Finally feel like I have a decent top 20 after a European trip this year
1: Untamed, Walibi Holland
2: Nemesis, Alton Towers
3: Taron, Phantasialand
4: Silver Star, Europa Park
5: Shambhala, PortAventura
6: Blue Fire, Europa Park
7: Wodan Timbur Coaster, Europa Park
8: Lost Gravity, Walibi Holland
9: Goliath, Walibi Holland
10: Stealth, Thorpe Park
11: Oblivion, Alton Towers
12: Nemesis Inferno, Thorpe Park
13: F.L.Y, Phantasialand
14: Wicker Man, Alton Towers
15: Star Trek: Operation Enterprise, Movie Park Germany
16: Dragon Khan, PortAventura
17: Fēnix, Toverland
18: Smiler, Alton Towers
19: Red Force, PortAventura
20: Swarm, Thorpe Park
Update after visiting Poland & revisiting Europa this year, plus some (fairly basic...) thoughts on the top 10 below:
1: Voltron, Europa Park
2: Zadra, Energylandia
3: Untamed, Walibi Holland
4: Lech Coaster, Legendia
5: Hyperion, Energylandia
6: Nemesis, Alton Towers
7: Taron, Phantasialand
8: Silver Star, Europa Park
9: Shambhala, PortAventura
10: Wodan Timbur Coaster, Europa Park
11: Nemesis Inferno, Thorpe Park
12: Blue Fire Megacoaster, Europa Park
13: Lost Gravity, Walibi Holland
14: Goliath, Walibi Holland
15: Abyssus, Energylandia
16: Stealth, Thorpe Park
17: Oblivion, Alton Towers
18: F.L.Y, Phantasialand
19: Formula, Energylandia
20: Wicker Man, Alton Towers
1: Voltron, Europa Park
Had thought that RMC would have a firm hold on my top position for some time, but then in comes Voltron, aggressively them down into second & third place. Just an incredible coaster, relentless pacing, insane airtime & hangtime (felt like the train was trying to eject me most of the way round). First launch & Zero-G stall are my highlights I think, but the whole thing is insane. Feels like it takes a lot of design cues from RMC, and I think that part of the reason it beats them in my ranking is partly the level of theming, but also the much more comfortable Mack trains & restraints (I'm 6'4" and a fairly large stomach/waist, so the RMC restraints are very restrictive for me). Also didn't notice a rattle or anything across my 6 rides in every row and both outer and inner seats.
Basically Smiler if it were actually good...
2: Zadra, Energylandia
My 100th coaster, and what a coaster! First drop is brilliant, and the Zero-G Stall is a particular standout. Think Untamed is close to beating it, but the sheer scale of Zadra just beats it out.
3: Untamed, Walibi Holland
My first RMC and such a good coaster. Whole thing is great, but think the return run from the turnaround back to the station is the best bit, particularly the final inversion and the bunny hops & headchoppers through the structure.
4: Lech Coaster, Legendia
Such a great little coaster, love all the quick positive to negative transitions and the roll through the station. Brilliant intense machine.
First 4 in my list are very close.
5: Hyperion, Energylandia
Brilliant mix of 'standard' hyper coaster elements and fast snappy turns and airtime moments, plus a great inversion.
6: Nemesis, Alton Towers
Bit sad to see this drop out of the top 5 as it had been my #1 from 2016 when I first rode it until last year, but everything above very much deserves it. Will always be my #0 coaster though as was the 1 coaster I always aspired to ride as I was growing up, and the one that got rid of my fear of riding coasters. Still a great coaster in such a unique location. Helix through Zero-G is one of the best sequences of elements on anything I've ridden.
7: Taron, Phantasialand
Love the launches, and a great layout with some good moments of airtime and in a brilliantly themed area.
8: Silver Star, Europa Park
Great fun B&M Hyper, great floater through the first half then a nice twisty second half with a couple of ejector moments (maybe helped by only having ridden it in the back row?). Would like to see it get a retheme at some point though, as it currently feels like a missing link at Europa in terms of theming.
Took a while to decide whether this or Shambhala were better, probably not helped by not having ridden Shambhala since 2017, so could flip positions whenever I get back to Spain.
9: Shambhala, PortAventura
See above... Great fun B&M Hyper layout with a huge amount of floater, main memory is it trying to undress me every time I rode it
10: Wodan Timbur Coaster, Europa Park
Feels like this could easily be higher, but a brilliant layout with some great almost RMC-ish moments, particularly towards the end, like Wicker Man on steroids, and similar to Zadra vs Untamed, shows that sometimes taller and faster are better.