I always find making top 10s extremely difficult, especially not biasing the ranking to more recently-ridden coasters, but either way, here's my best attempt at my top 10 (well 20):
1: Shambhala - Absolutely adore this thing! The drop is majestic, the airtime absolutely spot on, the sensation of speed fantastic, plus it carries its speed very well throughout its well varied layout. I also love the openness of the trains and the lap bars!
2: El Toro - This is a bit of a controversial one, but I think Shammy just edges it in a few departments. To avoid the haters, I think I probably need to justify myself:
- The ejector airtime is incredible, especially on the drop and 'that hill', but I think it just about comes down to my preference for floater really. Generally, I'd take ejector over floater, but when the floater is as perfect as it is on Shambahala with all the butterflies coming out, El Toro falls slightly short.
- Greater restraint freedom on Shambhala
- El Toro is a much more tempremental, less reliable ride. By this I mean it takes a while to warm up and start hauling, whereas Shambhala is on the money from the start. Equally, the wheel seats are slightly rougher and El Toro isn't quite as good in every seat, whereas whilst each seat on Shammy had its pros and cons, the ride was orgasmic everywhere.
- Call me crazy, but I think El Toro does have a few duller spots in its layout, notably from the second big hill to the ejector hill and the run up to the brakes. There are one or two respites on Shambhala, but generally you get more per unit track.
3: Katun - Simply the most forceful ride I've ever been on. Love the intensity, the insane positive Gs with the airtime-filled drop and tunnel other highlights for me. I also adore the 'flying' feeling on B&M inverts.
4: Nemesis - Another B&M invert. I think we're all decided about why this one's so good! Just doesn't quite have the raw pace and intensity of Katun, but still has some brilliant moments and beautiful theming.
5: Nitro - Just not as good as Shambhala. Period. It absolutely flies through the second half of the layout (I almost greyed out on the helix tbh) and there is genuine ejector on the last few hills, but the first half is just so...uninspired and dull? Maybe it wasn't quite up to speed and granted, I did ride it closer to the middle each time (but to beat Shammy, it would have to be better in every seat). But whilst the drop was good, it was also quite weak, as were the rest of the larger airtime hills and the turnaround. A lot of wasted track - for example, after the drop, that weird turn contributes absolutely nothing to layout. Maybe it was because of the older, shorter seating arrangement?
6: Dragon Khan - Perfect example of an old-school sit-down with a tonne of force, a brilliant drop and a long and varied layout.
7: Montu - Excellent B&M invert, with a unique element in the batwing, an awesome immelman and a lovely set of elements in the troughs(?) at the end.
8: Kraken - It's a real toss up between this and Kumba, but I seem to remember enjoying this one a bit more, as I think I prefer the layout after the MCBR - great loop, tunnel and corkscrew.
9: Kumba - Bonus marks for the tunnel and speed turn, but just a tad smaller and less forceful than its counterparts.
10: Ispeed - Fantastic launch and very intense, but the layout was just a bit too fancy for me? It just seemed like it tired to do a bit too much? A few more classical airtime hills would have really improved it. Overrated.
11: HRRR - Used to be my favourite coaster (as you can see in my sig and avatar...). There's a lot of hate for this ride, but when I rode it, it was smooth, long, had a great drop and good forces. Very enjoyable.
12: Swarm - Not a world beater, but carries its speed very well. It's not particularly forceful, but I think it's probably the most well-rounded coaster at Thorpe.
13: Inferno - Think I just prefer it to the Batman clone I've done, as it seems a bit smoother, has some more unorthodox elements (like the pre-lift) and the area it interacts with is lovely.
14: Kingda Ka - Really not sure where to put this one. Crazily intense, with fantastic speed (obviously) and decent airtime. It was all a bit of a blur, but it was just a bit uncomfortable with borderline roughness and poor acceleration. Not a very well-rounded coaster, but it has a hell of a lot of height and speed going for it.
15: Stealth - Best acceleration on any coaster I've been on. If it had a longer layout like Xcelerator after the hill, it would definitely be in my top 10!
16: Hulk - Good, but not nearly as good as the other two sit-downs I've ridden. Launch was weak and there was some borderline roughness (obviously not anymore...), but otherwise good forces and speed and has fantastic atmosphere!
17: The Smiler - Underrated in my opinion. Not stellar, but not too rough either, with some good forces and airtime. The way it self-duels makes it visually stunning.
18: Oblivion - One trick pony, but boy does it do the trick well! Ends on a real high, unlike Sheikra, which just poodles along at the end.
19: Batman - Really liked it, but there was borderline roughness, and it wasn't quite as intense as its reputation made it out to be! Didn't really get the flying sensation for some reason.
20: Manta - The drop and skim over the water are good, but the ride is really made by that incredible Pretzel loop. Unfortunately, the rest of the layout is really tedious and uninteresting.
