madhjsp
Giga Poster
It's been a couple weeks since I've been to a park & it'll be a couple more before I get to Busch Gardens at the end of June, but I've been thinking on & off about my top ten & I shook it up a little bit.
Here's what it was last time I posted in this topic:
1. I305
2. El Toro
3. Millennium Force
4. Griffon
5. Apollo's Chariot
6. Alpengeist
7. Maverick
8. Incredible Hulk
9. Kingda Ka
10. Nitro
Here it is now:
1. I305
2. El Toro
3. Millennium Force
4. Griffon
5. Nitro
6. Apollo's Chariot
7. Alpengeist
8. Maverick
9. Incredible Hulk
10. Kingda Ka
Basically, I put Nitro ahead of Apollo's Chariot & shifted everything else down a spot. The reasoning for this change is that my initial feeling after riding Nitro was that it was better than Apollo's Chariot. Specifically, I thought it had more floater, a hammerhead element (which I love, and which Apollo lacks), and a better, more forceful helix. But I couldn't be sure about the comparison since I hadn't ridden Apollo in about a year, so I put it in my top 10, but further down (my Busch fanboyishness probably also had something to do with my hesitance to rank it higher). Over the past couple weeks, though, it kept bugging me that I initially thought one coaster was better than another but didn't rank it higher, so I just decided to go ahead & re-rank them, even though it's been weeks since I rode it. Apollo will get a chance to prove me wrong at the end of the month, though, so by then I will either re-rank them again or feel better about my decision.
I think this top 10 differs from most people's in many ways, but I'm pretty satisfied with it. I think what's weird about it is that it isn't exactly consistent. It seems that many enthusiasts' top 10's are filled with airtime machines or great looping/inverted coasters, depending on whichever one they prefer, but mine is kind of all over the map.
I305 is my fav because of the insane speed, quick direction changes, & positive G's.
El Toro is up there because of its ridiculous airtime and also some pretty nice positive G's in the figure-8 part.
Millennium Force comes in at #3 because of the great drop and sustained height and speed throughout the layout, which I find to be great fun, despite the relative lack of forces which turns off many enthusiasts.
Griffon gets #4 because I LOVE the drop... it's quite simply the best drop I've ever ridden.
Nitro comes in at #5 for all the aforementioned reasons... it's the best floater coaster in my count.
Apollo's Chariot is close, so it's #6.
Alpengeist at #7 is my favorite invert because I love the speed and size of the elements.. it's very different from most inverts, which causes some enthusiasts to rank it lower, but I've yet to ride an invert I can safely say I've enjoyed more.
Maverick is just a really fun ride and universally highly regarded, so no justification needed for putting it at #8.
Hulk is #9 for me because outside of the big ones at Busch Gardens and my top 2 coasters at KD (I305 & Dommy), it is by far my most-ridden coaster. And every time I ride it, I have a ton of fun. I think it's a great layout and I love the launch into the zero-G. What more can you ask for out of a looper?
Finally, Kingda Ka rounds out the top 10 because of the unbelievable launch (why else? :roll
.
Here's what it was last time I posted in this topic:
1. I305
2. El Toro
3. Millennium Force
4. Griffon
5. Apollo's Chariot
6. Alpengeist
7. Maverick
8. Incredible Hulk
9. Kingda Ka
10. Nitro
Here it is now:
1. I305
2. El Toro
3. Millennium Force
4. Griffon
5. Nitro
6. Apollo's Chariot
7. Alpengeist
8. Maverick
9. Incredible Hulk
10. Kingda Ka
Basically, I put Nitro ahead of Apollo's Chariot & shifted everything else down a spot. The reasoning for this change is that my initial feeling after riding Nitro was that it was better than Apollo's Chariot. Specifically, I thought it had more floater, a hammerhead element (which I love, and which Apollo lacks), and a better, more forceful helix. But I couldn't be sure about the comparison since I hadn't ridden Apollo in about a year, so I put it in my top 10, but further down (my Busch fanboyishness probably also had something to do with my hesitance to rank it higher). Over the past couple weeks, though, it kept bugging me that I initially thought one coaster was better than another but didn't rank it higher, so I just decided to go ahead & re-rank them, even though it's been weeks since I rode it. Apollo will get a chance to prove me wrong at the end of the month, though, so by then I will either re-rank them again or feel better about my decision.
I think this top 10 differs from most people's in many ways, but I'm pretty satisfied with it. I think what's weird about it is that it isn't exactly consistent. It seems that many enthusiasts' top 10's are filled with airtime machines or great looping/inverted coasters, depending on whichever one they prefer, but mine is kind of all over the map.
I305 is my fav because of the insane speed, quick direction changes, & positive G's.
El Toro is up there because of its ridiculous airtime and also some pretty nice positive G's in the figure-8 part.
Millennium Force comes in at #3 because of the great drop and sustained height and speed throughout the layout, which I find to be great fun, despite the relative lack of forces which turns off many enthusiasts.
Griffon gets #4 because I LOVE the drop... it's quite simply the best drop I've ever ridden.
Nitro comes in at #5 for all the aforementioned reasons... it's the best floater coaster in my count.
Apollo's Chariot is close, so it's #6.
Alpengeist at #7 is my favorite invert because I love the speed and size of the elements.. it's very different from most inverts, which causes some enthusiasts to rank it lower, but I've yet to ride an invert I can safely say I've enjoyed more.
Maverick is just a really fun ride and universally highly regarded, so no justification needed for putting it at #8.
Hulk is #9 for me because outside of the big ones at Busch Gardens and my top 2 coasters at KD (I305 & Dommy), it is by far my most-ridden coaster. And every time I ride it, I have a ton of fun. I think it's a great layout and I love the launch into the zero-G. What more can you ask for out of a looper?
Finally, Kingda Ka rounds out the top 10 because of the unbelievable launch (why else? :roll
.
