympia Looping = £10 a ride, Phoenix at Knoebels = £2.29
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Oh my; I never knew Phoenix was that cheap for one ride! I need to get myself to Knoebels if ever I do a USA road trip; Phoenix looks phenomenal as it is, and with a price that low per ride, you could get plenty of rides in for little money!
 
Pretty sure all three quotes were from Theme Park Worldwide, it's just the opinion of one bloke. Moral of the story Matt is to not put certain people's opinions on a pedestal and just enjoy stuff for what it is.

In terms of Olympia I think it's somewhere between 'alright' and 'pretty great'. Definitely a fun coaster with good forces but it's just a series of banked turns and vertical loops. As we've discussed a lot on the forums recently modern coaster design has come so far since it was built but it's an awesome throwback.
 
Benenen said:
Pretty sure all three quotes were from Theme Park Worldwide, it's just the opinion of one bloke. Moral of the story Matt is to not put certain people's opinions on a pedestal and just enjoy stuff for what it is.
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Some of those definitely came from Shawn, I admit, but I've also heard plenty of other people rank Olympia very highly.
 
In regards to Olympia Looping, you have to remember it's a 30 year old coaster. It's phenomenal that it's running as well as it is after all this time being moved around. I rode it mid December and it was super smooth. Much smoother than last year actually. I've ridden it several times now and I have to say that when you get in the train you need to sit up as straight as you can to force those restraints to stay high and try to stay like that throughout the ride, if not then they'll just compress and compress and it becomes horrible.

I find it to be an intense ride. It's one of only two coasters that make me grey out. The other being i305. It's not the best coaster out there but i feel it's a long way from the worst.

For my biggest coaster disappointment I would have to say Gale Force at Castaway Cove. I was really excited to ride it but it was soooo rough. The transitions were bad and I got thrown around so much. Just Yuck!
 
See I like looping for a 30 year old ride it rides better than half the UK coasters the same age. It sits somewhere in my top 20s but it’s just the restraints I don’t like at all.
 
Yeah I did like Olympia a bit, but it's nothing spectacular. Also @Matt N, stop listening to what that idiot says in videos, make your mind up for yourself and white your own reviews! We'd much rather have your views on this site than his, or any other youtuber :)

Biggest disappointment for me? Silver Star. Such a let down. Where's the airtime?
 
Ethan said:
Yeah I did like Olympia a bit, but it's nothing spectacular. Also @Matt N, stop listening to what that idiot says in videos, make your mind up for yourself and white your own reviews! We'd much rather have your views on this site than his, or any other youtuber :)
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I did write my own review in both the Last Cred Review topic (https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/last-cred-review.42950/post-1077909) and in my trip report from Hyde Park (https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/hyde-park-winter-wonderland-2nd-january-2020.44063/), if you'd like to read them!

Also, it wasn't just Sanbrooke who hyped it up for me. I'd heard other people on other forums and such talk about it a lot as well.
 
It’s definitely the best travelling coaster in the world and I doubt anything will ever get built like it again.

The fact it’s running so well at 30 years old and is still travelling around is pretty amazing. For that reason it’s a pretty special coaster.

I think it was definitely a bit over hyped before we had it at winter wonderland as it was harder to find and people can over hype things when they are a rarer cred.
 
I might be mad for saying this but...

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

So, I found the scenery, theming and story to be incredible, and it all looks fantastic. However, one thing that I didnt anticipate was how sick it would make me. Those broom flying projection dones made me feel absolutely awful! If it was just the rest of the ride it would have been a favourite dark ride, but those projections were horrid!
 
So I was kinda underwhelmed by the cinnamon bread at Dollywood. It kinda reminds me of a fancy cinnamon pretzel but bigger and a lot more expensive. It was good but I probably won't go out of my way to try it again.
 
You can taste how unhealthy the cinnamon bread is at Dollywood, and see it on the many chins of the local guests. I do enjoy it a lot in small doses.

Silver Dollar City also has the bread but made very differently, and what it improves on it also losses out on.
 
I couldn't believe how awful the famed Dollywood cinnamon bread was. Like a giant greasy doughnut with way too much sugar and nowhere near enough cinnamon. The two of us ate about a quarter and binned the rest.
 
Definitely an unfavorable view here, but I was actually massively let down by El Toro, and I actually prefer Nitro. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm 6'4'' and the ejector airtime really doesn't hit me as hard due me almost automatically getting stapled. I still had a few great rides on it, and that first drop is unreal, but I just find the floater airtime on Nitro is a lot more enjoyable for me.
 
With regards to the cinnamon bread at Dollywood; I've never tasted it, but maybe it's one of those things that locals really like and people from other places aren't such a fan of? Only saying because most of the people I hear loving it are American and most of the people who don't overly like it seem to be foreign.
TuggemMcNutt said:
Definitely an unfavorable view here, but I was actually massively let down by El Toro, and I actually prefer Nitro. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm 6'4'' and the ejector airtime really doesn't hit me as hard due me almost automatically getting stapled. I still had a few great rides on it, and that first drop is unreal, but I just find the floater airtime on Nitro is a lot more enjoyable for me.
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Now that is an interesting one! I've never ridden El Toro, but I have heard of other shorter people who don't like it because of the restraints, so I don't think it's necessarily a height thing. I can't give my own opinion, as I've never ridden El Toro, but I've definitely heard people shorter than yourself criticise the restraints. I also can't imagine why height would impact lap bars, either...

As for my own disappointments, they are very much the same as when I last posted in here, so some of my own personal disappointments include:
  • Olympia Looping - I had heard many reviews saying it was absolutely outstanding, with multiple people calling it their favourite UK coaster when it's at Winter Wonderland. Don't get me wrong, it was a good coaster, an absolute masterpiece for a travelling ride, and I'm honoured to have ridden it, but I must admit I wasn't overly enamoured with it. Part of it probably has to do with my personal intensity tolerance, as even though I didn't seem to grey out or black out, I felt quite nauseous both times I got off and I thought the loops provided an odd sensation. I also wasn't hugely keen on the cars, however; I'm only just under 5'10" (5'9.75", to be exact), but I thought the legroom was quite tight and I wasn't keen at all on the shoulder bars that really tightened and crushed me as the ride went on. That being said, the actual track itself is quite smooth considering the ride's age, and maybe Schwarzkopfs are somewhat of an acquired taste?
  • Manta (SeaWorld Orlando) - As with Olympia, I'd say that a key thing letting Manta down for me was my intensity tolerance; my body found that pretzel loop a bit too much! The rest of the layout was good, but I must admit that I actually found Galactica's layout seemed to interest me a little more, for some reason! Don't get me wrong, Manta was good, but I don't think it's one of my favourites.
  • Expedition Everest - Expedition Everest is a fun family coaster that I really like, but for some reason, it's never really quite lived up to the pedestal that some put it on for me. When I first rode in 2014, I had loads of reviews saying it was phenomenal and the whole "world's most expensive coaster" tagline implanted in my head, and I must admit I came off a little underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, it's a very, very good family coaster, and got a lot going for it; the theming's excellent, there are a couple of pretty thrilling moments and it's a long coaster, but I can never seem to muster up the love for it that other people can for a reason I can't quite put my finger on. I must admit, I don't think it flows quite as well as some other backwards coasters I've been on; maybe that's it?
  • Flight of Passage - Now, let me start by saying that I thought Flight of Passage was excellent. A really, really good simulator with some great tricks up its sleeves that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, despite having avoided POVs of it before riding, most of the reviews I'd heard had hyped it up to be a level far beyond what I experienced (e.g. "best ride in the world", "finest thing mankind has ever created", "made me cry" etc.), and I was a tad underwhelmed when I got off for this reason. As I say, I thought it was an excellent ride that I really enjoyed, but I could still personally name quite a few dark rides that I prefer.
That's all I can think of ride-wise for the time being, and I quite frankly apologise because I think I'm probably being overly harsh on them! Everyone's entitled to their own opinion on these rides, so I'm sure there are many out there who think this entire post is blasphemy!
 
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Easily El Toro.

Originally got spited, and it took another four years for me to finally get on it. It remained at the top of my bucket list for years, so I was quite disappointed to find out it ran like ****. Constant rattle all the way around. Combine that with the hard lap bars and intensity, you get a very uncomfortable and in some cases painful ride.

I'll be back at the park this year, hopefully for the Live, but you'll have to persuade me to ride it again.
 
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