Rank the Powered Coasters

[Matt N]

Hi guys. Powered coasters are somewhat of a common theme park staple, particularly in Europe, so I thought; why not make a powered coaster ranking thread? Most people have probably done at least 1, so I thought it might be fun!

I'll get the ball rolling with my rankings... I've done 4 in total; 3 Macks and 1 Zamperla:

1. Runaway Mine Train, Alton Towers (Mack) - This is by far and away my favourite one, personally! This might partially be down to nostalgia (I'm not really sure), but this one puts a way bigger smile on my face than any other powered coaster I've ridden; it's a real guilty pleasure of mine, and I often make an effort to ride it when I'm at Alton, which I'm not sure I could say for the others! However, even talking objectively, this one seems to have more thrills to it than the others I've done; those helixes, particularly the second one, are super fun, in my opinion, and have no business being on a family coaster! Even the non-helix bits seem to pack an unexpected punch on RMT compared to the others, and overall, while it might not be the most extreme thing on Earth, RMT has a really wide appeal and never fails to put a smile on my face! Choo Choo! 7/10, #27 overall
2. Flying Fish, Thorpe Park (Mack) - I have it placed at a definite peg below RMT, yes, but Flying Fish still isn't a bad little ride, in my opinion! The circuit may not be overly extensive, but it doesn't take it with bad speed; it feels quite nippy in some of those helixes! However, this and the 2 below do feel distinctly more kiddified than RMT on top; that's not a bad thing, but that is why the overall rankings are a fair bit lower for the lower 3. 4/10, #60 overall
3. Buffalo Mountain Coaster, Drayton Manor (Zamperla) - This one actually had a fairly impressive sprawling layout out over the lake, and it did have its moments where it picked up a bit of speed, but it felt kind of like it struggled a little in numerous spots; it felt as though the motor was struggling to push the ride along. It also didn't feel as refined as the Mack models; it definitely seemed to have a slight bounciness to it that the Macks don't. A perfectly adequate ride for the younger families, however! 4/10, #62 overall
4. Scorpion Express, Chessington World of Adventures (Mack) - I know this one is a clone of Flying Fish, but it weirdly felt noticeably slower... that could be my hazy, near 8 year old memories talking, however, as I haven't been to Chessington since 2014. I think this one needs a reride! 4/10, #63 overall

That's my powered coaster rankings! I'm hoping to gain a new powered coaster credit in just over 3 months' time in the form of Alpenexpress at Europa Park, so I'll be intrigued to see where that one places; it'll be my first new powered coaster since 2018!

But how would you rank the powered coasters you've ridden?

 

[Sandman]

I don't even know if I can remember all of the powered coasters I've done, they're so uneventful

Off the top of my head... (this is incredibly marginal)

1. Runaway Mine Train
2. Alpenexpress
3. Draak
4. Odinexpressen
5. Scorpion Express
6. Flying Fish
7. Rhombus Rocket
8. Buffalo Coaster

 

[Rob Coasters]

1. Rhombus Rocket (#35 out of 117)
2. Runaway Mine Train (#39)
3. Scorpion Express (#50)
4. Buffalo Roller Coaster (#59)
5. Flying Fish (#72)
6. Grand Canyon (#93)
7. Travelling Zamperla single helix dragon I did in 2013 (#? since Captain Coaster does not list this ride)
8. Average Go Gator (#105)

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

Most people have probably done at least 1

Oh my, I'm going to have to break this one down.

The Powered Dragons and variations
#49-64
Lowlights:
I think queuing an hour or so for Tobot Train @ Seoul Land
Highlights:
The beast that is Sliding Caterpillar @ Merlin's Kinderwelt, I hope you've seen the picture.
Dragon Coaster @ Everland and Dragon 2 Loop Coaster @ Gyeongju World as they generally involve singing ride hosts.

The bad oddballs
#48 Sombrero @ Jacquou Parc for making me think it probably isn't a coaster
#47 Rexplorer @ Mirabilandia for being too hot, boring and on a bad day
#46 Peter Rabbit Coaster @ Nagashima Spa Land for being the most pooly themed coaster with a major IP in a major theme park and one of only four operating coasters on a bad day
#45 Hummel Brummel @ Schwaben Park for being pointless

The not very good oddballs
#44 Morgawr @ Camel Creek Adventure Park for looking good
#43 Magic Castle @ E-World for more singing Koreans
#42 Crocodile Coaster @ Oakwood Theme Park for me breaking it
#41 Bear Coaster @ Higashiyama Zoo & Botanical Gardens for having a bear on it
#40 Monkey Coaster @ Japan Monkey Park for having a monkey on it (and an axe)
#39 Casey Jr., Le Petit Train du Cirque @ Disneyland Paris for running multiple trains

The bad Macks
#38 Odinexpressen @ Tivoli Gardens for giving me a headache
#37 Tokaido Express @ Lunapark Fréjus for going on too long
#36 Flying Fish @ Thorpe Park for being in a field at Thorpe Park
#35 Blauer Enzian @ Freizeit-Land Geiselwind for being in a field
#34 Dynamite Express @ Drievliet for being unmemorable
#33 Arctic Blast @ Ocean Park for not doing much
#32 Draak @ Plopsaland de Panne for poor operations

The alright oddballs
#31 Der Zug des Manitu @ Wiener Prater for going backwards
#30 Speed Chenille @ Kingoland for the speed hill
#29 Garden Fantasy @ Guangzhou Sunac Land for being a poor attempt at a dark ride

Big Zamperlas
#28 Buffalo Mountain Coaster @ Drayton Manor for being entirely unmemorable
#27 Karst Cave Coaster @ Jin Jiang Action Park for being indoors
#26 Blackhole Coaster @ Greenland for being indoors in Japan
#25 Mine Train @ Leolandia for interacting with a log flume
#24 Kukulcan @ Adventureland for interacting with Forest Train
#23 Forest Train @ Adventureland for interacting with Kukulcan
#22 Virtual Express @ Tibidabo for interacting with Spanish mountain roads (and letting us ruin that with VR)

The good oddballs
#21 Cacahuète Express @ Parc Fenestre for donkeys
#20 Rhombus Rocket @ Fantasy Island for being rather brutal recently

The alright Macks
#18 & #19 Max & Moritz @ Efteling for on-board music and station theming
#17 Scorpion Express @ Chessington World of Adventures for the memories
#16 Dragen @ Legoland Billund for dark ride section and running multiple trains
#15 Gold Mine Train @ Nigloland for interacting with a log flume
#14 Pikajuna @ Linnanmäki for interacting with Taiga
#13 Bob Express @ Bobbejaanland for being one of the best things at Bobbejaanland
#12 Eurospeed @ Fabrikus World for being after midnight
#11 Gletscherblitz @ Steinwasen Park for interacting with a Bobkart
#10 Grottenblitz @ Heide Park for that nice indoor bit
#9 Gruvbanan @ Skara Sommarland for that ghetto indoor bit
#8 Alpenexpress Enzian @ Europa Park for that very nice indoor bit
#7 Arthur @ Europa Park for being Arthur

The special oddballs
#6 Cars @ Pirat' Parc for having a better dark ride section than Arthur
#5 Machine à Vapeur @ Jardin d'Acclimatation for trying to kill me
#4 Clone Zone @ Milky Way Adventure Park for countless reasons

The good Macks
#3 Runaway Mine Train @ Alton Towers for probably having just the best layout
#2 Miniwah @ Freizeitpark Plohn for doing indoor theming perfectly

The best
#1 Dragon Gliders @ Motiongate

 

[Indy]

I generally can't be bothered with powered coasters, but here it goes...

1. Arthur - Europa Park




2. Alpenexpress Enzian - Europa Park
3. Runaway Mine Train - Alton Towers
4. Thunder Run - Canada's Wonderland
5. Speedi '64 - Hopi Hari