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CoasterForce's Favourite Roller Coasters - 2022 Edition

Hyde

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
2022 proved to be quite a year between the world getting ever more back out to amusement parks, and enthusiasts catching up on rides they had been missing during quarantine. And it showed: this year's tabulation was the largest ever of CFer entries! What's more, this also marks the fifth year @Pokemaniac, @Hixee, and I have collaborated to bring you, the dedicated public, our next crack of cutting-edge calculations to determine which roller coaster is on top as we head into 2023!

We admittedly had a little too much eggnog adding up rankings during the holiday season (And maybe got carried away for New Years and preparing for Valentine's Day), but we are excited to show our findings! Props as always goes to @Pokemaniac for assembling all submitted member Top 10's, and @Hixee for helping with other graphical, editorial, professorial, and notarial support.

Methodology

One of the most visited threads in the General Discussions section of the forums is the "Top 10-ish" thread, where people rank their ten (or more) most favourite coasters. We have combed through the thread and collected all the Top 10 lists posted over the past year, from November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021ish (given the lower turnout, we let others sneak under the radar this year). Let us compare details on CF's top 25!

The Top 25

RankRoller CoasterAverage RankingAverage Ranking/FrequencyNumber of #1 RankingsNumber of Rides
1Steel Vengeance2.490.071735
2Zadra3.130.13724
3Voyage3.730.17522
4Taron3.770.17522
5Skyrush4.250.18524
6Ride to Happiness3.680.19219
7Helix3.610.20518
8Velocicoaster3.780.21218
9Iron Gwazi4.430.21221
10Lightning Rod4.950.26119
11Fury 3256.000.26023
12Intimidator 3054.200.28315
13Maverick5.060.32116
14Untamed4.640.33114
15Shambhala6.470.43015
16El Toro6.080.47113
17Hyperion7.070.47115
18X25.270.48111
19Millennium Force6.000.55011
20Wildfire5.000.5609
21Twisted Timbers6.450.59111
22Nemesis5.670.6319
23Phantom's Revenge8.460.65013
24Phoenix7.220.8009
25Expedition GeForce7.330.8109

Key Thoughts/Takeaways
  • A Surge of New Rides, Increasing Popularity - Each year we expect to see a number of "New for [XXXX] Year" roller coasters crack into the Top 25; Iron Gwazi made its own strong debut at #9 for 2022. However, we also saw New for 2021 Coasters in Ride to Happiness and VelociCoaster slide up into the Top 10, some of the biggest moves we have seen on the polls to date. A key driver to this is the number of riders, as our methodology in general is geared towards roller coasters with higher overall ridership taking strong positioning. As more enthusiasts make it to Florida for VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi - watch out!
  • Zadra, Top Coaster in 2022? Still at #2 - Zadra has quickly climbed the rankings year over year since its debut at #16 in 2019. Last year, we forecast that Zadra could get the ridership count to finally dethrone Steel Vengeance (which has been consistent #1 ranking since the polls debut). Zadra however didn't seem that possible boost in ridership, keeping it stuck at 2.
  • Mack Breaks Up the RMC and Intamin Party - Ride to Happiness and Helix are the only two non-RMC-and-Intamin coasters in the Top 10, speaking volumes to their popularity against such stiff competition. It remains of note that B&M in turn continues to sit just outside of the top 10 since Fury 325 dropped out in 2021.
  • What Do You Guys Know That I Don't? - There were some significant maneuvers by other roller coasters, especially Phantom's Revenge (18 slots up to #23), Millennium Force (17 slots up to #19), Mystic Timbers (20 slots up to #30), and F.L.Y. (15 slots up to #42). Jumps in coaster rankings due to noted trips or other refurbishments are always possible, but the level of randomness in these coasters is quite curious. Again, our methodology considers those who enter ballots, which also makes us susceptible for those Phantom's Revenge fans to run the polls - but still, with the largest turnout ever, fascinating seeing such coaster moves!
Looking at CFers #1 picks, Steel Vengeance continues to lead the majority, but other coasters are quickly approaching (going back to Zadra continuing to gain):

1676126807849.png

As usual, we have a few graphs to break down further CF's top roller coasters, which you can view in the full spreadsheet link at the end of the post. For starters, here is a map of the average roller coaster ranking vs. the number of rides. The higher a roller coaster is charted towards the upper left, the higher it is in the ranking. I have also added a trend line to add further clarity:


As was the case last year, charting out the roller coaster average rankings by the number of rides shows a high correlation with their ranking. Steel Vengeance still takes a definitive runaway victory, each way we slice the chart!

1676127075421.png

You may notice a number of roller coaster that have different average rankings vs. average rankings/rides. If we ranked roller coasters based on average rank alone, it would be a rather different result. Overall, we still prefer to consider the number of rides, to help ensure the rankings are reflective of the entire community vs. a few select members. This shows further skewing this year especially, as everyone's travels were greatly disrupted, limiting access and travel to new roller coasters.

Year-Over-Year Trends

For year-over-year, I highlighted a few key observations above. Some other good takeaways:

  • Zadra continues to jump up in the rankings, after three continuous years of upward movement!
  • RMC has locked in #1 and #2, but Gravity Group has reached an all-time high of #3 with Voyage. Holiday World must be giving extra love to their Woodie!
  • Oh where oh where did Lightning Rod go? A previous top 5 finisher has fallen hard to #10.
  • Overall, a lot of jockeying for position in the teens; is partly reliant on polling response and turnout.
Roller Coaster20182019202020212022Change From Previous Year
Steel Vengeance111110
Zadra-166220
Voyage857532
Taron322440
Skyrush464651
Ride to Happiness---1569
Helix735770
Velocicoaster---20812
Iron Gwazi----9-
Lightning Rod243310-7
Fury 3251191017116
Intimidator 30525153521129
Maverick411111113-2
Untamed-89914-5
Shambhala141781315-2
El Toro10712816-8
Hyperion5819181017-7
X28181519181
Millennium Force162448361917
Wildfire211021302010
Twisted Timbers22233224213
Nemesis1312141222-10
Phantom's Revenge-3944412318
Phoenix28302525241
Expedition GeForce1814221825-7

Sample Size is Everything

Again, this heavily relies on sample size, and how folks responded with their top 10 rankings. If you feel like a roller coaster got cheated and didn't participate this year, make it a point to drop your top 10 into the thread so we can count it towards next year's count!

We also updated the alternate rankings as we did last year, showing variations to how roller coaster rankings can be measured, such as logging results (to consider strong outliers) and removing top and bottom-most votes for each respective roller coaster (also as a control for outlier votes). A word of warning, the traditional outlier ranking is a bit skewed this year, due in part to a lower sample size (jumping back to having a lot of single rider entries).

1676127107707.png

Comparing to Other Polls

While we have used the ElloCoaster polls for comparison in years past, they have unfortunately been shuttered the last three years. @coasterbot however had a great turn out in their new rankings (https://coasterbot.com/votecoasters), which we added as a final comparison. Overall, the rankings still relatively close to each other, an average of 11 slots difference between the two polls with a correlation of 24% - a big dive from years past. Is CF onto something breaking? :p Interesting to see that even with two quite-different polling approaches, you can still see a similar overall trend. (Again, due in part to sample size)

Check Out the Full Rankings!

You can peruse all the data and tables here:
docs.google.com

CoasterForce Top 10 for 2022 - Results

docs.google.com docs.google.com
 

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Thanks for compiling these rankings, guys. It was a fun read.

One thing I noticed is that Intimidator 305 is listed with no riders having it as they're #1, even though @CookieCoasters has it there in his rankings posted in early May? Was it just an overlook while making that particular spreadsheet or did you miss some of the top10s?
 
TilenB said:
Thanks for compiling these rankings, guys. It was a fun read.

One thing I noticed is that Intimidator 305 is listed with no riders having it as they're #1, even though @CookieCoasters has it there in his rankings posted in early May? Was it just an overlook while making that particular spreadsheet or did you miss some of the top10s?
Click to expand...
Hmm good catch @TilenB - looks like the equation that was tabulating #1 coasters was going rogue. Gratefully that wasn't affecting overall rankings - fixed!
 
Grrr... 17/25, same as last year.
I was hoping to add a couple this time. Actually I  did add a couple of last year's entries, namely the Belgian duo - RTH and Kondaa - but Kondaa, rather surprisingly, seems to have dropped out of the Top 25 this year.
Only 6 out of the Top 10 this year too, down from 8 last year. I'm slacking.
I should hopefully bag the pair of Florida coasters this year but let's face it, I ain't ever gonna complete this list until I ride Skyrush, L'Rod and Fury 325. Those 3 coasters have been my main sticking points since this poll began. 😔
 
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Interesting, thanks for putting this together!

21, not bad, happy with that! Missing IG, Velocicoaster, Fury 325 and Lightning Rod.
 
Fascinating list and analysis, thanks for putting the work in :)

I'm really surprised nobody on this forum has Shambhala as their number one - you'd think a European enthusiast who hasn't been to the US or some of the other big Euro parks would have it up there.

The rise of Millennium Force is perhaps a bit of a shock but I do think it's fully deserving of a spot in the Top 25. It's in my personal Top Ten which probably wasn't included in this year's survey, so it may even creep a little higher next time.
 
22/25, pretty pleased with that all in, considering I haven't been to Florida since 2019. Unlikely to be randomly dropping in to Kings Dominion too. :D

Good work on putting this together - it's a nice annual tradition. :)
 
Thanks for sorting - an interesting read 😍

Pleased to have ridden 19/25… I should be getting that up to 21/25 next month. Maybe I’ll also try and get Helix in this year to complete the top 10 🧐

@witchfinder yup Millennium Force is epic - I expect it just went out of fashion during the collective 2010s quest for more and more airtime… but as the landscape is now a total airtime-fest, Millie comes across as super fresh to people who have only ridden it in the last year or so.
 
12/25, still have my work cut out.

Glad folks are enjoying the read! The biggest thing I am fascinated by (as alluded to with MF) is weird anomalies in movement. These can be due to a lot of outside factors - retrack work, big coaster group trip (remember when Tobu ran the Mitch Hawker Polls thanks to that TPR trip?), etc. It can also be folks rediscovering the classics! (Which I'd be lying if I wasn't happy to see Phantom's Revenge getting some love)
 
cu chulain with the undergroudn #1 😆

great stuff, and especially pleased to lose the distinction between wood and steel. that always seemed to me to be an arbitrary relic from like the 80s or something.
 
Interesting data, as you say it shows Mack are starting to make real waves.

Steel Vengeance seems to be impossible to beat, Nemesis just won't die and nobody seems to have ridden Kondaa.
 
Cracking work again - thanks all involved!

I've ridden 9/25 of this year's favourites. Last year it was 6, 2020 it was 7. Slowly going in the right direction!
 
Thanks guys, love seeing this. 17/25 for me, don't have any of these on my radar for this year either, 2024 I'll get a couple but Florida is not on the cards anytime soon :(

My prediction seems to have come true;
"I predict that Velocicoaster and Iron Gwazi will fly up the rankings at the end of next year if more people get to do their Florida trips."

Quite obvious prediction this time round;
I predict Velocicoaster and Iron Gwazi will go up a little higher but won't challenge the top 2. RTH definitely has the potential to be in the top 5.
Lightning Rod will continue to fall and within a few years could even drop out completely. The ride isn't the same apparently.
I don't think either new European Intamin will make the 2023 ranking.
 
15 from the US, 10 from Europe.

Any chance an Asian coaster ever breaks into the top 25?

Surely there are some contenders worthy of consideration?

But perhaps the world is still just too damn big.....
 
Steely Dan said:
15 from the US, 10 from Europe.

Any chance an Asian coaster ever breaks into the top 25?

Surely there are some contenders worthy of consideration?

But perhaps the world is still just too damn big.....
Click to expand...
It's a limitation of the methodology, I'd say. There's a reason why we call the list "CF's favourite coasters" and not "The best coasters as ranked by CF" or something to that effect. That's because the data we're collecting is, strictly speaking, not very well suited to find the best coasters in the world. We're merely counting what coasters our individual members like the most, and counting which of them appear the highest up on the most lists. This means the opinions of the globe-trotters who have ridden hundreds of the world's best coasters are not given any greater weight than the opinions of those who've never left their home country and rank the local ABC Spinner as their favourite because it has a nicer colour scheme than the nine other ABC spinners on their top 10 list. Favourites are favourites, regardless of the experience of the favouriteer. That's how we rank them.

In other words, for an Asian coaster to break into the top 25, it's not necessarily enough to be the best coaster out there. It also needs to have been ridden and liked by multiple members. And there's a certain geographical bias in the distribution of our members, which tends to be reflected in the coaster rankings as not everyone has been everywhere. But there are parks that have been visited by very many, especially if it's located in the home country of a lot of members.

Or put another way, a convenient location can do wonders for a coaster's placement in the top 10 lists. And for a vast chunk of our members, the Asian parks are not very convenient to get to. It's a quite long journey. And with our methodology, it just gets more complicated the more developed Asia's theme park scene becomes. Back in the days, "everyone" who made the trip to Asia for coasters went to the same few parks in Japan. But now, the best coasters are spread across so many parks that the main destinations don't dominate anymore. I think Eejanaika at Fuji-Q Highlands used to be a quite common sight in Top 10 lists. It was the go-to coaster at the go-to park in Japan. But nowadays, coaster globetrotters may go ride Soaring With Dragon or Flying Dinosaur or Dueling Dragons or Coaster Through the Clouds or dozens of others, or those who go ride multiple of them and rank them differently. Matters are even further complicated because those who travel to Asia tend to have travelled the rest of the world as well, and ridden the best coasters all over the place, meaning Asian coasters fight harder for a spot on their Top 10 lists than, say, Nemesis does for those who have only been coastering in the UK.

I think this is why Steel Vengeance will be so darn tough to unseat. It's a very good coaster at a very prominent park. Most of the American coaster fans have been to Cedar Point. Most of the European coaster fans who go to the US, take the time to go there as well. "Everyone" rides Steel Vengeance, and everyone likes it, which combines to give it an unbeatably low score. Steel Vengeance may not be the best coaster in the world, but it certainly is one that finds its way into lots and lots of top 10 lists. It's one of the most convenient coasters, to put it like that. Likewise why Helix does so well. It's an easily likable coaster in an easily found location. I don't doubt that there will be better coasters than Steel Vengeance one day - heck, they may already exist - but they need to be visited by a lot of CF members too.

So you could say that the methodology is a little flawed, but it's the best we can do with the data we have readily available (the Top 10 thread) and the time we can devote to processing it (a couple of long evenings per year). That too is a question of convenience. I guess we'll just have to be open about it, so people don't draw the wrong conclusions from the list.
 
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