Sorry for the delay the past couple weeks on this topic. I sorta went around Europe for awhile and have only stumbled onto the forum tonight. Meant to post this a week ago but here goes anyway. We've made it to number 8 on your list.
It still surprises me that this coaster is still on my Top 10, as I didn't expect it to be on there before I first rode it. It's predecessors are all pretty boring, but this one happens to be a lot bigger. It's Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Tatsu is the biggest flying coaster on the planet, and its custom layout around the mountain at Six Flags gives it a perfect location. Its a little weird, but what always gets me the most on flying coasters is the trek up the lift hill. Knowing that if one (or two or however many) ratchets decide to snap inside my restraint, there is nothing to keep me from careening into some annoying teenager on the Midway below. The rest of the ride this doesn't bother me, just on the lift.
Tatsu is an awesome for me because of its pacing. Unlike SUF, Tatsu whips you around its corners, has plenty of barrel rolls, and its pretzel is one of those things you see coming right before you enter it and usually yell some expletive along with "that's huge." I know that a lot of people don't particularly enjoy pretzel loops because it makes you feel uncomfortable. I think they are just cool. One opportunity a coaster has to put a few Gs on the entire body instead of just small parts here and there. And Tatsu's doesn't disappoint.
Really not much more to say. Tatsu is smooth, pretty intense and isn't boring. It doesn't really do anything wrong. Every time I rode it this summer I really liked it, which is why I think its still #8 on my list. I'm not sure if it'll still be there next summer or not, guess we'll see where I end up and what I get to ride in 2012. After this at #8 my list takes a serious detour into wooden coasters and airtime machines. See you next week.
Top 5 wood-5-Goliath 4-Ravine Flyer II 3-Phoenix 2-Voyage 1-El Toro Top 5 Steel- 5-Velocicoaster 4- Maverick 3- Fury 325 2-Steel Vengeance 1-X2 Coaster Count: 444
Let's see... For my #8, I have Ravine Rlyer II. I has the intensity of Voyage though without the awe inspiring length/duration, so it ends up being a lot more re-ridable. It also kinda reminds me of what Hades should have been.
As for my #8 steel (probably cracking the top 40-50 now) I got Lisebergbanen.
It's basically mega Whizzer, or even Ultra Whizzer. It for the most part is whizzer if it was 150 feet tall and a mile long, and had actual topography to work with.
And a picture does the ride no justice, though a video really doesn't either, but here's one anyways http://youtu.be/EbnNMoc6ozo
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
#8 Steel - Expedition Everest @ Disney Animal Kingdom
To me, this is the ultimate Disney family style thrill ride. The queue line itself is one the most impressive in theme parks period with the detail shown. The Fastpass line also gets it's own queue line with more parts of the back story of the ride. Simple lapbars and quick loading a huge plus here. The ride itself is no white knuckle thrill ride but it was never meant to be that. It has a great backwards portion, a nice drop and a family style non-stop pace. This is also a ride that get even better at night with the complete lack of lighting and amazing view of WDW from the front row.
The one big negative mentioned is the Yeti not working. While it is annoying, most people seem to have no clue there is a Yeti at this point. With a working Yeti, it could rank higher.
#8 Wood - Renegade @ ValleyFair
More of my GCI love here. One of my favorite first drops on a wooden coaster. The ride also benefits from having the layout hidden from view for some nice surprises. Wonderful pacing and just a fun ride all around.
My #8 is Rock n Roller Coaster. This was my first launched coaster and i was impressed by the speed and intensity i felt by the launch. Very high capacity just like almost every thing at a Disney Park.
Like Monster said it's overall a good ride. I actually like this coaster more then Prowler and Evil Knievel. The first part of the ride is awesome with the drop and the large sustained bunny hills which seems to be uncommon on GCIs. I hate the tiny bunny hill which offer maybe 1/4 a second of airtime like on Prowler.
#8 Steel Ride of Steel at Darien Lake.
I have loved this coaster since my first ride in 2001. I rode it the year after Millennium Force and was thinking it wasn't going to be as good but I was wrong. I feel that the sensation of speed on this ride is better then on M-Force because the transitions aren't as gradual and spread out. The first turn and the s-bend bunny hill are my favorite parts of the ride. The ending also has insane ejector bunny hills. Many people don't like the revised lapbars but I actually prefer them compared to the new ones. They sit higher on your stomach so you get to experience the airtime more. Unlike the new lapbars on Bizzaro are way to bulky and restrictive.
Cornball Express: great pacing and layout filled with laterals and air, as well as good duration. Cornball is textbook "great ride bad park."
This is a tough one but i'm gonna call it a tie between Kumba and Batman Knight Flight/Dominator. They are far and away my two favorite B&M loopers though I can't decide which one I like better. Both have rapid fire intense elements that will knock your socks off like Batman, however both also have unique layouts with a wide array of elements.
And a picture does the ride no justice, though a video really doesn't either, but here's one anyways http://youtu.be/EbnNMoc6ozo
That got me dizzy, when it finally made a left turn it totally threw me off
8. Steel Tatsu / Superman Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain
I rode these both a few weeks ago when I visited the Mountain on January 1st. I actually got the first ride of the year on SFEK on my way to 6 re-rides in the morning, including a solo ride. If you ever visit SFMM go up the hill or to the back of the park first because it is EMPTY! Anyways I have no idea why I loved SFEK so much. Maybe it was the nice ride op who let us keep riding, maybe it was the awesome atmosphere of the ride, maybe it was launching backwards at 100 MPH! I had low expectations going in and it blew them out of the water. Just such a thrilling ride. The launch is the most intense I've ever had and the view is spectacular. Later in the afternoon I rode Tatsu back row and it is crazy as always. Amazing speed, transitions, and the best flying feeling you could ever have. At night this ride is even better, such a crazy out of control feeling. After finishing with 8 rides on SEFK and 3 on Tatsu, I couldn't decide which I enjoyed more. Both were the best rides of the day by far. I decided to give them a tie since they're so close by each other and theres no way I can rank one above the other.
8. Wood American Thunder at SFSTl At first I wasn't a huge fan of this ride. I had high expectations going in and it didn't stand up to them. After a few more rides I realized how great the ride really was and I've been a fan ever since. Great speed, transitions, airtime, and a awesome compact layout.
Top 5: 1) El Toro. 2) Maverick. 3) Millenium Force. 4) Diamondback. 5) X2. Coaster Count: 167 (41 Wood, 125 Steel) @Coaster_Cole on Twitter
