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Rank the Giga Coasters

Hutch

Hutch

Strata Poster
Because giga coasters are the best rides in the whole world!!!!

*ahem*
Only done two. Here they are:

1. Millennium Force - Actually a pretty well rounded ride and holds up tremendously well. Amazing drop, some good positive gs (I tend to grey out in the first overbank), and a mix of solid airtime moments as well: floater over the camelbacks, ejector in the speed hill. It maintains a great sense of speed as well, staying low to the ground in some spots and surrounded by a lovely setting.

2. Fury - Another fantastic drop and great sense of speed. I just didn't love all the turns in the first half, which I know is kind of strange for me to say because MF sort of does the same thing. I think it might have to do with the lack of terrain/interaction that MF has? The second half is much better though, with the phenomenal and unique treble clef, and airtime hills at the end (which are strong for B&M standards). I do think it's a tad long though, and that big helix at the end is a bit of a waste.

Can't wait to ride Orion and put that as my #1 coaster!!!
 
Wait, this topic doesn't exist already?! I'm fortunate enough to have been on four, will hopefully ride Orion sometime in the next year, and I'm really hoping I can get a Japan trip set sometime in the next few years and ride Steel Dragon 2000.

  1. Fury 325 - B&M's finest ride. The speed and intensity at which it races through its layout is unbelievable, and each transition provides a unique sensation as the forces shift.
  2. Leviathan - Leviathan is a bit more tame than Fury, but still carries its speed well and exhibits one of the longest moments of sustained airtime that I've ever experienced with its large camelback hill.
  3. Intimidator 305 - Intimidator combined the formulas used for Millennium Force, Maverick, and the Mega-lites and resulted in this wild ride. It's incredibly intense, but that's what makes it fun.
  4. Millennium Force - By no means a bad ride at all. Cedar Point takes real good care of the OG giga coaster and it shows. The ride still runs fantastically for being 20 years old already.
 
1. Fury 325- So much anticipation on that first hill and I just love the layout. Such a perfect mix of airtime and speed.

2. Millennium Force- Still one of the best first drops and I'd say it heightens the sensation if speed more than any of the other giga coasters I have been on. The airtime isn't amazing despite a few decent pops, but that thing sure flies.

3. Leviathan- A bit too short, but it does the sensation of speed well and I do love the lift and first drop.

4. Steel Dragon 2000- A bit meh but aesthetically pleasing and it's still a fun ride. The airtime wasn't anything to write home about and for being such a large coaster I don't remember my ride on it that well.

5. Intimidator 305- After the first drop this thing can piss right off.
 
I take it we're not including Red Force in this? Thought not.
That only leaves me with 3 then... although statistically speaking that is 50% of the world's giga coasters I've ridden.
Yes, 50%, that sounds much better than 3!

Ranking them is difficult to be honest, they were all really good, but none of them exactly blew me away.

1. Leviathan. Quite underwhelming at first, still prefer Behemoth, but it grew on me after a few rerides. Tall, fast, smooth... good coaster.
2. Millenium Force. Again, a really tall, really fast coaster, smooth and rerideable but nothing overly spectacular.
3. I305. Underwhelmed at first, was expecting truly great things from this but it didn't deliver what I'd hoped. Still a very good coaster, just not great.

Honestly, if we were to include Red Force, I think I'd take that over those three.

Fury is the one I want though, looks sooo good. Currently I think that's the only B&M in existence that has a shot at being better than Shambhala.
 
^ 50% ; such basic!

Seems a shame that a good hyper > a giga doesn't it?

Out of the 5 ('cos Orion ain't); SD2000 > Fury 325 > I305 > MForce > Leviathan

but that's just me, and I do like them all.
 
Wow; I don’t think I’ve ever seen Steel Dragon 2000 ranked that highly @davidm! What is it that made you like it so much, out of interest?
 
I just have a particular liking to those Morgan machines ; have always just liked them a lot, bad trains and their inelegance notwithstanding.
I loved SD2000 with the old trains and still very very good with the new ones.
Its not that I don't like a big B&M at all, just their hypers seems to me to be a better set of coasters than their gigas.
 
1. I305 - All time favorite full-steel coaster for me. Being crushed with G's and flung in those whips never gets old<3
2. Fury 325 - I've had many changes of opinions on this one. Used to by my #1, then didn't like it cause it was kinda got boring, now I pretty much love it. Super flowy, masterful layout, and just so visually stunning.
3. Leviathan - Decently fun ride, that speed hill is MMMM. Return run is a bit weak, and that brake run is a large buzzkill.
4. Millennium - Not very exiting by today's standards but I've definitely had some good times on it. Love getting a whiff of Panda Express at the end!

Hoping to get on Orion soon, pretty much expect it to be a little better than Levi. Plus was supposed to be riding SD2000 in a few weeks... but ol' rona had other plans. One day!
 
Howie said:
I take it we're not including Red Force in this? Thought not.
Click to expand...
This is a discussion worth getting into, I was kinda hoping it would be brought up in here. I think it was last year when I first heard someone consider Red Force as a giga, and I think I shook my head when I heard that.

For me personally, giga coasters (and hyper coasters as well) are much more than a height marker for a coaster. They're their own style of ride. Beyond the height marker, I've also always held them as having a lift hill and no inversions. I mean, that's how it was for a long time! Nobody really considered or marketed stuff like Xcelerator or X2 or the North American dive machines as hyper coasters. Those either had launches or inversions, and their layouts focused on completely different things rather than the usual big hills and turns that hypers/gigas strive to do.

Of course, there have been some interesting exceptions. First handful were Expedition GeForce, Walibi Goliath, and La Ronde Goliath, all of which were below the 200 ft requirement, but all "acted" like hyper coasters, and I think they were even marketed as hypers (or megas at least). I'm okay with this, as they focus on a hyper style layout.

Now things have gotten a bit weirder with some recent additions. Flying Aces, Hyperion, and Karnan each have the token inversion in an otherwise traditional hyper layout. Then you got Mack promoting their new hyper coaster layout which focuses on a few more inversions. And now RMC's got their "hyper hybrids" (although that seems more like the parks' marketing scheme).

I'm just having a hard time accepting that the terms "hyper" and "giga" only refer to the heigher maker, even if it seems like it's moving in that direction.

"But what about strata coasters? If TTD and KK are stratas, why can't Red Force be a giga?" Well, we haven't seen a true 400ft lift hill coaster, so let's cross that bridge when we get there. And again, nobody really considers Stealth or Xcelerator as hypers, but moreso accelerators.
 
So far I'm not the biggest fan of giga coasters. Going that high and then being limited on what you can do with it due to space and cost, they don't seem to justify their steel pound for pound in anywhere near the same ratio as other rides.

1. Fury 325 - The only one to crack my top 100. Special though not spectacular, I was let down by this ride but I still loved it.
2. Steel Dragon 2000 - Before the mid course it's just dumb, but the countless hills that follow it all provide decent airtime and make it worth riding.
3. Intimidator 305 - An obvious case of trying too hard, reprofiling and trims make for an Intamin classic. The only interesting things it delivered for me were the brutal snaps in the directional changes and that was likely only saved by changing the restraints.

Oh, that's it. Must try harder myself.
 
Hutch said:
This is a discussion worth getting into, I was kinda hoping it would be brought up in here. I think it was last year when I first heard someone consider Red Force as a giga, and I think I shook my head when I heard that.

For me personally, giga coasters (and hyper coasters as well) are much more than a height marker for a coaster. They're their own style of ride. Beyond the height marker, I've also always held them as having a lift hill and no inversions. I mean, that's how it was for a long time! Nobody really considered or marketed stuff like Xcelerator or X2 or the North American dive machines as hyper coasters. Those either had launches or inversions, and their layouts focused on completely different things rather than the usual big hills and turns that hypers/gigas strive to do.

Of course, there have been some interesting exceptions. First handful were Expedition GeForce, Walibi Goliath, and La Ronde Goliath, all of which were below the 200 ft requirement, but all "acted" like hyper coasters, and I think they were even marketed as hypers (or megas at least). I'm okay with this, as they focus on a hyper style layout.

Now things have gotten a bit weirder with some recent additions. Flying Aces, Hyperion, and Karnan each have the token inversion in an otherwise traditional hyper layout. Then you got Mack promoting their new hyper coaster layout which focuses on a few more inversions. And now RMC's got their "hyper hybrids" (although that seems more like the parks' marketing scheme).

I'm just having a hard time accepting that the terms "hyper" and "giga" only refer to the heigher maker, even if it seems like it's moving in that direction.

"But what about strata coasters? If TTD and KK are stratas, why can't Red Force be a giga?" Well, we haven't seen a true 400ft lift hill coaster, so let's cross that bridge when we get there. And again, nobody really considers Stealth or Xcelerator as hypers, but moreso accelerators.
Click to expand...
With hypers and gigas, there's definitely an emphasis put on traditional roller coasters with a lift hill, but like you mentioned, that's not applicable with the strata coasters. I would likely include Red Force in my list whenever I ride it, although I'd probably put an asterisk next to it or something.
 
Antinos said:
With hypers and gigas, there's definitely an emphasis put on traditional roller coasters with a lift hill, but like you mentioned, that's not applicable with the strata coasters. I would likely include Red Force in my list whenever I ride it, although I'd probably put an asterisk next to it or something.
Click to expand...
So what about Xcelerator or Stealth? Those are just a scaled down Red Force, so would you put those in your hyper coaster rankings?

And back to stratas coasters real quick. Like I said, we haven't seen a coaster with a 400 ft lift hill (will we ever? That's another discussion). If we do see a scaled up traditional hyper/giga to 400ft, I could see that being it's own thing separated from the strata model.
 
1. Intimidator 305
2. Fury 325
3. Millennium Force

None of these are bad rides at all, in my opinion; all 3 giga coasters crack my top 20, with Millennium Force at #20, Fury 325 at #6 and Intimidator 305 at #2. I happen to really enjoy intense coasters, which is why Intimidator 305 is my favorite giga coaster out of what I've ridden.
 
Hutch said:
So what about Xcelerator or Stealth? Those are just a scaled down Red Force, so would you put those in your hyper coaster rankings?

And back to stratas coasters real quick. Like I said, we haven't seen a coaster with a 400 ft lift hill (will we ever? That's another discussion). If we do see a scaled up traditional hyper/giga to 400ft, I could see that being it's own thing separated from the strata model.
Click to expand...
Now I'm trying to think if we have a "rank the" topic that's that broad. I think I would include them though, unless it's stated not to include launched coasters. But if anything else, Red Force is kind of in a unique spot with its height and archetype so might as well.
 
The discussion of OMG IS THIS A GIGA is stupid, so even though everyone is trying to act smart, we all know the topic is referring to the traditional giga coasters.

AKA- Millennium Force, Intimidator 305, Fury 325, Steel Dragon 2000, Orion, Leviathan
 
1) Intimidator 305 - My favourite due to the sustained speed, strong airtime and intensity and quick transitions..

2) Fury 325 - Great layout with sustained speed, that cool treble cleff, and B&Ms strongest airtime at the end.

3) Millennium Force - Strong all rounder, good airtime, lengthy ride

4) Steel Dragon 2000 - A lot of fun with all the airtime, but a little bland feeling in some ways.

5) Leviathan - Decent ride, though less interesting than Fury.
 
I'm a simpleton really, for me a giga is 300ft>399ft, regardless of 'style'.

Fury 325 - Best B&M have ever done, in my opinion. It's a masterpiece. I could ride it all day long. I love the speed of the transitions and the strange sideways pops of airtime (both on the low-level corners and the turnaround), plus it's got a few of those massive lovely B&M hills in the middle too. The drop is also outrageous.

Leviathan - B&M do have another winner with this, but it's definitely the precursor to Fury. It's them testing the water, figuring things out, and you can sort of tell. It doesn't quite have the flow that Fury has, but it does still have a kick-ass layout.

Millennium Force - I actually quite like this as the O.G. giga. The setting in fantastic, climbing that lift hill, at the speed it does, with the lake on one side and the rest of CP on the other is pretty special. I also rather like the corners where you just blast around at 90mph. Awesome.

Intimidator 305 - Credit where it's due, it's bloody fast. The first drop/corner combo is brutal, and the rest of the layout is relentless. It's just a bit... dull? I want to like it, but I wish it had a little more variation in it's layout.

Red Force - Meh. I mean, it's tall and stands out, but Dragster is better (better launch, taller, smoother, better trains). Could be somewhat let down by the naff park it's in too - thank goodness they have two B&Ms next door.

I anticipate Tower of Terror coming in near the bottom (Superman was a bit pants), but could see Steel Dragon slithering in ahead of Millennium Force for pure size alone.
 
All the proper gigas have a long drop which is a big part of the appeal, but then do fun stuff after. *Ranking almost becomes nit picking. Would be happy with any, even Orion which according to KI is getting rave reviews (and according to Coaster Studios is 'fine' and want to ride again).

1: Fury 325 - Superb layout easily beating out the others with duration, cool elements and lots of hills. The new entrance is a destination in itself - even if you enter the park at the other end through Afterburns batwing, come on up and see something even better. When it flys over the bridge it faces the correct way for photos, and it also goes under so you walk through the ride. Clamshells are the cherry on top. Was my first coaster on a trip that included my number 2 and 3 - all for the first time so the others didn't stand a chance. *Perhaps a bit too windy. *Entrance is placed close to a coke freestyle machine.

2: Millennium Force - Has my favorite giga lift hill structure which is parallel to the water and has the best light package. Airtime is at least fun and a long ride. Going through and above the trees is a better environment than all the others. A first time rider wont know about the hidden tunnels, which curve so you don't see the light at the end before you enter. Restraints were not an issue for me. *Main gripe is a fault that pops up all over the world: too many people waiting in the station joshing for which row they want or the shortest line.

3: Leviathan - Has a nicer sign than Fury with the logo and water feature - but otherwise inferior in every way. It's still a great ride and its not that short but the mega break run appears instead of an expected finale. Tunnel is a good idea but poorly done. Would going underground with a path above really be too much hassle? Happy to be clamshelled in as always. The last giga I rode and noticeably lacking even knowing it was built before Fury.

4: Steel Dragon 2000 - The longest ride & the only one with a brake run which gives that special pop after the short straight track. Then it rolls into bunny hills that just keep on coming. One of the better metal shed stations. Fascinating trains, *I can live with the chin guards. The Helixi look really impressive but are just a bit of fun and some variety. So much imposing steel.
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5: Intimidator 305 - Had great rides in 2010 on a hot day when it was really smooth. 2nd best giga lift hill with the cable adding a lot. The grey out is unlike anything else *but I already have trouble remembering rides. I'd want a giga to spend more time high in the air whatever the airtime may be. Would be more inclined to appreciate the parks motives if they were only allowed 1 tall spot. The smooth brake runs steep angle makes me marvel at magnets every time. Not been back since, and 305 alone doesn't encourage me to return to see what it has become.
 
Overall RankingRidePark
8Fury 325Carowinds
9Intimidator 305Kings Dominion
11Millennium ForceCedar Point
38OrionKings Island

  • Fury 325 - It's all you ever wanted in a Giga. Full layout, good airtime, great drop and speed.
  • Intimidator 305 - What this coaster lacks in hills it makes up for in speed; hot nasty bad-ass speed.
  • Millennium Force - It's the OG Giga, which remains one of the best coaster statements in the roller coaster business. It's rare to find a roller coaster that fundamentally changed an entire park, with a goliath footprint spanning literal islands.
  • Orion - A Giga on a hyper budget - what it lacks in the stat department shows. Just go ride it and enjoy it, k?
 
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