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Top 10(ish): 2024 Edition - page 124

b&mfanboy123 said:
Busch GARDENS TAMPA IS NOT A GOD AWFUL PARK! MUCH BETTER THAN MAGIC KINGDOM!
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Ok, gonna have another crack at this. After gaining almost 80 new creds in the space of 10 days on a road trip this past summer, I'd sort of given up on having a definitive top 10. Too much effort, too many contenders, too hard to narrow it down to just 10.
Top 10% seems more realistic to me, so that's roughly what this is. Pretty much all of these I feel are, or at least were at some point, worthy of inclusion in a Top 10.
No spreadsheets, no graphs, no algorithms - this is all based off gut feeling alone.

1. Steel Vengeance. Durr.
2. Helix. Truly a thing of beauty. So classy, so elegant, intense, fun and infinitely rerideable. And those on-board lights at night!
3. X2. The polar opposite of Helix - huge, brutal, subtle as a brick... and f***ing awesome!
4. Nemesis. Yessss, the old favourite. I know things have "moved on" since those days, but my love for this ride will never die.
5. Top Thrill Dragster. It's like Kingda Ka, only much better. Lapbars, theming, revving engine noises, traffic light countdown on the tower, Republica, and did I mention the lapbars? And also, it doesn't rattle like a bitch.
6. Outlaw Run. Badass ride, this. Loved it.
7. Taron. If it wasn't for night-time ERT, this ride wouldn't be anywhere near as high. But there is night-time ERT on Taron, and it's one of the best 60 minutes you can have as a goon, so into the top 10 it goes.
8. Behemoth. Hands down the most sustained, glorious floater airtime I've ever experienced.
9. Wildfire. Location, location, location.
10. Tatsu. Spectacular coaster, this. Massive, intense and my God, that pretzel loop.

11 - 20. From here on, things get a bit more vague, so rather than ranking everything in exact order, here are the next 10:

• El Toro.
• Dragon Khan. Classic, old skool B&M muscle coaster.
• Revenge of the Mummy (Orlando). FIRE!!
• Kingda Ka. The big green penis. Not as good as TTD, obvs, but I can't ignore the sheer terror I felt when waiting for it to launch.
• Leviathan.
• Voyage. Would be a lot higher if it wasn't quite so brutal.
• Colossos
• Pulsar. Every park should get one of these. Brilliant fun.
• Oblivion. Not for what it is now, but for what it was back then - a true 90's masterpiece. Still one of the scariest things I've ever done in a theme park.
• Volcano - The Blast Coaster.

And the next 10:
• The other Wildfire at SDC. Like its namesake, this beautiful, old skool B&M benefits from being in a stunning location.
• Balder.
• Storm Chaser.
• Thunderbird. The best of the B&M wing riders.
• Dominator. The best of the B&M floorless coasters.
• Beast. Ranking based on one, solitary, pitch-black night ride. What an experience, tho!
• i305.
• Verbolten.
• Banshee.
• Troy. TROY!

And finally, a few more:
• Raptor (CP). Purely for the roar.
• Olympia Looping.
• Thunderlooper.
• Stealth.
• T'Ultimate.

That's about it, roughly 10% of my total count. Of course, there are lots of other coasters I've ridden that are very very good indeed, but these are the ones that I feel stand out from the crowd, that are noteworthy.
 
b&mfanboy123 said:
Busch GARDENS TAMPA IS NOT A GOD AWFUL PARK! MUCH BETTER THAN MAGIC KINGDOM!
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In your opinion... I think Magic Kingdom is a great all-rounder. It has incredible theming and some of the best ride experiences out there. Of course it's not going to suit thrill seekers so I can understand anyone who disagrees. There's a couple of reasons I really hated the park. So from least egregious to downright disgusting...
  1. The thrill coaster selection is amazing, but Cheetah Hunt feels like a massive missed opportunity. It doesn't commit to being an all out thrill ride, it's mostly forceless. But at the same time I think it's too intense for a family coaster. I don't really know who this ride is meant to be targeted at?
  2. What is up with Falcons Fury? I love the concept but the drop is god awful, it's forceless and stops way too high off the ground. I went in expecting great things and came off with the opinion that it's probably one of the worst drop towers I have done to date.
  3. The family coaster selection is god awful. Scorpion is unbearably rough, Sand Serpent is one of the roughest and least forceful wild mouse coasters out there (where were the pops of airtime?), Cobras Curse I just don't understand, you don't stay in one direction for long enough to fully appreciate it,, the layout is just dull and doesn't do anything interesting. I love Mack but Cobras Curse is definitely the worst spinning coaster out there. Genuinely have no interest in re-riding it when I go back in 2020.
  4. The layout of the park is awful and I don't think anyone can argue against that. There's just no easy way to get from place to place without walking a literal mile.
  5. The whole park feels really run down. There's very little theming and what theming there is just doesn't hold up very well. The stations haven't seen a lick of paint since they opened and it just feels like a low budget family ran park. It reminds me of Drayton in that aspect.
  6. The operations at Busch are by far the worst I have ever seen in any park. Yes even worse than Thorpe Park. There's no batching so the airgates are a complete battle. It's pot luck as to wether you'll be on the same ride as your friends. The trains take FOREVER to dispatch for no apparent reason. The queues took forever despite being short. The staff were super unprofessional, some having conversations over the tannoy system that had nothing to do with ride operations, hell one just left their post for a minute to go have a chat. Then rides would break down and they didn't even have the decency to close the queue or let anyone in the queue know what the hell was going on. Same exact thing happened at Howloscream (which was awful due to poor actors) but it was made worse by the fact actors got priority boarding on their breaks. Not even fastpass, the actors got to walk up the exit and jump on seats that we could've taken. By the end of the day I was fuming. The park is a disgrace. Amazing thrill coasters, but shocking operations.
Also oh my god Snoo, I saw your comment about Mine Blower and was just like 'YES! Someone else who ranks this ride highly!' it's such a fun coaster. It's just relentless from start to finish. You are so right, I need to get myself on more GG woodies. Hopefully looking to do ChuChulain sometime soon.
 
silenthillXD said:
In your opinion... I think Magic Kingdom is a great all-rounder. It has incredible theming and some of the best ride experiences out there. Of course it's not going to suit thrill seekers so I can understand anyone who disagrees. There's a couple of reasons I really hated the park. So from least egregious to downright disgusting...
  1. The thrill coaster selection is amazing, but Cheetah Hunt feels like a massive missed opportunity. It doesn't commit to being an all out thrill ride, it's mostly forceless. But at the same time I think it's too intense for a family coaster. I don't really know who this ride is meant to be targeted at?
  2. What is up with Falcons Fury? I love the concept but the drop is god awful, it's forceless and stops way too high off the ground. I went in expecting great things and came off with the opinion that it's probably one of the worst drop towers I have done to date.
  3. The family coaster selection is god awful. Scorpion is unbearably rough, Sand Serpent is one of the roughest and least forceful wild mouse coasters out there (where were the pops of airtime?), Cobras Curse I just don't understand, you don't stay in one direction for long enough to fully appreciate it,, the layout is just dull and doesn't do anything interesting. I love Mack but Cobras Curse is definitely the worst spinning coaster out there. Genuinely have no interest in re-riding it when I go back in 2020.
  4. The layout of the park is awful and I don't think anyone can argue against that. There's just no easy way to get from place to place without walking a literal mile.
  5. The whole park feels really run down. There's very little theming and what theming there is just doesn't hold up very well. The stations haven't seen a lick of paint since they opened and it just feels like a low budget family ran park. It reminds me of Drayton in that aspect.
  6. The operations at Busch are by far the worst I have ever seen in any park. Yes even worse than Thorpe Park. There's no batching so the airgates are a complete battle. It's pot luck as to wether you'll be on the same ride as your friends. The trains take FOREVER to dispatch for no apparent reason. The queues took forever despite being short. The staff were super unprofessional, some having conversations over the tannoy system that had nothing to do with ride operations, hell one just left their post for a minute to go have a chat. Then rides would break down and they didn't even have the decency to close the queue or let anyone in the queue know what the hell was going on. Same exact thing happened at Howloscream (which was awful due to poor actors) but it was made worse by the fact actors got priority boarding on their breaks. Not even fastpass, the actors got to walk up the exit and jump on seats that we could've taken. By the end of the day I was fuming. The park is a disgrace. Amazing thrill coasters, but shocking operations.
Also oh my god Snoo, I saw your comment about Mine Blower and was just like 'YES! Someone else who ranks this ride highly!' it's such a fun coaster. It's just relentless from start to finish. You are so right, I need to get myself on more GG woodies. Hopefully looking to do ChuChulain sometime soon.
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Don't want to be rude but here's my counter to this...
1. - Cheetah Hunt, while not the best coaster/ is like the stepping stone for many. Due to the low height requirement it is many little kids first "loop-de-loop" coaster. I have seen this everytime I go there, families love to ride and have a good time. In all reality, that makes a winner.
2. - Falcon's Fury is a lot of people's favortie dark ride.
3. - I can see where you are coming from but, The rides that they have are actually well thought out. You have Air Grover for the really young ones, leading into your two family coasters(SS, and Cobra's Curse) which suite the park quite well. It consistently draws a 40+ minute line. Then you have the two "Stepping Stone" coasters (Cheetah Hunt, Scorpion) which introduce the young ones into "Loops". And following is the Big three (Soon to be big four;)) of Montu, Kumba, Sheikra. So it works well.
4.Ok agree
5.NO! The park is very well themed, and is not run down here let me show you.
Let's go to Egypt where we have
Cobras-Curse-1_1a327f0c82b1516fa6efac65a8afcfcb.jpg

If you don't call that theming then let's keep going on. Montu (Frick Yeah)
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Now onto Cheetah Hunt
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Next onto Sheikra
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Just look at the beauty...
6. Nah man, Six flags is worse. But in there 30+ times i've been there I get consistent 1-1.5 min dispatches which is decent. Given, I know a lot of the operators and have become friends with them since my cousin works there.
But, in general take this with a grain of salt, considering I am a fanboy. Though the main point was to convince you that the park is a very good park!
Also If you disagree that is fine but that was my .02$
 
Cheetah Hunt is garbage especially compared to what BGW did with Verbolten. That's how you do a family launch correctly.

Montu, Kumba, and Sheikra are a strong top 3 and I'm sure with Gwazi the park will have a strong lineup, however, I still greatly prefer BGW for pretty much everything.
 
Even for a first inversion coaster I still think it could pack a bit more of a punch. It's cool that it has a following, but I just don't think it was the best use of space. I really don't understand how anyone could like Falcons Fury though, it's awful. There's very little falling sensation. I was freaking out so bad on the way up, the fact that once we released that all died shows there's something majorly wrong. Dive Machines should never be compared to Drop Towers as they're usually a lot less intense, but damn Shiekra gives a better sensation of falling than Falcons. In all fairness though Shiekra is downright INCREDIBLE. I'm not saying the variety of family coasters is poor, because it's not, I just think the quality of those coasters is lacking. I would disagree about the theming still, they have some really nice patches of theming, but that's the issue it's patchy. Sure it's not cost efficient to theme everywhere, but the landscaping could be so much better in places. Montu literally felt like a coaster plonked down on a field with patches of really cool theming every so often. Damn, that's not the experience I had with operations. I honestly wouldn't bother going back during my 2020 trip if it weren't for RMC Gwazi.
 
I know I'm not visiting any more parks this year aside from my home park for Holiday In The Park, so here's my final Top 30!
1. Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park
2. Lightning Rod, Dollywood
3. Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
4. Storm Chaser, Kentucky Kingdom
5. Voyage, Holiday World
6. X2, Six Flags Magic Mountain
7. Twisted Colossus, Six Flags Magic Mountain
8. Goliath, Six Flags Great America
9. Nemesis, Alton Towers
10. Millennium Force, Cedar Point

11. Maverick, Cedar Point
12. Boss, Six Flags St. Louis
13. Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast, Six Flags St. Louis
14. Cornball Express, Indiana Beach
15. Raptor, Cedar Point
16. Batman The Ride, Six Flags Great America
17. Magnum XL-200, Cedar Point
18. Screamin' Eagle, Six Flags St. Louis
19. Legend, Holiday World
20. Tatsu, Six Flags Magic Mountain

21. Thunderhead, Dollywood
22. Banshee, Kings Island
23. Tennessee Tornado, Dollywood
24. Smiler, Alton Towers
25. Thunderbird, Holiday World
26. Raging Bull, Six Flags Great America
27. American Eagle, Six Flags Great America
28. Karacho, Tripsdrill
29. Beast, Kings Island
30. California Screamin', Disney California Adventure
 
I figure, hey, why not update a top list on account of the year ending. I know everyone's just dying to hear which minute changes I made.

  1. Steel Vengeance - yep
  2. Lightning Rod - yep
  3. Outlaw Run - I realized it's the coaster I know the most. I've been to Silver Dollar City so many times, and it never fails to be great, something all the coasters below didn't (or maybe don't) always do. The ability to keep reriding puts this above the others for me.
  4. X2 - I only got one ride on it, front row inner seat. It was right up there with my best coaster rides, but I need more rides to place it above Outlaw. I've heard other seats are not as amazing while Outlaw is pretty quality in each seat.
  5. Skyrush - Didn't mind the restraints actually. The ops were great with releasing them slightly on the brake run, which helped a big amount.
  6. Voyage - Toro's easier to ride, but Voyage gets the bump for me for being longer and a bit more memorable. It's quite rough, but it's not too rough I don't think, just enough to add some character and beat you up a bit. I quite like how it's truly a voyage, going so far out into the woods. Plus, night rides on this are amazing.
  7. El Toro - I think it's flawed, especially with how it kinda dies between the second hill and the ejector hill. However, I just think that beginning and end are so amazing. The low banking turns give a good dose of positive Gs to go along with the airtime.
  8. Boulder Dash - Such a great coaster, going up and down a mountain, weaving through the trees. I really disliked, however, the operations and especially running only one train. The line was always only a bit outside the station, yet it would take 15+ minutes. That and its airtime pales a bit compared to newer coasters.
  9. Fury 325 - It's big, fast, and smooth. I have to give it credit for how easy it is to ride while still delivering an exhilarating ride. There's something about flying over and under that entrance plaza that's wholly unique.
  10. Superman SFNE - Those restraints are really bad, for most other coasters they would ruin the ride. However, I just love the layout of this thing, and it delivers some great airtime. I really appreciate how long it is as well. In fact, with its old T-bars, this would probably be number 6 or 7.
  11. Maverick - yep
  12. Phoenix - Gotta love that old school wooden coaster vibe with some of the most unique airtime out there.
  13. Kumba - Have a soft spot for old school B&M
  14. Twisted Cyclone - That airtime, wowee
  15. Space Mountain WDW - yep, I did that
  16. Storm Chaser - I did put Space Mountain over Storm Chaser
  17. Shambhala
  18. Millennium Force - the coaster that got me into coaster enthusiasm <3
  19. Beast
  20. Iron Rattler
  21. Top Thrill Dragster
  22. Kawasemi
  23. Wicked Cyclone
  24. Storm Runner
  25. Space Mountain DL
 
Edward M said:
  1. X2 - I only got one ride on it, front row inner seat. It was right up there with my best coaster rides, but I need more rides to place it above Outlaw. I've heard other seats are not as amazing while Outlaw is pretty quality in each seat.
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  1. just do what I do - only ride X2 a few times at night and treasure it’s nighttime awesomeness. #IgnoranceIsBliss
 
My end of 2018 list, No doubt this will change this time next year with Hansa and Heide booked as well as Walibi Holland so far :emoji_heart_eyes:
1. Taron - Almost everything is perfect! The theming, the launches, the pacing etc etc need I go on. My only fault is the trims at the end which I find unnecessary but that's my only nitpick!
2. Shambhala - This was my first big European coaster I rode and it was my number one for ages only pipped to the top because the ride experience isn't as relentless. But regardless the airtime is fab although its been nearly 5 years since I went on it so I need to give it a second ride.
3. The Joker at SFDK - I feel like people will be confused as to why I prefer this over Twisted Colossus, and the simple reason is I preferred the pacing and it didn't rely on a poorly executed crutch, then again maybe because this was my first, I was probs looking at this ride through rose tinted spectacles.
4. Twisted Colossus - Don't get me wrong I loved the airtime and the zero-g stall is goals! And when it duels its amazing, but that's the problem it barely ever did, I just got bored waiting as the lift slowed for a train that never caught up, so I got bored during the lifts which was the main reason I preferred The Joker. I hope they sort it, though I doubt this.
5. Tonnerre De Zeus - The main reason this is so high is for the night ride I had at about 10:30pm, all lights off. Man I loved it before, but this was the single most scary and exhilarating ride on a roller coaster I have ever had! One ride I hope they don't RMC any time soon.
6. Hyperion - Initially wasn't sold but as the day progressed I came to love the ride and the more I thought about it the more I realised this ride is just pure fun. What stops it from being higher is the buzzkill floater hill with no floater, which is like a giant wet fart in the middle of the ride which really should of been change in the design phase but otherwise great ride!
7. Lost Gravity - Simply, fun and bonkers, everything is bonkers and I really like it, and it has one of the best drops of any ride out there. Only complaint is the bad rattle on the back row will give you a head ache but its fab otherwise.
8. Wodan - Was once my number one but the more I think about it the more I'm liking it less compared to the higher up coasters, it really needs more airtime and does feel short but the relentless pacing and themeing is why its still on the list and I still love it!
9. Joris En De Draak - Both sides are amazing although I prefer water. Sheer fun without a doubt, I love the bouncy nature of the airtime hills, but it does kinda feel like they hit autocomplete after the lake turn around as I think they could of added more bunny hops, but again I'm nitpicking.
10. Black mamba - My favourite invert, Love the themeing and feels to me as intense as nemesis, especially in the back, its just by far the best of its ride type I have done.
 
THE NEW YEAR HAS BEGUN! As such, I've updated the title and below is my latest Top 25. Also weird to think I created this thread 6 years ago.. lol

1 Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point
2 Lightning Rod - Dollywood
3 Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce
4 El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure
5 Goliath - Six Flags Great America
6 Wildfire - Kolmarden
7 Voyage - Holiday World
8 Outlaw Run - Silver Dollar City
9 Storm Chaser - Kentucky Kingdom
10 Mine Blower - Fun Spot Kissimmee


11 Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer
12 Maverick - Cedar Point
13 Phoenix - Knoebels
14 Cornball Express - Indiana Beach
15 Banshee - Kings Island
16 Afterburn - Carowinds
17 Boardwalk Bullet - Kemah Boardwalk
18 Wicked Cyclone - Six Flags New England
19 Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point
20 Superman The Ride - Six Flags New England
21 Lightning Run - Kentucky Kingdom
22 X2 - Six Flags Magic Mountain
23 Behemoth - Canada's Wonderland
24 Tatsu - Six Flags Magic Mountain
25 Mystic Timbers - Kings Island
26 Prowler - Worlds of Fun
27 Leviathan - Canada's Wonderland
28 Fury 325 - Carowinds
29 Thunderbird - Holiday World
30 Superman Krypton Coaster - Six Flags Fiesta Texas
 

  1. The Voyage, Holiday World

  2. Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion

  3. Maverick, Cedar Point

  4. Skyrush, Hersheypark

  5. Mindbender, Galaxyland

  6. Fury 325, Carowinds

  7. Kumba, Busch Gardens Tampa

  8. Goliath, Six Flags Over Georgia

  9. The Beast, Kings Island

  10. Phoenix, Knoebels

  11. Mako, SeaWorld Orlando

  12. Montu, Busch Gardens Tampa

  13. Swamp Fox, Family Kingdom

  14. Twisted Cyclone, Six Flags Over Georgia

  15. Mine Blower, Fun Spot Kissimmee

  16. The Legend, Holiday World

  17. Millennium Force, Cedar Point

  18. New Texas Giant, Six Flags Over Texas

  19. Lightning Rod, Dollywood

  20. Talon, Dorney Park
 
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