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Rank the Intamin hyper/mega coasters

Matt N

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. Intamin are arguably one of the most prominent hyper coaster manufacturers, with many great hyper and mega coasters under their belt; they've even made world award winners in the form of Bizarro at Six Flags New England and Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park! But surprisingly, CF doesn't appear to have a ranking thread for Intamin hyper and mega coasters, which I find very surprising given that B&M hypers have one, and most enthusiasts seemingly feel that Intamin hypers are far superior to B&M hypers. So now that Intamin hypers are beginning to rise in popularity again, with new heavyweights like Hyperion and Kondaa entering the hyper/mega scene after a few years' drought on the Intamin hyper front, I thought it might be a nice time to finally give Intamin hyper and mega coasters their own ranking thread (the reason I say "and mega" is due to things like EGF, Kondaa and Goliath, which are very Intamin hyper-like but aren't technically hypers).

I haven't ridden any Intamin hypers myself, so can't contribute, but how would you rank the Intamin hyper and mega coasters you've done?
 
I assume you truly mean just the mega coasters and not the gigas, so I'm going purely sub-300ft...
  1. Hyperion: One of the best paced rides I've ever experienced. It hauls throughout the course while subjecting you to intense airtime, high speed twists and turns, and one of the best inversions I've experienced. It's not perfect by any means, but it is outclasses the others.
  2. Expedition GeForce: It pained me a little to accept that Hyperion is better, but not by much. EGF still has one of the all-time greatest drops on a coaster with loads of intense airtime. The difference is that its non-airtime content isn't quite as wild and fast-paced as Hyperion's.
  3. SkyRush: I actually find this ride to be slightly overrated. Don't get me wrong. It is really good. It's just not a top 5 coaster to me. It certainly tries to kill you, but there are really only 3, maybe 4 good airtime moments. The rest is just largely uninteresting turns accept for the high banked turn that tries to throw you out and that is honestly a detractor for me as there is no side bracing for riders. If you don't know what to expect, you get absolutely folded over to the side and it can be quite painful. It also has an incredibly anti-climactic ending, which is something that the two coasters ahead of it certainly do not suffer from.
  4. Goliath: It was really fun, but it just wasn't a very intense ride until the last three airtime hills. I suffered a bit from anticippoinment. Those last three airtime hills and the final turn are fantastic though.
  5. Superman The Ride: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Such a long and once-great ride that has been ruined by lousy restraints/trains. The latest trains feature restraints that land in the middle of your femurs. All too often it results in a pretty painful experience when you are sent through the ride's airtime hills. Sometimes it's tolerable and sometimes it isn't. It's honestly so tough to rank the ride anymore.
  6. Superman - Ride of Steel: It's fine I guess. It's not as bad as it looks like it should be. The airtime hills are really solid and helices aren't quite as bad as I expected, but it's still a really uninspiring layout with a lot of straight track and flat helices that could have been more interesting.

Edited to add actual content.
 
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Do/should mega-lites count? I'll go ahead and consider it (it's got mega in the name after all), but it's an interesting question to pose.
  1. Skyrush: A brutally intense experience. There's no coaster in the world quite like it, which is probably the best compliment one can give a coaster.
  2. Superman the Ride: A coaster with as great a layout as this deserves a better name than "Superman: the Ride." Like, what does that even mean? Is it like Superman's ride? Or is it like the embodiment of Superman as a ride? Anyway, great coaster, one of the greatest layouts, and restraints that feel like having to put your luggage on your lap during a flight.
  3. Kawasemi: In terms of pure pacing, it's hard to beat the mega lites. It doesn't hit the highs of the top two, but it's considerably better than those below it.
  4. Goliath: Significant drop in quality here. Still fun and has some nice airtime, but it feels woefully "of its time." Like, the first half is crafted around about this amazing, one of a kind, CRAZY element: the Stengel dive. Which is a great element and all but feels so vanilla by now.
  5. Thunder Dolphin: One of the greatest drops in the world. It's like if Millennium Force's drop was in the middle of Tokyo. Shame it doesn't do much with all that speed. It's still fun and better than most roller coasters, just not what it could've been.
The fact I've never ridden either Ride of Steel is, honestly, a bit embarrassing. As someone who has knocked out most of America's major parks, I seem to have some of the most basic coasters as blind spots.
 
1. Expedition Geforce - Just a great layout. Old school in that there's no new fangled elements like off axis hills or twisted bunny hops. However it in no way feels dated. Each airtime hill is pure euphoria and the barrage of small hills leading up to the brakes will never not make me grin like a maniac.

2. Hyperion - An opposite to Geforce, lots of the coaster is fannying around low to the ground focusing on transitions and laterals rather than repeated airtime hills of joys. But it works, the first half is so tall and bombastic and the turnaround is genius. Very intense coaster.

3. Kondaa - On paper this should be top as it's a long, creative layout with a huge variety and quantity of airtime moments. Riding it felt slightly sterile, it is fantastic but doesn't feel as alive and monstrous as the top 2.

4. Flying Aces - By far the most intense coaster on the list. Less airtime than the others and more of a focus on positives and laterals.

5. Goliath (WH) - Another old school hyper. Not nearly as tight as Geforce due to the meandering helix section in the middle which feels like it takes up most of the ride. Bunny hills at the end are once again a delight.
 
I have a very small list of two, but it will be interesting to revisit this later in the year when I might be able to add a couple more...

1. Goliath (WH) - I love this. Maybe there's some level of "basic-ness" here. Maybe I have a soft spot for it since it was the first of these 'traditional' mega/hyper coasters I've done. But this is just a ride which is pure joy, easy to re-ride and it just works as a complete package. The final hills are something I adore too.

2. Hyperion - It is very close between these two tbf (ranked 11th and 13th respectively). Hyperion is big, fast and fun. It doesn't have as strong ejector as Goliath though, and it does peter out towards the end (in a way which still makes it a fun coaster in a broad context, but creates an uneven experience).
 
I've only just realised how few of these there actually are in the world. Dunno why, I just thought there were more of them. Turns out I've only been on 3, or 5 if you count the gigas. Really having trouble separating them to be honest, all of them are worthy of being... let's say Top 10%. I don't currently have one in my actual Top 10 (although Goliath, my first one, was in there for a while back in the day) but I'd say each of them are noteworthy coasters that were one of the highlights of their respective trips. Top 10% material all day long.
Anyhoo, today I feel like ranking them in this order but like I said, there's not much in it.

1. Goliath. Probably nostalgia more than anything as it was my first one, circa 2007.

2. Expedition GeForce. I rode this and Hyperion 2 days apart in 2020. At the time I thought I preferred Hyperion but looking back after 18 months I somehow have fonder memories of EGF. Weird.

3. Hyperion. Can't lie though, the first 3 elements on this bad boy - drop, airtime hill, turnaround - are literally off the scale!

4. Millenium Force. One thing I am sure of though is that the gigas are not as good as the hypers and megas. Still great, but Millie is more of a speed machine than an airtime machine. And I like me some airtime.

5. Intimidator 305. Still great, has airtime and some forces, unlike Millie, but it's kinda over in a flash and just lacks a little character.
 
I'm thinking I've got the full set of layouts right now, only missing clones, so yay for that.
Looks like we're including Wings, they outclass the lot for me.

1. Skyrush
2. Flying Aces

Then the more modern Megas are showing a lot of promise (and making the early ones feel a bit suboptimal)

3. Kondaaaa
4. Hyperion
5. Coaster through the Clouds
6. Piraten
7. Light Speed
8. Expedition GeForce
9. Goliath
10. Superman the Ride
11. Mega-Lite
12. Kawasemi
13. Thunder Dolphin
14. Superman - Ride of Steel
 
Has anyone just ever responded: "No" to one of these threads? :p

I've also been on a hilariously short list of these:
  1. Skyrush - Hershey Park
  2. Superman: Ride of Steel - Six Flags America
 
1. Expedition GeForce
2. Goliath

Both excellent.
I think GeForce wins just due to the superior drop and airtime. The setting is actually one of my favourites as well.
 
I guess I haven't been on many either? Then again, there aren't a whole lot out there to begin with.

1. Skyrush
2. Superman: The Ride
3. Superman: Ride of Steel

For what it's worth, I'd put Millennium Force just below Skyrush, and Intimidator 305 in between the Supermans.
 
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